NOSM to study cosmic radiation for the Canadian Space Agency
A partnership between Sudbury’s NOSM University and SNOLAB has researchers looking into the effects of space cosmic radiation.
A $150,000 grant from the Canadian Space Agency will fund research into how living cells can respond and adapt to the harsh radiation environment in outer space over two years.
They are also collaborating with the NASA’s Ames Research Center which is conducting an experiment in which bakers yeast samples will travel 40 million kilometres into deep space onboard the Artemis Mission while researchers in Sudbury are utilizing the same yeast in the SNOLAB which is shielded from cosmic radiation.
“We got interested in running an experiment down there to look at what are the biological effects of well; the removal of natural background radiation so ionizing radiation is something that we’re exposed to on a daily basis from a combination of different sources from cosmic radiation to different isotopes in the ground and in the rock and so by going down to SNOLAB we can answer the question of what happens to different living systems when we remove this natural source of radiation,” Christopher Thome of NOSM University explained to CTV News.
Thome said his team hopes to have publications coming out in the next few months and that this is just the beginning. Depending on the findings, he anticipates there will be more experiments conducted in Sudbury in the years to come.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.