Whether you call it soccer, football, le football, f煤tbol, futebol, fudbal, fu脽ball, toba, nogomet or something else, it is the most global of sports, with FIFA having more member associations than the United Nations has member states. The largest and least affordable World Cup to date, FIFA World Cup 2026 is marred with its fair share of controversies. Still, for billions of people, it is the beautiful game, and the world will be watching.聽

As the World Cup kicks-off for co-host Canada and former 91亚色 Lion Niko Sigur makes his FIFA debut, sports marketing expert Vijay Setlur will be watching on from the stands. 

Specializing in sports and tourism, , a Schulich School of Business marketing instructor, will attend stadium games and follow Team Canada鈥檚 journey in Toronto, Vancouver and possibly beyond as Canada co-hosts the men鈥檚 FIFA World Cup tournament for the first time. Like the men鈥檚 Canadian team, this is Setlur鈥檚 third in-person World Cup experience: He previously attended South Africa 2010 and Qatar 2022. 

Setlur is available to discuss: 

• Business of FIFA World Cup 2026 including ticket sales, marketing, fan engagement activities, sponsorship activations, athlete endorsement deals, licensing and merchandising, broadcast coverage, media/broadcast innovations, technology
• Fan experience and fan culture including supporters, fan events, fan attire and costumes, rituals, customs and traditions
• Impact of the World Cup on Canada including economy, local businesses, sport participation, and Canadian sport industry
• Tourism impact including visitor economy and place branding
• Popular culture and FIFA World Cup including music, celebrity, art, fashion, film, food, and video gaming 
• Experience of travelling Canadian fans and the Canadian supporter experience, including support for Canada, activities, game preparations, rituals, attire and apparel

-30-

91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change, and prepare our students for meaningful life and career paths. 91亚色's Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campus in Costa Rica offers students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs, and Markham Campus is home to 91亚色鈥檚 Sports Management program. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contacts: Emina Gamulin, 91亚色 Media Relations, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

The post Team Canada supporter and 91亚色 marketing expert to follow CANMNT World Cup journey appeared first on News@91亚色.

The post CBC's Natalie Kalata speaks with Vijay Setlur on businesses finding creative ways to get around FIFA鈥檚 control over branding appeared first on News@91亚色.

The post 鈥楬e knew his goals鈥� | Niko Sigur鈥檚 former 91亚色 soccer coach appeared first on News@91亚色.

Coach and ex-teammate from reigning men鈥檚 Canadian national university soccer champions describe Team Canada defender as passionate, focused

On Friday June 12, as 91亚色 students don caps and gowns to attend their graduation ceremonies at the university鈥檚 Keele Campus, will be going through a different rite-of-passage, putting on cleats and the #23 jersey as he prepares for his FIFA World Cup debut for Team Canada.

One of three host countries in this World Cup, Canada will play their opener against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto. It鈥檚 been said that of the billions of people who have walked the earth, only hundreds have had the pleasure of being part of the home team for a World Cup game, and Sigur, 22, will join the ranks of those very few.

For those who knew Sigur when he first came to Toronto at just 17 when COVID-19 dried up opportunities in Vancouver, and joined 91亚色 in 2021, they knew that someway, somehow, Sigur would make it.

鈥淗e knew what he wanted from the beginning. His development here was about redefining who he was, recreating himself,鈥� recalls longtime 91亚色 Lions master soccer coach , who has helped the Lions capture six U SPORTS national championship banners and also has experience coaching with Canada Soccer. 鈥淭here's something called competitive pace, competitive quickness, competitive will, and I think that鈥檚 what Niko exemplifies: the ability to make yourself better, to rise to the occasion.鈥�

Born and raised in Burnaby, B.C. to Croatian parents, Sigur originally played for the Croatian National U21 team and was also part of the senior team, but made a one-time switch to Canada in 2023 when Coach Jesse Marsch rang up, and since then has started in 13 of 18 appearances for Canada and has scored two goals and two assists.

On the club level, Sigur plays for Croatia鈥檚 Hajduk Split. Frequently a starter where he quickly developed a strong reputation among the team鈥檚 heavily invested owner-supporters, it was friend and former 91亚色 Lions teammate who helped Sigur pack his bags at Stong College and drove him from 91亚色 to Pearson airport when Sigur got the call up to play in Europe in 2022.

