News & Updates
Using smart technologies and artificial intelligence in food packaging can reduce food waste
Food insecurity is one of humanity’s most pressing challenges, impacting more than two billion people worldwide. Paradoxically, as so many suffer from lack of access to food, more than 30 per cent of the world’s food is wasted each year, driven by inefficiencies in production, distribution and consumption. Read more.
The best science images of 2024 — Nature’s picks
These crinkly blooms are groups of bacteriophages — viruses that infect bacteria. After researchers treated phages so they could be viewed under the microscope, the viruses spontaneously formed into these structures, which are just two-tenths of millimetre wide. Read more.
Skip the lab: Researchers develop a rapid, hands-free test for detecting bacteria in liquids
A novel new test for bacteria in fluids makes it as easy as observing a colour change to confirm the presence of disease-causing pathogens, promising much easier diagnostic tests and greater food safety. Engineers and biochemists at McMaster University have brought their skills together to make it possible for untrained users to confirm contamination in
Flower power: Researchers coax bacteria-eating viruses into floral shapes that boost antimicrobial strength
A group of McMaster researchers who routinely work with bacteriophages — viruses that eat bacteria — had a pleasant and potentially very important surprise while preparing slides to view under a powerful microscope. Read more.
McMaster students are working to beat breast cancer inside and outside the lab
A student-led synthetic biology team at McMaster University is making large strides in breast cancer research. In the lab, they’re creating a bacteria-powered delivery system for cancer therapeutics, while in the community, they’re raising money and support for local research efforts in the Hamilton area. Read more.
Researchers crack a celiac mystery: Where does the gluten reaction begin?
People with celiac disease have to avoid gluten, a protein in wheat, rye and barley that can trigger painful symptoms in the gut, impede the absorption of nutrients and raise the risk of other serious long-term issues. Read more
Researchers develop way to make lifesaving phages accessible, transportable and much easier to use
The great promise of bacteriophages is that they naturally destroy bacteria, often in situations where antibiotics fail. Until now, though, there has been no way to access them quickly and efficiently, especially in emergency cases of antibiotic resistant infections. Read more.
Opinion | Academic entrepreneurship is a challenge, an opportunity and a necessity
Having labored long and hard to reach the mountaintop of publication, too many researchers discover there is another mountain to climb: getting their proven creations off the ground so they can make a difference in the world. Read more.
Bfree Cup engineering innovations shift the paradigm on period poverty and women’s health
In a world where wearable technology has revolutionized how we monitor our health, one innovative product is challenging the status quo. But this isn’t another shiny or fashionable gadget; it’s something far more personal and essential – a menstrual cup. Read more.
McMaster researchers develop transparent patch to detect pathogens like E. coli in packaged foods
Researchers at McMaster University have developed a transparent test patch for food packaging that detects the presence of potentially deadly bacteria like E. coli, with the aim of telling consumers and the grocery industry whether a product is safe to eat. Read more.
Scientist Builds Self-Cleaning Surface That Can Repel Bacteria And Save Us From Deadly Diseases
Scientists in McMaster University in Canada have developed a self-cleaning surface that can easily repel all forms of bacteria, which will eventually stop the spreading and transferring of superbugs. Read more.
Scientists develop superbug-resistant, self-cleaning plastic wrap
CNN — Researchers have developed a self-cleaning plastic wrap that repels bacteria – and could be used to prevent the transfer of antibiotic resistant superbugs, and other forms of dangerous bacteria. Read more.
How a ‘professor-entrepreneur’ career track will help solve Canada’s innovation problem
As researchers, the more we know about the way things work on the other side of the street, the more likely it is our innovations will reach the marketplace, where they can serve to improve the way we all live. Read more.
A Lab Under Every Chicken: Researchers Create Packaging Tray That Warns of Food Contamination
McMaster researchers have created a new packaging tray that can signal when salmonella or other dangerous pathogens are present in packages of raw or cooked food such as chicken. Read more.
Billions of tiny soldiers:’ Researchers harness bacteria-eating viruses to create a powerful new weapon against contamination and infection
Researchers at McMaster University have created a powerful new weapon against bacterial contamination and infection. They have developed a way to coax bacteriophages — harmless viruses that eat bacteria — into linking together and forming microscopic beads. Those beads can safely be applied to food and other materials to rid them of harmful pathogens such as E. coli
