Research yields hope a rare disorder can be treated, leaving Brockville mom optimistic
There are early signs that gene therapy can treat a rare neurodevelopmental condition, leaving a Brockville-area mother excited about the possibilities for her son.
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'It's more than good news,' said Kirsti Bakker, founder and president of the XLID98 Foundation, which hosted its first online symposium over the weekend.
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Hosted in Mississauga on Saturday, the eight-hour virtual conference brought together researchers, clinicians, and families affected by XLID98, an extremely rare neurodevelopmental condition.
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And its highlights included indications – albeit very preliminary – that gene therapy can prevent the condition's symptoms.
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'There is hope now,' Dr. Jagdeep Walia, a clinical geneticist and professor at Queen's University, said in an interview on Wednesday.
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Walia is also the doctor dealing with Liam Bakker, 28, Mike and Kirsti Bakker's son, who was born with a rare mutation of an X-linked gene. The condition, once known as KIAA2022 but since redesignated by medical authorities as XLID98, stands for X (chromosome) Linked Intellectual Disability, the 98th of which has been categorized.
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XLID98 has left Liam nonverbal, autistic, and physically disabled as well. While many XLID98 patients have suffered multiple seizures, Liam has only suffered two in his life so far.
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Over the years, the Brockville-area parents and their other children have put in the considerable effort required to allow Liam to live outside a group home, attend school and receive care at home. Liam currently lives in a granny suite in the family's home.
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'He's living and loving life, but I can tell you that it's always a struggle to maintain a full rotation of workers' who help support him, said Kirsti Bakker.
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A 2015 article in The Recorder and Times about the family's struggle was discovered online by a family in the Netherlands, leading to a friendship with the Bakkers. From there, over the ensuing decade, the online community of XLID98 families has grown considerably.
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As of earlier this week, Kirsti Bakker said, there were 296 people identified as having the condition, 178 females and 118 males, in 38 countries.
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3 hours ago
- Cision Canada
Rock Tech Lithium Receives $388,074 in Funding from Ontario's Critical Minerals Innovation Fund
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This strategic initiative is being conducted in partnership with Queen's University and Stark Technologies and aims to unlock new economic and environmental value from lithium deposits at Rock Tech's Georgia Lake site near Beardmore, Ontario. The funding will accelerate research and pilot testing of innovative ore sorting solutions that target 80% lithium recovery rates from low-grade ores (0.3–0.5% Li₂O), traditionally considered uneconomic. The goal is to enhance the viability and sustainability of lithium production in Canada, directly supporting the province's critical minerals strategy and clean energy transition. "We're proud to have the support of the Government of Ontario through the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund," said Mirco Wojnarowicz, Chief Executive Officer at Rock Tech. "This project brings together academia, technology, and industry to solve one of the key challenges in lithium production – making lower-grade resources viable. It's a major step forward for sustainable critical minerals development in Ontario." Key Objectives Develop and prototype an innovative, energy-efficient sorting process Achieve 80% lithium recovery from low-grade spodumene ores Foster collaboration between academia, technology providers, and industry Support commercialization and broader investment in Ontario's lithium sector "Ontario is charging ahead as a global leader in critical minerals - and the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund is powering that momentum," said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines. "This project with Rock Tech, Queen's University, and Stark Technologies is exactly the kind of smart collaboration that moves critical minerals from concept to production - strengthening our supply chains, creating local jobs, and driving clean energy progress. This is how we lead; this is how we win, and this is how we build a stronger Ontario for generations to come." 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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable securities laws and are referred to herein as "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, which address events, results, outcomes or developments that the Company expects to occur are forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "predicts", "believes", "estimates", "intends", "targets", "projects", "forecasts", "may", "will", "should", "would", "could" or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the Company's intentions with respect to the development and timing thereof and statements regarding further exploration activities future plans, activities and schedules relating to such projects and related development including the Guben Converter, the second converter in North Amerika and/or and the Georgia Lake Spodumene project ; statements regarding the Company's future plans, estimates, and schedules relating to the Guben Converter, the NA converter and/or the Georgia Lake Spodumene project, including the anticipated timing of future activities taken in support of the development thereof; Rock Tech's potential financing arrangements; the anticipated timing and outcomes of a final investment decision and regulatory approvals, construction activities and commissioning of the Guben Converter; statements regarding the Company's sustainability and ESG related goals and strategy, including the benefits and achievement thereof and future actions taken by the Company in relation thereto; Rock Tech's opinions, beliefs and expectations regarding the Company's business strategy, development and exploration opportunities and projects; and plans and objectives of management for the Company's operations and properties. Forward-looking statements by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; inability to complete the financing in connection with the Transaction; delay or failure to close the Transaction; and uncertainties and other factors discussed in the Company's most recent management's discussion and analysis and annual information form filed with the applicable securities regulators. No assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, and the Company cautions the reader not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, nor does it assume any obligation to update or revise any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, changes in assumptions, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. SOURCE Rock Tech Lithium Inc.
