Daily News

September 12, 2005

The inappropriate use of antimicrobials in healthcare facilities has long been recognized as an important problem, particularly in long-term care facilities. Important consequences of this include the emergence of bacterial resistance, side effects, and increased costs. A new study by McMaster researchers has found that the use of treatment guidelines in cases of suspected urinary tract infections resulted in fewer antibiotics given to patients in nursing homes. The study has been published as an online first article by the British Medical Journal at www.bmj.com.

September 9, 2005

Students returned to McMaster this week in full force, greeted by excited peers, and prepared faculty and staff, who welcomed them with open arms. "Things are going really well," says Michelle Corbeil, co-ordinator, First Year Transition, on the verge of preparing for another busy Welcome Week day. "The competition between groups has been really friendly and everyone's spirits have been really high. But it's been positive spirit."

September 8, 2005

Your son or daughter has always had good marks in high school and plans to go to university. You're pleased, proud -- and downright nervous about how you will pay for it.

September 8, 2005

Students at McMaster University will be up bright and early Saturday, Sept. 10 to take part in the annual Shinerama Campaign. They will be in Hamilton communities shining cars, shoes, windows, and anything else in sight to raise funds to support the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's search for a cure, and its work to control cystic fibrosis (CF).

September 8, 2005

McMaster University is rolling out the welcome mat for new students and permanent residents in the neighbourhoods around the West Hamilton campus. Volunteers will be delivering welcome bags to 500 student homes in the local neighbourhoods. The bags include items such as the McMaster "Good Neighbour Guide," City garbage schedules for the area and information on recycling, a map outlining local businesses of interest to students, coupon book from the Westdale BIA, information from Volunteer Hamilton, and magnets with contact information for the Off-Campus Resource Centre (OCRC) and the Student Community Support Network (SNSN) with the McMaster Students Union (MSU).

September 8, 2005

McMaster Media Production Services won third prize in the national Quality and Productivity Award from the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO) for its submission on the Regionalization of Media Production Services.

September 7, 2005

A Canadian-led study involving researchers from 41 countries has demonstrated in the world's largest study of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) that a new anti-thrombotic therapy is safer and as effective as the traditional therapy used in preventing heart attacks, death and ischemia in people with serious heart conditions.

September 6, 2005

The #7 McMaster Marauders started off the 2005 season Monday with a 29-22 win in front of a capacity crowd of 4,285 people in the new University of Windsor Stadium. The first half featured a mix of big plays and costly turnovers and ended with McMaster leading Windsor by a score of 19-14. The half was highlighted by an Adam Archibald 45-yard touchdown pass to Jon Behie, and a 40-yard interception touchdown return by new cornerback Shaka Licorish.

September 2, 2005

For new McMaster students, there is a lot to take in the first week of school. From adjusting to roommates and life away from home, sometimes they feel overwhelmed at the path that lies ahead. McMaster is helping ease the transition through several events and activities planned during Welcome Week, Sept. 3-11. Activities begin Labour Day weekend with the production of IRIS (Inspiration, Reflection, Integrity and Success), a First Year Experience drama production written, produced and performed by upper-year students.

September 2, 2005

Reaching for that cup of coffee in the morning may seem to be an effortless task you don't think twice about doing. That reach however takes much more brainpower than one would think. Simple tasks like reaching, grasping, and aiming are not easy for everyone; some people are not co-ordinated enough to grasp that cup of coffee without spilling it over, while others could probably do it with their eyes closed. Why we are able to reach, grasp, throw, and catch effectively are things McMaster's professor Digby Elliot is looking at in his research.

September 1, 2005

In the movie Jurassic Park, a character responds to the observation that a supposedly all female population of dinosaurs is somehow breeding with the comment, 'life finds a way'. McMaster University's Gerry Wright delivers this same statement when discussing how bacteria grow resistant to the antibiotic medicine used to combat them. Ever since Sir Alexander Fleming first discovered penicillin in 1928 the battle between man and microbe has raged - and these organisms wreak much more havoc and harm than Jurassic Park's dinosaurs ever did.

August 31, 2005

Residents near McMaster University will continue to benefit from an increased security presence in their neighbourhoods throughout the coming school year. McMaster University and the McMaster Students Union will pay for two off-duty Hamilton Police officers to patrol the Ainslie Wood/Westdale neighbourhoods on Friday and Saturday nights from September 2005 to April 2006. These resources are in addition to the regular Hamilton Police Service patrols dedicated to this area on an ongoing basis. While the program allows officers to keep an eye on crime, if also serves an important outreach function letting officers meet community members before problems begin. During a pilot program which ran from January to April of this year, the West Hamilton community saw quicker response times and fewer noise and disturbance calls compared to previous years.

August 31, 2005

As part of McMaster's ongoing commitment to the campus landscape, the University's grounds department recently commissioned an audit of trees on McMaster property. The purpose of the audit was to assess various factors including species diversity, size, condition and health, and maintenance requirements. The results have identified trees in need of pruning and maintenance, and some for removal due to the natural aging process of trees in an urban landscape environment.

August 31, 2005

McMaster students will kick off the school year by joining other community partners to clean graffiti from the streets--and walls--of Westdale. The clean-up is happening Tuesday, Sept. 6 between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Hamilton Police, the HSR, City of Hamilton, McMaster Security, Westdale Village BIA, and the Ainslie Wood/Westdale Community Association of Resident Homeowners Inc. (AWWCA) will also be participating in the event.

August 31, 2005

It was the drug of choice on university campuses, the drug that spawned psychedelic culture as well as countless jail sentences and fines, but LSD actually has respectable roots--roots that a McMaster University researcher is uncovering. "Far from being fringe medical research, trials of LSD were once a legitimate branch of psychiatric research," explains Erika Dyck, a doctoral researcher in the Department of History at McMaster.

August 31, 2005

Every step of the 42.1 kilometers Heather Bryce takes towards the finish line, is one step closer to putting a stop to diabetes - a disease that affects her father, grandmother and uncle, and if she's not careful, potentially herself. A recent graduate of McMaster's life sciences program, Bryce will take part in the Canadian Diabetes Association's (CDA) marathon in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 11. She's currently raising $6,000 required to make the journey and she's about half way there.

August 30, 2005

McMaster professors Harish Jain and Gary Warner have been named to the Order of Canada. Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, announced the appointments yesterday. The Order of Canada, established in 1967, is Canada's highest honour for lifetime achievement. There are 82 new appointments for 2005. Jain, Warner and other 2005 recipients will be invited to accept their insignia at a ceremony to be held at a later date.

August 30, 2005

A review of the University's shuttle bus service to west campus was conducted over the summer and the recommendation from the final report will be implemented on September 1.

August 30, 2005

McMaster University has been named one of the Top 100 universities in the world, one of only four Canadian universities to make the list. The annual poll published by China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University bases its findings on several criteria of academic and research performance including Nobel prize winners, frequently cited researchers, scholarly articles that appear in Nature and Science, and the per capita performance of the institution.

August 30, 2005

Each year an ever-expanding collection of birthday candles serves as a reminder that we are all getting older. Aging brings with it many joys: life experiences, pearls of wisdom, new hobbies, perhaps grandchildren. Inevitably, it also entails increased physical frailty marked by realities such as dwindling muscles. Decreased muscle mass leads to weakness. Muscle weakness can result in dangerous falls which cripple thousands leading to an estimated $2.4 billion in direct health care costs and forcing many seniors to move into nursing homes.