Frank LaBella

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General anesthetics affect cellular proteins to knock us out. Some do so better than others, especially the noble gas Xenon. (Shutterstock)

Science lesson: How anesthetics work, and why xenon’s perfect

Frank LaBella, University of Manitoba

How do anesthetics work, and what makes for an ideal anesthetic? It’s not as mysterious as once believed, and there’s a gas that ticks all the boxes for a perfect anesthetic: xenon.
Tiny hairs cover the bodies of honeybees — including this one dusted in pollen — that allow them to detect molecular “fingerprints” similar to how home security sensors work. (Shutterstock)

How home security resembles dancing honeybees

Frank LaBella, University of Manitoba

Bees and home security cameras use the same complex techniques to monitor their environments.
The manuscript of ‘Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton’ shows the words ‘does this apple fall?’ Newton’s curiosity about the falling piece of fruit helped him develop the theory of gravity. (AP Photo/Lucy Young)

No new Einsteins to emerge if science funding snubs curiosity

Frank LaBella, University of Manitoba

Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein would have bridled under today’s research funding bureaucracy. It’s time to allow scientists to indulge their curiosity again.

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