Researchers at McGill said the study was 30th edition of Quebec Science Annual list of the most important scientific advances made in the state in 2022.
Of the ten studies honored by award-winning scientific journals, three involve McGill. From microbial genetics to the neurology of depression to the search for life on Mars, these projects offer a glimpse into the diversity and depth of ongoing scientific research at the university.
Members of the public can vote for their favorite find among 10 nominees.go to Quebec Science Please visit our website to show your support for the outstanding McGill researchers and their colleagues working on their next project. Vote for a chance to win four of his trips to Luck’s Megantic Astronomical Festival this summer.
Developing blueprints for life on Mars
Elise Magnuson, Miguel Á. Fernández-Martínez, Ya-Jou Chen, Catherine Maggiori, Lyle G. Whyte (Department of Natural Resources Science); Ianina Altshuler (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) and Jacqueline Goordial (University of Guelph)
The researchers found that microbial communities living in the Canadian Arctic under conditions similar to Mars were able to absorb the types of simple inorganic compounds found on Mars: methane, sulfides, sulfates, carbon monoxide, and dioxide. carbon).
Beneath the permafrost of Lost Hammer Springs, in a very salty, very cold, almost oxygen-free environment, these unknown creatures were discovered after many investigations under extremely difficult conditions. It was the result of what was done. The team used state-of-the-art genomics technology to gain remarkable metabolic insights in microbes.Findings published in ISME Journalwas so compelling that a sample of the Lost Hammer’s surface sediment was selected by the European Space Agency to test the life-detection capabilities of the instrument it plans to use on the next Exomers mission.
Parasites share genes that increase resistance to drugs
Noélie Douanne (University of Montreal), George Dong (Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre), Atia Amin (Dept. of Human Genetics), Lorena Bernardo (Université de Montréal), Mathieu Blanchette (School of Computer Science), David Langlais ( Department of Human Genetics and Microbiology and Immunology, Genome Center, McGill University, McGill Research Center for Complex Traits), Martin Olivier (RI-MUHC, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill Research Center for Complex Traits), Christopher Fernandez- Prada (Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill Research Center on Complex Traits, University of Montreal)
In a study published in cell reportthis multidisciplinary team of researchers has found that the Leishmania parasite, responsible for a devastating tropical disease, can become resistant to drug treatments by swapping genes in a way scientists once believed only bacteria could. This finding opens the door to improved techniques for the detection and treatment of leishmaniasis and may also have implications for the development of cancer therapies.
Understanding why depression affects men and women differently
Laurence Dion-Albert, Alice Cadoret, Ellen Doney, Fernanda Neutzling Kaufmann, Katarzyna A. Dudek, Beatrice Daigle, Manon Lebel, Caroline Menard (Université Laval and CERVO Brain Research Centre); Lyonna F. Parise, Flurin Cathomas (Icahn on Mount Sinai) School of Medicine); Nalia Samba (Sorbonne University); Natalie Hudson, Matthew Campbell (Trinity College Dublin); Gustavo Turecki and Naguib Mechawar (Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Douglas College of Mental Health Research Institute).
The study, led by researchers at the University of Laval, Nature Communications, compared the effects of stress on the brains of men and women. Scientists have found that in women suffering from major depression, stress weakens an important protective function known as the blood-brain barrier in the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain linked to mood regulation and anxiety. .
This finding may lead to improved techniques for detecting depression, such as blood tests for specific biomarkers that provide more reliable diagnoses than existing questionnaire-based methods.
Gustavo Turecki and Naguib Mechawar from the Douglas College Institute of Mental Health and the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University contributed to this study by obtaining, characterizing, and preparing samples from the Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank.