5 days ago
How do you make a campus more sustainable? These universities did it with GoPros and selling leftovers
Using GoPros to monitor tree seedlings and tackling campus food insecurity through leftovers are among the initiatives that helped propel two Canadian universities into the top 10 in a U.K. ranking of efforts at post-secondary schools worldwide to meet United Nations goals for a sustainable planet. Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., and the University of Alberta are among the top 10 institutions in the world when it comes to advancing UN goals such as ending poverty and protecting the planet, according to Times Higher Education's 2025 Impact Rankings. The 17 sustainable development goals, established by the UN in 2015 as a call to action to tackle pervasive global issues and ensure prosperity across the globe, range from ending world hunger to taking climate action and ensuring access to health and education. The goals were unanimously adopted by member countries at the time, but the UN warned last year that less than one-fifth of the targets are on track to be achieved by the deadline in 2030. Times Higher Education's Impact Rankings is the only ranking system that looks at how universities are helping to address these UN goals through research and education, as well as campus and community programs, according to the publication. Universities are actually uniquely positioned to help solve the sustainable development goals, Ellie Bothwell, rankings editor at Times Higher Education, told CBC News. Enlarge image (new window) This United Nations infographic shows the 17 sustainable development goals established in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Photo: United Nations Not only can they drive research efforts to find solutions and teach the next generation of problem-solvers, she said, but universities also collaborate heavily with surrounding communities locally, nationally and on campus. They're sort of mini-cities in a way themselves. The rankings (new window) , released Tuesday, assessed more than 2,500 universities from 130 countries and territories for their sustainability progress, including 24 from Canada. Queen's University was the highest-scoring Canadian university, tying for sixth place overall with Arizona State University. Programs reducing food waste and insecurity on campus and research into green supercomputers and lowering emissions are among the factors keeping them ahead of the pack, Queen's says. The University of Alberta also made it to the top 10, at eighth place. Seven Canadian universities were ranked in the global top 50, the most for any country after Australia, which netted nine. Canadian universities perform really strongly, Bothwell said. Lots of [Canadian universities] were among the first to sort of commit to be carbon neutral or to publish really quite detailed sustainability reports on their own emissions. So, yeah, we see Canada among those leading the way on this. A Queen's University student conducts field work at the Queen's University Biological Station, where students learn about ecology first-hand. Photo: Queen's University To be included in the rankings, which have been conducted since 2019, universities submit data each year on their progress toward the goals. Their progress in advancing a specific goal, such as ending poverty, for example, is scored using factors such as the number of research publications universities put out on that topic, courses and campus programs addressing it, and partnerships with governments, non-governmental organizations and other post-secondary institutions. Canadian universities scored high in several individual categories. The University of Alberta was ranked first in the industry, innovation and infrastructure goal along with 11 other universities, while the University of Victoria came in second for advancing sustainable cities and communities. How Canadian universities are pursuing sustainability At Queen's University, the goals are considered in every department, said principal and vice-chancellor Patrick Deane. Whatever we do here needs to be green. It needs to be properly responsive to the sustainable goals, he told CBC News. [It's] critically important for the health of societies, the health of individuals and the health of the planet that we make progress on all of these. So it's a matter of urgency. Queen's University is the only Canadian institution to have been in the top 10 of the rankings for five years straight, and jumped two places this year compared to last year's ranking. It's a vindication for the work it has been doing, Deane said. Enlarge image (new window) Queen's University has run the PEACH Market since 2022, one of several campus initiatives aimed at reducing food waste and making healthy food more accessible to the community. It works by repurposing leftovers to sell to the community on a sliding scale pricing model. Photo: Queen's University In the individual goals, Queen's University was ranked second in two: peace, justice and strong institutions; and furthering sustainable oceans. Queen's came first globally for addressing the goal of zero hunger. One of the programs highlighting the university's commitment to addressing food insecurity, according to Deane, is its Providing Equal Access, Changing Hunger (PEACH) Market, started in 2022, where leftover food from Queen's hospitality services is then sold on a pay-what-you-can