Written By: Finn O’Connor

For some, the holiday season is an opportunity to connect with family and friends who we often do not get to see more than once a year. For others, it is a chance to remind ourselves why we only see our family once a year as we get the opportunity to revisit the same old disagreements from the last holidays and sit uncomfortably around the dinner table for five hours.

International relations can seem a lot like the latter at times, especially between democratic countries who are often forced to interact in global forums despite their personal misgivings with one another. Most of the time, allies bite their tongue and get to business without dredging up the ugly stuff. However, from time to time, two family members get into a row across the table while the other patrons awkwardly watch from the sidelines.

Despite being on other sides of the world, the two countries have a surprising amount in common. A parliamentary system inherited from the late British Empire, a vast territory covered in a harsh climate that sometimes borders on unhospitable, and an array of regional cultures that often chafe against the idea of a national identity. However, within these similarities are fundamental differences. Canada is temperate and can be bitingly cold, while India is tropical and brutally hot. Canada’s regional identities stem from its population’s colonial homelands, whereas many of India’s cultures predate the European nations themselves. And, while Canada’s democracy persists in a recognizable form, the Indian government has increasingly toyed with authoritarianism and nationalism. Continue reading…

Written By: Jay Mistry

Insulin, the drug that is used to regulate your insulin levels was created in the early 1920s by two Canadian scientists, with the purpose of creating an affordable and assessable treatment for all those who have diabetes. The patent was famous and sold for $1 to the University of Toronto a direct quote from one of the creators was “Insulin doesn’t belong to me; it belongs to the world.(Diabetes UK n.d.)” The intention behind the invention was lost in translation in the American markets, as profit maximization and oligopolization of the drug has led the opposite of what the inventors of insulin sought to do.

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Written By: Stefan Venceljovski

It is no secret that Taylor Swift is one of, if not the most successful artists to date. Her recent Eras tour has domineered headlines across the world as economists, policymakers, and Swifties alike try to comprehend the massive tyrant of money being injected into local economies and taken out of the pockets of spenders at a time when the geo-economic state of the world is shaky at best. Dubbed Swiftonomics or Swiftian Economics, the phenomenon of the Eras wave has rocked American cities and is expected to rock Toronto to its core. But what is the actual impact of her tour? Moreover, is her success pandemic resurgence, or is there a deeper trend in the history of mega stars propping up economies?

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Written By: Finn O’Connor

I’ve found it difficult, recently, to avoid hearing the term “Artificial Intelligence” as it seems the craze over sophisticated prediction models has infected every newsletter in my inbox. Every time I log into LinkedIn, I am bombarded with entrepreneurs developing vague “AI based solutions” that they reckon might change the world. At the same time, it seems like every occupation is a risk of being replaced by artificial humans that can perform any task better, and cheaper, than any lowly meat-bag. Though these fears are understandable, AI threatens the once untouchable domain of human thought upon which the information age was built. Of course, on the other hand, there is the age-old argument that while old jobs become obsolete, new ones we cannot even conceive of will replace them (I just recently learned my roommate works as an “AI prompt writer”). But while we can all look to the future to imagine what careers we might see in the next decade; it might also help to look to the past.

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Written By: Benjamin Pipicelli

The patient suffers from abdominal pain, along with symptoms in atypical locations, making diagnosis tricky. An astute examination reveals the cause: an unusual form of appendicitis. However, credit doesn’t go to the radiologist. Instead, an imagery machine built with artificial intelligence technology, which can draw on knowledge of tens of millions of similar scans, recognizes the anomaly and makes the diagnosis.

This scenario, once considered science fiction, is now a reality. To reduce costs and increase productivity, both medical equipment manufacturers and technology companies are investing significantly in AI. Several systems already exist, and the growth in this field, particularly in diagnostic imaging, is expected to accelerate in the coming years.

In a recent report, Deloitte discovered that although there are obstacles to overcome in the development and deployment of AI in medical technology (MedTech), such as regulatory and patient data privacy concerns, successful implementation of AI could enhance productivity, reduce treatment costs, and drive growth throughout the healthcare value chain¹.

The biotech startup sector is projected to continue expanding and evolving in the forthcoming years. Key trends that will shape the industry include personalized medicine, bioprinting and tissue engineering, orphan drugs, drug discovery, and gene editing along with CRISPR diagnostics. Moreover, the combination of Generative AI with biotech offers additional opportunities for groundbreaking advancements in medicine. Generative AI is now utilized to create novel drugs and treatments that were previously unattainable.

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