Marc Garneau left lasting legacy on Earth and in space, former colleagues say

Mission specialist Marc Garneau waves to photographers as he leaves the Operations and Checkout Building with four other crew members for a trip to Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B and a planned liftoff on the space shuttle Endeavour in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Nov. 30, 2000. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Chris O'Meara

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Cision Canada

an hour ago

• Cision Canada

Media Advisory - Simultaneous launch of Canadian space technologies Français

LONGUEUIL, QC, June 21, 2025 /CNW/ - Several technologies funded by the Canadian Space Agency under the Space Technology Development Program will be launched into space by SpaceX. These projects are a testament to Canada's leadership in space innovation. EarthDaily Analytics will use high-precision thermal imagers to monitor plant transpiration. The data collected could help farmers make decisions about irrigation, fertilization and crop rotation. It could also provide precise information about areas at greatest risk of wildfires, in order to protect our communities. INO provided infrared cameras as part of this project. Galaxia will launch its first satellite, MÖBIUS-1, a software-defined satellite designed to carry various types of Earth observation sensors. The MÖBIUS constellation could be used for a variety of applications, such as defence, environmental monitoring, agriculture, infrastructure, maritime operations and transportation. GHGSat will add two satellites to its commercial constellation, bringing the company's total to 13 methane detection satellites and one CO 2 detection satellite. Mission Control will test its onboard artificial intelligence (AI) software and machine learning operations system SpacefarerAI™ in partnership with Spire Global. Their Persistence mission aims to show how AI can analyze satellite images directly in space, thereby eliminating the need to send all data to Earth for processing. Xona Space Systems will test Pulsar, a demonstration satellite designed to validate a new generation of satellite navigation from low Earth orbit. This technology could improve precision and reliability of positioning services, including in urban areas, remote areas and the Arctic. Also contributing to the GHGSat and EarthDaily Analytics satellites are ABB 's business unit in Quebec, supplying sophisticated optical sensors, and Xiphos Systems, providing high-performance onboard processors. These innovations demonstrate the ability of Canadian companies to develop innovative technologies that meet the needs of the space program and have strong commercial potential. Media who wish to speak with a Canadian Space Agency expert or a representative from one of these Canadian companies are asked to contact the Media Relations Office.

Winnipeg Free Press

3 hours ago

• Winnipeg Free Press

B.C. student created wildfire map during own evacuation from Manitoba fire zone

University of British Columbia Okanagan geography student Jenna Taylor went home last month to spend time with her family in Flin Flon, Man. A relaxing break did not ensue. Taylor and her family would join thousands of evacuees on May 27, fleeing wildfires that prompted a provincewide state of emergency and spread to less than one kilometre from their home. Instead of despairing, Taylor put her skills to use by building an interactive website to provide visualizations of the spread of the fires, their intensity and other information. 'I mean, it's so easy in a situation like this to just kind of constantly be doom-scrolling through social media,' said Taylor, 'and it's hard to be in the dark and not know what's going on.' By manually pulling data from Canadian government sites and NASA databases, Taylor was able to create a resource for others affected by the wildfires. The site includes time-lapse visualizations of the fires, as well as wind and air-quality forecasts. 'In a way, it's hard because I wish I didn't have to make this project,' Taylor said. 'The reality of it is that I'm in this situation, and I guess I did the best work I could for the position that we're all in.' To date, the Manitoba wildfires have displaced more than 17,000 people, including 5,000 residents of Flin Flon near the Saskatchewan boundary. Among the hardest-hit locations was the village of Denare Beach, Sask., about 22 kilometres southwest of Flin Flon, where more than 200 primary residences burned down. 'It's a place that we all hold really close to our hearts, and that's really difficult,' said Taylor. UBC Okanagan said the site was a 'full emergency information hub.' It also lists ways for people to donate to evacuees and others suffering losses. 'I think that was my biggest thing was I wanted to spread awareness, not so much have this be simply like a fire update resource, because there's already lots of official government ones,' said Taylor. She credited a cartography and map-making course for the skills to build the site, which took her about two weeks. 'It was really nice to have that feeling and also know that I did something with my schooling that was more than just an assignment,' said Taylor. Jonathan Cinnamon, an associate professor with the university's Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, said Taylor's website showed the real-world applications of such studies. 'A perfect example is Taylor's invaluable website, which contains up-to-date wildfire and weather maps to support decision-making in affected communities,' said Cinnamon. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Residents of Flin Flon have been told they may be able to return by the middle of next week as officials prepare to lift the mandatory evacuation order. 'We're all ready to go home,' said Taylor, 'Hopefully, I can go back home to Flin Flon soon, and then in September, I'll be back in school, and I'm excited to be able to finish my degree soon.' She said her career goal was supporting people when devastating events occur. 'I think that'd be really cool one day.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June. 18, 2025.

