The plants you need to keep bees on a healthy diet have been revealed

Original news release published by Frontiers on June 25, 2024 Farming, urban expansion, and climate change have significantly changed the habitats that are available to bees, crucial pollinators that underpin agriculture — but do these habitats provide the foods that the bees need to survive? Scientists studied the nutritional content of different pollens to determine […]

Unexpected diversity of light-sensing proteins goes beyond vision in frogs

Media Release from June 17, 2024 York U prof fills gaps in current understanding of opsins responsible for circadian rhythms This Thursday marks the first day of summer in the Northern hemisphere, the longest day of the year. Living beings have evolved over many millennia to react to varying amounts of sunlight exposure, governing everything […]

PhD graduate Jennifer Porat earns Governor General’s Gold Medal

Congratulations to PhD graduate Jennifer Porat, who has received one of this year’s Governor General’s Gold Medals, which recognize the outstanding scholastic achievements of graduate students in Canada. She is among three recipients at York. Porat earned a PhD in biology following the completion of her bachelor of science degree at York University. Both degrees […]

Grads innovate skincare with cutting-edge technology

Anna Kotova and Ksenia Timonina, former York University PhD students, converge science and cosmetics in their venture Agenek – a gene diagnostic skincare company that leverages emerging technology in innovative ways. The root of Agenek – which offers personalized skincare reports and recommendations – began at York during Kotova and Timonina’s graduate studies in the […]

Honey bees experience multiple health stressors out-in-the-field

Media Release from April 17, 2024 It’s not a single pesticide or virus stressing honey bees, and affecting their health, but exposure to a complex web of multiple interacting stressors encountered while at work pollinating crops, found new research out of York University. Scientists have been unable to explain increasing colony mortality, even after decades […]

The life aquatic: a game changer for frog vision, but little difference between night and day, York-led study finds

Media release from April 4, 2024 Ancestral legacy and continued present-day advantages may explain why diurnal frog species kept genes adapted to night vision Frogs display a remarkable diversity of species as a whole, but does the same hold true for their visual abilities? A new study led by York’s Faculty of Science sought to […]

Faculty of Science responds to industry needs in the chemical and bioeconomy sectors

To meet the changing needs of the chemical and bioeconomy sectors, the Faculty of Science is offering several new educational opportunities to ensure people working in science-related positions have the best possible education to meet evolving industry demands. The Faculty has recently introduced two new biotechnology programs at the Markham Campus – the Master’s in […]

Canada Research Chair renewed for Professor Steven Connor

Congratulations to Biology Professor Steven Connor, whose Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in the Synaptic Basis of Neurodevelopmental Disorders was renewed. Connor will use his CRC to focus on investigating how specific brain proteins facilitate the transmission of information between brain cells. The research aims to further understand how those proteins influence neural circuit […]

Professor Mark Bayfield receives $900K from CIHR to study RNA-binding protein function in gene expression

Congratulations to Professor Mark Bayfield, Department of Biology, for receiving more than $920,000 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for the project “Regulation of gene expression by the La and La-related proteins.” He was one of five researchers at York to receive funding in the latest CIHR Project Grants competition – a program […]

Amro Zayed earns award for postdoctoral mentorship excellence

Congratulations to Faculty of Science Professor Amro Zayed, who was one of two faculty members honoured by the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) with the Postdoctoral Supervisor Award during an FGS council meeting on Dec. 7. The award is presented annually to a faculty member in any department and program at York who demonstrates exemplary […]