On the SCIdelines

What in the name of physics...? 

Yes, you read the title right. Self-healing concrete mixes, among other variations of everyone's favourite building material, are quickly moving through testing and might soon be seen in our homes and workplaces. Tune in this week and join the discussion about why we're heading down this road and what we can look forward to in the future!

Honey bees are pollinators that are essential to sustain many environments - but did you know they're not the only ones? Join us today as we discuss native bees and their roles as pollinators.

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has been hailed as one of the best options for protecting yourself against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Recently, however, data has been published that suggests it may not be nearly as effective after a few months. Join us On the Scidelines this week as we give some context to this story and talk about what it means for the pandemic, and what it means for us.

Frankie Jonas... Loki... Jamie Lynn Spears... and the flu vaccine. All famous figures, overshadowed by their more popular siblings. While it may be COVID-19 vaccines that have dominated the news lately, the seasonal influenza vaccine is just as important. Join us On the Scidelines this week to talk about what the flu is, why we should get the flu shot, and where we can get it! 

We've been receiving the COVID-19 vaccines for months now, but only recently has the first vaccine received "full approval" from the FDA. While this may seem a bit alarming, it's actually a very common process! Join us this week as we break it down with Lilian Diaz. 

The scientific method is one of the most reliable ways for us to learn more about our world. But what happens when the scientific method is used improperly? Join us this week for our first discussion about bad science, and the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment. 

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, John Glenn, Sally Ride, Chris Hadfield, and now... Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson? Where space travel was once a mission with scientific purpose and government sponsorship, it's beginning to look more and more like a mission to entertain billionaires. With two members of the ultra-rich society having been to space and back in the last few weeks, and a space hotel set to open by 2027, it's about time we sit back and discuss the implications of this futuristic industry.  

The latest IPCC report on the state of the climate provides a small amount of hope that we may avoid 2.0C of warming and avert the worst of the climate catastrophe. This week, we welcome back Samm Reynolds to talk about who's really responsible and what we each need to do to reach that goal.

X & Y. For a long time, these two letters were thought to be the only thing determining whether you were a male or a female. If your male biological parent’s sperm contained the X chromosome, you would be a female, and if it was a Y chromosome, you’d be a male. But, like all science, recent progress has started to change our perspective.

When it comes to Alberta's tar sands, there seems to be a constant debate about the importance of the environment vs the economy. Recently, however, there was a huge development in this debate: the planned Keystone XL pipeline was cancelled for good.