CTV News

4 hours ago

• CTV News

Woman off insulin for Type 1 diabetes after a single dose of experimental manufactured stem cells

Amanda Smith celebrates the day, August 1, nearly two years ago, when she stopped taking insulin to manage her type one diabetes, just a few months after getting a dose of experimental stem cells as part of a study. 'I remember, like, being scared and excited, and it's history now,' she said. The 36-year-old nurse and mother is part of a small, but what some call 'milestone study,' of patients with Type 1 Diabetes using manufactured stem cells, designed to grow in the liver and become the full array of islet cells array of pancreatic islet cells that naturally control blood sugar levels. In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers report that of the 12 patients who received a single dose of the stem cells, it eliminated the need for insulin in 10 for at least a year and stopped episodes of low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, which can lead to dangerous complications, even death. For Amanda, the treatment has been a blessing. Diagnosed with late-onset juvenile diabetes when she was 25, she was plagued with sudden bouts of low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia that would leave her faint, despite close monitoring. The risk was a diabetic coma or worse. 'I get emotional because I'm free from those handcuffs ... I don't have that looming over me every day,' she said from her home in London, Ont. 'I took it as a death sentence,' she said. 'I knew, eventually, like the end is always some sort of complication with diabetes,' she said 'We've ... dealt with a lot of patients that have struggled with diabetes. And to be able to see such a transformational change in their life is just amazing,' said Dr. Trevor Reichman, the lead author and the Surgical Director of the Pancreas and Islet Cell Transplant Program at the University Health Network in Toronto. Dr. Trevor Reichman Dr. Trevor Reichman appears for an interview with CTV News. Reichman says it is the first time that scientists have seen this kind of response with implanted stem cell-derived islets. Vertex, a Boston-based biotech company that sponsored the study, derived the cells from embryonic tissue and then found a way to grow them stem cells in large quantities. Researchers, working at centers in the U.S. and at least three transplant hospitals in Canada, infused them into the patient's liver. Over the next four to six months, Reichman said they transformed into the array of hormone-producing cells found in a normal pancreas, and they were monitoring the patients' blood sugar levels in real time. 'In the liver, they're sensing a patient's blood glucose level, and they're secreting the appropriate hormone,' said Reichman. adding that these biological replacements appear to sense changes in 'seconds or milliseconds. Essentially, it's the same as your native islet cells would function.' 'I think the data is just so very exciting, so very, very powerful,' said Dr. Peter Senior, director of the Alberta Diabetes Institute at the University of Alberta. He was not part of this study. 'The primary objective of the study was just to show that the blood sugars were better and that people were not having severe hypoglycemia. They blew past that. Ten of the 12 people are off insulin,' said Senior. ' It's never been done before in history' said Dr. Michael Thompson, director of Vancouver General Diabetes Centre. 'It's first time they a have achieved a high enough levels of insulin in patients,'using a stem cell product 'It's a big advance' he added. But there's a tradeoff. The patients, however, require immune-suppressing drugs for life, so that the immune system doesn't destroy the cells. There are risks to these immunosuppressive medications, including a higher risk of some cancers, infections, and high blood pressure. Amanda says it is nothing like her constant terror that she might slip into a sudden diabetic coma. 'Taking a couple of pills three times a day is nothing. I take it with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's easy. No comparison, none,' she said. 