Technology

Pigeons can seem pretty innocuous in the city, but according to TransLink, the birds can cause all kinds of problems along the SkyTrain system. Now, along with the BC SPCA, TransLink is testing a birth control drug on the birds to reduce the population. To start, there’s the issue of …

Greenland and Antarctica are a long distance away, but new research suggests the accelerating disappearance of their ice caps will have a major — and underestimated — effect on extreme weather in Canada. “We’re underestimating the impact of the ice sheets on the climate system,” said Natalya Gomez, a professor …

Researchers suggest that by the late 21st century, 35,000 freshwater lakes — across three continents and 50 countries — could see permanent ice loss from warming winters if the global climate warms beyond the two-degree target set by the Paris Agreement. Ice-free lakes can: Cut access to remote communities. Put …

Plan International UK lobbied for the blood drop emoji for two years. (Plan International) Women and girls will be able to use an emoji to chat about their periods from next month, which will help to end the shame around menstruation, a child rights group said on Wednesday. Coding consortium …

In May 2017, Uber announced it had hired a renowned University of Toronto professor to lead a Toronto-based team that develops autonomous car technology. The ride-hailing company also pledged $5 million for the university’s brand new Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. While the move drew praise from academics, others derided …

Artist’s impression of the ExoMars rover and surface platform on the surface of Mars. The 2020 mission of the ExoMars program will deliver a European rover and a Russian surface platform to the surface of Mars. A Proton rocket will be used to launch the mission, which will arrive at …

A new Canadian analysis in The Lancet validates complaints that the awarding of research grants is biased against female scientists. The analysis found women are less likely to receive valuable research dollars if their grant applications are reviewed based on who the lead scientist is, rather that what the proposed …

It turns out our Milky Way galaxy is truly warped, at least around the far edges. Scientists in China and Australia released an updated 3D map of the Milky Way on Tuesday. They used 1,339 pulsating stars — young, newly catalogued stars bigger and brighter than our sun — to …

It was another record warm year for Earth. On Wednesday, scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that 2018 was the fourth warmest year on record. It ranks behind 2016, 2017 and 2015, respectively. Globally, temperatures were 0.83 C warmer than the 1950 to 1980 …

If you’ve ever booked a flight with an airline like Air Canada or WestJet, you might have been offered a chance to pay money to “offset” the carbon emissions from your flight. But what exactly does that mean? Is it worthwhile? And how do you know you’re really getting what …