Practical & Applied Arts

On Christmas Day 2009, a Nigerian man allegedly tries to blow up an airliner as it prepares to land in Detroit. The man was subdued by other passengers before he could set off explosive material sewn into his underwear. The incident triggered a security scare at airports all over the world.

Although humans have travelled all the way to the moon and back, the bottom of the sea remains largely unexplored. Now some Canadian scientists are doing something about that by placing sensors and cameras on the seabed off Vancouver Island. This story looks at the NEPTUNE Canada project.

It's been just over a year since Canada was hit by the effects of a global recession. More than 350,000 people lost their jobs. Now there are some faint signs of recovery, but is the recession really over?

It's been forty years since the Internet was born. Since then it has revolutionized our world. But it has also brought with it a host of new problems. This story looks at the birth of the Internet and examines some issues that are clouding its future.

Shortly after assuming office, U.S. President Barack Obama announces plans to reform his country's health care system. The announcement set off a debate with both sides citing Canada's Medicare system to back up their arguments.

In December, 192 nations gather in Copenhagen to discuss climate change. The plan was to begin drafting a document to replace the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012.

All over the world frogs and hundreds of other amphibians are rapidly disappearing. The situation is so serious that some scientists believe we are witnessing the biggest mass extinction since the dinosaurs.

In late September, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff announced that his party would no longer support Stephen Harper's Conservative government. That meant that the minority government could be defeated, unless the NDP or the Bloc Quebecois supported it.

Last Spring the swine or H1N1 flu first arrived in Canada. Thousands became ill, and by the end of the summer 78 people had died. Now a second wave of this pandemic flu bug is sweeping across the country.

Every year, for a number of reasons, many Canadians adopt children in foreign countries. International adoptions can provide them with the baby they always wanted, but they can also be expensive and frustrating.

On November 11th, many Canadians take a moment to remember the soldiers who died fighting for Canada. The main ceremony takes place at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, but many other ceremonies are held across the country.

Abousfian Abdelrazic and Suad Hagi Mohamud are two Canadians who shared a common ordeal in two different places. They find themselves in a foreign country and not allowed to come home. This report looks at their stories and why they and others have accused the Canadian government of abandoning it...

Autism is a complex biomedical condition that is not yet completely understood. It can cause people to have trouble communicating or engage in repetitive behaviour. The traditional approach has been to try to treat it or cure it, but now some are questioning that emphasis.

In late August, Afghans went to the polls to choose a President and members of the provincial council. Canada's troops in that war torn country help provide security so the vote could take place. But the election was marred by violence and voting irregularities.

In July, Canadian astronaut Julie Payette rocketed into space and made history. When she met her colleague, Robert Thirsk, on board the International Space Station, it was the first time two Canadians had been in space at once.