Innovation Canada, Female achievers

Following the recent International Womens Day, this Issue (#15 March/April 2005) of Innovation Canada, the high quality electronic magazine of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, available in English or en français focusses on women innovators in Canadian Science.

"My career as an inventor" By Margaret Atwood - Guest writer

"Measuring the Success of Research" By Heather Munroe-Blum, McGill University - Inside Innovation article

"Fuelling Around" Asha Suppiah - Young Innovator of Hydrogen fuel cells.

"Location! Location! Location!" University of Calgary - Perfecting the science behind global positioning systems.

"Small World" McMaster University - Studying the smallest of sub-atomic particles

"All in the Genes" Toronto Centre for Phenogenomics - Mouse genes and how they can find lifesaving cures

"Wonder Weed" Wilfrid Laurier University - Helping cancer patients by mimicing marijuana

"Sea-ing is Believing" University of Victoria - Traveling to the deepest reaches of the ocean

"Canadian Women Pioneers" Special
- A series of exceptional women in science over the last several hundred years, trailblazers who broke new ground and paved the way for future generations.

Quebec Integrated Health Research Network - A new integrated electronic health record system.

"Superstars of Innovation" Writing Competition

NEXT ISSUE
In its May issue, InnovationCanada.ca will "launch" you into orbit. Find out how space research is leading to innovation that improves our lives.

Subscribe to a publication summary newsletter in English or français.

Chandra falls foul of peer review

The grinding wheels of peer review finally seem to have come around to a decision on the work of immunologist Ranjit Chandra and his 2001 paper which claimed a specific combination of vitamins and minerals significantly improved seniors' ability to think and reason. The prestigious scientific journal Nutrition this month printed a retraction citing significant statistical errors in the study as well as his 1992 study published in The Lancet.

There was also concern that "Chandra failed to declare that he holds a patent on the tested supplement formula and has a financial stake in it because the supplement was licensed to Javaan Corporation, a company founded by his daughter, that sells the supplement," Meguid wrote in the retraction. Chandra, now living in India, did not respond to E-mails seeking comment.

The paper was done when Chandra was working at Memorial University in Newfoundland and there have been sugestions that the university should do something although they say it is not their role. Spokesperson Jack Strawbridge told The Scientist. "Our point has been, all along, that we have a responsibility to create conditions that allow research to happen, but we don't vet it directly; we don't say that any piece of research done by any particular researcher should or should not be published. That's the role of the peers and the journal editors..."