
Exploring Science & Technology 2
Melissa takes advantage of the Canada Strong Pass to go to the Science & Technology Museum.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CTV News
23 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘Fantastic Four: First Steps' scores Marvel's first $100 million box office opening of 2025
This image released by Disney shows Pedro Pascal in a scene from "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." (Marvel/Disney via AP) LOS ANGELES — Marvel's first family has finally found box office gold. 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps,' the first film about the superheroes made under the guidance of Kevin Feige and the Walt Disney Co., earned $118 million in its first weekend in 4,125 North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. That makes it the fourth biggest opening of the year, behind 'A Minecraft Movie,' 'Lilo & Stitch' and 'Superman,' and the biggest Marvel opening since 'Deadpool & Wolverine' grossed $211 million out of the gate last summer. Internationally, 'Fantastic Four' made $100 million from 52 territories, adding up to a $218 million worldwide debut. The numbers were within the range the studio was expecting. The film arrived in the wake of another big superhero reboot, James Gunn's 'Superman,' which opened three weekends ago and has already crossed $500 million globally. That film, from the other main player in comic book films, DC Studios, took second place with $24.9 million domestically. 'First Steps' is the latest attempt at bringing the superhuman family to the big screen, following lackluster performances for other versions. The film, based on the original Marvel comics, is set during the 1960s in a retro-futuristic world led by the Fantastic Four, a family of astronauts-turned-superhuman from exposure to cosmic rays during a space mission. The family is made up of Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), who can stretch his body to incredible lengths; Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), who can render herself invisible; Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), who transforms into a fiery human torch; and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who possesses tremendous superhuman strength with his stone-like flesh. The movie takes place four years after the family gained powers, during which Reed's inventions have transformed technology, and Sue's diplomacy has led to global peace. Both audiences and critics responded positively to the film, which currently has an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and promising exit poll responses from opening weekend ticket buyers. An estimated 46 per cent of audiences chose to see it on premium screens, including IMAX and other large formats. The once towering Marvel is working to rebuild audience enthusiasm for its films and characters. Its two previous offerings this year did not reach the cosmic box office heights of 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' which made over $1.3 billion, or those of the 'Avengers'-era. But critically, the films have been on an upswing since the poorly reviewed 'Captain America: Brave New World,' which ultimately grossed $415 million worldwide. 'Thunderbolts,' which jumpstarted the summer movie season, was better received critically but financially is capping out at just over $382 million globally. Like Deadpool and Wolverine, the Fantastic Four characters had been under the banner of 20th Century Fox for years. The studio produced two critically loathed, but decently profitable attempts in the mid-2000s with future Captain America Chris Evans as the Human Torch. In 2015, it tried again (unsuccessfully) with Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller. They got another chance after Disney's $71 billion acquisition of Fox's entertainment assets in 2019. Top 10 movies by domestic box office With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore: 1. 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps,' $118 million. 2. 'Superman,' $24.9 million. 3. 'Jurassic World Rebirth,' $13 million. 4. 'F1: The Movie,' $6.2 million. 5. 'Smurfs,' $5.4 million. 6. 'I Know What You Did Last Summer,' $5.1 million. 7. 'How to Train Your Dragon,' $2.8 million. 8. 'Eddington,' $1.7 million. 9. 'Saiyaara,' $1.3 million. 10. 'Oh, Hi!,' $1.1 million. Lindsey Bahr And Itzel Luna, The Associated Press


CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
SuperNOVA summer camp: High school students get hands-on experience solving climate problems
High school students in Dalhousie University's SuperNOVA Ocean Climate Innovation Program put their remotely operated vehicles to the test in the Halifax Harbour. Jarman Ley, the program coordinator of SuperNOVA, said 25 students took part in the program focused on ocean technologies, engineering, and artificial intelligence. 'We started this program to get high school students excited and interested in the climate and how the ocean relates to that,' said Ley. 'They all developed programs for their own sensors and then drove them into the harbour to see the difference between historical harbour data and current harbour data.' SuperNOVA Students participating in Dalhousie University's SuperNOVA Ocean Climate Innovation Program put their remotely operated vehicles into the Halifax Harbour Friday, July 25, 2025. (Paul DeWitt/CTV Atlantic) The students are testing for oxygen, solidity, and the acidity of the water, said Ley. 