Building highways isn't the only solution to the growing problem of traffic congestion in and around the Halifax Regional Municipality, says the head of an organization that advocates for rail-based public transit.

The new mayor and council are planning big changes for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, and one of those is at the top of the staff organizational chart now that chief administrative officer Marie Walsh is set to retire.

The Montreal English Theatre Awards ceremony is being held this evening at Le Gesù theatre. For the community, it's a time to celebrate their achievements and resilience coming out of the pandemic, together.

The City of Montreal wants to sell more land to community organizations, housing co-ops and other groups to build off-market housing. 

Ten years after their formation, the members of The Brooks discuss how they’ve evolved and how they view their collaboration.

Facing soaring food prices and an escalating housing crisis, Quebec student associations are urgently calling on the provincial government to fund internships required for post-secondary training.

Sleep studies in Drosophila melanogaster rely mostly on behavioral read-outs to support molecular or circuit-level investigations in this model. Electrophysiology can provide an additional level of understanding in these studies to, for example, investigate changes in brain activity associated with sleep manipulations. In this protocol, we describe a procedure for performing multichannel local field potential (LFP) recordings in the fruit fly, with a flexible system that can be adapted to different experimental paradigms and situations. The approach uses electrodes containing multiple recording sites (16), allowing the acquisition of large amounts of neuronal activity data from a transect through the brain while flies are still able to sleep. The approach starts by tethering the fly, followed by positioning it on an air-supported ball. A multichannel silicon probe is then inserted laterally into the fly brain via one eye, allowing for recording of electrical signals from the retina through to the central brain. These recordings can be acquired under spontaneous conditions or in the presence of visual stimuli, and the minimal surgery promotes long-term recordings (e.g., overnight). Sleep and wake can be tracked using infrared cameras, which allow for the measurement of locomotive activity as well as microbehaviors such as proboscis extensions during sleep. The protocol has been optimized to promote subject survivability, which is an important factor when performing long-term (~16-h) recordings. The approach described here uses specific recording probes, data acquisition devices, and analysis tools. Although it is expected that some of these items might need to be adapted to the equipment available in different laboratories, the overall aim is to provide an overview on how to record electrical activity across the brain of behaving (and sleeping) flies using this kind of approach and technology.

Creating transgenic mosquitoes allows for mechanistic studies of basic mosquito biology and the development of novel vector control strategies. CRISPR–Cas9 gene editing has revolutionized gene editing, including in mosquitoes. This protocol details part of the gene editing process of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes via CRISPR–Cas9, through testing and validating single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs). Gene editing activity varies depending on the sequence of sgRNAs used, so validation of sgRNA activity should be done before large-scale generation of mutants or transgenics. sgRNA is designed using online tools and synthesized in <1 h. Once mutants or transgenics are generated via embryo microinjection, sgRNA activity is validated by quick genotyping polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing.

In insects, gustatory neurons sense chemicals upon contact and directly inform many behaviors critical for survival and reproduction, including biting, feeding, mating, and egg laying. However, the taste sensory system is underexplored in many anthropophilic disease vectors such as mosquitoes, which acquire and transmit human pathogens during blood feeding from human hosts. This results in a big gap in vector biology—the study of organisms that spread disease by transmitting pathogens—because insect vectors closely interact with humans while selecting suitable individuals and appropriate bite sites for blood meals. Human sweat and skin-associated chemistries are rich in nonvolatile compounds that can be sensed by the mosquito's taste system when she lands on the skin. Taste sensory units, called sensilla, are distributed in many organs across the mosquito body, including the mouthparts, legs, and ovipositors (female-specific structures used to lay eggs). Each sensillum is innervated by as many as five taste neurons, which allow detection and discrimination between various tastants such as water, sugars, salts, amino acids, and plant-derived compounds that taste bitter to humans. Single-sensillum recordings provide a robust way to survey taste responsiveness of individual sensilla to various diagnostic and ecologically relevant chemicals. Such analyses are of immense value for understanding links between mosquito taste responses and behaviors to specific chemical cues and can provide insights into why mosquitoes prefer certain hosts. The results can also aid development of strategies to disrupt close-range mosquito–human interactions to control disease transmission. Here we describe a protocol that is curated for electrophysiological recordings from taste sensilla in mosquitoes and sure to yield exciting results for the field.

