Small changes, big impact

Are you a climate champion or climate destroyer? Ecological quizzes and carbon-footprint calculators can help you find out.

Will electric tractors gain traction? At a pilot event for farmers, researchers see possibilities

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — In the soft dirt of an indoor horseback riding ring last month, a group of farmers got ready to test drive a new piece of equipment: an electric tractor.

As they took turns climbing in — some surprised by its quick acceleration — they gave real-time feedback to the Michigan State University researchers who have been developing it for over two years.

The farmers remarked on the motor's quiet whir. Most were intrigued, or at least open to the idea. Some were concerned that the battery on the underside of the carriage would mean a lower clearance over the field, while others worried that it would simply be too expensive.

“What we hope to do when we retire is we want to get everything electric on the farm. The tractor is the last electric implement to get,” said Don Dunklee, one of the farmers to provide feedback. He runs a small organic vegetable farm that's relied on wind and solar for decades.

Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip implanted into two quadriplegic Canadian patients

TORONTO - Two Canadian patients with spinal cord injuries have received Neuralink brain implants that have allowed them to control a computer with their thoughts.

They are part of the first clinical trial outside of the United States to test the safety and effectiveness of Elon Musk's Neuralink wireless brain chip, which he introduced to the public in 2020, and was first implanted in a paralyzed American in 2024.

The Canadian men, both around 30 years old – one from Ontario, the other from Alberta – have limited or no ability to use their hands.

Dr. Andres Lozano, a neurosurgeon at University Health Network who led the surgical team at Toronto Western Hospital, said the patients could move a computer cursor almost immediately after the surgery. They were able to leave the hospital following their respective procedures on Aug. 27 and Sept. 3 the next morning, he said.

Girls fell behind boys in math during the pandemic. Schools are trying to make up lost ground

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Crowded around a workshop table, four girls at de Zavala Middle School puzzled over a Lego machine they had built. As they flashed a purple card in front of a light sensor, nothing happened.

The teacher at the Dallas-area school had emphasized that in the building process, there is no such thing as mistakes. Only iterations. So the girls dug back into the box of blocks and pulled out an orange card. They held it over the sensor and the machine kicked into motion.

“Oh! Oh, it reacts differently to different colors,” said sixth grader Sofia Cruz.

In de Zavala’s first year as a choice school focused on science, technology, engineering and math, the school recruited a sixth grade class that’s half girls. School leaders are hoping the girls will stick with STEM fields. In de Zavala’s higher grades — whose students joined before it was a STEM school — some elective STEM classes have just one girl enrolled.

Gardening’s hidden benefits: How digging in the dirt could bolster mental wellbeing

If you spend any time gardening, you probably understand what I mean when I say it feels good — despite the lifting, sweating and straining involved. Yes, exercise is good for our bodies, but there’s something about digging in the dirt while listening to a bird soundtrack that lifts my spirits. Even the scent of the soil and mulch makes me happy.

As it turns out, there are scientific reasons for this.

In fact, there’s an entire field called horticultural therapy that’s dedicated to using “plant-based and garden-based activities to support people who have identified treatment needs,” according to Karen Haney, a horticultural therapy instructor at UCLA Extension in Long Beach, California.

“Research suggests 20-30 minutes (of gardening) a few times a week can reduce stress and lift mood, with benefits increasing the more regularly one gardens,” says Sarah Thompson, a professionally registered horticultural therapist in Boise, Idaho.

Jets centre Toews regains balance on, off NHL ice via Indian holistic system Ayurveda

For Jonathan Toews, the road back to the NHL didn’t just run through the hockey rink and weight room — it took a mysterious, life-altering detour halfway around the world, into the heart of India’s ancient healing traditions.

The result? An unexpected fan club thousands of kilometres away, rooting for the 37-year-old Winnipegger as he prepares to suit up with his hometown Jets this fall.

“I’m really happy that Jonathan Toews has finally recovered with Ayurvedic and Panchakarma treatment,” Dr. Rajni Jalota told the Free Press in an interview from India. “I wish him the very best and that he emerges more successful than before.”

Jalota admits she knows nothing about hockey — in her region, ice is for drinks and cricket reigns supreme — but like many of her medical colleagues, she’s intrigued by Toews’ comeback attempt.

