Research News
Genetics help power Atlantic salmon restoration
Young salmon showing variations in parr marks (Photo: S. Pedersen)
By Louis Gasparini
Wild Atlantic salmon populations have declined drastically in recent decades, but new findings by Integrative Biology researchers could help with restoration efforts for this important aquatic species.
Prof. Elizabeth Boulding and her research group made several important discoveries about Atlantic salmon genes that influence the appearance and growth of the fish, and which could have important implications for their potential restoration.
“If salmon go extinct in a stream, we now have the technology to re-introduce...
A new zoonotic disease emerges in southern Ontario
Image courtesy J. Kotwa
Dogs, humans may be at risk from a new form of tapeworm
By Sydney Pearce
Dogs in southern Ontario are being exposed to a newly identified tapeworm that can infect humans and cause a potentially fatal disease.
Since 2012, five dogs in southern Ontario have been diagnosed with the larval stage of a small tapeworm called Echinococcus multilocularis (EM).
Reports of the disease that EM causes, called alveolar echinococcosis, surprised University of Guelph PhD candidate, Jonathon Kotwa, and Prof. Andrew Peregrine from the...
Using Data Management Plans will keep your research data safe and give your research more exposure
Photo: Andrew Goodwin Photography
Graphic overlay: Tiffany Murphy
By Liz Snyder
Data Management Plans (DMPs) are becoming a more integrated part of the funding application process. The U of G will soon be adopting its own Institutional Research Data Management strategy to ensure researchers are mitigating risk and increasing the visibility and impact of their research, one component of which is a DMP – and the Library is ready to help.
Creating a plan to manage data can be an important part of the research process. A DMP describes the methods, protocols and plans a researcher will use to manage, describe,...
New animal care program gives researchers better insights
By Liz Snyder
Animal Care Services has been developing a system to support animal research teams through the life of their research project – and animal researchers at the U of G can soon look forward to even more support with the hiring of a post-approval review coordinator.
To get to this point, for the past two years Animal Care Services has been consulting with Canadian universities that have similar animal care programs and U of G researchers and animal facility managers. They wanted to see what a good post-approval review program would look...
You can help track wildlife health
New online tool gets the public involved
By Sydney Pearce
Tracking wildlife health is too large of a task for just one individual, so a wildlife health tracking website (www.wildlifehealthtracker.com), developed by the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) at the University of Guelph, is getting the public involved.
The initiative is designed to make it easier for the public and groups interested in wildlife health to report sick and dead wild animals they encounter in Ontario, and...
Appreciation, growth opportunities and job security motivate hospitality industry workers
By Shannon Mustard
With 10 per cent of the Canadian population employed by the hospitality and tourism industry, it's important to maintain employee motivation - especially during the down season. The biggest challenge in the hospitality industry is attracting and retaining good quality workers. Researchers believe if employers can understand what motivates and drives their employees, they may be able to attract and retain their employees for a longer period of time.
Prof. William Murray, School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management, has focused...
Research charts the course of marijuana 'normalization' prior to legalization and regulation of the drug
By Megan Swim
About half of all university students have said they’ve used cannabis at least once, according to research from three Canadian universities. So, what does this mean for the normalization of cannabis use for youth and young adults?
Prof. Andrew Hathaway, of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, has been researching cannabis use since the 1990s. He says cannabis use is not the deviant, addictive habit is has so often been portrayed as, but rather a mainstream phenomenon.
“Back in the 1950s and 1960s, sociologists pegged...
Sexting for women may be empowering
Photo: Megan Swim
By Megan Swim
Society often frowns on the use of sexting – that is, digital technology for sexual purposes -- particularly for women. In some cases, women are more vulnerable for photos going viral or being shown to others without consent, leading to a culture of fear.
But how does this attitude impact women’s sexuality?
In a study last summer, PhD candidate Erin Watson and Prof. Robin Milhausen found sexting provides some women with increased pleasure, desire, and opportunities for sexual communication.
In fact, they say...
Reducing the digital divide between rural and urban Ontario
By Shannon Mustard
Our e-world requires good connectivity. But that doesn’t always happen in rural areas – even in Halton region, a municipal neighbour to Canada’s biggest city.
Prof. Helen Hambly Odame, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, is trying to change that. She’s the project leader for the UoG Regional and Rural Broadband (R2B2) project team. In September 2017, the team began collaborating with the Halton area, at the request of the region, in hopes of finding economic reasons to improve its connectivity.
The R2B2 team...
Taking a nutritional approach to reducing diabetes risk
Dr. Dan Ramdath (left), PhD student Dida Moravek and Prof. Alison Duncan. Photo: Shannon Mustard
By Shannon Mustard
This year, 23 million people globally will have been diagnosed with diabetes, the majority being type 2. Could Canadian lentils potentially reduce the risk of diabetes as they help to lower blood sugar levels? That’s what a University of Guelph research team wants to know.
Diabetes is a disorder that causes people to have abnormally high blood sugar levels over a long period of time. Those with diabetes may not have high enough levels of insulin (a hormone that helps reduce glucose levels in the bloodstream), or their insulin is not...