8 May/June 2014 14 · 2014-09-17 · May/JUne 2014 20 LAB ware 8 SUZUKI matters. Truly inspired...

The defInITIVe SoUrCe for LaB ProdUCTS, neWS and deVeLoPMenTS

www.labusinessmag.com May/June 2014

DAVID SUZUKI

Only with political will can we avoid

the worst of climate change

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IGNORANCE IS BLISSCanada has its head buried in the sand with climate change policy

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CONTENTS

www.labbusinessmag.com 3

STRESS DEFINEDBy CheLSea ShIM

With so many defi nitions of stress fl oating around, LAB Business speaks with the head of The Stress Lab to fi nd

out about the science behind stress.

SEE NO CHANGE, SPEAK NO CHANGEBy nICoLaS heffernan

Despite exhaustive research, Canada’s climate change policy is non-existent. The federal government shoulders a

lot of the blame but it might be time for the provinces to take their share.

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SUZUKI MATTERSBy daVId SUZUKI

The latest IPCC report calls for action in order to halt the e� ects

of global warming and avoid catastrophic weather events. Progress

will only be made with political will.

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STANDARDS

EDITOR�S note 5

CANADIAN news 6

TECH watch 22

MOMENTS in time 23

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May/JUne 2014

20LAB ware

8SUZUKI matters

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Editor�s NOTE


Publisher ChrISToPher J. forBeS& CEO [email protected]

Executive Editor ThereSa roGerS [email protected]

Associate Editor nICoLaS [email protected]

Staff Writer LIndSay GrUMMeTT [email protected]

Editorial Intern aMMI ParMar

Contributors CheLSea ShIM daVId SUZUKI

Art KaTrIna TeIMoUraBadIDirector [email protected]

Secretary/ SUSan a. BroWneTreasurer

Marketing KaTeLyn fUrLonGManager [email protected]

Marketing MIdya TSoyCo-ordinator [email protected]

VP of roBerTa dICKProduction [email protected]

Production CrySTaL hIMeSManager [email protected]

Production Joanna forBeSCo-ordinator [email protected]

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The DefiniTive Source for Lab ProDucTS, newS anD DeveLoPmenTS

www.labusinessmag.com May/June 2014

DaviD Suzuki

Only with political will can we avoid

the worst of climate change

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ignorance iS bliSSCanada has its head buried in the sand with climate change policy

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may / june 2014

Surviving the PlungePharma’s revolution to combat patent cliff13

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Do the flip!New research is helping pharma fi ght fat.

Nicolas HeffernanaSSoCIaTe edITor

THE federal government recently announced it would be reviewing the “relevance and performance” of the key pillar of its greenhouse gas

reduction strategy, the Clean Air Regulatory Agenda (CARA). It is willing to spend as much as $2 million.

Considering most climate change scientists and economists were unaware Canada had any climate change policy to speak of, it seems like an awful waste of money. After all, even John Stone, who worked for Environment Canada for 20 years and was the lead author of Chapter 28 of the IPCC’s latest report, thought our policy amounted to little more than, “ignore it and hope it goes away.”

It’s hard to disagree with him when Canada ranks 15th out of 17 OECD countries in greenhouse gas emissions per capita, with emissions growing 17 per cent between 1990 and 2010. While the current government is infamous for its cuts to science in general but especially environmental research, the problem goes back decades.

It seems like you can count on more than just death and taxes in this life; add Canada not reaching its climate change objectives. On no fewer than three occasions has this country failed to meet the conditions it agreed to. In 1992, Canada committed to stabilizing GHG emissions at 1990 levels by 2000. However by 2000, Canada’s absolute GHG emissions were 22 per cent higher than they had been 10 years earlier. In 2002, Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol, pledging to reduce GHG emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. As of 2010, absolute GHG emissions remained 17 per cent above 1990 levels. In 2009, Canada was one of the countries in Copenhagen that committed to a 17 per cent cut in emissions by 2020. Environment Canada hasn’t bothered to keep up the sham, already admitting we won’t get there with a best guess getting around halfway to the target. With climate change policy poised to bury its head further in the oil sands, the problem will probably only get worse.

The federal government has managed a feat most thought impossible: get the world mad at Canada.

IGNORING CLIMATE CHANGE

Canadian NEWS

6 May/June 2014 LaB BUSIneSS

RESEARCHERS are programming robots to communicate with people using human-like body language and cues, an important step toward bringing

robots into homes.Researchers at the University of British Columbia enlisted the help of a human-friendly

robot named Charlie to study the simple task of handing an object to a person. Past research has shown that people have difficulty figuring out when to reach out and take an object from a robot because robots fail to provide appropriate nonverbal cues.

“We hand things to other people multiple times a day and we do it seamlessly,” says AJung Moon, a PhD student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. “Getting this to work between a robot and a person is really important if we want robots to be helpful in fetching us things in our homes or at work.”

Moon and her colleagues studied what people do with their heads, necks and eyes when they hand water bottles to one another. They then tested three variations of this interaction with Charlie and the 102 study participants.

Programming the robot to use eye gaze as a nonverbal cue made the handover more fluid. Researchers found that people reached out to take the water bottle sooner in scenarios where the robot moved its head to look at the area where it would hand over the water bottle or looked to the handover location and then up at the person to make eye contact.