鈥淲e see a lot of guys from Toronto go overseas, and they end up coming back in six months, 12 months, because it didn't work out,鈥� says Casa. 鈥淏ut Niko fully told me, 鈥楾hank-you for being one of my closest friends during this time, I don't know if we'll ever see each other again.鈥� I was thinking in my head, 鈥楴ik, are you crazy? There鈥檚 social media, FaceTime. Dude.鈥欌��

A graduating student and one of the captains for the 91亚色 Lions Men鈥檚 Soccer team, Casa and Sigur were both fresh out of high school when they met and became close very quickly.

鈥淚t was very obvious from the jump that Niko was the best freshman out of all of us,鈥� recalls Casa. 鈥淗e came in and started playing right away while the rest of us were fighting for fringe spots. I figured I'm a freshman, I'm going to take my time, maybe I'll play my second year, start in my third year. Niko was all about, 鈥業 want to do this now, I want to play now,鈥� so he pulled me along.鈥�

They would train together before practice, always at Sigur鈥檚 insistence, and grab food at an Italian bakery near campus that suited Sigur鈥檚 dietary preferences and talk for hours, mostly about soccer. On weekends, Sigur would want to check out the other local universities鈥� games.

In his time at the Lions, Sigur helped take the team to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) finals in the 119th minute of the semis and making an earlier assist.

Noted for his versatility at Hajduk in playing right back and defensive midfield, this versatility came in handy for Marsch this week, who subbed in Sigur at left back after 31 minutes of play for teammate Moise Bombito, still recovering from injuries, in a friendly against Uzbekistan where Canada won 2-0.

鈥淚 know there's thousands of books written on grit and they try to put equations to all that, but kids like Niko are the reason these books are written,鈥� says Isacco. 鈥淗e's not the most overwhelming player physically, he's not the fastest, there were people who told him before that he wasn鈥檛 good enough, but that just motivated him to be stronger. You鈥檒l find similar stories with everyone on the national team.鈥�

As for the friendship of Sigur and Casa, they did, in fact, see each other again.

鈥淚t was last November, I remember I was walking off the field with the trophy in my hand, after we just won nationals in a snowstorm going into the change room, and a teammate from 2021 told me someone wanted to see me. I see some guy in a big hoodie and big jacket, all cold. I look over and it鈥檚 Niko. He watched the whole game but he didn鈥檛 message me beforehand,鈥� says Casa. 鈥淚t was a full circle moment, Niko was there for my first game at 91亚色, and my last.鈥�

Carmine Isacco and Daniel Casa are available to talk to media about Niko Sigur鈥檚 time at 91亚色 and the success of the 91亚色 Lions Men鈥檚 Soccer team. For more on Sigur's time at 91亚色 and player development, .

Isacco will be participating in an online webinar on June 10 hosted by 91亚色 U Alumni and Friends called . Isacco will be participating along with 91亚色 alumna, professional soccer player and activist Farkhunda Muhtaj and Association Football Club (AFC) Toronto CEO Helena Ruken. All are welcome to attend.

-30-

91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change, and prepare our students for meaningful life and career paths. 91亚色's Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campus in Costa Rica offers students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs, and Markham Campus is home to 91亚色鈥檚 Sports Management program. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contacts: Emina Gamulin, 91亚色 Media Relations, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

The post Former 91亚色 Lion Niko Sigur makes his World Cup debut appeared first on News@91亚色.

TORONTO, June 4, 2026 鈥� A team led by 91亚色 researchers has discovered the fastest wind near a supermassive black鈥痟ole鈥痚ver鈥痜ound at ultraviolet wavelengths, driven by鈥痶he disc of matter, or quasar, surrounding the black hole.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

鈥淭his quasar has a black hole of 1.7鈥痓illion鈥痶imes鈥痶he mass of the Sun. That鈥檚 typical. What鈥檚 not typical is that it has gas moving towards us at 30 per cent of the speed of light,鈥� says of the Faculty of Science.鈥���&苍产蝉辫;

The , published by The American Astronomical Society.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

The research team includes 91亚色 graduate student and lead author Lucas Seaton, graduate student Marianna Veltri, and undergraduate student Zezhou Zhu, along with colleagues from the University of Washington Bothell and other members of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) collaboration.  

