Author: Tony Gray

Contamination-eating microbes developed at U of T to be tested in the field

Posted on by Tony Gray

For years, the University of Toronto’s Elizabeth Edwards and her team have been developing a potent mix of microbes that can chow down on toxic chemicals. Now, they are preparing to let them loose in the wild for the first time.

The bacterial cultures are designed to treat a set of contaminants known as BTEX – benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene. BTEX chemicals are commonly found in soil and groundwater where crude oil and its products have been used, such as old gas stations and oil refineries. In Canada alone, such sites number in the thousands.

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U of T researchers aim to lower cost to make lab-grown meat

Posted on by Tony Gray

On grocery store shelves among packages of farmed beef, poultry and pork, Peter Stogios expects to one day see meat created in labs. 

The senior researcher in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and his team received a $330,000 (US$250,000) grant over two years to help find a less expensive way of growing cell-based meat, bringing it one step closer to commercial reality – and people’s plates. 

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With students at the forefront, U of T implements ambitious sustainability plan

Posted on by Tony Gray

Students are at the forefront of the University of Toronto’s efforts – now entering the implementation phase – to make itself a global leader in sustainability education, research and operations.

In its third annual report, the President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability (CECCS) outlines the concrete steps it’s taking to advance sustainability-related projects and initiatives across the university.

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‘An obligation to fill the vacuum’: U of T President Meric Gertler leads climate change discussion at Paris summit

Posted on by Tony Gray

The University of Toronto – represented by President Meric Gertler – was one of 47 universities that recently met in Paris to reach agreement on how post-secondary institutions can play a leadership role in addressing urgent global issues, from climate change to income inequality.

The group of universities, from 18 countries around the world, belong to the U7+ Alliance that was established by France as a way to dig deeper into the issues to be discussed by world leaders at the upcoming G7 summit in Biarritz.

Original article

Is there plastic in our drinking water? Probably – and U of T researchers are studying how concerned we should be

Posted on by Tony Gray

Is there plastic in your drinking water? The University of Toronto’s Bob Andrews and Chelsea Rochman say there is – but, unfortunately, they don’t have much more information to share.

“If someone asks me how microplastics in drinking water influence human health, I have to say that we have no idea,” says Rochman, an assistant professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology in U of T’s Faculty of Arts & Science.

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