McGill University team develops AI that can detect infection before symptoms appear

MONTRÉAL - Researchers at McGill University say they developed an artificial intelligence platform that can predict when someone is about to come down with a respiratory tract infection before they start to feel sick.

In what researchers are calling a "world first," the study involved participants who wore a ring, a watch and a T-shirt, all of which were equipped with censors that recorded their biometric data. By analyzing the data, researchers were able to accurately predict acute systemic inflammation — an early sign of a respiratory infection such as COVID-19.

Published in The Lancet Digital Health, the study says the AI platform can one day help doctors address health problems much earlier than they normally would, particularly in patients who are fragile and for whom a new infection could have serious consequences. It could also potentially reduce costs for the health-care system by preventing complications and hospitalizations.

"We were very interested to see if physiological data measured using wearable sensors … could be used to train an artificial intelligence system capable of detecting an infection or disease resulting from inflammation," explained the study's lead author, Prof. Dennis Jensen of McGill University's department of kinesiology and physical education.

CDC removes language that says healthy kids and pregnant women should get COVID shots

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's top public health agency posted new recommendations that say healthy children and pregnant women may get COVID-19 vaccinations, removing stronger language that those groups should get the shots.

The change comes days after U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.

But the updated guidance on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website sends a more nuanced message, saying shots “may” be given to those groups.

“The announcement from earlier this week sounded like CDC was going to fully withdraw any statement that could be construed as a recommendation for these vaccines in these populations,” said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University health policy researcher. “It's not as bad as it could have been."

Alexander Zverev says lightning struck his flight to Paris for the French Open

PARIS (AP) — German tennis player Alexander Zverev said Friday his plane was hit lightning on the way to Paris for the French Open and had to turn around, delaying his arrival for the clay-court Grand Slam tournament.

He wound up getting in at about 3 a.m.

“We were supposed to fly yesterday evening at 6:45 p.m., and we took off from Hamburg,” said Zverev, last year's runner-up at Roland-Garros and seeded No. 3 this year. “We got struck by lightning. We had to do an emergency landing back in Hamburg.”

By the time he got on a different flight, his journey resumed at 1 a.m.

Anti-racism activist hopes to make our communities mutually respectful

Dr. Rehman Abdulrehman is a clinical and consulting psychologist at Clinic Psychology Manitoba. He has a consulting and coaching firm called Lead with Diversity, he is the assistant professor with the department of clinical health psychology at the University of Manitoba and he has just written his first book, Developing Anti-Racist Cultural Competence, which aims to help people develop practical skills, insight and better empathy when working with diverse groups.

Investors behaving badly

Finance professor Chi Liao’s background in mathematics often comes in handy in her line of work.

After all, both corporate and investment finance are built upon numbers. Yet financial reporting — balance sheets and cash-flow analysis — is not her area of interest.

In fact, her expertise has less to do with the numerical side of money and more to do with how our emotions affect how we manage our hard-earned cash.

“I’ve always been fascinated by people-watching and why it is we do what we do,” says Liao, who studied mathematics and finance before completing a PhD in behavioural finance from the University of Toronto in 2014.

U of M research underscores importance of polar bears to future of Arctic

Polar bears are generous hunters whose leftovers feed many other animals, new research shows, casting the protected species as a major provider, not just a vulnerable predator in a province that attracts thousands of polar bear watchers every fall.

Arctic foxes, wolverines, eagles, hawks, gulls and even younger bears are among at least 11 species who feast on the prey left behind by polar bears. The latest study calculates the leftovers: 7.6 million kilograms per year in picked-over seal carcasses left on sea ice.

That’s a conservative estimate, said biologist and University of Manitoba PhD candidate Holly Gamblin, lead author of the study published Tuesday in the journal Oikos from the Nordic Ecological Society.

“A bunch of my co-authors are in that polar bear research world and have been thinking about investigating (this issue), knowing that it’s this really under-represented and under-studied component of the story, when we think about polar bears as apex predators,” said Gamblin, who has studied Arctic foxes. “They had had this idea for a while and I was just sort of in the right place at the right time.”

Winnipeg-based organization injects federal funds into innovative, women-powered business in Bolivia

With practised grace, Antonia Olpo slides down the bank of the long, shallow pond and plunges fully clothed into the muddy water. On the grass above, other women and their male helpers unfurl the net, stretching it across the pond from edge to edge, and let it sink below the surface.