鈥淭his quasar, known as J2318 (Jay Twenty-Three Eighteen), can be found in the Great Square in the constellation of Pegasus,鈥� says Seaton. 鈥淚n terms of its speed, this quasar鈥檚 wind could be called a category 79 hurricane,鈥� says Seaton. 鈥淓very category of hurricane is about 20 per cent faster than the category below it. Calling it category 79 gives an idea of just how fast it is, but of course this wind is unlike anything on Earth.鈥濃��&苍产蝉辫; 

Astronomers have known for close to three decades that every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its centre, with a mass from millions to billions of times that of the Sun, although contrary to popular belief they do not eat everything in reach. Matter spiraling into one of these black holes forms a disc far bigger than Earth鈥檚 orbit around the Sun and hotter than the surface of the Sun. These discs of hot gas, called quasars, generate enough light to be seen across the observable universe and to drive winds from their surfaces.  

鈥淚n quasars, we often see winds of gas pushed away from the black hole by the light of the quasar,鈥� says Seaton. 鈥淭he wind in J2318 can be seen at ultraviolet wavelengths at velocities up to 30 per cent the speed of light. Even faster winds can be seen at x-ray wavelengths, but J2318 is the fastest ever discovered at ultraviolet wavelengths.鈥�  

Unlike the differences in gas pressure that drive atmospheric winds on Earth, winds from quasars are pushed at least in part by light itself. Individual packets of light (called photons) bounce off or are absorbed by atoms in the gas and accelerate them.   

鈥淨uasars put out so many photons that those tiny pushes add up to extreme velocities,鈥� says Seaton. 鈥淭he problem is, the photons can also remove all the electrons from the atoms, making them invisible. How to push the gas to the speeds we see while keeping the carbon and silicon ions we see intact鈥� it鈥檚 quite a puzzle.鈥�  

The discovery relied on data from two components of the SDSS, an international survey of the night sky to which hundreds of astronomers have contributed since its start in 1998, specifically, the SDSS-IV and the SDSS-V . Veltri flagged the quasar as potentially interesting in SDSS-V in 2023 while an undergrad student at 91亚色. After looking at it using software set up by Zhu, Hall realized it had an extremely fast wind.  

鈥淐anada has a share of the eight-meter-diameter  (also known as Gemini North) in Hawai鈥檌, and we immediately proposed observations with it. They succeeded in confirming its record-breaking wind velocity,鈥� he says, adding that he often involves 91亚色 undergraduates in research as part of his participation in the SDSS.鈥�&苍产蝉辫; 

He explains that 鈥渏ust as a rainbow spreads the Sun鈥檚 light into different wavelengths (colours), the SDSS spreads out the light from certain stars, galaxies, and quasars into what we call their 鈥榮pectra鈥�. From those spectra, with practice, students learn to spot unusual quasars. In the past, only PhD astronomers or graduate students studying for a PhD would have made a discovery like this, but the SDSS enables undergraduates to do so.鈥�  

Study co-author, Associate Professor Paola Rodr铆guez Hidalgo of the University of Washington at Bothell, adds: 鈥淏oth Patrick and I have been working together and with undergraduate students thanks to the SDSS Faculty and Students Team (FAST) initiative that supports these collaborations. Initiatives like this allow students to focus on research while finishing their undergraduate studies. These students will be the next generation of scientists and are already making scientific discoveries.鈥�  

Co-author Liliana Flores, who worked with Professor Rodr铆guez Hidalgo as an undergraduate at UW Bothell and was a FAST participant, says she was thrilled to contribute to the study of this extreme outflow case. 鈥淚 was in charge of fitting the absorption profiles in the quasar spectrum to determine their velocity and equivalent widths. Repeated observations revealed that the amount of absorbed light changes over time. Something in the wind conditions must be changing for that to happen.鈥濃��&苍产蝉辫; 

Veltri assembled measurements of the brightness of the quasar from 20 years of surveys, starting with the original SDSS. That data shows that J2318 is slowly varying in brightness in a way indistinguishable from other quasars. Only by taking detailed measurements of spectra with SDSS was the wind in J2318 revealed.  

