Carolyn

See You at the (Seniors Discovery) Fair

June 12, 2015 | Carolyn | Comments (0)

June is Seniors Month at the Toronto Public Library, and as part of the celebration the North York Central Library is holding its annual Seniors Discovery Fair on Tuesday June 23. Stop by the Auditorium between 2:00 and 4:00 and meet representatives from community organizations such as Toronto Public Health, Toronto Police Services and the […]

Be prepared: health information for travellers

May 29, 2015 | Carolyn | Comments (4)

The peak summer travel season will soon be here. If you're thinking of taking a trip this year, make travel health part of your planning. I'm glad I did. When I recently paid my first ever visit to a travel medicine clinic, here is what I thought would happen: the doctor would warn me about […]

The Next Big Thing – food edition

May 1, 2015 | Carolyn | Comments (0)

"Modern Kitchen, after Hanna Barbera" Image courtesy of Mike Licht, via Creative Commons License Food trends are big business. Food and beverage companies have research departments and consultants who analyze sales data and health research to predict which foods will become popular. These food coolhunters also mine the internet and social media for information on trending […]

Water, water, every where*

April 14, 2015 | Carolyn | Comments (0)

"Blue drop" by mjtmail (tiggy). Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons  In Canada we are blessed with an abundance of water. When I thought about it at all, I used to think that my water consumption was about brushing my teeth, doing the laundry and watering the garden. A book I read recently […]

A Modern Plague

April 2, 2015 | Carolyn | Comments (0)

In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio curses the feuding families by wishing "A plague on both your houses". I find it interesting that in Shakespeare's time a plague – a disease – was considered one of the worst curses one could wish on an enemy. Burying Plague Victims of Tournai. Public doman image. What was once […]

Your custom home

March 6, 2015 | Carolyn | Comments (0)

Do you dream about your forever home – a home so perfectly suited to your needs that you'll never move again? Lots of people do. But finding the perfect home in the perfect location can be a pretty daunting task. No wonder many people decide to build their dream homes. Custom building allows you to […]

Is sugar the new fat?

February 6, 2015 | Carolyn | Comments (2)

   Photo by Uwe Hermann. Creative Commons licence. From the Paleo diet to buttered coffee, fat is making a comeback after decades in the dietary wilderness. For years the conventional wisdom was that dietary fat was responsible for many chronic health problems. Studies starting in the 1960s appeared to show a strong relationship between saturated […]

Learn more about the scientists in “The Imitation Game” and “The Theory of Everything”

January 9, 2015 | Carolyn | Comments (1)

Holiday movie releases usually range from action-packed to family-friendly. Two of the movies I saw over this holiday season didn't fit into the usual categories; instead, they're based on the lives of two of the twentieth century's most intriguing scientists. The Imitation Game tells the story of the British intelligence officers who cracked the German Enigma machine code […]

Calling all amateur scientists

December 12, 2014 | Carolyn | Comments (0)

Public domain image. From Nicole Oresme's "Traité de la sphère". For most of human history, all scientists were amateurs… Are you among the many people who attend our science programs or pick up our monthly Free Science Events (PDF) calendars? If so, why not take your interest in science to the next level by becoming a citizen scientist? What […]

Great popular science books: the new and the “new-ish”

November 14, 2014 | Carolyn | Comments (0)

The Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books  celebrates outstanding popular science books published in English. I find the books nominated for this award are always informative, engaging and well-written – in other words, great popular science reads. The award for 2014 was announced on November 10. The winning book is: Stuff Matters by Mark […]