The global average for countries to report genetic information about bird flu, crucial to tracking and preventing a human pandemic, was seven months, and Canada came in last, a new study has found.

Authors of the non-peer reviewed commentary published today in Nature Biotechnology say the work highlights the urgent need for Canada and other countries to speed up the pipeline from sampling an infected creature, analysis of the genetic information, and submission to a global scientific database.

Dr. Sarah Otto (SO), professor in the department of zoology, and Sean Edgerton (SE) (he/him), zoology doctoral student, discuss why getting this information quickly is crucial, and how Canada has pulled its socks up once before

Keywords: Artificial intelligence (AI); DeepSeek; catfish effect; open source; medical applications                                                                During the 2025 Chinese Spring Festival, a topic that garnered widespread attention was DeepSeek. On January 20, the Hangzhou-based DeepSeek company released its latest large language model, DeepSeek-R1. This release sent shockwaves through the technology sector and attracted attention from top scientific journals such as Nature and Science (1,2). With its powerful performance and open-source characteristics, DeepSeek-R1 has created substantial pressure on existing artificial intelligence (AI) competitors, exemplifying the “catfish effect” in the AI domain. This concept originates from a classical management theory: Norwegian fishermen placed catfish, a natural predator, in sardine transport tanks, significantly reducing mortality rates by triggering the sardines’ survival instincts. By analogy, in other fields, the introduction of strong competitors often activates industry innovation dynamics. DeepSeek’s emergence has injected new momentum into the AI field, driving rapid technological iteration and innovation.

After a cardiovascular event, it proves difficult to maintain a healthier, more active lifestyle over the long term. Although sedentary time decreases after participation in a cardiac rehabilitation lifestyle program, it regains within three months thereafter. Research from Radboud university medical center shows that a short remote booster program for chronic cardiovascular patients leads to a clear reduction in sedentary time and an increase in light physical activity, which lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases. 

DeepSeek is an AI platform based on deep learning and natural language processing, featuring core products DeepSeek-R1 and DeepSeek-V3 models. Using efficient Mixture of Experts (MoE) architecture and multimodal data fusion capabilities, it achieves performance comparable to OpenAI's GPT-4o-mini while significantly reducing training costs .

In healthcare applications, DeepSeek rapidly extracts valuable information from massive datasets, providing intelligent information retrieval and analysis solutions  that:

- Assist physicians with diagnosis and treatment - Optimize doctor-patient communication - Improve medical efficiency - Supplement professional knowledge - Provide humanized medical interactions - Identify potential blind spots 

DeepSeek enhances clinical decision-making efficiency, supports scientific research, optimizes patient management  and assists patients with medical decision-making .

However, the platform faces challenges including data quality issues, algorithm stability and accuracy concerns, multimodal data fusion problems, lack of automated information collection, and dynamic update delays .

Future developments may bring breakthroughs in personalized medicine, telemedicine, and public health management .

A 25% reduction in motorised traffic in the city of Barcelona would have significant health benefits. A study carried out by ISGlobal estimates this improvement in air quality would prevent almost 200 premature deaths per year.

Plastic is everywhere in our daily lives. And much of what we use, such as cutting boards, clothes and cleaning sponges, can expose us to tiny, micrometer-wide plastic particles called microplastics. Now, chewing gum could be added to the list. In a pilot study, researchers found that chewing gum can release hundreds to thousands of microplastics per piece into saliva and potentially be ingested. The researchers will present their results at ACS Spring 2025.

What do cheese, sauerkraut and yeast dough have in common? Their production is only possible with the help of bacteria or fungi. The microorganisms initiate fermentation or maturing processes and thus create foods that have been on the human menu for, in some case, centuries. On the other hand, microorganisms contribute to the rotting and spoilage of food and can even make people ill, as outbreaks caused by pathogens in food have repeatedly shown, e.g. with Salmonella. "Food microbiology is a very multifaceted field of research," says Professor Andreas Hensel, President of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). "It investigates the properties of a wide variety of microorganisms and touches on topics from the fields of food technology, food safety, animal health and environmental and consumer protection." In order to discuss current research, the BfR, the German Society for Microbiology and Hygiene (DGHM) and the Association for General and Applied Microbiology (VAAM) are inviting researchers to the 19th Food Microbiology Conference in Berlin from 1 to 3 April.