Rodr铆guez Hidalgo calls the discovery exciting. 鈥淭hese extreme outflows carry incredible amounts of energy that can affect the galaxies around them. They serve as a sort of missing link: the elusive feedback between the active central region of a galaxy and the rest of the galaxy. While this process has been included in simulations of galaxy formation for decades, a lot more work needs to be done to understand it from observations and make sure the simulations handle it correctly.鈥�  

Searches are continuing for more extremely high velocity outflows from quasars, says Flores. 鈥淚t won鈥檛 be easy to find a faster ultraviolet outflow than that of J2318, but we are continuing this search from the nearby universe to the most distant reaches of the universe that we can see.鈥� 

Joint with:鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Sloan Digital Sky Survey鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
University of Washington Bothell鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
The Pennsylvania State University (local only)鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

The post Fastest and most furious ultraviolet wind聽near聽a black hole鈥痜ound by 91亚色 researchers appeared first on News@91亚色.

TORONTO, June 2, 2026 鈥� 91亚色 and King Township signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) designed to further enhance their collaboration, including economic growth initiatives and community engagement.

The MOU builds on the strength of the existing partnership between the Township and 91亚色 by expanding and advancing shared initiatives and projects, research and innovation as well as fostering experiential learning and workforce professional development.

"91亚色 is proud to deepen our partnership with King Township through this memorandum of understanding. Collaborations like this one are at the heart of who we are as an institution 鈥� connecting our students, faculty and researchers with the communities around us to create real, lasting impact,鈥� says 91亚色 Interim President and Vice-Chancellor Lisa Philipps.

"Together, we look forward to advancing shared priorities in economic development, sustainability and experiential learning that will benefit both the King Township community and the next generation of 91亚色 graduates.鈥�

The collaboration includes developing community education and events, as well as coordinating capstone projects between the Township and 91亚色 faculty and students for the benefit of both communities.

In addition, the partnership will promote sustainability and climate resilience through a variety of initiatives, special projects, as well as enhance joint education and community events to bolster shared interests.

鈥淭his Memorandum of Understanding marks an important milestone for King Township as we strengthen our partnership with 91亚色. It reflects a simple but meaningful idea 鈥� when municipalities and academic institutions work together, we can better serve our residents and tackle complex challenges in new ways,鈥� says Mayor Steve Pellegrini, King Township.

"Through this partnership, we鈥檙e creating opportunities to apply research in practical ways, welcome students into meaningful, hands-on placements, and support the continued growth of our staff. By connecting 91亚色鈥檚 expertise with the needs of our growing community, we鈥檙e opening the door to collaboration that will benefit our residents, strengthen our workforce and support our local economy for years to come.鈥�

The five-year MOU acts to not only formalize their long-standing and important relationship, but to allow it to flourish especially in priority areas with a commitment to excellence and community engagement.

About King Township

Lying in the heart of the Greater Toronto Area, King Township is located within 91亚色 Region, one of the fastest growing and diverse economies in Canada. More than 60 percent of the Holland Marsh, also known as Ontario鈥檚 salad bowl, lies within King Township. Though predominantly rural, most of King Township鈥檚 29,800 residents live in the communities of King City, Nobleton and Schomberg. Residents and visitors are drawn to King because of its rural lifestyle, village atmosphere and quality of life. For more information visit us at king.ca.

About 91亚色

91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change, and prepare our students for meaningful life and career paths. 91亚色's Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campus in Costa Rica offers students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs, while at the Markham Campus, innovation, technology, entrepreneurship and industry collaboration are built into every program. 91亚色鈥檚 new School of Medicine, the first Canadian medical school to focus on community-based primary health-care education, will welcome its first cohort in September 2028. 91亚色 was recently named one of Canada鈥檚 Greenest Employers for the 14th consecutive year. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

The post King Township and 91亚色 sign MOU to expand existing collaboration appeared first on News@91亚色.

June 1, 2026, TORONTO 鈥� Birthed from a 1969 uprising as a response to police violence at a New 91亚色 City dive bar called the Stonewall Inn, Pride has grown into a global movement, with Toronto-area celebrations among the largest in the world. Drawing on years of community-engaged research and large-scale data sets, 91亚色 researchers are available to talk to media about historical struggles and current issues facing those in 2SLGBTQIA+ communities today.