“We want the robot to communicate using the cues that people already recognize,” says Moon. “This is key to interacting with a robot in a safe and friendly manner.”

eye of The BehoLder – IMProVInG The hUMan-roBoT ConneCTIon

Government of Canada Investment in Genetics Cancer Research

The Government of Canada announced $7.3 million in

funding for an unprecedented collab-oration – both in Canada and interna-tionally – to develop tools that can effectively manipulate vast amounts of data to help find cures for cancer. The project will develop powerful new computing tools, so that researchers can analyze genetic data from thou-sands of cancers to learn more about how cancers develop, and which treat-ments work best. Researchers will be able to formulate questions about cancer risk, tumour growth, and drug treatments, and extract an analysis against the data. Genomic researchers are keen to analyze these data and identify genetic clues that could point to new ways to prevent or cure cancer.

New Research to Determine Risk of Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer Canada announced a national research

funding initiative aimed at identify-ing prostate cancer patients who need to be treated aggressively and those who do not. Three major research teams in Edmonton, Toronto and Sherbrooke will receive close to $5 million for projects that will help pre-vent the overtreatment of prostate cancer. This funding is made possible through the Movember Foundation.

BC Announces Support for Cellulose Filaments Research

The Government of British Columbia has contributed

$2.25 million to cellulose filaments (CF) research, to be used as part of an existing R&D program focused on non-traditional applications of CF. B.C. companies produce 80% of Canada’s northern bleached soft-wood kraft pulp and are an integral link in the forest sector economy of British Columbia. As FPInnovations’ research progresses, researchers are seeing real synergy between NBSK pulp and CF – the best quality CF is made with superior kraft pulp.

Worldwide NEWS


A ground-breaking study spearheaded by Scientific Director Giulio Superti-Furga at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences

shows that fast-growing cancer cells are sensitive toward imbalances in the metabolism of nucleotides, the building blocks of DNA.

This vulnerability can be exploited for a radically novel antitumour therapeutic approach. Not only did the researchers from Vienna, in a joint effort with colleagues from Oxford and Stockholm, identify the enzyme MTH1 as an Achilles heel of malignant tumour cells, but also, in a wonderful twist of fate, discovered the chemical mirror image of an existing anti-cancer drug called crizotinib to be an efficient inhibitor of MTH1 activity.

The importance of MTH1 starts at replication forks, where DNA molecules are duplicated by template-guided serial assembly of nucleotide building blocks. It is crucial that these individual building blocks are intact in order to prevent DNA damage and defects such as mutations. MTH1 is a nucleotide sanitizing enzyme that removes damaged nucleotides. Unlike in normal cells where this feature is not required because nucleotides are intact, cancer cells suffer from oxidative stress which leads to the damage of nucleotides and thus, MTH1 is indispensable for preserving genome integrity by preventing the incorporation of damaged DNA building blocks. Clearance of those building blocks damaged by oxidation allows cancer cells to divide and proliferate infinitely. Upon disruption of this protective mechanism by an MTH1 inhibitor, oxidized nucleotides are incorporated into newly synthesized DNA. The damaged DNA strands break and the cancer cell dies.

noVeL STraTeGy To MoLeCULar anTICanCer TheraPy TrICKS MaLIGnanT CeLLS

Using antineutrinos to monitor nuclear reactors

Study: deforestation could intensify climate change in Congo Basin by half

Catheter Innovation Destroys Dangerous Biofilms

Dr. Nils Haag from the Chair of Experimental Astroparticle

Physics at TU Munchen recently developed an experimental setup at the FRM II that allowed him to determine the missing spectrum of uranium 238. The development of this methodology is embedded in basic research on the phenomenon of so-called “sterile” antineutrinos. They were then no longer able to react with other matter. A better understanding of this effect would expand our knowledge of elementary physical processes.

By 2050, deforestation could cause temperatures in the

Congo Basin to increase by 0.7 C. The increase would intensify warming caused by greenhouse gases by half, according to a study by researchers at the University of Leuven, Belgium. The researchers used a sophisticated computer model to forecast the temperatures. Such drastic temperature increases will drive off plant and animal species and may even threaten some with extinction, warn the researchers.

For the millions of people forced to rely on a plastic tube

to get rid of their urine, developing an infection is nearly a 100 per cent guarantee after just four weeks. Duke University engineers have developed a new urinary catheter design that can eliminate nearly all of the hard-to-kill biofilm from the catheter’s walls. Instead of focusing on expensive antibacterial coatings, the researchers use physical deformation to knock the infectious film from its moorings.

Suzuki MATTERS


It’s fitting that the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report was released during Earth Month. After all, the third chapter of its

Fifth Assessment focuses on ways to keep our planet healthy and livable by warding off extreme climatic shifts and weather events caused by esca-lating atmospheric carbon.

Doing so will require substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions – 40 to 70 per cent by 2050 and to near-zero by the end of the century. We must also protect carbon ‘sinks’ such as forests and wetlands and find ways to store or bury carbon. The good news is that weaning ourselves off fossil fuels, conserving energy and shifting to cleaner sources comes with economic and quality-of-life benefits.

“There is a clear message from science: To avoid dangerous interference with the climate system, we need to move away from business as usual,” said economist Ottmar Edenhofer, co-chair of Working Group III, which produced the chapter.