'They are specifically doing dissolved oxygen to see if fish have enough oxygen to breathe. They are doing the solidity because as climate changes or temperature changes you can have saltier waters, which is inhospitable to plants. They are doing the acidity of the water, the oxygen reduction potential, which is essentially how the ocean cleans itself.' Ley said the program teaches skills the students can take into their university careers. 'It's been a really interesting way to take all of the knowledge that we've learned and wrap it into one project that we can test and see the results of,' said student Finnegan Jafmann. SuperNOVA Students participating in Dalhousie University's SuperNOVA Ocean Climate Innovation Program put their remotely operated vehicles into the Halifax Harbour Friday, July 25, 2025. (Paul DeWitt/CTV Atlantic) 'A lot of the people here are probably going to use this as really good experience because we got to go to a lot of places. We got to tour multiple parts of the Dal building and the engineering section, and we got to talk to a lot of people about their projects,' said student Emily Whidden. 'For me, it was a lot of interesting information, but for the people who are planning to go into these fields or even come to Dal, it was probably a really good foot in the door.' From 2023 to date, Dalhousie University said SuperNOVA has reached more than 27,500 youth through this not-for-profit initiative. 'Young people are the lifeblood of the future. So, we really believe if we start to encourage them now, that they'll be that much more advanced when they get to university and potentially study it and develop the next generation of innovation,' said Ley. According to Dalhousie University, SuperNOVA summer camps introduce participants to STEM concepts, careers and mentors through 'fun experiments and innovative hands-on activities.' For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page


CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
Here's why teens don't belong on dating apps
Nearly one-in-four teens ages 13 through 18 have used dating apps, according to the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science. (Julio Lopez/Pexels) Teenagers are using dating apps more than we previously knew, according to research published this week in the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science. The study found that 23.5 per cent of teens ages 13 through 18 used dating apps over a six-month period, which is more than past estimates. The study is believed to be the first to track how teens use dating apps by recording their keyboard activity rather than relying on self-reports, according to the researchers. The study found that teens who used dating apps didn't generally have more symptoms of mental health challenges after six months than those who didn't. However, those who used dating apps frequently were more likely to have symptoms of major depressive disorders. 'This study showed some support for dating app users having greater depressive symptoms and greater engagement in risky behaviors,' said Lilian Li, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and the study's lead author. It's unclear whether that's because the dating app users were harmed on the apps through things such as exposure to harassment or risky behaviors, Li said, or whether those who were depressed used dating apps because they had trouble connecting with others. Li cautioned that the study was small — it included 149 teens in the United States, 35 of whom used dating apps. And because it only tracked keyboard entries, it wasn't able to measure things such as lurking or liking and disliking profiles. There's still reason for parents to be concerned, because dating apps could also be harming kids in other ways. That's why, when I speak to parents and students about how to handle kids' use of apps, I suggest that teenagers not use online dating platforms at all. Teens can connect with predators online One reason I don't think teens belong on dating apps is because they're dangerous. Researchers have warned that registered sex offenders freely use online dating sites. Online dating particularly raises the risk of teens being catfished, manipulated into an emotional relationship with someone using an assumed identity. That creates the opportunity for the other person to convince the teen to share an intimate image, which can then be used for financial extortion or to pressure the victim into further exploitation. Wolf Image The dating app Tinder logo (Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Photographer: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/) These risks make dating apps dangerous for adults but even more so for teenagers, because the teenage brain is wired to accept greater risks in the pursuit of rewards, according to the UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent. That's why it didn't surprise me that the new research found that teens who engaged in other risky behaviors, such as using substances and breaking rules, were more likely to use dating apps. We can't expect teenagers to consider that the person they think is their new boyfriend or girlfriend might actually be an adult cybercriminal. Teens also can't be expected to think through the potential consequences if they decide to meet up in person with someone they connected with online. 