Antony Chum

  (he/him, they/them) is the Canada Research Chair in Population Health Data Science and an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health. His research focuses on LGBTQ+ health disparities and the structural determinants of health among marginalized populations, such as low-income, racialized, and gender-diverse groups. By applying quasi-experimental approaches to large-scale population datasets drawn from Census, linked health administrative, and international sources, Chum generates population-level evidence on how structural barriers and public policies shape health and related social and economic outcomes.

颁丑耻尘鈥檚 , "Beyond the Gender Binary: Wage Inequality and Occupational Segregation among Transgender and Nonbinary Workers," utilizes data from the 2021 Canadian Census, the first national census in the world to collect and identify data on transgender and nonbinary individuals. The study found significant employment and wage gaps, with transgender and nonbinary individuals being eight to 14 per cent less likely to be employed than cisgender men and earn 20 to 30 per cent lower hourly wages on average. Even after adjusting for demographic, occupational, and industrial factors, a substantial earnings gap remains, hitting nonbinary individuals assigned female at birth the hardest.

Chum is available to discuss other studies including:

• Upcoming research that demonstrates that progressive political environments act as crucial protective factors, actively mitigating the minority stress that drives elevated rates of suicidality and substance use in sexual minority populations
• Gender minorities facing drastically higher risks for physical, cognitive, and mental activity limitations
• Transgender and non-binary individuals facing significantly higher rates of housing instability than cisgender individuals
• Severe disparities in severe substance-related events, pinpointing bisexual women as facing the highest risk (more than double that of heterosexual women)

Jin Haritaworn

is an expert of gay imperialism, homonationalism and pinkwashing. They have studied the gentrification and securitization of the Church-Wellesley Village and look critically at the incorporation of Pride into the neoliberal city. They also explore queer of colour maps and counter-archives. Haritaworn is Associate Professor of Gender, Race and Environment in the Faculty of Environment and Urban Change. They locate their work in the tradition of activist scholarship, which attempts to be in the service of communities. Their research deals with landscapes that are shaped by racial and colonial capitalism, where celebration and incorporation exist alongside pathologization and criminalization. Their first two books, and , explore how certain mixed-race and LGBT subjects became desirable in a context of war on terror, neoliberal multiculturalism and the global city in London and Berlin.

Haritaworn is available to discuss:

• Gentrification and criminalization in the Village
• Queer of colour archives and activism
• Homonationalism and gay imperialism

Tom Hooper

(he/him) is a historian of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities in Canada and a professor with the department of equity studies in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS). His research includes exploring the 1981 bathhouse raids in Toronto where more than three hundred gay men were arrested and criminally charged for their sexuality, with a focus on the community resistance to these raids both on the streets and in the courts. Hooper critically examined the construction of dominant queer historical narratives, including the myth that legal changes in 1969 represented the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada. Hooper also investigated the use and misuse of heritage grants provided to 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations.

Hooper is available to comment on:

• 2SLGBTQIA+ protest movements
• Policing and pride
• 2SLGBTQIA+ history

Nick Mul茅

(he/him) is a professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women鈥檚 Studies and the School of Social Work, LA&PS. He teaches sexual activism, and social justice. His research areas include advocacy, and the social inclusion 鈥� and exclusion 鈥� of gender and and sexually diverse populations (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, two-spirit, genderqueer, intersex, queer, questioning 鈥� 2SLGBTQIA+) in social policy and service provision and the degree of recognition of these populations as distinct communities in cultural, systemic and structural contexts. Mul茅 also engages in critical analysis of the 2SLGBTQIA+ movement and the development of queer liberation theory. Mul茅 is currently leading a national research project on poverty in 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, the first national study of its kind.

Mul茅 is available to comment on:

• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, Two-Spirit, intersex and queer issues
• Queer liberation theory
• 2SLGBTQIA+ health and social service concerns, public and social policy regarding 2SLGBTQIA+ people and communities
• History and politics of the 2SLGBTQIA+ movement
• Diversity in society and 2SLGBTQIA+ human rights

For information on Pride celebrations at 91亚色, please see here.

