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A new 鶹ýվ study has found a direct link between age‑related declines in neuron activity in the cerebellum and worsening motor skills, including gait, balance and agility. While it is well known that these abilities diminish with age, this is the first research to pinpoint how changes in Purkinje cells – a key type of cerebellar neuron – drive this decline and translate into measurable changes in behaviour and physical function.

Classified as: Eviatar Fields, Alanna Watt, aging, age-related declines in motor performance, brain, Cerebellum, Purkinje cells
Published on: 23 Feb 2026

Researchers at 鶹ýվ and the have found that plants living in areas where human activity has caused population crashes carry long-lasting genetic traces of that history, such as reduced genetic diversity. Because genetic diversity helps species adapt to climate change, disease and other stresses, the study suggests it is vital to consider a population’s history-influenced genetics alongside its size and habitat in conservation planning.

Classified as: daniel schoen, botany, jewelweed, genetic diversity, Plants, conservation biology
Published on: 12 Feb 2026

Freshwater browning is stunting fish growth of some species, shrinking populations of others and changing the composition of fish communities, 鶹ýվ-led research suggests. “Browning” refers to freshwater bodies turning tea-coloured, a phenomenon driven by higher levels of dissolved organic matter and/or higher levels of iron in the water. Causes include changes in land use and climate, and reduced acid precipitation.

The findings indicate that changes in land use and climate are affecting biodiversity and how ecosystems function, with implications for fisheries management.

Classified as: Allison Roth, Irene Gregory-Eaves, freshwater browning, fish, climate change
Published on: 19 Jan 2026

Phytotron Manager Mahnaz Mansoori (pictured above, left, with Biology Department Chair Prof. Gregor Fussmann) was one of nine 鶹ýվ staff members honoured with the President’s Award for Administrative and Support Staff at last week's afternoon convocation ceremony. These annual awards recognize the talent, dedication, and hard work of staff members who have made outstanding contributions to the University’s mission. 

Published on: 20 Oct 2025

Congratulations to Jérôme Waldispühl and Attila Szantner (Computer Science), The Eclipse Task Force (Physics), and Andrew Gonzalez (Biology), who are among this year's winners of the President’s Prize for Public Engagement through Media!

In announcing the winners and runners-up, President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini noted that they were among a strong field of applicants spanning all 12 Faculties.

“This is further evidence that the sharing of knowledge and a love of learning are core 鶹ýվ values,” he said.

Published on: 2 Apr 2025

Louis-Philippe Bateman’s fascination with megalodon began with a single sentence in a book about Canada’s geological evolution. It described giant, mysterious fossilized shark teeth discovered in the 1960s by fishermen dredging for scallops off Canada’s Atlantic coast. The curiosity felt by the teenager with a budding interest in paleontology would resurface in a meaningful way during his undergraduate years at 鶹ýվ.

Published on: 4 Feb 2025

The Bieler School of Environment (BSE) is thrilled to announce Professor Anthony Ricciardi as its new director, effective immediately. An expert in invasion ecology and aquatic ecosystems, Ricciardi has been a key figure at the school since 2001 and now steps up to lead.

“My vision for the School is to become the gateway of environmental research at 鶹ýվ,” said Ricciardi.

Founded in 1998, the BSE appoints directors for five-year terms.

Published on: 21 Jan 2025

A new study on songbirds sheds light on the power of social interaction to facilitate learning, insights that potentially apply to human development.

鶹ýվ researchers discovered that zebra finches deprived of early social experiences could still form strong bonds with a partner later in life. Once placed into cohabitation with a male, females that had never heard a mating song before could quickly develop a preference for his melody.

Published on: 22 Aug 2024

New 鶹ýվ study sheds light on the cerebellar nuclei 

In a published today in Nature Communications, a team of 鶹ýվ researchers led by of the Department of Biology examines the spatial organization of neurons in the cerebellar cortex. The findings offer new insight into how information is integrated in the cerebellum and shed light on the role of the often-overlooked cerebellar nuclei. 

Published on: 9 Jul 2024

As the climate warms, many species are on the move, raising new challenges for policy-makers around the world. Shifts in the ranges of mosquitoes and disease-bearing ticks and bats are introducing illnesses such as malaria and Lyme disease into regions where health-care systems are unprepared. Movements of commercially important fish from one jurisdiction to another are shifting job opportunities and causing trade disputes.

Classified as: climate change, Department of Biology, jennifer sunday
Published on: 2 Jul 2024

Ehab Abouheif, James 鶹ýվ Professor in the Department of Biology at 鶹ýվ, has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), one of the highest distinctions in the global science community, which recognizes contributions to science and technology, scientific leadership, and extraordinary achievements across disciplines.

Published on: 18 Apr 2024

Located in the heart of the Montérégie region, in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, 鶹ýվ’s Gault Nature Reserve comprises more than 1,000 hectares of lush old-growth deciduous forest, just 40 km from Montreal. A refuge for migratory birds, Gault is at the heart of Canada’s first UNESCO-recognized biosphere reserve. 

Published on: 15 Apr 2024

Evolutionary biologists have long suspected that the diversification of a single species into multiple descendent species – that is, an “adaptive radiation” – is the result of each species adapting to a different environment. Yet formal tests of this hypothesis have been elusive owing to the difficulty of firmly establishing the relationship between species traits and evolutionary “fitness” for a group of related species that recently diverged from a common ancestral species.

Published on: 9 Jan 2024

Researchers zero in on spinocerebellar ataxia type 6, a disease that disrupts brain function

Researchers from 鶹ýվ, led by Professor of the Department of Biology, have identified previously unknown changes in brain cells affected by a neurological disease. Their research, published in , could pave the way to future treatments for the disease.

Published on: 12 Dec 2023

 from 鶹ýվ, researchers bring science into an unexpected setting: a tattoo parlor. In this first characterization of the human piercing microbiome, the uniquely human cultural practice of piercing serves as a model system to help us better understand how biological communities (re)assemble after catastrophic environmental disturbances.

Published on: 5 Dec 2023

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