Category: Academic Analysis

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Allyson Brady, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Carleton University

NASA’s Curiosity rover has identified seven new organic compounds on the planet Mars, according to new research published in Nature Communications.

The researchers believe this organic matter may have been preserved on Mars for more than 3.4 billion years. But is it evidence of life?

It’s not yet possible to determine whether it was delivered by a meteor (or comet or interplanetary dust particles), was formed through geological processes or may be linked to potential ancient life on Mars.

This begs a few questions: What exactly is life? How do we know what to look for? Why is it so hard to determine if an organic compound came from life or not?

As an astrobiologist, my job is to study life in the universe. I have participated in several NASA and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) projects focused on learning how to detect signs of life, as well as training astronauts to be field scientists.

This has taken me to field sites in the Antarctic, hot springs in Western Canada, volcanoes in Hawaii and underwater in British Columbia.

The study of extreme environments on Earth, along with exploration of the lifeless surface of the moon, can help us understand what life can look like. It can also help us understand the other potential non-biological processes that can form organic compounds like ones that have been found on Mars.

Life in extreme environments on Earth

On Earth, scientists study life in extreme environments that we might also expect to find on early Earth or other planets such as Mars. We call these “analogue” environments.

For example, micro-organisms can thrive in the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, deep underground or in cold icy places like Antarctica.

As astrobiologists, we can use these analogue environments to test equipment and concepts of operation that may be used to plan life-detection missions on other planets. They also help us better understand how life can survive in extreme environments.

Importantly, these environments help us recognize what kinds of evidence life can leave behind. Identifying biosignatures, or unambiguous signs of life, that can be targeted when looking for life elsewhere is critically important.

On Earth, it’s not hard to find evidence of life. Simply look around you. We are also constantly discovering the existence of life in places where it may have once seemed impossible, such as these microbes buried deep in ocean mud.

In fact, finding locations where there is no life is often more challenging.

What is not a sign of life?

The moon does not contain life. Unlike Mars, where there’s mounting evidence of a warmer watery past, as far as we know there’s little evidence to suggest the moon ever had the right conditions to support life.

The moon is a valuable study site for astrobiology because it offers clues about what is not a sign of life. The moon is constantly being hit by objects such as meteorites and asteroids, objects that would have also hit early Earth and Mars, leaving visible craters on the surface.

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How the Artemis II crew trained to observe and photograph the moon: A NASA science team geologist explains

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Meteorites can contain organic molecules such as amino acids and hydrocarbons that look very much like ones we would expect to be left behind by living organisms.

Micro-organisms, just like your own cells, contain lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. When they die, their organic molecules can become trapped in material such as sediments or minerals, and in some cases, preserved over long periods of time. Even if somewhat degraded, they might survive over millions or even billions of years in a recognizable form even if life itself is no longer present.

But life is not the only way organic molecules can form. Some abiotic chemical reactions can produce organic molecules with no life required. These abiotic processes can lead to the formation of simple organic molecules, life’s building blocks, that form the basis of more complex components.

Reports of gases such as methane or the detection of hydrocarbons on Mars could be related to life. However, scientists know that there are other ways these could have formed. As with the compounds discovered by NASA’s Curiosity rover, they may not readily meet the biosignature criteria of being unambiguously biological.

It’s not easy to decide what is a biosignature and what might have an alternative explanation. Studying other locations or materials without life can help.

Analysis of samples brought back to Earth from the asteroid Bennu in 2023 found organics such as sugars, including ribose, for example. Ribose is a component of RNA. This does not mean that there is life on Bennu, instead it shows that these biologically important molecules may be widely distributed in the solar system.

These kinds of investigations tell us that there are some organics that may not make good biosignatures because there is an alternative non-biological explanation.

From the moon to Mars

Exploration of the moon helps create an inventory of organic molecules that, while often associated with life, also have another explanation. They may have been delivered by a meteorite and been preserved all this time.

