news

New research from the University of Waterloo suggests increasing the ratio of dietary potassium to sodium intake may be more effective for lowering blood pressure than simply reducing sodium intake. High blood pressure affects over 30 per cent of adults globally. It's the leading cause of coronary heart disease and stroke and may also lead to other afflictions like chronic kidney disease, heart failure, irregular heartbeats, and dementia.

Researchers led by the University of Waterloo have discovered how to turn common bacteria into high-efficiency factories capable of producing tiny, powerful particles for drug delivery, cancer therapy, vaccine development and other biomedical uses. Led by Yilan Liu , a Waterloo chemical engineering professor, the international research team altered bacteria found in the human gut, or gastrointestinal tract, to dramatically increase the number of bubble-shaped nanoparticles they secrete.

Developing new drugs to treat illnesses has typically been a slow and expensive process. However, a team of researchers at the University of Waterloo uses machine learning to speed up the development time. The Waterloo research team has created "Imagand," a generative artificial intelligence model that assesses existing information about potential drugs and then suggests their potential properties.

For the first time, researchers at the University of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and the University of Innsbruck in Austria have performed a quantum simulation of a two-dimensional particle physics theory on a qudit quantum computer, bringing us closer to understanding nature at its most fundamental level.

According to the Standard Model of Cosmology, the expansion of our universe is driven by the simplest possible version of dark energy: an unchanging 'cosmological constant' called lambda.  "It's the start of a new era," says Will Percival, professor and director of the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Waterloo, and associate faculty at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

A new way to measure male fertility has been discovered by researchers at the University of Waterloo, opening the door to the development of simple, inexpensive tests for clinical and at-home use. The research team combined expertise in sperm cell behaviour and interface science to determine that the movement of healthy sperm within semen reduces the force with which droplets stick to a water-repellent surface.

One-third of older Canadians at nutritional risk, study finds. One-third of Canadian adults aged 55 or older are nutritionally at risk, potentially leading to increased hospital stays, more emergency visits and physician consultations for possible infections, a new study found. The University of Waterloo researchers assessed data from more than 22,000 community-dwelling adults aged 55 and over from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

A new mathematical model developed at the University of Waterloo can determine a baby's overall drug exposure when their mother is taking medication. This is the first study to include drug transfer from the umbilical cord and through breastfeeding in determining the baby's total drug levels. The research team from the School of Pharmacy at Waterloo looked specifically at Levetiracetam.

Climate change limits progress on cleaning up the River Thames: study. A study led by a University of Waterloo researcher has learned that climate change is increasing the potential for algal blooms in the United Kingdom's River Thames despite a four-decade-long decline in phosphorus loads. The study completed a detailed analysis of the river's 150-year water quality record to learn this information.

University of Waterloo researchers have pinpointed for the first time how microplastics accumulate in coral reefs, a key step to understanding how to protect vulnerable ecosystems.

Imagine controlling apps with your feet while you walk. This concept is the focus of new research which explores using gait gestures - intentional variations in how you walk - as controls for augmented reality (AR) devices. "There's a long history of using feet to control machines. For example, the pedals on the car, but very little research has been done into using the way we walk as an input for a device," said Ching-Yi Tsai, the lead author on the study and a former visiting scholar in the University of Waterloo David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science.

Microplastics can go right through wastewater treatment plants, and researchers have engineered bacteria commonly found in there to break down this pollution before it can persist in the environment. Researchers from the University of Waterloo added DNA to several species of bacteria found in wastewater, allowing them to biodegrade polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic found in carpet, clothing and containers for food and beverages.

HFC-125 is a greenhouse gas becoming a major contributor to global warming, and in the first study to use satellites to measure its concentration in the atmosphere, researchers found it has increased exponentially in the past 20 years. The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment, a research group at the University of Waterloo, and under contract with the Canadian Space Agency, is the first to measure from space the atmospheric concentration of HFC-125, a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) commonly found in fire extinguishers and commercial cooling systems.

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Waterloo analyzed data from nearly 500,000 Canadian patients who lived in nursing homes across Canada between 2000 and 2022. It found that residents who were given antipsychotic medications showed a significant worsening of their behaviours. In fact, nearly 68 per cent of residents who used antipsychotics had more problems with their behaviour during follow-up checks.

The next time you need to take a prescription drug, taking it might be as easy as putting on a contact lens, thanks to a new discovery made by University of Waterloo researchers. The team of researchers - which spans Waterloo's Department of Chemistry and its School of Optometry and Vision Science - created a new type of hydrogel that can deliver drugs to patients with various eye issues when 3D printed onto a contact lens.

People's preference for simple explanations of any situation is connected to their desire to execute tasks efficiently, finds a new study from the University of Waterloo. "These findings show that our preference for simpler explanations mirrors how we evaluate actions. Simplicity isn't just valued in explanations-it's part of how we think about achieving results efficiently," said Claudia Sehl, lead author and a PhD candidate in developmental psychology at Waterloo.

Electric Vehicles will now be able to go from zero battery power to an 80 per cent charge thanks to Researchers at the University of Waterloo who made a breakthrough in lithium-ion battery design to enable this extremely fast charging. 15 minutes is much faster than the current industry standard of nearly an hour, even at fast-charging stations.

Researchers from the University of Waterloo have developed a new technology that can hold an entire course of antibiotics in one tiny dose and deliver on demand just the right amount of medication that a particular patient needs to fight an infection. This breakthrough in targeted medicine is the result of two new studies that tested this drug-delivery system on two bacterial strains that negatively affect millions of people worldwide.

A new study by University of Waterloo researchers found that international students who study in Canada don't see their skills underutilized once they join the Canadian labour market, a sign that signals the potential of the country's International Student Strategy to help boost economic growth. The study's findings provide a clearer view of how successful international students are once they complete their studies across Canadian post-secondary schools, notably in technologyand engineering-focused programs where they enjoy an earnings advantage over their peers.

University of Waterloo engineers are turning to augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) to better understand - and maintain - the physical reality of Canada's critical infrastructure.