Doing nothing isn’t an option. That would lead to a significant increase in global average tempera-tures and extreme weather-related events such as storms, droughts and floods, wreaking havoc on our food systems, communities and the natural envi-ronment we depend on for our health and survival. Technological measures and behavioural change could limit global mean temperatures to less than 2 C above pre-industrial levels, but only with “major institutional and technological change.”

Because we’ve stalled so long, thanks largely to deceptive campaigns run by a small but powerful group of entrenched fossil fuel industry interests and the intransigence of some short-sighted gov-ernments, we must also consider ways to adapt to climate change that’s already occurring and that we can’t stop.

Although carbon emissions are rising faster than efforts to curtail them, there are glimmers of

Only with political will can we avoid the worst of climate change

hope. A growing number of networks – including cities, states, regions and even markets – are work-ing together to implement climate plans. And costs of renewable energy, such as solar and wind, are falling so quickly that large-scale deployment is practical. Putting a price on greenhouse gas emis-sions through carbon taxes or other methods is one critical way to shift investment from fossil fuels to renewables.

Carbon-intensive fossil fuel economies will suf-fer as renewable energy technologies mature – especially those relying heavily on coal and uncon-ventional oil such as bitumen from tar sands. Canada’s choice: take advantage of the growing worldwide demand for clean energy technology, transit infrastructure and sustainable building techniques or continue to focus on selling our non-renewable resources at bargain-basement prices until climate and food-system destabilization swamps global markets and the world rejects Canada’s high-carbon fuels.

The IPCC found responsibly addressing climate change by pricing carbon and making needed investments is affordable: ambitious mitigation would reduce economic growth by just .06 per cent a year. That’s not taking into account the many eco-nomic benefits of reducing climate change – from less spending on health and disease to reduced traf-fic congestion and increased activity in the clean-energy sector. Considering the costs and losses cli-mate change and extreme weather impose on our cities, communities and food systems, we can’t afford not to act.

A clean energy revolution is already underway and, as the world comes to grips with the need to change, it will inevitably spread. As Canadians, we can choose to join or remain stuck in the past. Tackling global warming will require all nations to get on board. That’s because greenhouse gases accumulate and spill over national boundaries. And, according to the IPCC, “International cooper-ation can play a constructive role in the develop-ment, diffusion and transfer of knowledge and environmentally sound technologies.”

As a policy-neutral scientific and socioeconom-ic organization, the IPCC doesn’t make specific recommendations, but it reviews the available sci-ence and spells out in clear, albeit technical, terms that if we fail to act, the costs and losses to our homes, food systems and human security will only get worse.

It’s been seven years since the fourth assess-ment report in 2007. We can’t wait another seven to resolve this crisis. As nations gear up to for the 21st climate summit in Paris in late 2015, where the world’s governments have pledged to reach a uni-versal legal climate agreement, international co-operation is needed more than ever. Let’s urge our government to play a constructive role in this criti-cal process. L B

By daVId SUZUKI WITh ConTrIBUTIonS froM

Ian hanInGTon

Dr. David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author, and co-founder

of the David Suzuki Foundation.

Ian Hanington is Senior Editor.

Learn more at www.davidsuzuki.org.


D R I V I N G

Lab PROFILE

STORY BY Chelsea Shim

MonTreaL LaB MeaSUreS STreSS USInG haIr and SaLIVa

d r. Sonia Lupien, Director of the Centre for Studies on Human Stress in Montreal, challenged me to Google the word “stress,” view the first five links and give her the definition. I stumbled

over my words, struggling to give her one, simple answer. Lupien said that everyone will define stress differently. She was

right; it was difficult to pinpoint a concise definition as there were few consistencies among the information I read.

Lupien has been the director of the Centre for Studies on Human Stress since 2008, but her career and stress research began in 1996. With more than a decade of stress knowledge under her belt, Lupien admits that, without her lab resources, she cannot even detect when she’s stressed.

But saliva and hair samples can. At her Montreal lab, Lupien and her research team study the effects

of stress hormones on the brain and how it can impact memory, learning and emotions. According to Lupien, no two people have the same defini-tion of stress. Because of this, the use of questionnaires is discredited in most research projects. Two people can experience the same situation, but one may respond with significantly higher stress levels that the other.

Lupien’s team tests stress in individuals by measuring the levels of stress hormones in their body. When a situation is interpreted as stress-ful, it triggers activation in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis which will lead to the secretion of stress hormones. The two main stress hormones are glucocorticoids (cortisol) and catecholamines (epineph-rine and norepinephrine). This data can be extracted from hair and saliva samples.

Initially, the lab was collecting blood samples to measure test results but Lupien says this was a problem from the beginning. Seeing the syringe immediately stressed some of the study’s participants which would alter the test results so the lab adopted the use of the non-inva-sive saliva and hair sampling.

When the lab first moved to this testing method, it would send all of its saliva and hair samples for testing in German labs. Lupien regards Germany as the global leader in stress research, with Canada and the

N.U.T.S.YOUD R I V I N G



U.S. falling next in line. Lupien says her lab grew tired of this method because they were losing samples that were stopped at the German and Canadian border. “I decided to be self sufficient and do it myself,” says Lupien. She says the Centre for Studies on Human Stress is one of the few labs in Canada that con-ducts saliva lab analysis.