-30-

91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change, and prepare our students for meaningful life and career paths. 91亚色's Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campus in Costa Rica offers students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contact: Emina Gamulin, 91亚色 Media Relations, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

The post 91亚色 U experts available to comment on Pride Month appeared first on News@91亚色.

The post Canada, Mexico, U.S. ban travel from Ebola-impacted countries for World Cup appeared first on News@91亚色.

Researchers from 91亚色 U, Environment and Climate Change Canada found chemical compounds trigger inflammatory, toxic responses in human lung immune cells

TORONTO, May 27, 2026 鈥� A published today in the journal Environment International reports that chemicals released from tires can transform into complex mixtures in the atmosphere that may pose previously unrecognized risks to human respiratory health.

Tire rubber contains antioxidant chemicals, most notably 6PPD and DPPD, that are released into the air as tiny particles during normal driving. A single compound formed from 6PPD, known as 6PPD-quinone was previously shown to be implicated in the death of coho salmon in urban waterways, but the broader atmospheric chemistry and potential human health impacts of these compounds have remained largely unexplored until now.

鈥淭he striking finding was that the mixtures were far more toxic than the original tire chemicals themselves and are far more toxic than the one compound previously implicated in environmental studies,鈥� says 91亚色 Associate Professor Ali Abdul-Sater, who co-lead the study with researchers from Environment and Climate Change Canada. 鈥淭his suggests that focusing on a single compound may substantially underestimate the real health risks associated with tire-derived air pollution.鈥�

Abdul-Sater, with the School of Kinesiology and Health Science in the Faculty of Health at 91亚色 and director of the Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) CARE Hub, connected with research scientists John Liggio and Samar Moussa from Environment and Climate Change Canada. The federal government agency has a 鈥渓ibrary鈥� of archived ambient samples on hand from across the country and the researchers used some of these samples from near Highway 401, and close to 91亚色, for the study.

鈥淲hen you oxidize one chemical from a tire, it probably makes hundreds of chemicals in the mixture, and you don't know which one of those, or all of them are causing the toxic effect that we're seeing,鈥� explains Liggio. 鈥淓ven though we can identify what they are chemically, you can't go out and buy that chemical and test only that chemical.鈥�

In this study, they identified at least 150 chemicals and found 88 of them to be present in the roadside samples. They then recreated the mixture of tire derived chemicals in their laboratory and handed them off to Abdul-Sater.

At his lab at 91亚色, Abdul-Sater exposed human macrophage cells to this chemical mixture. Macrophages are immune cells that serve as the lungs鈥� first line of defense against inhaled particles. Surprisingly, while the fish-killing 6PPD-quinone was not found to be particularly toxic, the chemical mixture overall was.

鈥淭he results showed rapid cell death, substantial mitochondrial damage, and strong activation of inflammatory pathways,鈥� says Abdul-Sater. 鈥淭hese effects were far more severe than those caused by the parent chemicals alone or by 6PPD-quinone, the single product that has received the most attention. Importantly, the concentrations that triggered these responses are comparable to estimated levels in human lung fluid based on real-world air quality measurements near busy roads.鈥�

Moussa adds: 鈥淭he original motivation for the project was to assess the toxicity of this one compound, but what we discovered was a potentially more complex issue that we aim to disentangle in future studies. When you breath in air, you take it all in, you are not selectively breathing this molecule or that molecule.鈥�

The researchers say the results are preliminary and not cause for alarm, pointing out that these exposures have existed for half a century or more, but they may be one more environmental exposure that is contributing to the rise of chronic inflammation and related disease. Previous studies have shown negative health effects being correlated with living near major roadways.

鈥淲e have to think about this from a chronic exposure angle,鈥� says Abdul-Sater. 鈥淭hese compounds may be increasing our proclivity to develop certain kinds of diseases.鈥�

-30-

91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change, and prepare our students for meaningful life and career paths. 91亚色's Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campus in Costa Rica offers students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contact: Emina Gamulin, 91亚色 Media Relations, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

The post New study shows atmospheric compounds formed from tire wear may pose human health risk appeared first on News@91亚色.

