Research News
U of G study finds better cattle housing can help heal hock injuries
Photo Credit: Richard Seck
By Cate Willis
A University of Guelph study has found that improving housing environments for dairy cattle with hock injuries can promote healing.
Led by PhD student Amanda Armstrong and Dr. David Kelton, a professor in the Ontario Veterinary College, the team set out to better understand the relationship between hock and knee injuries and lameness in dairy cattle. They wanted to know what causes these injuries and how they can be resolved. ...
Data Science: Secure data centre supports research and policy development
The McLaughlin Library, home to the Branch Research Data Centre
By Gillian Beatson
Even research data not collected at the University of Guelph still needs protection on campus.
The Branch Research Data Centre (BRDC), located in the McLaughlin Library, is a secure data enclave that holds sensitive and specific data from surveys and administrative data mostly originating with Statistics Canada and other government departments. It is part of the Canadian Research Data Centre Network. For many researchers, this is a way to access data that is...
U of G study aims to inform post-COVID rural policy
Photo Credit: Unsplash
By Vanessa Virgo
A University of Guelph study that looked at COVID-19 in small and rural communities in Ontario found that government policies need to include the pandemic experience of these groups of people.
Dr. Leith Deacon, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (SEDRD), Ontario Agricultural College, and a team of researchers used a large-scale quantitative survey to determine how people in small and rural...
Data Science: Building a foundation to research life on our planet
Photo Credit: Sujeevan Ratnasingham
By Samantha McReavy
Understanding how biodiversity changes and adapts in response to different factors—including urbanization and climate change—is possible thanks to the International Barcode of Life’s (iBOL) database, BOLD.
Sujeevan Ratnasingham, a computer scientist and associate director of informatics at the University of Guelph’s Centre...
U of G researchers test product that could revolutionize tender fruit industry
An orchard of Harrow Dawn peaches
By Abbey Drew
University of Guelph researchers are testing a new peach-thinning product that could revolutionize the tender fruit industry.
Normally, hand-thinning is required to remove smaller fruits from peach trees. This process is labor-intensive, but it helps the remaining peaches to reach commercial size at harvest.
Dr. John Cline, a professor in the Ontario Agricultural College, is evaluating a new spray product that will reduce...
Data Science: Italian Canadian heritage
By Sydney Pearce
Dr. Sandra Parmegiani, head of Italian and European studies, directs the Italian Heritage Project at the University of Guelph. The Italian Heritage Project is a digital archive of stories and documents from Italian Canadian immigrants in Wellington County. This reserve documents the Italian experience and culture in Canada.
U of G researchers are developing an AI tool to predict outbreaks of Avian influenza
By Abbey Drew
University of Guelph researchers are developing an artificial intelligence (AI) system to predict early outbreaks of avian influenza.
Dr. Rozita Dara, a professor in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS), and a team of researchers from the Ontario Veterinary College and CEPS are working to build a surveillance system that can predict the occurrence of avian influenza.
Read the full article...
Data Science: Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network
Photo Credit: John Morton
By Alicia Bowland
High-performance computing technology helps solve complex problems, execute analyses and store data far beyond the computational capabilities of a standard desktop or personal computer.
Canadian researchers have access to advanced research computing support through the country’s largest high-performance computing consortium, the Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network (SHARCNET). It links 19 Canadian academic institutions (14 universities, four colleges and a...
Recognizing the potential for growth in the Ontario craft cider sector
By Mya Kidson
A University of Guelph research team led by Dr. George van der Merwe, a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology in the College of Biological Sciences, is looking to expand and diversify the local craft cider industry in Ontario.
To help facilitate growth in the cider industry, the team will cultivate new yeast stains, develop new cider apple varieties and seek to better understand how taxation impacts...
Data Science: Blockchain’s role in improving food system safety and accountability
Photo Credit: Arrell Food Institute
By Ariana Longley
The Government of Canada says one in eight Canadians falls sick every year from food contaminated along its journey from farm to table.
As well, food fraud, or the mislabelling or tampering of food sold in retail markets, boosts the cost of food by 10 per cent and costs the food industry more than $10 billion annually.
All this points to a heightened need for information about the food we eat. One response from the agri-food industry is the adoption of new and innovative technology...