Canadian Science News

Format of the Canada Research Coordinating Committee
A press release from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said, “When Canada’s scientists have the best support to meet their needs, whether new labs and equipment, access to funding, or opportunities to collaborate with their research peers or train new generations of students—they are able to pursue bold new ideas and make exciting breakthroughs in research.”

The funding is provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Canada Foundation for Innovation or CFI.

Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan and Minister of Health Ginette Petitpas announced the formation of the Canada Research Coordinating Committee CRCC. Duncan and Petitpas said in a letter that the committee will be devoted to the improvement of collaborations between all of the funding groups/

Another task of the CRCC is to address the Fundamental Science review recommendations, such as the improvement of support for “international, multidisciplinary, risky and rapid-response research.” The presidents of SSHRC, NSERC, and CIHR will be the chairs on the CRCC in rotation.
 
Canada Science and Technology Museum Reopens
Vancouver Metro reported on the three-year closing of the Canada Science and Technology Museum. Since its absence and re-opening, there will be a new featured exhibit entitled “Medical Sensations.” This is to exemplify the ways in which the five senses are utilized in medical diagnosis.

Annie Jacques, from the Exhibition Interpretation office, stated that the original vision of the organization was a focus on medical imaging. Jacques said, “We thought that was an interesting twist, how sound allowed us to diagnose patients.”

The Director General of the Museum, Christina Tasser, stated that the new museum will include a “maker’s studio,” which is called Exploratek. The reason for the previous shutdown was mould issues in 2014 for the museum.  It will open once more on November 17, 2017.
 
The History of Science Funding for Canada
Maclean’s Magazine reported, “Twenty years ago, Canada embarked on a bold journey that profoundly transformed Canada’s fundamental research enterprise. The result was a significant increase in overall funding and support for fundamental research. But that transformation wasn’t just about money: It also profoundly changed the landscape for research in Canada.”

Various infrastructure was funded through the creation of agencies as well as programs such as Canada Research Chairs, the Indirect Costs Program, and the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. There was a call for cross-disciplinary and international work initiatives.

As it is the “modus operandi” for science in the 21st century, Chief Executive of Wellcome Trust, Jeremy Farrar, said that having multiple people from various and different backgrounds brings about new thought and quicker development.

A blue-ribbon panel appointed by Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan and chaired by David Naylor published or released a report on the means by which to modernize research in Canada. Discussions on the report focus on money. However, only 1 of the 35 recommendations in the report from Naylor was about money.

Astronomers Notice Object from Outside Solar System
“For the first time, astronomers have observed something passing through our solar system that has likely travelled light years to get here.” CBC News: Technology and Science said, “The object — which initially some believed to be a comet, but is now believed to be an asteroid — was discovered on Oct. 19 by Canadian Robert Weryk at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy.”

He was going through Pan-STARRS survey data, which is devoted to data about near-Earth objects. He saw something orbiting the sun looking like a comet or asteroid. It was different what he found. He double-checked the data.

They could tell this was an external-to-solar-system originating object based on speed. Objects around the sun at the earth’s distance would move at about 42 kilometres per second, whereas an object passing through moves at about 44 kilometres per second.