Lassonde Professor Sunil Bisnath was recently appointed to a ' expert panel to examine opportunities for renewed domestic investment in geodetic infrastructure聽

Most people take their place in the world for granted. Standing in a grocery story isle deciding which cereal to buy or driving to work, the Earth feels static even though it is constantly changing. Continents shift, gravity fluctuates, water levels rise or fall and timing across the globe varies, but all that goes unnoticed to most unless their map app leads them to a bridge that is no longer there or off a dock into a lake or they lose all smartphone service.

Those who study geodesy, such as 91亚色鈥檚 Lassonde School of Engineering Professor Sunil Bisnath, understand the importance of the vast array of underlying systems, processes and geodetic and digital infrastructure needed to keep daily life and the world at large running smoothly, including for navigation, emergency response, banking and precision farming.

鈥淭he closest connection people have to geodesy every day is the Global Positioning System or GPS 鈥� satellite-based positioning that we use in our phones, our cars, and everything else. However, it goes much deeper than that,鈥� says Bisnath, director of the in the .

He was recently appointed by the (CCA) to an expert panel 鈥揈nhancing Canada鈥檚 Geodetic Infrastructure 鈥� to assess the state of Canada鈥檚 geodetic infrastructure. The panel, sponsored by Natural Resources Canada, will review whether Canada has sufficient geodetic infrastructure to meet its current and future needs and opportunities for renewed domestic investment. The main question: How does geodetic infrastructure impact Canada and its economy?

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), which includes GPS and other satellite constellations, not only affects how Canadians navigate their world, but also ensure maps line up from country to country, the world鈥檚 time clocks are aligned so things like bank transactions are stamped with the correct time, and electrical transmission grids across the country are precisely synchronized to keep the power on.

鈥淓very time you make a financial transaction, a stock trade or somebody turns the lights on in their house, we're using the timing component to timestamp everything and to manage the electrical grids to ensure there's not too much or not enough electricity. We're using time servers attached to GPS time to get the time right on our computers so that we're all using the same time down to nanoseconds. Today, there's a huge amount of digital infrastructure,鈥� says Bisnath.

鈥淕eodesy is a really old but highly important science. Without it, many of the things we take for granted today would no longer work.鈥�

Geodesy involves measuring the Earth鈥檚 size, shape, orientation and gravity field, and any changes over time, as well as timing, while geodetic infrastructure is the backbone for positioning activities on Earth. It also helps to monitor things such as climate change, coastal hazards and sea level changes.

Canada鈥檚 geodetic infrastructure, as dual-use technology, is important as it has national implications for sovereignty, security, including Arctic security, economic development and scientific advancement. Like most countries, Canada has physical stations on the ground to receive signals from satellites and provide calibration information, while other positioning technologies use natural signals from space, such as quasars or laser ranging from specialized satellites to determine position on the ground.

Currently, Canada is the only G7 country without its own satellite navigation system. Instead, it relies on the United States, Russia, Europe and China, along with aging geodetic infrastructure across the country, which in today鈥檚 ruptured world order heightens national security and sovereignty concerns.

鈥淐anada鈥檚 reliance on others means it doesn鈥檛 have the capacity to keep critical systems running nationally when interruptions happen and neither can it contribute to global efforts. The current situation also has implications for economic development and scientific advancement,鈥� says Bisnath.

鈥淥ur purpose for the panel is to gather all the facts and talk about what the state of geodetic infrastructure is in Canada and put that in context with the world going forward, figuring out what are we doing well and where are the gaps.鈥�

His research at 91亚色 involves GNSS measurement processing, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and sensor fusion for resilient positioning, navigation and timing, next generation solutions, precise point positioning algorithm development, measurement error mitigation, and scientific, engineering and mass market applications.

He also researches how to improve atmospheric modelling for commercial GNSS navigation services, the effectiveness of new jam-resistant GNSS antennas and enhanced GNSS-based smartphone positioning with AI. By using math and physics which frames and defines how positioning, navigation and timing happens globally, the current and future digital infrastructure is being built.

