The Conversation

University of Toronto

Established in 1827, the University of Toronto has one of the strongest research and teaching faculties in North America, presenting top students at all levels with an intellectual environment unmatched in depth and breadth on any other Canadian campus.

With more than 75,000 students across three campuses (St. George, Mississauga and Scarborough) and over 450,000 alumni active in every region of the world, U of T’s influence is felt in every area of human endeavour.

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Displaying 1 - 20 of 241 articles

Dementia patients are often the perpetrators and often the victims of abuse. Research also shows that a medical history of head injury can more than double the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in some populations, even after many years. (Shutterstock)

Dementia’s hidden darkness: Violence and domestic abuse

Donald Weaver, University of Toronto

From aggressive patients with Alzheimer's to frustrated caregivers, dementia is increasingly entwined with violence in private homes and residential facilities.
Books such as Ayelet Waldman’s A Really Good Day and Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind have drawn popular attention to the practise of ‘microdosing’ psychedelics. (Shutterstock)

‘Microdosers’ of LSD and magic mushrooms are wiser and more creative

Thomas Anderson, University of Toronto and Rotem Petranker, York University, Canada

According to new research, individuals who take small regular doses of psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin mushrooms score higher on mental health, well-being and creativity.
The twice-annual time changes affect people similar to the way jet lag does. It’s time to abolish Daylight Saving Time. Sevgi001453d/Pixabay

Here’s what happens the day after the clocks change

Lisa Kramer, University of Toronto

Research shows that daylight-saving time changes do more harm than good. It's time to abolish the practice.
A new group of Central American migrants walk past Mexican Federal Police after wading across the Suchiate River, that connects Guatemala and Mexico, in Tecun Uman, Guatemala, Oct. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Santiago Billy)

Why does the migrant ‘caravan’ exist? And how did it come to be?

Jerry Flores, University of Toronto

A migrant caravan of almost 7,000 people who left Guatemala and Honduras is heading north towards the United States. The reasons they are leaving are complex but involve a U.S.-backed violent history.
Chief Archie Waquan responds to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision on whether the government has a duty to consult Indigenous people on legislation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken

Let Indigenous treaties – not the duty to consult – lead us to reconciliation

Alexandra Flynn, University of Toronto and Clara MacCallum Fraser, York University, Canada

Rather than the duty to consult, governments should proactively engage with Indigenous treaties or other locally relevant treaties, agreements, laws and relationships at all stages of law-making.
There is a long history of ‘visual apartheid’ in the advertising of the outdoors industry – an absence of Indigenous, Black and other people of colour. (Unsplash/Esther wiegardt)

‘Do white people dominate the outdoors?’

Jacqueline L. Scott, University of Toronto

Canada's iconic retailer of outdoor adventure gear recently decided to change its mostly white image by diversifying the catalogue to better reflect the reality of its customers.
An animal experiment in a laboratory of the pharmaceutical company “Chemie Gruenenthal,” which manufactured the drug Thalidomide, in West Germany in 1969. Thalidomide was prescribed by doctors as a mild sleeping pill and for relief of morning sickness but caused the miscarriage and birth of thousands of children with severe malformations globally. (AP Photo/File)

We need answers to the thalidomide tragedy – to ensure drug safety today

Joel Lexchin, University of Toronto

A new book, 'The Thalidomide Catastrophe,' raises new questions about the conduct of corporations involved. It is the duty of governments to find out the answers.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland hold a news conference on the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) in Ottawa on Oct. 1, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

How the new USMCA strengthens Canada in future trade deals

Andrew McDougall, University of Toronto

The USMCA, while imperfect, is overall a positive development for Canada. It has a number of structural elements that may very well leave us stronger when negotiating trade pacts in the future.
In this Oct. 10, 2018, photo, a man walks past a boat swept ashore by a tsunami in Wani village on the outskirt of Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The 7.5 magnitude earthquake on Sept. 28, triggered a tsunami and mudslides. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, File)