'And I know it's a huge relief for my family, especially my husband, that's for sure.' The study also reports that two patients in the study died, one likely as a result of complications from that immunosuppression, which Dr. Reichman says underscores the need for patients to be closely monitored at experienced transplant centers. A second patient, according to the study, died of severe dementia. Off-the-shelf live cell therapy The idea of using cells implanted in the body to produce insulin, instead of insulin injections, began in Canada 25 years ago. Researchers in Alberta pioneered the Edmonton Protocol. It uses insulin-producing islet cells removed from diseased organ donors that are implanted into those with hard-to-manage Type 1 Diabetes. Some 2,500 patients have been treated around the world, according to the University of Alberta, which reports 80 per cent were able to stop taking insulin injections for a median time of 95 days. Stem cells pipettes (Image credit: Vertex) But the number of procedures is limited because there aren't enough organ donors to meet the demand, and patients also require long-term immune suppression. So, there have been some two dozen companies around the world looking at other ways of getting manufactured islet cells to regulate blood sugar as a replacement for insulin. The Vertex cells, originally called VX-880, have been renamed Zimislecel. The Boston-based pharmaceutical company (says it is ramping up production, as it 'These are fresh, brand-new cells – they're not 60-year-old cells that have already had a life, and we're repurposing them,' said Senior, who works in Edmonton. It pushes the boundary of therapy forward because there is the potential to create a renewable source of insulin-producing cells instead of waiting for cells from deceased donors,' he added. 'I think we've got a treatment for diabetes where we are no longer constrained by organ donors,' said Senior. 'We've got potentially a limitless source of cells that could be used, and that is a massively huge step forward in terms of a cell therapy becoming a reality.' The next step is for someone to produce stem cells that don't require immune suppression, by either genetically engineering the cells or encapsulating them to make them invisible to immune attack. Several pilot studies are underway. It's a welcome advance, according to Senior. While insulin therapy has been a lifesaver for many since its discovery in Toronto by Banting and Best in 1921, it's never been a cure. Stem Cells (Image credit: Vertex) 'I think people with diabetes deserve some of the transformative treatments we've seen in cancer and other diseases but we've been stuck essentially doing the same thing for 100 years,' said Senior. In Canada, there are some 300000 people with Type 1 diabetes. Thirty-two new cases are diagnosed each day. The number of new cases per year increased by 34 per cent between 2000 and 2022, according to Breakthrough TD1(formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation of Canada). Unlike Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to environmental, dietary, and genetic factors, the exact cause of Type 1 diabetes is still unknown, but doctors say the immune system mistakenly attacks insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas, resulting in a gradual decline in the availability of insulin to regulate blood sugar. Questions remain The study is being continued to include a total of 50 patients, in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and the U.S., with Dr. Reichman's team actively recruiting candidates. There are still many questions. Dr. Reichman admits that no one knows how long these implanted cells will last. Amanda hasn't required any insulin inections for almost two years, the longest documented period so far. He adds there are no signs that the other nine, who also went off insulin, have gone back on the injections since their stem cell infusion. Unclear also is whether this therapy will reduce the longer-term and burdensome complications of diabetes, including heart problems, amputations, kidney failure, and vision loss. However, data from patients treated with the Edmonton protocol, using tissue from deceased donors, show signs of reduced complications, a promising sign for the newer therapy, according to Dr. Thompson. The other concern is that not all patients with severe hypoglycemia may want to make the same choice as Amanda, swapping the diabetes risks for those that come with the anti-rejection medications. 'Taking a couple of pills three times a day is nothing. It's easy. There's no comparison, none,' she said. Another question is that a single treatment therapy for this disease could come with a very high price tag. 'We'll have to wait and see,' said Reichman. Amanda Smith, meanwhile, tries to enjoy her freedom with her family and her work at a long-term care home, without thinking too far ahead. 'What happens if the cells stop working or something? You know, I just try and live right now, and I feel so blessed.' She debates the question - does she have diabetes anymore? 'I don't take any insulin anymore. I don't take medication for diabetes anymore. So, I feel like a regular person again without diabetes.'