Daily News

Posted on Sept.11: McMaster vision scientists discover the right brain’s connected to the left eye’s view of the world

Three vision scientists from McMaster University's Visual Development Lab have discovered that the right hemisphere of a baby's brain must receive visual input during the first few weeks of life to allow the brain to develop normal face processing skills. Their findings are detailed in the article, "Expert face processing requires visual input to the right hemisphere during infancy", published this week in the online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience. Adults can recognize hundreds of faces at a glance. One reason we are so good is that we recognize small differences between people in how their features are spaced (e.g., how far apart their eyes are). This allows us to recognize someone's face from a novel point of view (e.g., to recognize someone sitting across the aisle at a movie theater with whom we previously had only face-to-face interactions). This skill continues to develop through adolescence and seems to depend on the right hemisphere. "The two halves of the brain are not created equal as only the right hemisphere appears able to develop expertise in processing faces," said psychology professor Daphne Maurer. "We know from this study that early visual input to the right hemisphere is required for this skill to develop correctly."

Posted on Sept. 9: Canadian Cochrane Centre appoints new McMaster site co-representatives

Clinical nurse specialists Janet Pinelli and Amanda Symington are the new site co-representatives for The Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre (CCN/C) at McMaster University. In their new positions, they will seek to raise awareness of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that helps individuals make well-informed decisions about health care. "We would like to focus on advanced clinical practitioners from the allied health professions as our target group, in order to raise their awareness of The Cochrane Collaboration and the benefits for all health care professionals," says Pinelli. Symington adds: "As advanced practitioners who have completed two systematic reviews, we can provide advice and support to individuals who are interested in participating in The Cochrane Collaboration as reviewers. We believe that The Cochrane Collaboration is a key resource in the facilitation of evidence-based practice."

Posted on Sept. 10: McMaster to remain open during Road World Cycling Championships

McMaster University, including the Downtown Centre, will remain open during the Road World Cycling Championships Oct. 6 to 12. Exams, classes and programs will continue as usual that week, except for at the Centre for Continuing Education at the Downtown Centre, which will not hold classes during the week of Oct. 6-12. The Hamilton boards of education will close schools for the championships. Although routes for the races do not encompass either the main McMaster campus or Downtown Centre, the routing and number of visitors could have an impact on University access. While everyone will be able to get to campus and the Downtown Centre, traffic congestion is expected to be heavier than usual, and delays should be anticipated. McMaster employees and students are encouraged to study race routes and schedules, available at http://www.hamilton2003.com to know when affected roads will be closed each day of the event which will determine where congestion occurs on other alternate routes through the city. Main Street will close between James Street and Queen Street for the duration of the event. Other roads will close one hour prior to the start of each race and will reopen approximately one hour after the finish of each race. Routes and race times will vary each day of the race. Click here for details.

Posted on Sept. 10: McMaster and Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario announce first chair in cardiovascular nursing

McMaster University and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario today announced the appointment of Heather Arthur as the first Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario Chair in Cardiovascular Nursing. In her new position, Arthur will work closely with McMaster's health partners to encourage new research and postgraduate studies in cardiovascular nursing. She will also continue her own program of research related to health behaviour and its relationship to both risk for, and recovery from, heart disease. "Dr. Arthur has established a reputation as an exceptional cardiovascular nurse researcher and educator," said John Kelton, dean and vice-president of health sciences at McMaster. "We're very pleased and excited to be able to recognize her invaluable work with this appointment."