The insect eggshell is a multifunctional structure with several important roles, including generating an entry point for sperm via the micropyle before oviposition, serving as an oviposition substrate attachment surface, and functioning as a protective layer during embryo development. Eggshell proteins play major roles in eggshell tanning and hardening following oviposition and provide molecular cues that define dorsal–ventral axis formation. Precise eggshell formation during ovarian follicle maturation is critical for normal embryo development and the synthesis of a defective eggshell often gives rise to inviable embryos. Therefore, simple and accurate methods for identifying eggshell proteins will facilitate our understanding of the molecular pathways regulating eggshell formation and the mechanisms underlying normal embryo development. This protocol describes how to isolate and enrich eggshells from mature oocytes of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and how to extract their eggshell proteins for liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) proteomic analysis. Although this methodology was developed for studying mosquito eggshells, it may be applicable to eggs from a variety of insects. Mosquitoes are ideal model organisms for this study as their ovarian follicle development and eggshell formation are meticulously regulated by blood feeding and their follicles develop synchronously throughout oogenesis in a time-dependent manner.

Transposon-mediated transgenesis has revolutionized both basic and applied studies of mosquito vectors of disease. Currently, techniques such as enhancer traps and transposon tagging, which rely on remobilizable insertional mutagenesis, are only possible with transposon-based vector systems. Here, we provide general descriptions of methods and applications of transposon-based mosquito transgenesis. The exact procedures must be adapted to each mosquito species and comparisons of some differences among different mosquito species are outlined. A number of excellent publications showing detailed and specific protocols and methods are featured and referenced.

By raising her son to be curious about the natural world, this mother helped shape the trajectory of the National Museum of Natural History

More than 50 Norman Wells residents gathered at the Royal Canadian Legion on Thursday night to voice frustrations over high heating fuel prices.

With president-elect Donald Trump promising to drill in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Gwich'in are preparing to fight for the Porcupine caribou herd.

A Whitehorse homeowner has been charged in connection with an explosion last year that destroyed his home and killed a man in a neighbouring house. 

A group of volunteers have been providing emergency services to West Dawson residents during the periods of freeze up and break up, when there is no reliable access across the Yukon River to town.

Newspaper editor Horace Greeley unsuccessfully ran against incumbent Ulysses S. Grant in November 1872. Twenty-four days later, he died of unknown causes at a private mental health facility

In the early 1990s, historians and the public alike questioned how Disney's America would accurately and sensitively document the nation's thorny past

Fifty years ago, on October 5, 1974, David Kunst completed the first verified circumnavigation of the globe on foot. Along the way, he met Princess Grace of Monaco, raised money for UNICEF and lost a brother to bandits

A new film revisits the 90 minutes before the first episode of "Saturday Night Live" premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975

As a child, the future president acquired a marine animal's skull, which became the first specimen in his natural history collection

With flinty perseverance and a golden touch, Belinda Mulrooney earned an unlikely fortune in the frozen north and reshaped the Canadian frontier

"Spectropia" demystified the techniques used by mediums who claimed they could speak to the dead, revealing the "absurd follies of Spiritualism"

In the Jim Crow South, activists became martyrs at the hands of white racists, all for the just cause of using the vote to fight for equality and freedom

Before fitness influencers made getting your steps in a trend, pedestrianism had the nation on their feet

A Romare Bearden print served as a starting point for the American playwright's 1987 drama, which follows a Black family's struggle to decide the fate of an ancestral heirloom

Out-of-the-can branding helped transform World War II's rations into a beloved household staple

Families of Norton Elementary School won’t be seeing their kids return anytime soon. Repairs are going to take longer than expected and students are expected to be back in the school by the start of the next school year.

