Feature Stories

November/December 2012

Cues from the Living World
Humans have always drawn lessons from the natural world to improve their standard of life. Biotechnology is the logical progression of this instinct.

Managing Mindsets
Ian McCarthy explains why faster isn’t always better when it comes to managing a biotech business.

Nature's Industrialists
By blending biotechnology and engineering, Canadian researchers are ushering in a future where commodity chemicals are not made, but grown.

October 2012

Turning Over a New Leaf
Researchers are trying to copy a trick of nature by turning sunlight into fuel.

Going with the Grain
Nano-scale grain sizes are key to improving metal coatings on everything from baseball bats to nuclear reactors.

Safety Haven
Is Canada lagging behind, or leading the charge on process safety management?

September 2012

Small Time
The big risks and big expectations of a small drug company in small-town New Brunswick.

Waning of the Wonder Drugs
With bacterial resistance on the rise, where will we get the drugs of the future?

Burning Questions
Perfecting the process of making biofuels is not enough. We need machines that can efficiently burn them. Researchers in McGill’s Alternative Fuels Lab are figuring out what the next incarnation of the combustion engine will look like in the age of biofuels.

July | August 2012

Leveraging Lignin
A company in B.C. is among few in the world finding new value in lignin.

Big Data, Big Money
Multivariate statistical models can improve the bottom line for some of the world’s biggest chemical companies.

Water Works
Chemists are vital to addressing growing global demands on fresh water.

June 2012

Think Big
How our affinity for "big projects" and our bounty of natural resources will make Canada the world's first sustainable energy superpower.

Going Viral
Marc Aucoin is perfecting processes for large-scale virus production. But don’t worry, it’s a good thing.

All Grown Up
Still the bulwark of our hand-held electronic toys, lithium-ion batteries are getting big enough to take centre stage in renewable power grids.

May 2012

Concrete Cure for Carbon
CarbonCure Technologies of Halifax injects CO2 directly into concrete moulds, thus sequestering the greenhouse gas within the finished product.

Let the Solar Shine In
Canadian researchers are hard at work on the next generation of solar cells.

Surface Secrets
Quantiam Technologies designs nanoscale solutions for big problems.

April 2012

Gasification Redux
A renaissance in gasification is brewingthanks to a partnership between The University of British Columbia and Nexterra Systems Corp.

Gene Machine
A look back at the Canadian roots of the biotechology revolution.

Vive la Crop
Nanotech venture Vive Crop Protection of Toronto has developeda more eco-friendly way to keep pests, fungi and weeds out of farmers’ fields. And that’s just the beginning.

March 2012

Isotope Sleuths
Two University of Ottawa researchers are building a national crime-solving database — one haircut at a time.

Green Sheen
EcoSynthetix is making starch-derived nanoparticles that are replacing such oil-based consumer products as paper coatings

Carbon Capture
Quebec’s CO2 Solutions uses carbonic anhydrase to create an enzyme that works in a ­smokestack to remove carbon ­dioxide. This low-cost ­capture solution is key to ­meeting climate change ­legislation in Canada.

February 2012

The Race for Rare Earths
Toronto’s Avalon Rare Metals has joined the global race to extract­ rare earth chemicals - key elements in many energy — generating green technologies.

Chemical Innovation
In Canada’s ever-changing science and technology­ landscape, the best strategy is to support excellence­, wherever it is found.

Into the Deep
Vancouver’s Nautilus Minerals is poised to become the first company in history to mine the ocean floor for gold- and copper-rich ores.

January 2012

Fracking Furor
Increased exploration of shale gas structures using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has sparked protests from Canadians who fear the process will contaminate groundwater.

Chemical Bard
Poet Adam Dickinson explores how chemicals interact with our bodies and our culture.

All That Glitters
University of Victoria’s Kevin Telmer is helping ­artisanal gold miners in Nigeria improve extraction of gold from lead-laced ores following an epidemic of lead poisoning that reportedly killed hundreds of children.