For example, studies of lunar regolith — the dusty moon version of soil — brought back from the Apollo missions and from recent Chinese-led missions have identified organic molecules such as amino acids, ketones and amines. If these same organics are found on other planets, it means that they are not necessarily signs of life. At least, not on their own.

Prior to NASA’s recent Artemis II mission, astronauts, including Canadian Jeremy Hansen, underwent geology training at sites like the Kamestastin Lake impact structure in Labrador. This training prepared them to make detailed geological observations of the moon.

These geological features might play a role in the preservation of organics, possibly shielding them from high temperatures and destructive radiation, sort of like a fridge. Similar features on Mars may then be good targets for astrobiology investigations.

With a 2028 moon landing planned for NASA’s Artemis IV mission, we will soon have even more lunar material to study. These missions are critical for helping astrobiologists fine-tune those unambiguous signs of life that we can then search for when we get to Mars.

As NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers continue exploring Mars, and new missions are planned, in the future we may be able to more confidently answer the question of is it life?

Allyson Brady receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and has been supported by the Canadian Space Agency in the past.

– ref. Did NASA’s Curiosity rover find signs of ancient life on Mars? An astrobiologist explains how we determine ‘life’ – https://theconversation.com/did-nasas-curiosity-rover-find-signs-of-ancient-life-on-mars-an-astrobiologist-explains-how-we-determine-life-280658

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Franklin Calazana, Ph.D student, psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Erectile disorder (ED) refers to a persistent difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection sufficient for satisfying sexual activity. It affects millions of men worldwide, including up to one in four in the United States. Beyond physical functioning, erectile difficulties can impact sexual confidence, self-esteem, relationship satisfaction and quality of life.

Although prevalence increases with age, age alone does not explain ED. Medical conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and the after-effects of surgery (prostate surgery particularly) can disrupt erectile functioning.

Psychological contributors are also common. Performance anxiety, stress and relational concerns frequently cause ED or interact with biological factors, making ED a complex condition, not a single, isolated problem.

Treatment for erectile dysfunction

Currently, most treatment approaches include medication, sex therapy or a combination of both. Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors, such as Viagra and Cialis, are widely prescribed and increase blood flow to the penis in response to sexual stimulation.

Their on-demand dosing and ease of oral use make them appealing. However, they are not appropriate for everyone. Certain medical conditions, side-effects, concerns about reduced spontaneity, lack of efficacy or cost can limit their usefulness.

Sex therapy offers another well-established treatment option. It can help individuals and couples reduce performance anxiety, improve communication and sexual satisfaction and rebuild sexual confidence. Yet access is uneven. Cost, waitlists, geographic limitations and stigma prevent many people from receiving timely care.

At the same time, technology is transforming how ED is assessed and treated. From app-connected devices to immersive virtual-reality environments, new tools are expanding both research and clinical possibilities.

At the EROS Research Chair, we study how innovations can be integrated into ED treatment. Several promising directions are already emerging.

Monitoring erectile health: Anytime, anywhere

Smart penile rings are transforming assessment. These wearable devices are placed around the penis during sleep or sexual activity and collect continuous data on erection strength and duration. The data are stored online, accessible through the user’s app, and can be shared with specialists.

The data are more objective than patient recall and offer more information than a clinic visit can provide, making it possible to assess whether difficulties are consistent or situational, or if they are improving with treatment.

Devices such as the Techring connect to a smartphone app and can be used independently at home, providing greater privacy, convenience and patient engagement.

Virtual reality

Virtual reality (VR) creates immersive, computer-generated environments that simulate real-life experiences. In sexual health research, VR allows arousal and erectile responses to be examined in controlled, yet realistic contexts.

Recent studies show men with ED display different responses to VR sexual scenarios compared to men without the condition. In 2024, our team found reduced arousal levels, while other researchers observed weaker and shorter-lasting erections during scenarios such as masturbation, oral sex and penetrative intercourse.