Because stress hormones develop in the hair, using hair samples is a highly effective method to measure chronic stress in humans. “Hair grows one centi-metre a month. I would only need to take three centimetres of hair from the roots to measure three months of a person’s stress levels.”

The stress lab is located in the Montreal Mental Health Institute, a mental health-focused hospital with more than 3,000 staff members. Lupien has been conducting a sex and gender-based analysis of stress and chronic stress in workers. The participants are hospital employees who are tested both during work hours and outside of work hours in their home. Lupien is measuring the reactivity to stress in the two envi-ronments.

The lab is also conducting a study that measures the effects of parental effects on children. Lupien will measure the stress hormones from children who come from families where one parent is sick with a stigmatized disease such as depression and a non stigmatized disease like cancer. Her lab will also collect sam-ples from children with healthy parents. The team is analyzing which group expe-riences higher stress levels: children who have parents ill with stigmatized or non-stigmatized diseases.

A new domain of research called cyber psychology has sprouted from the increasing use of social media. One of the ongoing projects in the lab looks for the biomarkers of stress in social media users. Lupien says there is a correlation between the number of friends a person

has on Facebook and their self esteem. Research has shown that the more friends a person has on social media, the lower their self esteem. This project has been assigned to one of the graduate stu-dents working under Lupien.

Lupien’s team consists of two research assistants, a rotation of five or six gradu-ate students at any given time, and only one technician in the hair and saliva lab. Lupien says it is important to keep the number of graduate students working in the lab to a minimum. In the past, she has had up to 12 students but was unable to give them adequate attention which she says is essential to run a successful lab.

Each of the students working in the stress lab is given a niche. Lupien avoids giving more than one student the same niche. “When two students are working on the same project, they are going to kill each other, that’s for sure.” Since science is a highly competi-tive domain she prefers to give each student a personalized area to evaluate and build their own expertise without competition.

Lupien prefers working in a smaller lab environment. “I don’t want to become an industry. I want to maintain my focus and dig deep.” She says being in a small group is perfect for her team to brainstorm and participate in think tanks. This is how they came up with the “De-stress for success” program, an interactive program that educates children about stress and stress manage-ment.

Lupien once worked on a study titled, “Can poverty get under your skin?” She received a grant from the MacArthur Foundation in the U.S. to find the effects of socioeco-nomic status on children aged six to 16 years old. She measured the

stressa STaTe of MenTaL or eMoTIonaL STraIn or TenSIon reSULTInG froM adVerSe or deMandInG CIrCUMSTanCeS

as taken from the Oxford Dictionary

Top and Middle: Hair and saliva samples are the best ways to detect stress levels. Bottom: Sonia Lupien’s team at the Stress Lab in Montreal.

Lab PROFILE

stress hormones in 400 children and found that children as young as six years old who lived in poverty produced sig-nificantly higher levels of stress hor-mones than children who lived in wealth.

Lupien noticed that all of the children, regardless of their socioeconomic status, experienced a dramatic increase in stress hormones around the age of 12 and 13. She realized that there was an incline in stress levels immediately before and dur-ing the transition into high school.

There are common elements that ele-vate stress hormones. Referred to as “N.U.T.S.,” Lupien says the recipe for stress is Novelty, Unpredictability, Threat to the ego and Sense of control.

“I have found that when kids transi-tion from elementary or middle school to high school, there is a significant increase in stress hormones because it is new, unpredictable and they do not hold con-trol over it,” says Lupien.

The lab’s “De-Stress for Success,” pro-gram consists of five workshops that pro-vides stress education to children mak-ing the transition into high school. Children learn how to recognize and cope with stress. The program is funded by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression and has had more than 500 participants in one academic year.

Since developing the De-Stress for Success program, the levels of stress hor-mones found in first year high school students significantly decreased. This was a very important finding because it demonstrated for the first time that edu-cating and developing stress knowledge can have both a physiological and psy-chological impact. “If we test for stress hormones, we can find out exactly who is suffering and can personalize education programs for these individuals.”

Lupien says parents of the children have approached her about creating a program that can be implemented in the workplace. She is working on an educa-tional computer program that adults can access online, with an expected release in September.

CrUnCh TIMeMany people assume stress is caused by time pressure. Most individuals feel stressed when they cannot complete

WHEN A SITUATION IS INTERPRETED AS STRESSFUL, IT TrIGGerS aCTIVaTIon In The hyPoThaLaMIC-

PITUITary-adrenaL aXIS WhICh WILL Lead To The SECRETION OF STRESS HORMONES.

tasks within a given period of time. Lupien disagrees adding this is the most irritating misconception about stress.

Although some people feel stressed under time pressure, there are also indi-viduals who thrive under it. This shows that stress is a highly individualistic experience that is determined by specific psychological determinants that trigger a stress response. “Many people assume that children and the retired population experience less stress because they are less likely to be faced with time con-straints. In fact, these two populations are the most stressed overall,” says Lupien.

Lupien says her scientists are not working to treat stress disorders but to prevent them.

Through measuring the body’s stress hormones in hair and saliva, Lupien and her team pick out the individuals who are on the path toward depression or burn-out. “We want to find the signs and deal with the problem before it becomes unmanageable,” says Lupien. “As scien-tists, we have to give the individuals who measure high levels of stress hormones a convincing argument that they are going directly into a wall. This is not treatment, it is prevention.”