'Minors are not permitted on our dating apps, full stop,' said a spokesperson for the Match Group, which owns Tinder, the most-used dating app among teens in the study. 'Our platforms are for adults 18 and older, and we deploy industry-leading technology and human oversight to keep underage users off them. Our brands deploy sophisticated safety tools including AI-powered age verification, ID verification, and device blocking, as well as human moderators to proactively detect and remove minors and bad actors. 'We work with longstanding partners like THORN to enhance safety measures and, this year, supported the founding of ROOST, a nonprofit focused on building scalable tools for child safety. We continue to invest in cutting-edge tools, technology, and partnerships to help ensure our platforms remain safe for the communities we serve.' The spokesperson also noted that the Match Group offers a safety tool to conduct background checks on users and that the statistics in the new research include social discovery apps, which are different from dating apps. Dating apps don't teach teens to have healthy relationships The problem is not just that dating apps are dangerous, which they can be. They can also send the wrong signals to young people about human relationships. If you want to establish and maintain a relationship with someone in person, you generally have to learn things like how to have a two-way conversation, show consideration for the other person and even resolve disagreements that might come up. Grindr A phone screen shows multiple apps, including Grindr, a dating app for gay men. These are all skills that teens need to practice and which will serve them well in many aspects of their lives. They'll not only help youth deal with people such as future professors and employers but will likely make them happier over the long run. Close relationships are even more important for our happiness than things such as money or fame and are also important to our health, Harvard University researchers found in one of the longest studies of adults ever conducted. In interviews for my book, people told me they felt dating app users invest less in the relationships they form with their 'matches' because the apps convey the impression that there are always more people available to swipe on. 'If someone upsets you for the smallest reason, you can go to a dating app and find someone else,' one woman told me. So teens are learning they can walk away from dating apps feeling like romantic partners are easily obtained and let go, rather than learning to refine skills to maintain close offline relationships. There are other ways to meet their needs To start conversations about these concerns, parents should check in with teens on whether they're using or want to use dating apps. If teens say yes, it's an opportunity to consider how they can meet their needs in other ways. For example, if teens are lonely or want to find a romantic partner, one of the best things we can do is let them get together with peers in person. They can connect with friends and even potential romantic partners who share similar interests by signing up for extracurricular activities. It is also an important way of helping teens feel like they matter, which is one of the best means for promoting well-being. The new study found that dating apps may give teens who are sexual and gender minorities in their communities ways of making valuable social connections. It would be even better, however, for parents to explore how such teens can make those connections by meeting up with the kinds of people they want to know face-to-face. Some teens may also want to use dating apps because some platforms have suggested they have algorithms that can match people with their soulmates — or at least compatible romantic partners. However, decades of research tells us this isn't possible, because it turns out that people's personality traits don't actually predict whether they'll do well as a couple. Prepare teens for using dating apps in the future Still, 30 per cent of Americans have used a dating app or site at some point, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, so it's possible that your teen will find a way to evade your rules against using them now or will use one in the future. That's why you should talk to teens about how to stay safe on dating apps if they do use them at any point in their lives. I recommend video chatting with people before meeting up in person to confirm that they appear to be who they say they are, meeting in public places, telling loved ones where you're meeting, telling the person you're meeting that your loved ones know where you are, and not being alone with someone until you're confident you can trust them. I know parents think their children would never use a dating app or go meet a stranger they only know online. But since this new research suggests teens are using these apps more than parents may realize, it's best to be prepared. Whether teens are just breaking your rules or getting into trouble online, they are missing out on learning to establish healthy relationships face-to-face. That's why parents should talk to teens now about these concerns, helping them get their dating lives started on the right track instead of merely swiping right.