The Power to Tell Your Story

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Even the most horrible criminals feel guilt, and according to new research from the University of Montreal, playing on that sentiment might be a good way to extract a confession.

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Evolution is not a steady march towards ever more sophisticated beings and therefore the search for the living "missing links" is pointless, according to findings published by a team of researchers led by Dr. Hervé Philippe of the Université de Montréal's Department of Biochemistry.

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Your blood and the level of a hormone in your spit could reveal if you’re on the point of burnout, according to research undertaken by Dr. Sonia Lupien and Robert-Paul Juster of the Centre for Studies on Human Stress of Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital and the University of Montreal.

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Pluripotent stem cells have been generated from horses by a team of researchers. The findings will help enable new stem-cell based regenerative therapies in veterinary medicine, and because horses’ muscle and tendon systems are similar to our own, aid the development of preclinical models.

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By working with Canadians of French ancestry who suffer a rare genetic disease, researchers have discovered how three genes contribute to abnormal growth, making a breakthrough that will improve our understanding of many disorders such as foetal and childhood growth retardation, abnormal development of body parts and cancer.

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Marie-Joelle Zahar is associate professor of Political Science and research director at the Francophone Research Network on Peace Operations at the Université de Montréal is available for comment to the media. She specializes in the study of civil wars and post-conflict reconstruction as well as in security issues with particular focus on the Middle East.

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The Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre is opening today on the grounds of the Botanical Garden.

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Dr. Olivier Collignon of the University of Montreal’s Saint-Justine Hospital Research Centre compared the brain activity of people who can see and people who were born blind, and discovered that the part of the brain that normally works with our eyes to process vision and space perception can actually rewire itself to process sound information instead.

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Researchers directed by Dr. Laurent Mottron at the University of Montreal’s Centre for Excellence in Pervasive Development Disorders (CETEDUM) have determined that people with autism concentrate more brain resources in the areas associated with visual detection and identification, and conversely, have less activity in the areas used to plan and control thoughts and actions.

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Dr. Samir Saul is a professor of history at the University of Montreal whose research focuses on the contemporary Arab world, contemporary France and the history of international relations. He is available to comment on Sunday’s killing of Osama Bin Laden from these perspectives.

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University of Montreal experts are available to comment to journalists about Thursday’s decision by the Supreme Court of British Columbia that will effectively end anonymity for sperm donors.

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Recalling painful memories while under the influence of the drug metyrapone reduces the brain’s ability to re-record the negative emotions associated with them.

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A team of researchers have discovered that, on average, thirty mutations are transmitted from each parent to their child, revising previous estimations and revolutionizing the timescale we use to calculate the number of generations separating us from other species.

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The results of a national online study show that 45% consider their parents to be their sexuality role model. Shattering stereotypes that parents and society hold about teen sexuality, the survey also revealed that only 32% looked to their friends and just 15% took inspiration from celebrities.

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The children most likely to walk or cycle to school live in urban areas, with a single parent, and in an economically disadvantaged home, according to survey results that were published in Pediatrics.

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De novo mutations – genetic errors that are present in patients but not in their parents – are more frequent in schizophrenic patients than in normal individuals.

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Some of the human X chromosome originates from Neanderthals and is found exclusively in people outside Africa.

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A new study that was prompted by recent reports of an increase in cases of congenital hypothyroidism in the United States, and aimed at assessing the incidence of this condition among Quebec newborns, suggests that the increase is entirely artifactual.

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By working with individuals suffering from a severe disorder that causes sensory neurons to degenerate, researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital and CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital have discovered how a specific genetic mutation causes their patients’ condition, which in turn has revealed more information about the mechanisms in our bodies which enable us to sense pain.

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Language task reveals that the brains of older people are not slower but rather wiser than young brains, which allows older adults to achieve an equivalent level of performance.

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New research from the University of Montreal shows that inattention, rather than hyperactivity, is the most important indicator when it comes to finishing a high school education.

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The risk of miscarriage is 2.4 times greater for women who took any type and dosage of nonaspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in early pregnancy, according to a University of Montreal study in CMAJ.

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Toxin proteins are genetically engineered into our food because they kill insects by perforating body cell walls, and Professor Rikard Blunck of the University of Montreal’s Group for the study of membrane proteins (GÉPROM) has detected the molecular mechanism involved.

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An x-ray of the abnormally large clitoris of a French bulldog revealed that it contained a baculum (or penile bone).

