…Royal Society recognizes expertise in muscle physiology and metabolism
Prof. Arend Bonen, a faculty member in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences and the Canada Research Chair in Metabolism and Health, was named to the Royal Society of Canada in September. A U of G professor since 2003, Bonen is renowned for his work on the role of muscle activity in metabolic diseases.
Founded in 1882, the Royal Society of Canada is the country’s oldest and most prestigious scholarly organization. Scholars selected for the honour are those the society believes have had a profound impact on sciences, arts and humanities in Canada.
“Although I am honoured to have been elected a fellow, there are many people who have contributed to my efforts,” Bonen says, citing technicians, graduate students, researchers and colleagues in his department and around the world. “Present-day science relies extensively on these multi-faceted collaborations, without which my work would not have flourished.”
His research combines physiological, biochemical and molecular approaches. It focuses on the mechanisms that regulate fuel (glucose and fats) entry and utilization in heart and muscle that enable normal functioning, such as beating of the heart. “These processes are very changeable,” he says. “This can be seen when we exercise or endurance train or when diseases occur, such as diabetes.”
Many of the same metabolic biochemical processes are also provoked by lifestyle factors such as eating a high-fat diet or living a sedentary lifestyle, he says. His studies suggest that hormones and metabolic signals in these tissues in people with excess body weight lead to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
“This has brought about the recognition, via our work and that of others, that exercise can prevent or treat some types of diseases such as Type 2 diabetes,” says Bonen.
His research is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.
the University of Guelph has answers that expand human knowledge…
● faculty includes 18 members of the Royal Society of Canada
● Canada’s first undergraduate major in nanoscience
● named Canada’s top comprehensive research university for seven consecutive years by Research Infosource Inc.
● Guelph researchers captured the first-ever in situ pictures of ion channels
● concentrated expertise in biomaterials, genetic engineering and nanoscience.
Nanoscience degree program launched
A dramatic transformation in science and technology is coming, and the students enrolling in U of G’s new B.Sc. program in nanoscience will be at the cutting edge.
Nanoscience involves developing materials on the scale of individual atoms and molecules. In such a miniature world, materials display special — even counterintuitive — electrical and chemical properties.
Much of that miniature world lies not in one discipline but at the intersection of physics, chemistry, biology, math and other areas ― a good reason for studying nanoscience at Guelph, a university known for its strengths in interdisciplinary studies. Rather than focus on the engineering applications beneath nanotech degrees offered elsewhere, the new U of G nanoscience program aims to help in understanding the fundamentals of the nanoworld.
Our solar system is like no other
An orderly solar system like our own is a rare occurrence, according to Guelph physicist Ed Thommes, who has developed a new computer modelling method that simulates the birth of planetary systems. His research, conducted with colleagues from Northwestern University in Illinois, found that planets of varying masses and orbits can move around one another and their parent star in different ways.
“Whatever possibility of a planetary system we can think of probably exists out there somewhere,” says Thommes. “Nature really does throw the dice in all directions.”
But planetary systems with equivalents to Jupiter and Saturn ― two gas giants moving in near-circles and practically unchanged since birth ― pop out rarely in their simulations. Most often, solar systems harbour unruly gas giants whose eccentric orbits make life unpredictable and even deadly for nearby bodies, he says. In contrast, Jupiter and Saturn may help “keep the peace” in our solar system by acting like bouncers to intercept unwelcome comet visitors before they near the inner planets.
Graduate programs expand
PhD graduate Peter Anderson
with Pamela Wallin
The University of Guelph will receive $3.62 million from the Ontario government to create an additional 231 spaces for graduate students in high-demand sectors such as engineering and environmental studies.
Engineers partner with automaker
The School of Engineering has teamed up with auto manufacturer Linamar Corporation to create a design program that gives students the opportunity to tackle real industry issues. Linamar engineers provide a list of current problems facing the company, and student groups develop solutions. Some of the ideas already implemented by Linamar include rainwater harvesting, solar walls and a computerized tracking system.
Lab focuses on innovations in wireless sensors
Imagine being able to swallow a tiny sensor that helps doctors with diagnosis, or a system that tells a farmer when it’s time for harvest, or a device that tracks climate and weather patterns in inaccessible areas for search-and-rescue missions. These are just some of the developments that could come out of a new Wireless Network Laboratory at the University of Guelph.
Funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) ― and matching provincial money and private funds ― the high-tech lab will help equip U of G researchers to develop new ways of using wireless networking and mobile computing. They’ll be looking at developing networks of wireless sensors that can transmit information to a single computer. This type of technology could lead to sensors that can track animal movement or behaviour for wildlife biologists or a system that can monitor traffic flow and give drivers information on road conditions.
Biotechnology offers solution
A U of G student research project aimed at heading off blindness in children won a bronze medal at a genetic engineering contest held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Project leader David Johnston Monje, a PhD candidate in plant agriculture, says vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children and increases the risk of infectious disease and death. It’s a public health problem especially in Africa and Southeast Asia and particularly for young children and pregnant women in low-income countries.
The Guelph team used genes taken from common soil bacteria that make lots of carotenoids, including beta carotene, an essential nutrient that the body converts to vitamin A. They discovered that stitching those genes into the gut microbe E. coli causes it to produce beta carotene. Johnston Monje hopes the work will lead to an alternative to vitamin pills or foods that are inaccessible to many people in developing countries.
Guelph-Humber team wins international CSI contest
A team of University of Guelph-Humber students has won the U.S. “CSI Challenge,” helping propel the school’s justice studies program into the international arena. It was the first time Guelph-Humber had entered the event.
Bringing home the trophy to Canada shows Guelph-Humber has achieved an international level in crime scene investigation, says Dino Doria, head of the justice studies program and a 30-year veteran of the Toronto Police Service. He accompanied fourth-year students Jeffery McLean and Maxwell Bourdeau and second-year students Savita Sharma and Brittany Medeiros to the competition at Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland.
Now in its seventh year, Guelph-Humber’s justice studies program has some 400 students enrolled. Many of its graduates work in policing and for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
Canadian Space Agency finds U of G talent
Two scientists with strong U of G ties were among the 16 finalists (chosen from a field of over 5,000) in the Canadian Space Agency’s national astronaut recruitment campaign.
Matt Bamsey, a PhD candidate working on life-support systems that will enable future space travellers to grow plants for food in extreme environments, and Ryan Hunter, a two-time Guelph microbiology graduate now doing post-doctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, were part of the group competing for just two positions in Canada’s astronaut corps. Those selected may one day represent the country in space exploration missions, including long-duration space flights on the International Space Station.
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Prof. Arend Bonen
Human Health and Nutritional Sciences
"our goal is to expand knowledge • nanoscience • solar system • research engine • computerized tracking • wireless sensors • biotechnology • CSI investigation • space agency "