Lupien emphasizes the importance of having highly trained personnel to run her lab successfully. She says any lab can have the greatest machine or the most expensive equipment, but if they are not able to build capacity and train personnel it will not work.

She acknowledges that many scien-tists do not have the time to properly train personnel, and is making efforts to change this. “I have been really trying to push the concept of knowledge transfer from the oldest members of the lab to the newest scientists,” says Lupien. “This is key.” L B


Sonia Lupien, Director of the Centre for Studies on Human Stress.


NO WAYNO WILL,

THE MEANS TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS EXIST BUT THERE ISN’T ENOUGH POLITICAL WILL, ESPECIALLY IN CANADA, TO MAKE A DENT


STORY BY Nicolas Heffernan

T hey can’t say they weren’t warned.In March, the United Nations’

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the lat-est in its series of reports confirming that the heavy use of fossil fuels is “unequivo-cally” causing planetary changes. The panel is calling for a 40 to 70 per cent reduction in emissions by mid-century.

Concern centres on whether there is enough political will to enact the policies needed to make meaningful changes, especially in Canada. The Canadian gov-ernment claims it is on track to cut emis-sions by 17 per cent from their 2005 level by 2020. But Environment Canada has cast doubt on that claim, saying that at the current rate, Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be 7.4 per cent above the 2005 level instead of 17 per cent below.

John Stone, adjunct professor at Carleton University, was the lead author of Chapter 28 (Polar Regions) of the IPCC Working Group II report released on March 30. He worked for Environment Canada for almost two decades and has been involved with the IPCC since its inception.

“I don’t think we have any climate change policy in Canada except the rath-er cynical one of ignore it and hope it goes away,” says Stone. “I worked for Environment Canada for almost 20 years on this issue and I’ve seen I don’t know how many climate change plans that one government or another has put forward but none of them have been enacted with sufficient commitment to make sure our emissions go down and our emissions continue to increase.”

enVIronMenTaL LaGGardWhen Stone was approached to work on the IPCC reports in 1988, very little was known about climate change and few

people cared about the issue. Fast forward 20 years and the science is no longer in dispute but the policy to rectify the situation is still stuck in the past.

“The understanding of the threat has become clearer and stronger as the scientific evidence has increased. There is no discussion about climate change. We’ve detected climate change. It is now unambiguous. We are also much more con-fident in saying the predominant cause of climate change is the burning of fossil fuels,” says Stone. “On what do we do about it, that’s not advanced perhaps quite as rapidly and as conclusively.”

Perhaps nowhere else in the world has climate change policy developed so slowly, if at all, than in Canada. Despite lowering per capita GHG emissions five per cent between 1990-2010, Canada ranks 15th out of 17 OECD countries in that measure. Canada’s GHG emissions were 20.3 tonnes per capita, significantly higher than the 17-country average of 12.5 tonnes per capita. Canada’s per capita GHG emissions were nearly three times greater than Switzerland’s, the top performer. During that same time period total GHG emis-sions in Canada grew 17 per cent. “Canada is pretty much a laggard on what it’s doing on environment,” says Anthony Heyes, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Economics at the University of Ottawa. “The U.S., Canada and Australia are the three worst performers and that’s not just in terms of absolute numbers per capita but also in terms of obtaining the international commitments.”

Climate Change

InTernaTIonaL hoSTILITyCanada has a long history of reneging on its international climate change com-mitments. In 1992, Canada signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), commit-ting to stabilizing GHG emissions at 1990 levels by 2000. However by 2000, Canada’s absolute GHG emissions were 22 per cent higher than they had been 10 years earlier. Canada went on to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, pledging to reduce GHG emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. As of 2010, however, absolute GHG emissions remained 17 per cent above 1990 levels.

In Copenhagen in 2009, countries around the world committed to a 17 per cent cut in emissions by 2020. Environment Canada has already admit-ted Canada won’t get there with a best guess of the country getting to around halfway to the target. “The U.S. won’t get there but they’ll get reasonably close whereas Canada appears to be, perhaps the only one amongst the industrialized countries, to be making almost no attempt to get to its international com-mitments.”

Canada’s lack of effort in addressing climate change has been noticed around the world and discontentment with the country is building. “There is hostility toward Canada that has emerged because of the intransigence on climate change policy over the last number of years,” says Heyes.

oIL SandSThe discovery of the oil sands in Alberta about a decade ago changed Canada’s position in international debates. Canada is now sitting on the world’s third-largest reserve of oil which is a far cry from the country’s position 10 years ago at the Kyoto discussions. “Canada’s own self interests have moved on a long way in the decade and that is going make Canada’s position in any international negotiations very difficult,” says Heyes. When sitting on a potential economic boon like the oil sands it’s difficult to let it go. “It’s a different situation if you’re a country that doesn’t have oil or if you’re a country like the UK that had oil but has essentially used it all up,” says Heyes. “Your position is very different to one

that’s really sitting on this very, very large stock.”

Considering the economic potential of the oil sands, the suggestion isn’t to shut it down. The concern centres around how quickly the extraction is done and the regulatory controls and safeguards put in place to be assured it’s done in a responsible way.“I don’t think many serious-minded economists would be saying the oil sands shouldn’t be developed,” says Heyes. “I don’t think this should be seen as a, ‘We mustn’t get oil sands out of the ground.’ I think that would be a crazy decision. But it needs to be done in a way that has respect for the environment. The question is around the trajectory.”