Interim PC Leader Glen Savoie urged members to find a common purpose rather than blame former leader Blaine Higgs.

Carleton County is getting another wind farm proposal, this time with involvement of First Nations.

Alheri Bingi moved to Canada from Lagos four years ago. Noticing a lack of representation of her Nigerian culture, Bingi started creating batik textile art using authentic African fabric.

Atlantic salmon returns were at their lowest level ever this year, say researchers, who are nevertheless refusing to give up hope that the population can rebound.

The apartment once occupied by the author of Les Miserables is now a museum dedicated to his life and to 19th century Paris

Even as they fundraise for other community organizations, some legions across Canada are having trouble keeping their own lights on amid rising inflation and maintenance costs.

CBC's Superior Morning has been gathering wartime stories from listeners leading up to Remembrance Day based on mementos they have kept for generations. Here's some of the stories residents in northwestern Ontario have shared.

"Since my childhood, I have been anxious about missing out. I remember not wanting to sleep whenever I heard the adults chatting in the night. I wanted to be part of it all. Later on, in high school, I said “yes” to every event and outing, which ended up crashing so many times. I couldn’t choose. I wanted to be there to celebrate all the fun moments but also share all the tears in the low moments," says Ivy. "However, this lifestyle of being afraid of missing out could not continue when I joined missions. I have had to learn how to let go when I miss out on opportunities to create precious memories with family and friends in my home country."

Este año en el mes en que se llevó a cabo el mantenimiento anual de Logos Hope en Uruguay, la tripulante Cecilia* de Argentina se unió a un pequeño equipo que sirve en Asia Central. Mientras estuvo allí, pudo asistir a dos iglesias subterráneas que desbordaban de esperanza y fe.

Serving in West and Central Asia for many years, Paul and Soonok have one lasting dream: to see a church planting movement there.

Canadians hear the Last Post every year during Remembrance Day ceremonies. Warrant Officer Jeremy Maitland breaks down what it takes to play the melody perfectly.

A museum in Fort McMurray is helping visitors gain a deeper understanding of Canada’s role in previous wars. The Wood Buffalo Military Museum Centre is offering a chance to get up close to military artifacts. Young visitors say seeing the remnants of conflict gives them a new understanding of Remembrance Day's meaning.

An intimate look at the lessons and legacy of Murray Sinclair, chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and how he changed Canada.

Small businesses are keeping a close eye on the possibility of job action as they stock their shelves for Black Friday and holiday shopping.

A man from Queens County has been sentenced to five years and nine months in federal prison for charges including making and transmitting child pornography, voyeurism and intercepting private communications.

Islanders are coming together to think up solutions to food insecurity and homelessness. About 80 Islanders attended a symposium at UPEI on Thursday night for a discussion focused on the intersection of food insecurity and homelessness.

P.E.I.'s capital budget has allocated $2.5 million to build up to five provincially owned cellphone towers, but so far no telecommunications companies have committed to using them.

The Town of Kensington, P.E.I., has committed to implementing a new campaign to end gender-based violence.

The City of Charlottetown is honouring veterans with three freshly painted crosswalks near the cenotaph where Remembrance Day ceremonies will be held on Monday.

The P.E.I. Woodlot Owners Association is encouraging its members to boost the biodiversity of their woods with different varieties of trees and shrubs. As CBC's Nancy Russell reports, the goal is to provide habitat for endangered species and protect the forests from future disasters like post-tropical storm Fiona.

With P.E.I's only full-time blood oncologist leaving at the end of November, Health P.E.I. was planning to transfer his patients to Dr. Philip Champion. Now Champion says he intends to retire in the spring.

Some business owners in Charlottetown have made suggestions for increasing the city’s housing supply, but not everyone is happy with their recommendations when it comes to rental properties.