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 brains
• AI to benefit humanity: Innovations in senior care
• The big idea: could we use music like medicine?
• AI is unlocking the human brain’s secrets
• How 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.

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 shows
• How MethaneSAT Will Track an Invisible Climate Menace From Space
• Global methane emissions rising at fastest rate in decades, scientists warn
• Methane emissions from gas flaring being hidden from satellite monitors
• New 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.