ProVInCIaL reSPonSIBILITyWhile the federal government hasn’t taken a lead on creating an environmen-tal policy on the oil sands and climate change in general, in many ways the Conservatives’ hands are tied. “I’m not saying our current federal government is minded to bear down on Alberta but the provinces have a lot of discretion to manage a lot of their own economic development,” says Heyes. “The decision of how to develop the oil sands is going to be by a large extent driven by political decisions taken in Edmonton not in Ottawa.”

The top five emitters in Canada are Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and British Columbia which together released almost 90 per cent of Canada’s national total of emissions. Yet the com-bined GHG emissions for Ontario and Quebec were lower in 2012 than they were 1990 by about 16 Megatonnes (10 Mt for Ontario and 6 Mt for Quebec). Emissions in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Colombia were higher in 2012 than in 1990 by 31 Mt, 80 Mt and 11 Mt respectively.

In 2012, the combined emissions from Alberta and Ontario represented 60 per cent (36 per cent and 24 per cent respectively) of the national total of 699 Mt. But Ontario has managed to greatly reduce its emissions through the closure of coal-fired electricity generation plants. Alberta has jumped ahead as the highest-emitting province because of the oil sands. “We talk about a greenhouse gas problem and really it’s not a Canadian

GreenhoUSe GaS eMISSIonS By ProVInCe

and TerrITory, Canada 1990, 2005 and 2012

Newfoundland & Labrador19909.2

20059.9

20128.7

199019.1

200523.1

201219.0

199016.0

200520.1

201216.4

Prince Edward Island

Nova Scotia

New Brunswick

19902.0

20052.2

20121.9

199084.0

200585.6

201278.3

Quebec

1990177.2

2005206.5

2012166.9

Ontario

199018.7

200520.9

201221.1

199043.5

200571.1

201274.8

1990169.6

2005231.8

2012249.3

19900.5

20050.5

20120.4

19901.5

20052.0

20121.7

Manitoba

Saskatchewan

Alberta

Yukon

Northwest Territories & Nunavut

199049.4

200562.3

201260.1

British Columbia

Source: www.eg.gc.ca.All greenhouse measurements above are megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent..Note: Emission levels for some previous years have been revised in light of improvements to estimation methods and availability of new data.

Climate Change


problem,” says Heyes. “To a large extent it’s an Alberta problem. Canada is a very big country and different parts are per-forming very differently.”

While Edmonton may be in control of the path in the oil sands, Ottawa is also reading from the same songbook. “I don’t think I would be saying much controver-sial to say that the current federal gov-ernment is very focussed on economic development, has a pretty strong con-stituency in Alberta and the west and that goes with allowing the quite rapid development of the oil sands,” says Heyes.

SoLUTIonSPolluters have been overloading the atmosphere with emissions without punishment for a number of years. “We just don’t dump our waste into our neigh-bour’s backyard and hope to get away with it,” says Stone. “We pay our city a certain amount of money to carry away

our waste. It’s just nonsensical to imag-ine we can dump all of our waste from burning of fossil fuels into the atmo-sphere at no cost. So the first, easiest and most economically sensible thing is to put a price on carbon.”

One way to put a price on carbon is through a carbon tax, a fee placed on greenhouse gas pollution mainly from burning fossil fuels. This can be done by placing a surcharge on carbon-based fuels and other sources of pollution.

In Canada, Alberta and B.C. have implemented a tax with varying degrees of success. B.C. introduced its carbon tax in 2008, incrementally increasing the

tax on CO2-equivalent emissions; it’s now $30 per tonne. The tax has resulted in a 17.4 per cent reduction in green-house gas emissions, without impacting the province’s economy. Alberta also has a carbon tax but its $15-per-tonne levy on only the biggest emitters brings in $70 million annually compared to the tax in B.C., which results in $1.2 billion annually.

The other way to put a price on carbon is via cap and trade. In a cap-and-trade system, government puts a firm limit, or cap, on the overall level of carbon pollu-tion from industry and reduces that cap year after year to reach a set pollution

“The UnderSTandInG of The ThreaT haS BeCoMe CLearer and STronGer aS The

SCIenTIfIC eVIdenCe haS InCreaSed. There IS no dISCUSSIon aBoUT CLIMaTe

ChanGe. WE’VE DETECTED CLIMATE CHANGE. IT IS NOW UNAMBIGUOUS. We are aLSo MUCh More ConfIdenT In

SayInG The PredoMInanT CaUSe of CLIMaTe ChanGe IS The BUrnInG of foSSIL

fUeLS. on WhaT do We do aBoUT IT, ThaT’S NOT ADVANCED PerhaPS QUITe aS RAPIDLY AND AS CONCLUSIVELY.”

– JOHN STONE

target. As the cap decreases each year, it cuts industry’s total greenhouse gas emissions to the limit set by regulation, and then forces polluters that exceed their emissions quota to buy unused quota from other companies.

