Technology

Blue Light Vs. Red Light

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 01:34:54 +0000

There is an epic fight unfolding between the light side and the dark side of, no, not the Force, but the light spectrum itself. You will have seen the countless gadgets claiming to heal you with red light—the creepy masks full of LEDs, the therapeutic light boxes, even the full-body infrared saunas. Red light, we are told, has health benefits.

Shedding Light On the Magical Finale of Phantom of the Opera

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 22:25:50 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

“It’s a de Kolta chair!”

AI Scribes in the Clinic: What Patients Should Know

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 22:16:13 +0000

The last time I went to the doctor, I was handed a form to sign. It was a consent form asking for my permission to allow the doctor to use an AI scribe during our appointment. I signed it without much hesitation, partly out of habit, partly out of an assumption that this is simply where healthcare is headed in the age of AI technology. Now, months later, after spending a semester conducting a health technology assessment on AI scribes for one of my courses, I realized that moment deserved more scrutiny.

Taylor Swift, Earthquakes, and Land Mines?

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Thu, 21 May 2026 14:51:58 +0000

At 12:51pm on February 22, 2011, the world crumbled before the residents of Christchurch, New Zealand. A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit the city, killing 185 people and injuring thousands more. This earthquake was an aftershock of the more severe but far less deadly 7.1 magnitude earthquake that hit the region six months earlier on September 4, 2010.

Health Monitoring Has Come a Long Way, From Rolled-Up Paper to AI

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 14 May 2026 21:14:04 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Remember Theranos, the company that promised to revolutionize longevity by making health data instantly available from blood collected from a finger prick, allowing for “alerts” to make lifestyle changes?

The Sparkle in Sparkling Water

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 14 May 2026 18:31:46 +0000

Many consumers today are shying away from soft drinks because of legitimate concerns about their sugar or artificial sweetener content and are gravitating towards plain carbonated water. This has triggered questions about the safety of this beverage. First, a bit of background.

Why Did LLMs Steal Our Em-Dashes?

Lia Erisson — Fri, 08 May 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Upon ChatGPT's release in 2022, I realized that I wrote like AI. My sentences were long, my writing patterns were predictable, and my use of em-dashes was frequent. Initially, I was not concerned: if models are being trained to write like me, I must be doing a good job, right?

A Trip From Rocket Fuel to Amazon Hallucinogen

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 21:44:37 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

I intended to write about rocket fuel. So, how did I end up writing about “ayahuasca,” a hallucinogenic brew originating from Indigenous Amazon traditions? Well, here we go.

The Fascinating History of Magic’s Most Famous Illusion

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 20:19:01 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

On Jan. 7, 1921, the audience at London’s Finsbury Park Empire theatre was introduced to what was destined to become the most famous illusion in magic.

Thermal Clothing: Lessons in Engineering

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000

As soon as the temperature dips below 0ºC, you will find me covered head to toe in thermal clothing. I am not picky when it comes to brands, although I do love Uniqlo’s HEATTECH. As long as I am warm, I am game. However, when it comes to shopping for these products, the magic word among the stock seems to be “moisture-wicking.” It turns out the science behind moisture-wicking plays a pretty significant role in why certain fibers and fabrics are off the table when it comes to layering up.

A Journey into “AI Psychosis”

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:58:59 +0000

I was chatting with a friend the other day, telling him I felt there was a deeper layer to reality. He thought it was fascinating, and among the many ideas he rattled off was the hypothesis that the universe is a simulation.

I told him I was noticing repeating numbers everywhere, and while he did mention the frequency illusion—once something is brought to your attention, you’re more likely to notice it—he also talked about angel numbers. I mentioned I could hear a faint humming sound at night, like a signal. He put forward the possibility of vibrational information.

How Many Lives Do Amber Alerts Really Save?

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:17:43 +0000

On Sunday, March 22nd of this year, a large swath of the population in Quebec was woken up at 4:25 as cell phones lit up and screamed. An Amber alert had been broadcast.

The Molecules That Run the World Come From Oil

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

When Your Phone Makes Time Disappear

Lia Erisson — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:41:46 +0000

When I think about the first few hours of my day, I picture myself getting up, making breakfast, picking out my outfit, and tidying my apartment. What I don’t often recall are the 30 or so minutes I spend doomscrolling on Instagram or playing video games as soon as I wake up. To be honest, that time barely registers as having existed at all.

In all likelihood, you have similar experiences in your day-to-day life.

Why Were Nevalyaska Dolls Once Made With Gunpowder?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:35:27 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

I searched eBay for a “nevalyaska.” I just had to have one because of the fascinating story I came across about this little doll’s origin in the Soviet Union.