The Transplant Ambassador Program is a first in Quebec – operating out of Montreal General Hospital – and draws lessons from long-standing efforts by its co-founder Susan McKenzie, who received a kidney from her sister-in-law in 2010 and became a transplant advocate.

In Montreal, kidney donors and transplant recipients help put hesitant patients at ease

Transplant Ambassador Program aims to offer valuable, first-hand knowledge and experience, which health care providers do not have

theglobeandmail.com

This is a really beautiful website by @jdworkin.bsky.social on the everyday household items that were once only dreamt about – a music player, nightlight, family photos, clean water, ice, spices, and more. 10/10 would recommend exploring it! ordinaryabundance.com

Ordinary Abundance

A walk through a modern apartment, through the eyes of the people for whom everything in it was new.

ordinaryabundance.com

With a mandate to recycle and divert as much as possible from landfills, the organization knew it couldn’t handle the volume of donations on its own, so Goodwill leaders turned to Western University and Fanshawe College researchers for help. news.westernu.ca/2026/07/rese...

Research collaborations aid Goodwill in diverting waste - Western News

Western researchers and Goodwill partnered to reduce textile waste using biochar and AI-powered sorting to keep materials out of landfills.

news.westernu.ca

💬 Editorial: In advanced #CKD, low-dose rivaroxaban did not reduce cardiovascular events and increased major bleeding risk. The TRACK trial highlights the necessity of disease-specific evidence before adopting preventative therapies. ja.ma/4foBtBM

Her illustrations remain beautiful works of art, but they also show how the best natural history drawings make us notice things we might otherwise miss.

Beatrix Potter was obsessed with fungi – and she was quite the naturalist

Her illustrations remain beautiful works of art, but they also show how the best natural history drawings make us notice things we might otherwise miss.

tcnv.link

In Quebec, past kidney transplant donors and patients volunteer their stories to support others. Transplant Ambassador Program offers knowledge and experience, by @kkirkup.bsky.social (Part 6 of Care Between The Lines, a series on health care volunteers.) www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

In Quebec, past kidney transplant donors and patients volunteer their stories to support others

Transplant Ambassador Program aims to offer valuable, first-hand knowledge and experience, which health care providers do not have

theglobeandmail.com

Experts say Canada’s risk-averse regulatory environment & unpredictable access are pushing clinical trials abroad. To compete globally, they call for more flexibility, patient access and made-in-Canada pathways. Read more here: zurl.co/M59Fg #clinicaltrials #cdnpoli

Stories are pervasive in everyday conversations & key #decision-making processes. Irani et al. explore #stories in science #communication & argue that reading or listening to stories is not a passive activity but involves participatory audience engagement @jscicom.bsky.social doi.org/10.22323/160...

A tailored treatment has reduced seizures and improved developmental skills in two boys with debilitating neurological disorders go.nature.com/3Rc1pHD

Personalized gene therapy relieves severe epilepsy in two boys

Switching off one copy of a gene also enabled one of the children to walk independently for the first time.

go.nature.com

“the vaccine tested the dominant Shigella species in the United States, but worldwide the dominant species is S. flexneri..unclear whether this vaccine would work in young children in low- and middle-income countries” www.sciencenews.org/article/oral...

An experimental oral vaccine may prevent invasive bacterial diarrhea

Shigella causes about 450,000 U.S. infections each year. An experimental oral vaccine protected adults in a small human trial.

sciencenews.org

Bringing some clinical trial activities directly to patients expanded access over 15 months. Rural participation rose from 16.6% to 24.9%, while some trial steps still stayed onsite for safety. doi.org/hcb6vb

Decentralized clinical trials expand access for rural and underserved patients

A Mayo Clinic study published in JAMA Network Open found that bringing some or all clinical trial-related activities directly to patients can help overcome barriers that prevent many people from participating.

medicalxpress.com

#MedNews: The first clinical guidelines for cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic, or #CKM, syndrome, have arrived. Here’s what they say about diagnosing, staging, and treating the condition.

Takeaways From the First CKM Syndrome Guidelines

This Medical News article discusses new clinical practice guidelines for diagnosing, staging, and treating cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome.

jamanetwork.com

Biologists pinpoint how common virus triggers multiple sclerosis www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Biologists pinpoint how common virus triggers multiple sclerosis

A connection with Epstein–Barr virus has long been suspected, but the underlying mechanism was unclear until now.

nature.com

The Epstein-Barr virus not only triggers multiple sclerosis, it might continue drive the disease process via low-level replication, a study of immune responses suggests 🧪 If so, antivirals - which don't yet exist for EBV - would be the best treatment for MS www.newscientist.com/article/2579...

Best treatment for multiple sclerosis may be antivirals | New Scientist

Low levels of replicating Epstein-Barr viruses might be the main driver of the autoimmune condition multiple sclerosis. This may mean that targeting them would be as effective as suppressing the immun...

newscientist.com

The photo is a little deceptive as washing isn't guaranteed to remove the parasite.

Cyclospora Cases Rise Rapidly, With No Source Yet Confirmed (Gift Article)

The parasite, which has sickened thousands across the U.S., is notoriously difficult to track. Funding cuts haven’t made the job easier.

nytimes.com

There are several meteorology and weather-related panels at #eshs-hss, which I've had to miss because of other duties. I'll use this chance to flag our call for contributions for a Sourcebook on histories of weather and weathering teleskopos.wordpress.com/2026/02/05/c...