model. Queen's is also developing a software-automated aeroponic vertical farm, a type of farming that uses less land and water. Deane said that as researchers look to expand supercomputing and artificial intelligence capacity in Canada, Queen's is also working on more environmentally friendly and efficient supercomputers to cut the ecological cost of energy-hungry AI. The rankings have made the university much more deliberate about this work, he said. And I think that's what's required if we're going to get where we need to be on these goals. St. Joseph's College on the University of Alberta campus is shown here in August 2019 in Edmonton. U of A is one of two Canadian universities ranked in the top 10 globally for its work advancing the UN sustainable development goals. Photo: CBC / Codie McLachlan At the University of Alberta, graduate student Sarun Khadka found that GoPros could monitor tree seedlings as accurately as humans, potentially making monitoring more efficient and accessible, a spokesperson told CBC News. Other examples of how the university is addressing the sustainability goals include a new course to help future urban planners find practical tools for climate adaptation and a new interdisciplinary research centre focused on water safety. Universities in Asia saw advances in sustainable development in the latest ranking, Bothwell said, with a university from South Korea (Kyungpook National University) and one from Indonesia (Universitas Airlangga) entering the top 10 for the first time. U.S. has 1 university in top 50 Asian universities now lead 10 out of the 17 individual ... rankings, up from five last year, Bothwell said. That's something that's been really pleasing to see. The U.S., despite being known as a research powerhouse, had only one university in the global top 50, compared to three in last year's ranking. It's striking that there are relatively low numbers of U.S. universities, given the size of the sector, Bothwell said. The U.S. formally withdrew its support of the goals earlier this year, with Edward Heartney, a minister-counsellor at the U.S. mission to the United Nations, stating at a March meeting of the General Assembly that the U.S. rejects and denounces the shared UN goals. Enlarge image (new window) The campus of Queen's University is seen from above in this panorama. Photo: Queen's University With global progress toward the goals already slowed by widespread disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic and global conflicts, and the United Nations warning that progress on more than one-third of the goals had "stalled or regressed (new window) " as of 2024, it's an uphill battle, but one Bothwell says post-secondary institutions are still fighting. There is certainly skepticism about whether nations will be able to reach the goals, Bothwell said. I would say though that I think that universities are showing amazing resilience and momentum and continuing to make an impact, striving to keep progress going even when maybe nationally the governments aren't focusing as much on this as they could. Alexandra Mae Jones (new window) · CBC News Alexandra Mae Jones is a senior writer for CBC News based in Toronto. She has written on a variety of topics, from health to pop culture to breaking news, and previously reported for CTV News and the Toronto Star. She joined CBC in 2024. You can reach her at
CBC
5 days ago
- CBC
How do you make a campus more sustainable? These universities did it with GoPros and selling leftovers
Social Sharing Using GoPros to monitor tree seedlings and tackling campus food insecurity through leftovers are among the initiatives that helped propel two Canadian universities into the top 10 in a U.K. ranking of efforts at post-secondary schools worldwide to meet United Nations goals for a sustainable planet. Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., and the University of Alberta are among the top 10 institutions in the world when it comes to advancing UN goals such as ending poverty and protecting the planet, according to Times Higher Education's 2025 Impact Rankings. The 17 sustainable development goals, established by the UN in 2015 as a call to action to tackle pervasive global issues and ensure prosperity across the globe, range from ending world hunger to taking climate action and ensuring access to health and education. The goals were unanimously adopted by member countries at the time, but the UN warned last year that less than one-fifth of the targets are on track to be achieved by the deadline in 2030. Times Higher Education's Impact Rankings is the only ranking system that looks at how universities are helping to address these UN goals through research and education, as well as campus and community programs, according to the publication. "Universities are actually uniquely positioned to help solve the sustainable development goals," Ellie Bothwell, rankings editor at Times Higher Education, told CBC News. Not only can they drive research efforts to find solutions and teach the next generation of problem-solvers, she said, but universities also collaborate heavily with surrounding communities locally, nationally and on campus. "They're sort of mini-cities in a way themselves." The rankings, released Tuesday, assessed more than 2,500 universities from 130 countries and territories for their sustainability progress, including 24 from Canada. Queen's University was the highest-scoring