UBC Reports

June 2010

Safety vs privacy: prof seeks balance

A video camera follows a young man leaving his apartment. Undercover police officers snap photos of him from an unmarked car.

by Basil Waugh

UBC researchers Debbie Roberts (left) and Mina Hoorfar have constructed a device to detect pathogens in water in real time. Photo: courtesy of Jody Jacob, Public Affairs, UBC Okanagan campus.

Is this water safe to drink?

UBC researchers hope to patent a device to detect water-borne pathogens in real time.

by Jody Jacob

Dr. Joy Richman cuts a window the size of a postage stamp into the eggshell to observe face and limb development. Photo: Martin Dee.

Chicken embryos illuminate cleft palate problems

For Dr. Joy Richman eggs offer an untold wealth of information about human development.

by Lorraine Chan

Post-doctoral fellow Sean Meehan and PhD student Jodi Edwards have uncovered new information about quality of life after a stroke and how the brain responds to new challenges. Photo: Martin Dee.

Two studies point way for stroke research

More Canadians are surviving severe stroke, but they are also experiencing poorer quality of life, according to a study published last month in the journal Stroke by UBC PhD student Jodi Edwards.

by Brian Lin

Planting school food gardens and orchards number among the ideas that Alejandro Rojas, a UBC food security researcher, is bringing to Vancouver’s k–12 schools. Photo: Don Erhardt.

Helping students chew over their food sources

Rather than bite into a ham or peanut butter sandwich, Vancouver students could soon be tucking into a lunch they had a hand in growing or preparing.

by Lorraine Chan

Sauder student Thato Makgolane is bringing a group of UBC students, faculty and alumni to his hometown of Phalaborwa,South Africa to run an MBA-style workshop. Photo: Thato Makgolane, Sauder School of Business.

Building a bridge with South Africa

Since fourth-year Sauder School of Business student Thato Makgolane left his hometown of Phalaborwa in South Africa, five years ago for school, he has been trying to find ways to give back to his community.

by Heather Amos

Photo: Joshua Hodge / iStock Photography

Mario and Guitar Hero bring kids together

Twelve-year-old Cartier Assadbeigi will be a year younger than most of her peers when she starts high school this fall.

by Heather Amos

UBC economist Kevin Milligan says competitive retailers will pass tax savings from HST onto consumers. Fight HST has benefitted from ex-premier Bill Vander Zalm’s recognizability, UBC political scientist Fred Cutler says. Photo: Martin Dee.

The economics and politics of the HST

The endgame is approaching in the dramatic tax war that has raged since B.C. announced plans to scrap the PST in favor of a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).

by Basil Waugh