Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World

Music makes us feel better — for most of us, this is an intuitive truth. But scientists are only now beginning to understand the remarkable ways that music affects our brains. With the help of innovation, researchers are working to assess and codify the whats, whys and hows that could help us harness this power as a therapeutic tool to treat people grappling with everything from mood disorders to Parkinson’s disease. Their data is helping prove that music could be one of our most vital, valuable and accessible forms of medicine. Featured in this episode:Dan Levitin is a best-selling author, music producer, renowned neuroscientist and professor emeritus in psychology at McGill University. His latest book, I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine was released in August. Frank Russo is a cognitive neuroscientist and psychologist who serves as the chief science officer at LUCID, a Toronto-based company that uses AI to create personalized music therapy to help people with mental health challenges. He’s also a professor of psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he heads up the Science of Music Auditory Research and Technology (SMART) lab. Jessica Grahn is a neuroscientist and a professor at Western University. She studies how the brain processes music and its power to activate music in people with mobility issues brought on by neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s. Charlotte Cumberbirch is a professional choral singer who leads an online vocal health group for older adults at the Cummings Centre in Montreal. Many of her participants are recovering from strokes or dealing with brain diseases, such as Parkinson’s. Further reading:The sound of science: How music can transform our brainsAI to benefit humanity: Innovations in senior careThe big idea: could we use music like medicine?AI is unlocking the human brain’s secretsHow does music affect your brain? This is your brain. This is your brain on music Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.

In season 3 of Solve for X, we meet the innovators and entrepreneurs solving for climate change, economic disparity, diseases and more. Subscribe and listen beginning September 26.Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com. 

With more than 80 times the short-term warming power of carbon dioxide, methane is a significant climate threat. But finding and fixing methane leaks is no small feat and ground-based detection methods struggle to pinpoint this colourless, odourless gas. In this episode of Solve for X, host Manjula Selvarajah sits down with Stéphane Germain to discuss how his company’s fleet of microsatellites is transforming methane detection. By capturing data from orbit, this satellite technology offers new insights into methane sources, reshaping how we monitor and reduce emissions for a cleaner future.Featured in this episode:Stéphane Germain is the CEO and founder of GHGSat, a global leader in satellite-based methane monitoring. With a background in aerospace engineering, he leads the development of microsatellites that detect greenhouse gas emissions from space, delivering critical data for climate action.Further reading: UN climate summit host Azerbaijan’s gas flaring hits decade-high, study showsHow MethaneSAT Will Track an Invisible Climate Menace From SpaceGlobal methane emissions rising at fastest rate in decades, scientists warnMethane emissions from gas flaring being hidden from satellite monitorsNew satellite will detect and share CO2 data from individual facilities Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.

We’re facing a global ecosystem crisis. Within the last 50 years alone, wildlife populations across the world have declined by a shocking 69 percent. But technology, with help from citizen science, is emerging as one of wildlife’s greatest allies. In this episode of Solve for X, we explore how remote sensing, robot boats and DNA analysis could revolutionize wildlife preservation, offering hope for everything from insects to whales.Featured in this episode: James Snider is the vice president of science, knowledge and innovation at World Wildlife Fund Canada.  Elizabeth Clare is an associate professor of biology at York University in Canada. Her research studies biodiversity at all levels, developing novel genetic methods that address some of the biggest challenges in biodiversity science.Peter Fretwell is a scientist at the British Antarctic Survey. He’s the principal investigator of the Wildlife From Space Program, studying wildlife using satellite imagery.Madeleine Bouvier-Brown is a marine project scientist at Open Ocean Robotics. She handles the deployment of robot boats, retrieving data and analyzing it to deepen our understanding of the oceans.Further reading:Loss of sea ice causes catastrophic breeding failure for emperor penguinsAdventure on high seas inspired ocean droneGlobal wildlife populations have declined by 69 percent since 1970, WWF report findsScientists can suck animal DNA literally out of thin airCaribou are vanishing at an alarming rate. Is it too late to save them? Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.