Canadian university, tying for sixth place overall with Arizona State University. Programs reducing food waste and insecurity on campus and research into green supercomputers and lowering emissions are among the factors keeping them ahead of the pack, Queen's says. The University of Alberta also made it to the top 10, at eighth place. Seven Canadian universities were ranked in the global top 50, the most for any country after Australia, which netted nine. "Canadian universities perform really strongly," Bothwell said. "Lots of [Canadian universities] were among the first to sort of commit to be carbon neutral or to publish really quite detailed sustainability reports on their own emissions. So, yeah, we see Canada among those leading the way on this." To be included in the rankings, which have been conducted since 2019, universities submit data each year on their progress toward the goals. Their progress in advancing a specific goal, such as ending poverty, for example, is scored using factors such as the number of research publications universities put out on that topic, courses and campus programs addressing it, and partnerships with governments, non-governmental organizations and other post-secondary institutions. Canadian universities scored high in several individual categories. The University of Alberta was ranked first in the industry, innovation and infrastructure goal along with 11 other universities, while the University of Victoria came in second for advancing sustainable cities and communities. How Canadian universities are pursuing sustainability At Queen's University, the goals are considered in every department, said principal and vice-chancellor Patrick Deane. "Whatever we do here needs to be green. It needs to be properly responsive to the sustainable goals," he told CBC News. "[It's] critically important for the health of societies, the health of individuals and the health of the planet that we make progress on all of these. So it's a matter of urgency." Queen's University is the only Canadian institution to have been in the top 10 of the rankings for five years straight, and jumped two places this year compared to last year's ranking. It's a "vindication for the work" it has been doing, Deane said. In the individual goals, Queen's University was ranked second in two: peace, justice and strong institutions; and furthering sustainable oceans. Queen's came first globally for addressing the goal of zero hunger. One of the programs highlighting the university's commitment to addressing food insecurity, according to Deane, is its Providing Equal Access, Changing Hunger (PEACH) Market, started in 2022, where leftover food from Queen's hospitality services is then sold on a pay-what-you-can model. Queen's is also developing a software-automated aeroponic vertical farm, a type of farming that uses less land and water. Deane said that as researchers look to expand supercomputing and artificial intelligence capacity in Canada, Queen's is also working on more environmentally friendly and efficient supercomputers to cut the ecological cost of energy-hungry AI. The rankings have made the university "much more deliberate about this work," he said. "And I think that's what's required if we're going to get where we need to be on these goals." At the University of Alberta, graduate student Sarun Khadka found that GoPros could monitor tree seedlings as accurately as humans, potentially making monitoring more "efficient and accessible," a spokesperson told CBC News. Other examples of how the university is addressing the sustainability goals include a new course to help future urban planners find practical tools for climate adaptation and a new interdisciplinary research centre focused on water safety. Universities in Asia saw advances in sustainable development in the latest ranking, Bothwell said, with a university from South Korea (Kyungpook National University) and one from Indonesia (Universitas Airlangga) entering the top 10 for the first time. U.S. has 1 university in top 50 "Asian universities now lead 10 out of the 17 individual ... rankings, up from five last year," Bothwell said. "That's something that's been really pleasing to see." The U.S., despite being known as a research powerhouse, had only one university in the global top 50, compared to three in last year's ranking. "It's striking that there are relatively low numbers of U.S. universities, given the size of the sector," Bothwell said. The U.S. formally withdrew its support of the goals earlier this year, with Edward Heartney, a minister-counsellor at the U.S. mission to the United Nations, stating at a March meeting of the General Assembly that the U.S. "rejects and denounces" the shared UN goals. With global progress toward the goals already slowed by widespread disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic and global conflicts, and the United Nations warning that progress on more than one-third of the goals had " stalled or regressed" as of 2024, it's an uphill battle, but one Bothwell says post-secondary institutions are still fighting. "There is certainly skepticism about whether nations will be able to reach the goals," Bothwell said. "I would say though that I think that universities are showing amazing resilience and momentum and continuing to make an impact, striving to keep progress going even when maybe nationally the governments aren't focusing as much on this as they could."