Beyond diagnosis, VR may help identify which situations are most challenging for a given individual: specific activities, partner contexts or environmental factors. This information can guide more personalized treatment planning rather than relying solely on generalized recommendations.

The promise of regenerative medicine

Most existing treatments manage symptoms rather than address underlying tissue damage. Regenerative approaches, including platelet-rich plasma, stem cell therapies and low intensity shock-wave therapy aim to stimulate blood vessel and tissue growth and repair.

Pre-clinical studies, largely in animal models, suggest potential improvements in erectile function and acceptable short-term safety. Early human findings for shock-wave therapy indicate possible benefits for penile blood flow.

However, these interventions remain experimental. Protocols are not standardized and long-term effectiveness and safety are still unclear. Larger, high-quality human trials are needed.

Vacuum devices: A low-tech option, reimagined

Vacuum erection devices have existed for decades. They create negative pressure around the penis to draw blood in, then a constriction ring helps maintain the erection.

Older models use a physical pump to create that negative pressure. Newer models are battery-operated, quieter and can be app-connected, reducing awkwardness and required physical effort of older models.

Although not new, vacuum devices remain a valuable option, particularly for people who cannot use medications or prefer non-pharmacologic approaches. They may also be combined with medication for additive effect.

A new era for erectile health

For decades, ED treatment relied heavily on self-reporting and a narrow set of treatment options. Now, wearable technologies offer objective, real-time data, VR provides insight into situational and contextual factors and regenerative therapies seek to rectify damaged tissue. Even established tools like vacuum devices continue to evolve.

Together, these advances support an increasingly personalized, data-driven and patient-centred care model. Although many technologies are still emerging, they promise a future in which ED is understood and treated with greater precision, nuance and compassion.

This article was co-authored by Elisabeth Gordon, MD, CST. She is a psychiatrist and certified sex therapist and a fellow at the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health.

David Lafortune receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Franklin Calazana and Éliane Dussault do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Erectile disorder: How science is moving beyond viagra – https://theconversation.com/erectile-disorder-how-science-is-moving-beyond-viagra-270935

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Elizabeth Buckner, Associate Professor of Higher Education, University of Toronto

Canada’s 2024 cuts to international study permits led to significantly larger reductions in study permit approvals than intended, according to a report by the auditor general tabled in March 2026.

The report found the reduction in study permit approvals was driven by a decline in applications and lower-than-projected approval rates, with smaller provinces disproportionately affected.

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Should I stay or should I go? Rural international students face housing, job crunch

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The report also highlights how the reforms failed to meaningfully improve oversight and program integrity. Instead, they emphasized surveillance and monitoring.

For decades, international students were celebrated in Canada for their economic contributions, skills and diversity. But as the number of temporary migrants in Canada skyrocketed after the COVID-19 pandemic, international students became convenient scapegoats for a broader housing and affordability crisis.

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International students cap falsely blames them for Canada’s housing and health-care woes

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In 2024, the federal government announced a major shift, cutting the number of international study permits it would issue by roughly a third. In part, this was justified in the name of reining in excess and fraud.

Examining shifting policy

As researchers who have studied the racialization of Asian international students and their experiences, we’ve watched as federal policy and public discourse around international students has dramatically shifted, making students’ daily lives more difficult, often with inadequate institutional supports.

In our recent book Not your Cash Cow, Not Your Scapegoat: Student Migration and Canadian Universities, we study the experiences of over 145 international students from China, India and South Korea at five flagship universities.

We find that colleges and universities continue to support international students through piecemeal services, rather than reckoning with what it would mean to become anti-racist organizations.

Changing notions of student migrants

Another report issued recently from the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, presented to the House of Commons, acknowledges aspects of international students’ precarity and vulnerabilities.

But solutions to address these conditions are notably absent from its recommendations. Instead, it reinforces claims that position international students as contributing to housing costs, health-care wait times and youth unemployment.

In the 2025 budget, the federal government signalled yet another shift in its approach and language around international students.

