Rural Life • Troy Media Digital Solutions

New strains of wheat sought with built-in resistance to wheat midge

Agricultural scientists are working to keep the destructive wheat midge at bay by seeking protective traits that could be bred into new strains of wheat. (Photo: Shelley Barkley)

Reading Time: 4 minutes There’s currently only one genetic defence to protect from wheat midge – but researchers want to change that

Plant diversity minimally affected by intensive cattle grazing: study

Reading Time: 4 minutes The large-scale study adds to the understanding of how different grazing practices affect the land

Inflation drives a stake through the backbone of the country

Reading Time: 5 minutes Visiting rural Canada, seeing the impacts of high gas prices, is gut-wrenching

Rural health-care services get boost from pharmacy students

Alma Steyn (left), who owns a pharmacy in Canmore, Alta., speaks with recent U of A graduate Preston Eshenko, who now works as a pharmacist in Banff. Eshenko is following in Steyn's footsteps as a volunteer helping to train pharmacy students in rural placements. (Photo: John Ulan)

Reading Time: 4 minutes Community connections and a wide scope of practice make an appealing mix for career opportunities

How gene editing helps farmers and consumers

Photo by Vedrana Filipović on Unsplash

Reading Time: 3 minutes With gene editing on the verge of being accepted in Canada, the way we communicate risks through food labelling needs to change

$2M boost for the development of new varieties of wheat

Reading Time: 3 minutes Five-year agreement with Canadian Wheat Research Coalition will support development of new varieties of earlier-maturing, higher-yielding wheat for Western Canadian growers

High-tech rehabilitative platform connects rural Albertans to specialists

(From left) A physiotherapy patient and her husband from Pincher Creek take part in a Tele-Rehab 2.0 session with physiotherapists Sheelah Woodhouse and Alec Chisholm, U of A project co-ordinator Emily Armstrong and students Amber Wardrop and Kamalpreet Mann. (Photo: Supplied)

Reading Time: 4 minutes Platform allows specialists to offer physiotherapy expertise for patients in smaller communities

Indigenous communities leaping the digital divide

Bruce Buffalo (right) set up his own high-speed internet infrastructure to serve the community of Maskwacis. (Photo: Supplied)

Reading Time: 4 minutes Indigenous communities are setting up their own satellite, fibre optics and even cellular phone networks

Virtual clinic pilot sees success in rural Alberta community

The MedROAD project, developed by U of A computing scientist Pierre Boulanger, is connecting more than 30 patients with physicians in a virtual clinic being piloted in the town of Pincher Creek. Boulanger says the project could help increase access to health care for Albertans living in remote communities. (Photo: John Ulan)

Reading Time: 3 minutes U of A spinoff company launches MedROAD virtual clinic in Alberta, making long-distance health care a reality during COVID-19

As Canadians flee cities, rural living gets its mojo back

Reading Time: 3 minutes Starbucks will close 300 restaurants in Canada by March. Other chains will likely follow suit. But have no fear, chains will surely open other stores but certainly not in city centres