Why some earthquakes are so deadly

Lindsay Schoenbohm, University of Toronto

Last month's earthquake in Sulawesi, Indonesia was large, but not huge. It was the aftereffects that made it so devastating.
First lady Melania Trump looks out over Nairobi National Park in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Oct. 5, 2018, during a safari guided by Nelly Palmeris, right. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Melania Trump’s pith helmet is not just a hat

Jacqueline L. Scott, University of Toronto

When you are the first lady of the United States, your fashion choices are scrutinized. Why did Melania Trump choose to wear a pith helmet, a classic symbol of colonialism?
Ontario Premier Doug Ford returns to the provincial legislature during a midnight session to debate the bill that cut the size of Toronto city council from 47 representatives to 25 in September 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Toronto must keep fighting Doug Ford – for the good of democracy

Estair Van Wagner, York University, Canada and Alexandra Flynn, University of Toronto

City council is a level of government deserving of recognition and autonomy. That's why Toronto must continue to fight Ontario's attempt to exert its will over the city.
A dilapidated house in the northern Ontario First Nation of Attawapiskat is seen in April 2016. The parliamentary budget officer says it will cost more than $3 billion to bring First Nations water infrastructure up to standards seen in comparable non-Indigenous communities. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

How Canada can, and must, empower Indigenous communities

Walid Hejazi, University of Toronto

If we continue to shut Indigenous communities out of the modern economy, critical infrastructure projects will continue to be delayed and natural resources will remain stuck in the ground.
There is a growing research literature suggesting psychedelics hold incredible promise for treating mental health ailments ranging from depression and anxiety to PTSD. (Shutterstock)

Opening up the future of psychedelic science

Thomas Anderson, University of Toronto and Rotem Petranker, York University, Canada

To know the real promise of psychedelic substances like LSD, mushrooms and MDMA, researchers must embrace the principles and practise of 'open science.'
In less than a month, marijuana can be legally purchased from private retailers in Ontario and some other places across Canada. Are we ready for it? THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Are we really ready for privatized pot sales?

David Soberman, University of Toronto

As marijuana legalization looms and we we contemplate the future of cannabis sales in Canada, there are still lots of questions for both the public and government to consider.
Sirley Silveira Paixao, an immigrant from Brazil seeking asylum, kisses her 10-year-old son Diego Magalhaes, after he is released from immigration detention in Chicago on July 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

Drugging detained children is like using a chemical straitjacket

Jerry Flores, University of Toronto and Kati Barahona-Lopez, University of California, Santa Cruz

Psychotropic medication is 'pharmaceutical violence' against migrant children and other incarcerated youth throughout the United States. Drug addiction is one consequence.
Serena Williams looks at her box during the women’s final of the U.S. Open tennis tournament against Naomi Osaka, of Japan on Sept. 8, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

That racist caricature of Serena Williams makes me so angry

Jacqueline L. Scott, University of Toronto

Serena Williams challenged decades of stereotypes when she revealed her anger after she disagreed with a U.S. Open umpire. A racist caricature and calls to boycott her playing by umpires followed.
‘Hotel Mumbai’ is a gripping film that provides a glimpse into the fear and brutality of terrorism but also the everyday bravery of its victims. Here Armie Hammer in ‘Hotel Mumbai.’ Courtesy of TIFF

Terrorism at the Taj: ‘Hotel Mumbai’ pulls no punches at TIFF

Joseph McQuade, University of Toronto and Emily LeDuc, Queen's University, Ontario

'Hotel Mumbai,' which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, is an 'anthem of resistance;' a film that highlights the things ordinary people can do in extraordinary circumstances.
Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease presents unique challenges, when a patient is still working or parenting children.The personality changes involved can result in job loss or divorce before a diagnosis is made. (Shutterstock)

Is that ‘midlife crisis’ really Alzheimer’s disease?

Carmela Tartaglia, University of Toronto

Alzheimer's disease affects many people under the age of 65. The 'young-onset' version of the disease is often misdiagnosed as depression or dismissed as a midlife crisis.

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