Call for Contributions: Histories of Weather & Weathering

Call for Contributions: A Sourcebook for Histories of Weather and Weathering (working title) Editors: Rebekah Higgitt, Tamara Caulkins and Lotta Leiwo We invite contributions to this planned open a…

teleskopos.wordpress.com

"Hundreds of federal food-safety staff have been cut, and last July the CDC narrowed FoodNet — the sentinel network that provides early warnings of foodborne illness — from eight pathogens to two, dropping cyclospora altogether."

Why we still don’t know what foods are the source of the cyclospora outbreak

“You cannot thin a system, defer the tools that would speed it up, and then wonder why the public is left guessing,” writes epidemiologist Katrine Wallace.

statnews.com

Many people will experience a serious injury or medical condition at some point in their lives. Experts say recovery involves more than just physical healing. Athletes offer unique insights into this process.

What injured athletes can teach us about recovery and resilience

Many people will experience a serious injury or medical condition at some point in their lives. Experts say recovery involves more than just physical healing.

bit.ly

Chronic kidney disease (#CKD) affects 788–844 million adults worldwide — and is projected to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2040. A Lancet Series examines what is needed to change this trajectory: spkl.io/633227Gj1s #ERA2026

If you have a child who loves to read, count your blessings 📚 Fewer kids are reading for fun than ever before. And this matters not just for reading skills, but for vocabulary, empathy and learning to see the world through someone else's eyes. theconversation.com/reading-for-...

Space station bioprinting experiment advances quest for lab-grown tissues, company says reut.rs/4yhxSgg

Space station bioprinting experiment advances quest for lab-grown tissues, company says

A biotechnology company says it has successfully used its 3D ​bioprinter aboard the International Space Station to manufacture structures containing human liver, kidney and cartilage cells, a step it ‌believes could eventually aid production of transplantable tissues in orbit.

reut.rs

"If the clinicians provide more appropriate medical services, we add additional payment," www.livescience.com/health/medic...

Japan's bold experiment to curb antibiotic misuse has been a huge success. Could it work in the US?

A unique policy in Japan encourages doctors to improve their antibiotic use and thus reduce their contribution to antibiotic resistance. Should the U.S. be taking notes?

livescience.com

McMaster research team advances new therapeutic approach to blocking brain cancer. Novel drug candidates are designed to intercept rogue cancer cells before they depart other primary tumours and travel toward the brain. news.mcmaster.ca/mcmaster-res... #CdnPSE

McMaster research team advances new therapeutic approach to blocking brain cancer

A research team based at McMaster University has identified a more precise and effective way to prevent cancer from spreading to the brain, building on a promising new therapeutic strategy first…

news.mcmaster.ca

A localized Wnt signal inside kidney organoids made nephrons change identity and elongate toward the source. That pattern is closer to a naturally developing human kidney than uniform signals produce.

Stem cell scientists engineer 'synthetic organizer' cells to improve kidney organoids

In a study published in Science, USC researchers paired a biological discovery with an engineering feat to create more faithful, reproducible lab-grown kidney structures from stem cells, known as organoids.

medicalxpress.com

While care labels contain information on what washing machine programmes are suitable for garments, use of these machines should be reduced to preserve textiles.

Five ways to make your clothes last longer

While care labels contain information on what washing machine programmes are suitable for garments, use of these machines should be reduced to preserve textiles.

tcnv.link

I'm excited to be participating in 2026 Ontario Kidney Walk and need your support to help reach my fundraising goal! Please consider donating to this great cause. kidney.akaraisin.com/ui/onwalks26...

Helping hands: Women’s Auxiliary Volunteers at Toronto's SickKids hospital have been supporting patients and their families for 75 years, by Jennifer Yang. (Part I of Care Between The Lines, a series on health care volunteers.) www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... via @theglobeandmail.com

Women’s Auxiliary Volunteers at SickKids bring warmth to patients and their families

Members of the WAV, the Toronto hospital’s most well-known volunteer group, have been providing support for 75 years

theglobeandmail.com

How likely is it that a 15-year-old girl will eventually die from a pregnancy-related cause? Researchers at the UN and the World Bank combined available birth and mortality data with statistical models to answer this question.

A surge in pedestrian deaths in the U.S. has baffled researchers for years. A New York Times analysis estimates that about 10% of the increase in pedestrian fatalities in recent years was caused by the growth in vehicle sizes since 2002. Here’s why.

The Deadly Rise of Giant Trucks and S.U.V.s

The vehicles on American roads have grown larger — and they are killing thousands more pedestrians, a Times investigation found.

nyti.ms

“Indigenous-led safety patrol aims to 'be a good relative' to those in need” - www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... - #IndigenousWellness #CommunitySupport #IndigenousHealth

Indigenous-led safety patrol aims to 'be a good relative' to those in need | CBC News

Ottawa's Odawa Native Friendship Centre has launched an outreach initiative to help vulnerable people in Vanier and the ByWard Market. It's modelled after Winnipeg's successful and long-standing Bear ...

cbc.ca