Researcher
Forests for the future: U of T researcher seeks to make trees more resilient amid a changing climate
Katharina Braeutigam, a plant epigeneticist at the University of Toronto, wants to grow trees fit for a future climate.
By studying plants at the molecular level, Braeutigam looks at how trees respond to external signals such as drought, and how they record “memories” of stress. She also researches how they respond to internal signals – specifically those that determine sex.
Contamination-eating microbes developed at U of T to be tested in the field
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
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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Is there plastic in our drinking water? Probably – and U of T researchers are studying how concerned we should be
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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Seven U of T researchers awarded $3.8 million in federal grants for projects benefiting economy, environment
Seven University of Toronto researchers working with industrial and institutional partners have been awarded funding from the federal government for projects ranging from new medical diagnostic tools to environmentally friendly advancements in mining, forestry and manufacturing.
U of T’s Tiff Macklem discusses findings of expert panel on sustainable finance at event with federal finance minister
Tiff Macklem, dean of U of T’s Rotman School of Management, chaired an expert panel on sustainable finance that made 15 recommendations about the transition to a “climate-smart” economy.