NRC Accomplishments

Driven by a constant dedication to excellence and innovation, NRC works with industry, universities and other research agencies to advance science and technology for the benefit of Canadians. Scan the accomplishments we've made - even years later, many of them are still making headlines.

1992 NRC research shows benefits of vitamin E

When is oxygen an enemy to the human body? When it reacts with unstable molecules called free radicals to produce peroxy radicals associated with heart disease and stroke. How can you fight the ravages of peroxy radicals? By taking vitamin E, say experts at the NRC's Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences.

Long dismissed as a minor player in maintaining human health, vitamin E has emerged as a vital line of defence against disease. NRC research revealed that small amounts of the vitamin act as an antioxidant, blocking the reaction of oxygen with free radicals. Vitamin E deficiency is thought to lead to cholesterol build-up, hardening of the arteries, muscle damage, and heart diseases.

But if you expect an overnight improvement in health by taking a vitamin E supplement, forget it. Vitamin E is not water-soluble and is absorbed very slowly by the body. That is why the NRC research team is working to develop a water-soluble version of the vitamin that can be absorbed quickly.

1993 NRC joins team to fight stroke

A first-time alliance of researchers from the National Research Council, the pharmaceutical industry, universities and teaching hospitals was formed to fight stroke, a disease that affects over 40,000 Canadians a year.

A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is restricted. Three-quarters of stroke victims either die or are permanently disabled. One-quarter can return to a relatively normal life, but live under the threat of a disabling stroke in the future.

Although there were treatments to help people recover after a stroke, there were none to reduce the effects of a stroke once it has happened. The goal of the $6 million research project was to find ways to minimize brain damage with preventive or therapeutic treatments.

Researchers in the NRC's Institute for Biodiagnostics stroke research group are experts in how cells function under different conditions. By using special cell models and applying advanced non-invasive techniques such as magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy, they will help select and evaluate therapies. NRC's Institute for Biological Sciences is also an active member in the stroke research effort.

1994 Universe younger, smaller

Most of us would celebrate if we learned we were younger than we thought. The discovery that the universe is younger had astronomers scurrying back to their labs.

Working with colleagues in Canada and the United States, astronomers at the NRC's Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics found that the universe is less than 11 billion years old, at least five billion years younger than previously believed. The discovery also indicated that the universe is only half to two-thirds as large as previously estimated.

The team of astronomers accomplished this feat by using newly developed equipment and software that gave them a far more accurate measurement of the distance from Earth to a group of pulsating stars called Cepheids in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. With this new data, they were able to define the size of the entire universe. And by relating this size to the rate of acceleration of galaxies since the Big Bang, they were able to give a more accurate age to the universe.

Canadian Innovations and Innovators

NRC has worked with or nurtured the careers of many of Canada's scientific and engineering visionaries, whose pioneering work at the forefront of their fields helped establish Canada's reputation for scientific excellence and innovation. From the vision of the men and women of NRC has come an enormous array of achievements in diverse areas of science and technology. Explore these innovators and achievements (http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/education/innovations/sti-innovations_e.html)

NRC Highlights

Read NRC Highlights and find out about recent NRC news, S&T stories and research activities. (http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/highlights/index_e.html)