Quebec implemented this system on Jan. 1, 2013. The government gave out free units in 2013 and 2014. The cap will gradually drop each year starting in 2015 as the amount of free units decreases by one or two per cent in order to encourage companies to further cut GHG emis-sions. Emission units not allocated free of charge are auctioned off by the gov-ernment four times per year. The mini-mum price for 2013 was $10.75, and was scheduled to increase at a rate of 5 per cent plus inflation every year until 2020. Auctions are open to all emitters and other participants registered with the CITSS. All auction proceeds go to the Quebec Green Fund and are earmarked for the financing of the different initia-tives contained in the 2013–2020 Climate Change Action Plan.

There is no consensus on whether cap and trade or a carbon tax works better. Each jurisdiction needs to make a deci-sion that fits their situation. “In textbook economics cap and trade and a carbon tax should be equivalent but on the

The Alberta oil sands have changed Canada’s outlook on climate change.

ground there can be practical differences and politically there can be differences in terms of your ability to sell them,” says Heyes.

Another way to bring down emissions is by utilizing technological advance-ments by switching to renewable, more efficient energy sources that emit less carbon like wind, solar and hydro energy. “We know what to do,” says Stone. “We’ve known what to do for a long time. We just have particularly at the moment a gov-ernment who believes you can’t tackle the environment and have a strong econ-omy at the same time. I think that’s a flawed argument and I’m not alone in that.”

The end of Grand STraTeGyWith the lack of political will around the world, especially in Canada, it’s becom-ing increasingly apparent that a global climate change policy is not likely. “We used to have a grand vision of this kind of grand coalition where all countries would get together under the auspices of

the UN and come up with a good looking, trans-planetary international agree-ment,” says Heyes. “I think the experi-ence of the last 10 years is that’s probably not going to happen.”

The focus is now switching to smaller coalitions, “coalitions of the willing,” as

Heyes calls them, who are willing to show leadership on this issue. “I think there’s an increasing realization that it’s not practical to think you’re going to get all the countries of the world on board,” says Heyes. “Canada has problems bring-ing its provinces on board to obtaining national ends so it’s unrealistic to think we’re going to get there globally. It’s not unrealistic to think that the U.S., China and the EU could sit down and come up with something that’s in the interests of all three of those groups.”

In the meantime, while the powers of the world try and figure out a meaningful agreement, Stone argues there should be a focus on more localized and regional policies. “We should see much more of the bottom up approaches,” he says. “Approaches that we can do as individu-als, approaches we can do as cities or as regions and in fact there’s probably more encouragement from the bottom up actions that have happened recently than the top down global treaties that we’re still working on.”

Stone has been fighting this battle for more than 20 years now. While there has been some progress it has been slow and the implications from inaction have become plain to see. “I wouldn’t say frus-tration is the word although it clearly can be,” says Stone. “It’s worrying. It’s alarm-ing. We’ve done our best to make people aware of the issue because we know the science and we’ve seen what the future can be for our children and grandchil-dren and not seeing anything done about it is worrying and a concern.” L B

Canada ranks 15th of 17 OECD countries in per capita greenhouse gas emissions.

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Lab WAREIMMerSIon CIrCULaTor IdeaL for BaSIC LIQUId heaTInG aPPLICaTIonS A new, highly economical immersion circulator that’s ideal for basic liquid heating applications is now available from PolyScience. Suitable for use in baths as large as 20 litres, LX Immersion Circulator combines simple, intuitive operation with a large digital display to deliver convenient temperature control for a variety of day-to-day laboratory applications. The compact unit has a temperature range of ambient +10 to 98 C and ±0.07 C temperature stability. The PolyScience LX Immersion Circulator features a large digital readout that displays both actual bath temperature and set point temperature simultaneously, built-in timer, single-speed pump, and heavy-duty mounting clamp that attaches securely to both flat and rounded tank walls. www.polyscience.com/en/category-heating-circulators-baths.php#!/category18-tab138

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VICI Valco’s new assortment of PEEK Tubing is one of the largest offerings in the world and is available in a variety of natural PEEK, solid colour coded, dual layer colour coded, striped and dash-stripe coded. Dual Layer Color-Coded eliminates any concern that a critical sample stream could be contaminated by pigments used to colour code the tubing. It looks like any other colour-coded tubing at first glance, but a closer look reveals that the pigmented layer surrounds a separate but integrally bonded inner layer of natural PEEK. The pressure performance is equivalent to single-layer tubing. Dual Layer PEEK tubing is available in a wide range of colors, striped or solid. OD sizes are available in 360 micron, 1/32”, 1/16”, and 1/8” with IDs as small as .002”. www.vici.com

BUChI BrIdGInG The GaP BeTWeen ChroMaToGraPhy and hPLC

BUCHI introduces the innovative PrepChrom C-700 chromatography system, combining flash chromatography with preparative HPLC. Bridging the gap between them, the C-700 sets a new standard for purification of synthesis mixtures or complex natural extracts. The space saving and easy to use system allows organic chemists to perform the complete purification process, using the interactive user interface specially designed for preparative chromatography applications. Combining high-end hardware technology together with the software designed for easy purification, the PrepChrom C-700 is the ideal solution to solve any purification bottleneck in the research of new active compounds.www.buchi.com/prepchrom

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TrI-fITT STaInLeSS STeeL fITTInGS for UhPLC and hPLC

