Vol. 6 No. 1 (2011)

Dear reader,

Since 2006, the McGill Science Undergraduate Research Journal (MSURJ) has played an integral role in promoting research at the undergraduate level in McGill University. With the publication of our sixth volume, we continue this proud tradition of encouraging students to communicate their efforts and contributions to science. Since our inaugural edition, we have developed many new partnerships with faculty members and educators outside the McGill community in order to promote science writing. Last year, we established a community outreach program targeting science students at CÉGEPs in the Montréal area. We continued our efforts this year to reach students both inside and outside labs and lecture halls.

As a journal in a leading global research institution, we recognize the importance of establishing national and international partnerships. This year marks a new step towards this goal for MSURJ, as we begin to open up our doors to student research beyond the walls of McGill. By broadening the scope of MSURJ’s mandate, we hope to offer a unique venue to undergraduate researchers from across the world to communicate their work to a large audience.

With this issue, we are excited to present you with some of the remarkable work of students at McGill University and elsewhere. Articles in this volume range in focus from environmental sciences to biophysics, vividly demonstrating the diversity of research in science, as well as the quality of research that can be achieved at the undergraduate level.

Daniel Friedlander and Marzieh Ghiasi
Editors-in-Chief

On the Cover

Designed by Teagan White

The front cover features the downtown campus of McGill University, nestled at the base of Mont Royal in the heart of Montréal. The river coursing through, an analogue to the Saint Lawrence River, symbolizes the power of research to carve through and transform human and natural landscapes. As well, science, much like a river, acts as a conduit allowing humankind to venture out to unknown territories and follow in pursuit of the great ocean of truth.