The budget announced a desire to welcome international graduate students as part of a broader strategic effort to recruit exceptional “global talent,” with new scholarships for international doctoral students.

This approach repositions certain international students as highly desirable. It privileges those with high levels of cultural and economic capital. At the same time, it signals a desire to further cut the number of study permits available generally.

A racialized group facing racist backlash

As the volatility of the past few years makes clear, policy efforts remain focused on managing the scale and composition of international student populations.

University discussions of international students tend to celebrate their diversity while ignoring race, while student migrants have been on the receiving end of xenophobia and racism.

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Read more:
International students are not to blame for Canada’s housing crisis

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The vast majority of international students in Canada come from Asia: Indian students make up the largest share, with many hailing from Punjab.

Much of the blame in terms of casting international students as responsible for housing pressures has been directed at these Indian students, even as they themselves are among the most affected. This has occurred alongside an alarming rise in police-reported hate crimes targeting South Asians.

Chinese international students also experienced the brunt of anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Skepticism around Canada’s global alliances

The federal government’s current shift towards welcoming “global talent” is its Canada-India Talent and Innovation Strategy, which aims to boost national science and innovation capacity.

This also coincides with rampant skepticism over China’s growing role in international science and concerns over intellectual property.

At the same time, international students face greater scrutiny, regulations and differential tuition policies.

Many international students pay up to six times what domestic students pay. Average international student tuition has continued to increase since 2024, while many programs and student services are being cut to the detriment of students and communities.

Diverse experiences of Asian students

Our research examines how the administrative and legal category of the “international student” flattens the diverse and heterogeneous experiences of students from Asia and their multidimensional everyday lives.

The stereotypes, micro-aggressions, othering and racism that international students face on- an off-campus were exacerbated by COVID-19 but predate and outlast the pandemic.

We also found that international students are often not included in their institutions’ equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) efforts, which tend to focus primarily on domestic students.

International students are also under-supported by campus support services that often lack cultural awareness and sensitivity. Such conditions contribute to a sense of conditional belonging and inclusion.

Yet, despite these structural and interpersonal challenges, many international students from Asia build deep connections and communities, often through online networks or in spaces comprised of multiple ethnic communities. Many continue to hold long-term aspirations to stay in Canada.

Shift in buzzwords

The shift in federal language, which now names selected “exceptional” international students as a source of “global talent,” is not new.

It echoes earlier innovation strategies of the 2000s, which sought to recruit international students as skilled migrants and “highly qualified personnel” for a knowledge economy.

As with prior waves, this language shift represents long-standing patterns in Canadian history, whereby immigration policy oscillates between recruitment and restriction.

If our project teaches us anything, it’s that the shift from scapegoating international students to now selectively welcoming “global talent” will not change broader structural conditions. New recruits will still face challenges around racism and integration.

It may even introduce new forms of academic competition and suspicion in a society where some institutions have already been criticized as “too Asian.”

Neighbours, classmates, friends

Our research has made clear that recent policy shifts risk reproducing long-standing assumptions — that international students are welcome only to the extent that they are useful. We call this “transactional integration” in our book. Previously, international students were useful for their revenue and future labour, but now Canada needs them for its competitiveness agenda.

Yet again, this transactional and conditional approach to inclusion means Canadian may never get to know the international students who come to study, with their full and complex lives and their distinctive needs.

These are people who will be our neighbours, classmates and friends — if we are willing to see student migrants defined by qualities other than their visa status.

Elizabeth Buckner receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Government of Canada.

Ashley Manuel, Eun Gi (Cathy) Kim, and Sophie Xiaoyi Liu do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Cash cows, scapegoats — and now global talent: Asian international students want to be seen for who they are – https://theconversation.com/cash-cows-scapegoats-and-now-global-talent-asian-international-students-want-to-be-seen-for-who-they-are-278359

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Erin Leigh Courtice, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University

You’ve typed it, deleted it and typed it again. You need to let your colleague know there’s a problem with a project at work. Should you use a grinning face — 😄 — in that Slack message to soften the blow, or an angry face — 😠 — to show your distress?

