Daily News

Posted on June 10: McMaster hosts Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science conference

The Department of Psychology at McMaster University will host the 13th annual meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science (BBCS), June 12-14. Highlights of the meeting, featuring about 400 psychologists from across North America, include an invited symposium on brain plasticity, the presentation of the Donald O. Hebb Award for Excellence in BBCS research to Queen's University professor Barrie Frost, and the inaugural presentation of the BBCS Award for Excellence in Science Communication to the Discovery Channel's Jay Ingram. The conference also features lectures and poster presentations on topics ranging from developmental neurochemistry to person perception (click Hot Tips for details). Tours of the newly renovated psychology department will be provided, including demonstrations and hands-on activities such as virtual reality games, as part of the first annual BBCS Olympics to be held on Saturday, June 14 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. All talk sessions will be held in Togo Salmon Hall at McMaster University; the poster sessions and banquet will be held in the newly constructed McMaster University Student Centre. The Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science (CSBBCS) is a non-profit organization whose primary function is to advance Canadian research in experimental psychology and behavioral neuroscience. For a listing of conference activities, go to http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/~BBCS/2003.

Posted on June 10: What would make Hamilton a truly sustainable city?

When you ask Brian Baetz what makes a community sustainable and livable, he reels off a long and detailed list of ingredients. His list includes things like: neighbourhoods with a mix of housing and shopping with schools and recreation just a walk or bike ride away; low energy and material usage; frequent and accessible public transit; accessible bikeways and pedestrian paths; extensive recycling, composting and waste reduction programs; plenty of green space and rural landscapes within close proximity; and buildings designed and operated with green design principles. While Hamilton has most of the necessary ingredients to lead it to becoming a sustainable city, Baetz believes "we're at a crossroads. If we build on the things that have been done right, we will go someplace. If we keep up with this '60s-type thinking, we'll be in big trouble." In an interview with the Hamilton Spectator, Baetz, a professor of civil engineering, says that "a community is sustainable if it meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the interests of future generations." Baetz and civil engineering colleague Cameron Churchill will deliver the sixth and final lecture of the Science in the City lecture series: "Sustainable Communities: What Would Make Hamilton a Truly Sustainable City?" They will address the need to plan, design and maintain communities so that "we really minimize the environmental footprint of what we do." The lecture takes place tonight (June 10) at the Hamilton Spectator Auditorium, which is located in the Hamilton Spectator building, 44 Frid Street in Hamilton. Doors open at 6:30 pm and the lecture begins at 7 pm. The lecture is free and all are welcome. The Science in the City lecture series is jointly sponsored by McMaster University and the Hamilton Spectator.

Posted on June 10: McMaster researchers conduct follow-up study on patients with low heart pump functioning

A McMaster study, led by researchers Philip Jong and Salim Yusuf, established that patients with low heart pump functioning benefit from drug intervention even when they are not experiencing symptoms of heart failure. The study was published in the May 31 issue of The Lancet. In a previous study of left ventricular dysfunction (SOLVD), the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor enalapril, reduced mortality in patients with symptomatic but not asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Jong and Yusuf recently completed an extended study (X-SOLVED), a 12-year follow up, to establish if the mortality reduction with enalapril among patients with heart failure was sustained, and whether a subsequent reduction in mortality would emerge among those with asymptomatic ventricular dysfunction. Of the 6,797 patients previously enrolled in the SOLVD prevention and treatment trials, they ascertained the subsequent vital status of 5,165 individuals who were alive when the trials had been completed. Follow-up was done through direct contacts in Belgium and linkages with national death registries and federal beneficiary or historic tax summary files in the USA and Canada. The reductions in cardiac deaths were significant and similar in both trials. Researchers concluded that treatment with enalapril for three to four years led to a sustained improvement in life expectancy by more than nine months. Jong says, "ACE inhibitors should be used in patients with reduced heart pump function as early as possible, even when they do not have symptoms or signs of heart failure, because it is this group that derives the greatest survival benefit from the drug years later. Heart failure is preventable, but as this study shows, benefits of drugs used to treat heart failure, such as ACE inhibitors, take a while to manifest."

Posted on June 10: HSR express bus service gains steam

Hop on the bus Gus. McMaster's Alternative Commuting & Transportation Office (ACT) is offering you a free ride. A two-week pilot express bus service from Ancaster and Dundas to campus has been gaining steam since it was launched June 2. With only a few days left, it's important employees and students take advantage of this free service, says ACT co-ordinator Jennifer Dawson. "The success of this pilot program will determine whether McMaster will pursue a partnership with the Hamilton Street Railway to provide a regular Meadowlands Express to McMaster," she says. The 10-day pilot service ends June 13. "We see this as a milestone opportunity to start a better integrated service from the mountain to campus," says Physical Plant director Tony Cupido. "This is a logical start."

Posted on June 10: McMaster’s Mark Loeb leads national SARS research team

McMaster's Mark Loeb is on the front lines, working with researchers at McMaster and around the globe, in the battle to control and overcome Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Loeb, an assistant professor of pathology and molecular medicine and an expert on infectious diseases, leads a team of researchers that will improve understanding of the diagnosis, clinical course, epidemiology and immunopathogenesis of SARS. His studies are part of a new $1.7-million research strategy announced today by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). This strategy is designed to address the causes and control of SARS.