If any of that is out of whack, it could cause major issues. 鈥淚f you think of something like a commercial airliner, the technology used is not just to know how to get to the other side of the Atlantic, but for lining up the plane for landing. It's taxing on the runway and which runway you should be on,鈥� says Bisnath. 鈥淚f they weren't aligned, a plane could take off with one map from say Paris and then try to land with that map in Toronto, but if the coordinates don't match, then how is that plane going to land on the runway?鈥�

All these definitions are the basis of what used to be paper maps, now digital maps and smartphone apps, like Google Maps. 鈥淭hey need constant updating as the planet is far from static. We鈥檙e moving about a centimetre a year further from Europe every year because the continents are moving apart. A very large part of the job of the federal government鈥檚 Canadian Geodetic Survey is maintaining Canada鈥檚 spatial reference system, which every country has, being the custodian of all these definitions and maintaining these definitions over time,鈥� he says.

As the world鈥檚 weather intensifies, phenomena like solar storms become more problematic. Some of the work Bisnath and his team do at 91亚色 is monitor GNSS data to help predict or mitigate any impact of the next solar storm on GNSS positioning, navigation and timing, and hopefully lessen its effect on signals from space that people rely on, including, smartphones and for the ever-increasing number of autonomous and semi-autonomous land vehicles, robots and drones.

Bisnath and his team have recently worked with a Canadian GNSS receiver manufacturer to better model those storms and their effects on signals using AI to help with predictive models to produce better positioning and timing results. 鈥淚f the storms are really bad, they can prevent us from tracking the signals altogether, though that's quite extreme. When you add up what the cost would be of losing technology like GPS, even for short periods of time, it theoretically rapidly runs into the billions of dollars a day in Canada.鈥�

They are also working with a Canadian manufacturer of GNSS antennas as they are needed to receive signals before it can go into the actual GNSS sensor that processes them. The company has designed and built new low-cost antennas, which Bisnath and his team are assessing to see how they work under various conditions, including system jamming. Some of those antennas are being used on allied drones in active war zones.

鈥淭hese information systems are like pyramids. If the user is at the top with their smartphone, we have layers of information underneath it to define all the coordinates on that map and at the base layer is what the geodetic work does. It needs to be very precise over very large areas and interconnected with the rest of the world.鈥�

It鈥檚 a field of study that continues to interest Bisnath. He originally wanted to be a land surveyor, but his first course on geodesy, considered the most difficult course in the land surveying program, fascinated him. 鈥淲hen we start looking at the entire globe versus just tiny little pieces of it, the math is much more complicated. The Earth isn't exactly a sphere, so the mathematics are very complicated, but that鈥檚 the underpinning for everything. Then we started studying satellites and satellite orbits because of technologies like GPS and satellite laser ranging.鈥� He was hooked.

鈥淚t was very expensive back in the 1990s and not something that the general public knew about. We were using the technology for very precise things, for surveying, engineering work and certain timing applications. The public never saw any of this technology. One of the early projects I worked on was a Canadian Space Agency analysis of what if we put a GPS receiver on a satellite to determine the location of the satellite,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was novel back then, although common place now.鈥� There are now some 14,000 satellites orbiting Earth with many more proposed.

鈥淥ver the last decade, the engineering challenge has been to get super accurate coordinates out of much cheaper hardware, where hardware cost cents rather than thousands of dollars. That continues to be a tremendous engineering challenge,鈥� he says. 鈥淗ow can we improve the positioning performance and when does it degrade? We're introducing AI approaches to try to deal with the extreme outliers that exist and to see if AI can take us any further,鈥� says Bisnath.

That includes positioning for autonomous vehicles.

And with increased technological advancement, comes bad actors, hackers who try to breach, jam or spoof these systems, like tricking a GPS receiver by broadcasting false signals like making it look like an oil tanker is on dry land. 鈥淲hat you're seeing in Ukraine or right now in the Persian Gulf is there are systems that don't necessarily work properly or don't work at all because of nefarious actors. We are building countermeasures for such situations to make more resilient technological solutions?鈥�

Despite being a part of an exciting, growing and increasingly important field, Bisnath says the most rewarding part is working with students, conducting research with them and preparing them to lead the way. 鈥淭hey are the future of technological innovations to keep the world running safely and smoothly and on time,鈥� he says.

The post 91亚色 U professor helps assess Canada鈥檚 geodetic resources for the future appeared first on News@91亚色.