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Researchers at the University of Montreal have developed a computer programme that enables regulators to evaluate the ecological and economic tradeoffs between marine mammal conservation, whale watching and marine transportation activities in the Saint Lawrence Estuary.

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ATF5 polymorphisms influence efficacy of E. coli asparaginase.

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Research reveals autistic individuals are in fact superior in multiple areas

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Research published in Science today reveals that the first individuals settling on new land are more successful at passing on their genes than those who did not migrate.

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Researchers can predict which children are most likely to become obese by examining their mothers' behaviour around their birth, according to a recent University of Montreal study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

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Researchers have identified a potential marker for leukemic relapse.

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Natural selection has played a role in the development of the many skins patterns of the tiny Ranitomeya imitator poison dart frog.

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Researchers led by Prof. Sébastien Sauvé of the University of Montreal’s Department of Chemistry have discovered that traces of caffeine are a useful indicator of the contamination of our water by sewers.

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Although police officers are at a high risk of experiencing traumatic events (TE) in their work, they are no more likely than the general population to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

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Take a Petri dish containing crude petroleum and it will release a strong odor distinctive of the toxins that make up the fossil fuel. Sprinkle mushroom spores over the Petri dish and let it sit for two weeks in an incubator, and surprise, the petroleum and its smell will disappear.

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Researchers have revealed how a molecule called telomerase contributes to the control of the integrity of our genetic code, and when it is involved in the deregulation of the code, its important role in the development of cancer. The University of Montreal scientists involved explain how they were able to achieve their discovery by using cutting edge microscopy techniques to visualize telomerase molecules in real time in living cells in Molecular Cell on December 9, 2011.

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University of Toulouse and University of Montreal researchers have detected two planets of sizes comparable to Earth orbiting around an old star that has just passed the red giant stage. This planetary system is located near Lyra and Cygnus constellations at a distance of 3900 light years. This discovery, to be published by in Nature on December 22 2011, may shed new light on the destiny of stellar and planetary systems.

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The new technique, which is as effective as traditional surgery and far less expensive, can be performed in 20 minutes at an outpatient clinic during a routine visit to an ENT specialist.

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Attentiveness in kindergarten accurately predicts the development of “work-oriented” skills in school children, according to a new study published by Dr. Linda Pagani, a professor and researcher at the University of Montreal and CHU Sainte-Justine.

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A woman’s memory of an experience is less likely to be accurate than a man’s if it was unpleasant and emotionally provocative, according to research undertaken by University of Montreal researchers at Louis-H Lafontaine Hospital.

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HIV-resistant sex workers in Africa have a weak inflammatory response in their vaginas – a surprise for researchers, who were expecting the contrary considering the women’s high exposure to the virus.

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Adolescents are more sensitive to the effects of a sport-related concussion than adults or children.

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Do men harbour concerns about aging in good health? Do they confide these concerns to their physicians? Are men’s concerns the same as women’s? The answers to these questions can be found in a large cross-sectional survey of 2325 Canadian men, aged 55 to 97 years old.

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Research leads to practical steps to reduce the mortality of women as they carry or give birth to their babies.

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Researchers at the University of Montreal’s Sainte-Justine Hospital have identified how neural cells are able to build up resistance to opioid pain drugs within hours.

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Children with moderate or severe asthma attacks who are treated with systemic corticosteroids during the first 75 minutes of triage in the Emergency Department (ED) were 16% less likely to be admitted to hospital.

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A five year study conducted with thousands of local teenagers by University of Montreal researchers reveals that those who used speed (meth/ampthetamine) or ecstasy (MDMA) at fifteen or sixteen years of age were significantly more likely to suffer elevated depressive symptoms the following year.

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Scientists now have a better understanding of how precise memories are formed thanks to research led by Prof. Jean-Claude Lacaille of the University of Montreal’s Department of Physiology. “In terms of human applications, these findings could help us to better understand memory impairments in neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease,” Lacaille said. The study looks at the cells in our brains, or neurons, and how they work together as a group to form memories.

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By comparing the testosterone levels of five-month old pairs of twins, both identical and non-identical, University of Montreal researchers were able to establish that testosterone levels in infancy are not inherited genetically but rather determined by environmental factors.

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C5ORF42 was identified as the gene that causes Joubert Syndrome in a number of families in the Lower St. Lawrence region of Quebec where the causal gene had remained unknown since the initial description of the syndrome in 1969.

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SNOLAB is situated 2km beneath the surface of the Earth and will enable researchers to answer fundamental questions about the history and the composition of the Universe.