American Eagle counts new customers after Sydney Sweeney ad frenzy and shares soar

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters spiked 34% Thursday after the teen clothing retailer said the frenzy surrounding its Sydney Sweeney ad campaign drew new customers during its most recent quarter.

American Eagle rolled out its new new ad campaign starring 27-year-old actor over the summer. The fall denim campaign sparked a debate about race, Western beauty standards, and the backlash to “woke” American politics and culture.

Negative reactions centered on ads that used the word “genes” instead of “jeans” featuring the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actor known for the HBO series “Euphoria” and “White Lotus.”

But American Eagle did get noticed, executives said late Wednesday in a call after the Pittsburgh retailer posted second quarter earnings.

There is no innovation without social accountability

“Can a country call itself innovative if its founding wounds remain open?” That’s a question I’ve been sitting with for a while.

Every Floridian should have a plan for this year’s hurricane season, DeSantis says

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Two days away from the start of hurricane season, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s top emergency manager joked Friday that they didn't want to encounter each other again until the storm season ends in late November. Forecasts suggest that’s unlikely.

While the upcoming season, which starts Sunday, isn't expected to be as topsy-turvy as last season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there's a 60% chance it will be above normal, a 30% chance near normal and just a 10% chance it will be quieter than average. Relentless storms, including Debby, Helene and Milton, which landed in Florida last year, made for the third-costliest hurricane season on record last year.

“You just have to prepare and plan that we are going to have impacts,” DeSantis said at a news conference in front of shelves of generators at a Home Depot store in Jupiter, Florida. “If you plan and it doesn't happen, you're never going to have regrets. If you don't plan and it happens, you're going to immediately be saying, ‘Why didn’t I do this?'”

Ahead of any hurricanes headed toward the peninsula, Floridians should be prepared to have seven days of food, water and supplies for their households, including pets. If they need to evacuate, they don't have to travel hundreds of miles when traveling just a few miles inland to a hotel or shelter works, officials said.

Paleontologist makes strides toward understanding the way mosasaurs behaved

Maximilian Scott is a vertebrate paleontologist who focuses on extinct animal behaviour and behavioural evolution. Scott, 27, from Ovid, Mich., is in the last year of his master’s degree at the University of Manitoba studying mosasaurs, an ancient marine lizard that lived in Manitoba during the late-Cretaceous period.

He also offers tutoring in geology, biology, animal behaviour and conservation to people of all ages. You can find him on Instagram.

Our story doesn’t start with the first book that was written, our story starts a long time before that, a long time before the first humans. It’s all one long story.

Humans have only existed for 200,000 years. The Earth has been around for 4.5 billion years. Life has been around for three billion years, and complex life has been around for 542 million years.

Psychologist sues Shared Health, U of M

A psychologist recruited to care for sick youths claims she was “pressured to engage in misconduct and other violations of professional standards” and then fired without cause when she complained to the provincial regulator.

The allegations are detailed in a lawsuit filed this week against Shared Health and the University of Manitoba in Court of King’s Bench.

According to the lawsuit, Dr. Michelle Keiski lodged a complaint with the Psychological Association of Manitoba in September 2022 to raise the alarm over issues inside the Max Rady College of Medicine, including the misreporting of studies and data, and staff providing services they are not qualified to deliver.

Keiski, a clinical psychologist, was placed on administrative leave one month after filing the complaint and later terminated without cause, the lawsuit said.

U of M expands clinical psychology program to address Manitoba shortage

The University of Manitoba is expanding its clinical psychology program this fall in an effort to boost the number practising in the province, where the per capita rate is among the lowest in Canada.

The number of seats in the U of M’s masters and doctoral clinical psychology program has been increased to 12 for September, up from eight in previous years, with a plan to expand to 16 seats next fall.

“It’s going to mean better access to psychological care for Manitobans. It doesn’t seem like a big number … but really, we’re doubling our program,” said Kristin Reynolds, associate professor and clinical training director in the U of M’s psychology department.

“Where we now have 50 students in the program, from the first year of the masters to more senior years in doctoral studies, in the years to come, we’ll have more like 100.”