If you’ve experienced this type of internal debate, you’re not alone. Instant messaging now dominates workplace communication, with 91 per cent of businesses using two or more chat platforms. But when we instant message, we can’t see our colleagues’ facial expressions. We try to compensate with emojis, using them as stand-ins for non-verbal cues.

But do emojis actually help, or can they backfire?

My recent study, conducted with colleagues at the University of Ottawa and published in Collabra: Psychology, reveals that emoji choice matters. The emoji you pick, and whether it matches the tone of your message, may impact both how competent your co-workers think you are, and how appropriate your message is for the workplace.

The research project

We asked 243 research participants to read short workplace instant messages from a hypothetical co-worker.

The messages varied on three dimensions: the emotional tone (positive, negative or neutral), the emoji attached (a grinning face 😀, an angry face 😠 or none) and whether the sender was described as a woman or a man.

Participants rated how competent they thought the message sender was. They also rated how appropriate the message felt for a professional setting.

No emoji is often the safest bet

Overall, messages with no emoji received the highest ratings for competence and appropriateness. A neutral “Can I have Tuesday off?” read as perfectly professional. So did a more positive: “Just attended another super-effective presentation.”

When the sender added a 😀 to either message, the ratings held steady. This is likely a reassuring finding if you’re someone who likes using emojis to sprinkle warmth into your messages.

On the other hand, when the sender added a 😠, competence and appropriateness ratings dropped.

This finding was remarkably consistent: across positive, neutral and negative sentence content, the no-emoji version was either the top-rated option or statistically tied for first place.

Match emoji and message tone

But the real story is that emojis need to match the tone of your message. A grinning face 😀 attached to “Someone broke the printer again” came across as less competent and less appropriate than either a negative emoji or no emoji at all.

Here, the mismatch may have created the impression that the message was passive-aggressive or insincere.

Notably, an angry face 😠 paired with a negative message fared better than one tacked onto a positive or neutral one. However, sending that same negative message with no emoji still outperformed the congruent but angry version.

For negative messages, emojis that fit the emotional tone of the text don’t really help. Those that clash actively hurt.

Women rated women more strictly

We also tested whether the sender and participant gender changed any of this. For competence, they didn’t — which is notable given evidence that women are judged more harshly for expressing negative emotion in face-to-face workplace settings.

One possibility is that text-based communication mutes the impact of gender enough to blunt that bias. When gender cues are reduced to a name or profile picture at the top of a chat window, rather than continuously signalled through appearance or voice, recipients may simply process them less.

For appropriateness, we found a small but significant effect: women rated negative emojis from women senders as less appropriate than men did. It’s a modest finding, but it aligns with research suggesting that women sometimes hold other women to stricter professional standards — an interesting thread worth pulling on in future work.

Small choices carry weight

The key takeaway for emojis at work is this: match, don’t mask. A positive emoji appended to a positive or neutral message is fine, but using one to sugarcoat bad news may detract from perceptions of competence.

Negative emojis are generally riskier than their positive counterparts, but if you’re going to use one, at least make sure the message underneath is genuinely negative. And when in doubt, the plainest option — no emoji — almost never hurts.

We’re still collectively figuring out the norms of digital professional communication. Of course, a controlled study with undergraduates reading hypothetical messages can only tell us so much about your workplace messaging thread. Workplaces will all have their own norms to navigate, and most of us run private experiments every day in our chat apps.

Studies like this one suggest that the small choices — a grinning face here, or an angry face there — may carry more weight than we think. The good news is that the underlying principle is pretty intuitive: say what you mean, and let the emoji agree with you.

The current study was supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

– ref. How emoji use at work can determine how competent your colleagues think you are – https://theconversation.com/how-emoji-use-at-work-can-determine-how-competent-your-colleagues-think-you-are-280702