JM Science’s new Tri-Fitt fittings are perfect for very high pressure UHPLC and HPLC applications that require no leaks at pressures at or above 20,000psi. The fittings kit is designed with three separate parts that include a black carbon-PEEK ferrule, a stainless steel triangular ferrule and a stainless steel nut. The carbon PEEK ferrule deforms when the stainless steel nut is tightened and the stainless steel triangular ferrule clamps onto the tubing at the same time to increase the sealing pressure. Both stainless steel parts are reusable while the carbon PEEK ferrule must be replaced when the fitting is removed or loosened.www.jmscience.com

IfL InTeGraTed fLUoroMeTer & GaS eXChanGe SySTeM

iFL Integrated Fluorometer & Gas Exchange System is the most automated and accurate combined photosynthesis system for advanced plant physiology research. ADC BioScientific Ltd introduces the new iFL Integrated fluorometer and gas exchange system. Designed to provide researchers with the most advanced, accurate and reliable plant physiology experimental capabilities. The system allows complete and full automation of multiple protocols and measurement of leaf absorptance, transmittance and chamber leakage for more accurate and reliable data. It also features a large touch screen, colour, graphic display and can be used as a combined system, advanced gas exchange system or powerful chlorophyll fluorometer.www.hoskin.ca

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Tech WATCH


Balances and ScalesThe balance was the first mass measuring instrument invented, however, its importance to the lab is undiminished. All labs require razor precise results and balances and scales are a key area of investment. Balances come in all shapes and sizes for varying levels of lab professionals. There are easy-to-use products for the relative novice, ones that put value on convenience that

maximises daily use, scales where accuracy trumps all and balances that are produced for use in regulated sectors like global pharmaceutical labs that have the most stringent requirements. The latest offerings in the category of balances and scales give fast-paced labs the greatest efficiency available and the most accurate measurements.

Intelligent Features Ensure Compliance and Process Security

Mettler Toldeo’s new line of Excellence Analytical Balances focused on providing users with a high level of process security while making working processes as ergonomic and efficient as possible. The revolutionary new StatusLight allows users to see, at a glance, that all balance tests are up-to-date and that it’s safe to start the weighing process. StaticDetect provides reassurance that weighing results are not influenced by electrostatic charge by automatically checking samples and containers as they are placed on the balance. Other balance intelligence features such as RFID with read-write capabilities, integrated routine test management functionalities, and the newly developed graphical leveling guide simplify daily tasks and help users to ensure compliance with the relevant industry regulations.www.ca.mt.com/ca/en/home.html

OHAUS Explorer Series Features Automatic Draft Shields

OHAUS Corporation carries a multitude of balances that contain numerous innovative features that provide for a modern and weighing experience, such as touchless sensors that support hands-free operation, a modular design for maximum flexibility and minimum weight capability. The draftshield on the Explorer analytical just got even more user-friendly with the introduction of motorized draftshield doors on select new models, which be set to open and close automatically by way of the touchless sensors on the base and display. The draftshields are constructed of antistatic glass that dissipate static in the weighing chamber and all draftshield models come equipped with a chamber light to support visibility and clarity. www.ohausexplorer.com

Acrylic Flow Metres with Interchangeable Scales

Dakota Instruments’ 6A02 acrylic metres are being offered with any one of the interchangeable direct reading scales for water, argon, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and helium. Scales are mounted at the front of the flow body and are positioned and secured by a clear front plate held in place by four screws. A low hysteresis, multi-turn needle valve is included. Dual scales display flow rates in both metric and English units. Long scales facilitate high resolution readings. Optional scales can be developed for diverse flow conditions facilitating OEM applications. The yellow colored backing enhances scale readability and helps minimize eye fatigue.www.DakotaInstruments.com

Cole-Parmer Introduces Balance With Increased Accuracy and Response

Sartorius Cubis Analytical Balances incorporate a precisely machined second generation monolithic weigh cell for increased accuracy and ultrafast response. This design delivers quick results with outstanding repeatability. It offers the highest level of safety by providing uncompromising reliability of weighing results and conformity to standards. It automatically checks, performs, and documents its exact leveling. As a part of the Cubis modular series, it allows customization of the display, weighing module, and draft shield for specific lab applications. The balance is ideal for basic weighing, weighing in percent, averaging (animal weighing), mass unit conversation, counting, formulation, density determination, totalizing, check weighing, second tare memory, individual identifiers (IDs), calculations, statistics, and time-controlled functions.www.ColeParmer.ca/20895


In The SPOTLIGHT

With genetics being one of the most exciting research areas at the moment, it’s important to remember the 130th anniversary of Gregor Mendel’s death. The founder of modern genetic science, Mendel’s experiments conducted between 1856 and 1863 explored the characteristics of pea plants including: plant height, pod shape and colour, seed shape and colour, and flower position and colour. The experiments established many of the rules of heredity, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance. In 1866 Mendel published his work, describing what would eventually be called genes as the actions of invisible “factors”, which created visible traits in predictable ways. But the significance of Mendel’s work was not recognized for more than three decades with the independent rediscovery of these laws, which ushered in the modern age of genetics. L B

130th Anniversary of Gregor Mendel�s Death

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8 May/June 2014 14 · 2014-09-17 · May/JUne 2014 20 LAB ware 8 SUZUKI matters. Truly inspired...

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Transcript of 8 May/June 2014 14 · 2014-09-17 · May/JUne 2014 20 LAB ware 8 SUZUKI matters. Truly inspired...