Daily News

Posted on April 19: A tale of two relics

Hendrik Poinar, assistant professor in anthropology, holds two prehistoric fossils. One, long and slender, is a 30,000-year-old cave bear tooth. It holds valuable information that gives important clues about when bears migrated from Europe, how diverse they were prior to their extinction and how they're related to polar bears, black bears, and brown bears, as we know them today. The other fossil, a small round lump with holes throughout, is much more interesting to Poinar. It provides valuable anthropological information, offering clues to where humans lived, how diverse they were, what they ate, and their interrelatedness. It's a piece of human feces, 9,000 years old, from Southwest Texas. "People often think the bear tooth is so much more interesting because it's a piece of this huge creature they can only imagine," says Poinar, holding it up to his mouth to demonstrate the grandeur of the prehistoric beast. "But in this single remnant of human feces we were able to learn so much more about human diet, disease, migrations, and the local environment and climate at the time of the peoples."

Posted on April 16: New MSU president an international man of mystery

You could say Shano Mohan is somewhat an international man of mystery. He has had three citizenships, has lived in nine countries, and has adjusted to a new environment almost every second year of his life. And on the threshold of leading a massive student body, the 24-year-old, who also plays waterpolo, basketball and volleyball, seems unfettered. The recent political science graduate has been on student council at nearly every school he's attended, leading up to his current position of vice-president administration of the McMaster Students Union. It is only by a hair that Mohan is preparing to take over the role of MSU president May 1. He won the election by a mere vote and only after three recounts was he certain the position was his. "The three recounts all resulted in one vote, which is obviously the slimmest margin you can possibly win by. It was sort of disheartening, because I had felt like I won but there was a very strong possibility that it could be taken away from me."

Posted on April 15: Ontario premier visits McMaster to announce $500-million auto investment

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was at McMaster Wednesday to announce a $500-million investment into the automotive sector. Coined the Automotive Investment Strategy, it is designed to strengthen the industry's competitiveness and train highly skilled workers for the next generation of innovation in Ontario's largest manufacturing sector. The funds are earmarked to partner with industry for advanced skills training, improved environmental and energy technologies, public infrastructure and investments in research and innovation. Following a tour of some of the University's leading-edge research facilities in the John Hodgins Engineering Building, McGuinty made the announcement in the McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute.

Posted on April 14: Funding “endorphins” excite McMaster’s “brain”

A healthy arrival of funds over the past couple of years has produced "endorphins" in McMaster's "brain" that has psychology researchers very excited. Since 2001, nearly $18 million has advanced psychology's research and teaching initiatives, $7 million of which has provided complete renovations of the research and teaching facilities. "The Psychology Department at McMaster houses one of the most productive groups of behavioural and brain science researchers in Canada," says Ron Racine, professor and chair of the department. "The ability of this group to generate world-class research in a variety of areas and to provide a first class education to both undergraduate and graduate students has been greatly enhanced by the recent renovation of our research and teaching facilities." Funding from the Ontario SuperBuild Corporation, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Innovation Trust and McMaster has supported a 40,000-square-foot renovation to the Psychology Building, located at the southwest end of campus. Renovations have included an expanded computer laboratory, two additional classrooms, four new meeting/library spaces, additional offices, new research space for two Canada Research Chairs, eye-tracking systems, a virtual reality laboratory, and several high-resolution electroencephalography (EEG) systems.