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The University of Toronto is known around the world for being a top research institution and this year saw its share of exciting strides across disciplines.

What does the world's oldest water taste like? Why do some people end up in bad relationships? What does it feel like to fly in the world's first human-powered helicopter? And how is it that audiences are so entranced by Downton Abbey?

These questions and many more were taken on by U of T's award-winning researchers. Below is a collection of just a few of the many great research stories from 2013. 

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Researchers use electromagnetic field to hide objects

Invisibility cloaking is no longer the stuff of science fiction: two University of Toronto researchers have demonstrated an effective invisibility cloak that is thin, scalable and adaptive to different types and sizes of objects.

Professor George Eleftheriades and PhD student Michael Selvanayagam of The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering designed and tested a new approach to cloaking – by surrounding an object with small antennas that collectively radiate an electromagnetic field. The radiated field cancels out any waves scattering off the cloaked object.

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Ever wondered why your otherwise brilliant friends always seem to partner up with less-than-ideal mates? A new University of Toronto study could help explain why.

Led by Stephanie Spielmann, a postdoctoral researcher in the psychology department, the study found that the fear of being single is a meaningful predictor of settling for less in relationships among both men and women. The results are published in the December edition of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

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“I heard Cam counting down the seconds to the end of the flight and when he reached zero, it was almost surreal. Everyone was screaming and yelling, rushing into the centre to celebrate.” – Materials Science & Engineering student Marc Jutras

An aerospace team with strong U of T engineering connections has made history by winning the $250,000 AHS Igor I. Sikorsky Human-Powered Helicopter Prize, for the first-ever sustained flight of a human-powered helicopter.

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Downton Abbey, the critically-acclaimed and immensely popular series depicting the lives of British aristocrats and their servants in the early 20th century, kicked off its third season this week.

Writer Jenny Hall spoke to historian Margaret MacMillan about the allure of the show – and its hits and misses. MacMillan, author of Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World, is the warden of St. Antony’s College at the University of Oxford and a professor of history at the University of Toronto.

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International high-energy physics research project IceCube has been named the 2013 Breakthrough of the Year by British magazine Physics World.

The Antarctic observatory has been selected for making the first observation of cosmic neutrinos, but also for overcoming the many challenges of creating and operating a colossal detector deep under the ice at the South Pole.

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A new algorithm designed at the University of Toronto has the power to profoundly change the way we find photos among the billions on social media sites such as Facebook and Flickr. And, this month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office will issue a patent on this technology.

Developed by Parham Aarabi, a professor in The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, and his former master’s student Ron Appel, the search tool uses tag locations to quantify relationships between individuals, even those not tagged in any given photo.

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Scientists from the University of Toronto have discovered a novel chemical lurking in the atmosphere that appears to be a long-lived greenhouse gas (LLGHG). The chemical – perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA) – is the most radiatively-efficient chemical found to date, breaking all other chemical records for its potential to affect climate.

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Walking or gardening for as little as 20 minutes a day can help prevent depression, says a University of Toronto researcher who examined 26 years' worth of scholarly research.

Regular exercisers are well acquainted with that satisfying mood boost that comes after a brisk walk or bout at the gym. But the mental health benefits of exercise appear to last long after that runner’s high subsides, according to a systematic review published by Kinesiology and Physical Education PhD candidate George Mammen in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

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A team of scientists from the University of Toronto and Manchester University in the United Kingdom have gone three kilometres beneath the surface of the Canadian Shield to find some of the oldest fluids in our planet’s history. The waters are rich in clues about lives lived without sunlight on Earth and possibly on Mars.

“The saline waters bubbling out of fractures in the rocks are not unlike the black smoker fluids found at deep sea hydrothermal vents,” said University Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar, a geochemist in U of T’s Department of Earth Sciences. “The water is the product of geochemical reactions with the rock and contains dissolved hydrogen, as well as noble gases – helium, neon, argon and particularly xenon – that have been trapped since early in Earth’s history.”

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A new study from the University of Toronto Scarborough shows that people who are aware of their own thoughts and emotions are less affected by positive feedback from others.

The study, authored by UTSC PhD candidate Rimma Teper, finds that individuals high in the trait known as mindfulness show less neural response to positive feedback than their less mindful peers.

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An international team led by University of Toronto scientists Timothy Hughes and Quaid Morris has unraveled most of a code that controls how DNA becomes the proteins that make up cells, a process called gene expression and, in the process, uncovered a possible cause of autism.

The discovery cracks the “RNA control code,” which dictates how RNA – a family of molecules that mediates DNA expression – moves genetic information from DNA to create proteins.

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A massive international research collaboration says the common ancestor of placental mammals – a group that includes humans – was a scampering, insect-eating creature that appeared after the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The University of Toronto Scarborough's Mary Silcox, assistant professor of anthropology, was part of the team that reconstructed the family tree of placental mammals – a diverse group that includes cats, dogs, horses and humans. Their research traces placental mammals back to a tiny, furry creature that got its start 200,000 years or more after the extinction of the dinosaurs.

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Almost 650 years of annual change in sea-ice cover can be seen in the calcite crust growing among layers of seafloor algae, says a new study from the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM).

“This is the first time coralline algae have been used to track changes in Arctic sea ice,” said Jochen Halfar, an associate professor in UTM’s department of chemical and physical sciences. “We found the algal record shows a dramatic decrease in ice cover over the last 150 years.”

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Women with a history of childhood physical abuse are more likely to become obese adults, says a new study by University of Toronto researchers. Results indicate that women who were physically abused in childhood were more likely to be obese than women from non-abusive homes.

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The Art Gallery of Ontario was the latest stop of the successful David Bowie exhibition that originated at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. It’s prompted a resurgence of interest in the theatrical musician.

Writer Jenny Hall spoke to Professor Ken McLeod of the Faculty of Music and the Department of Arts, Culture and Media at U of T Scarborough about Bowie’s impact and influence.

Brianna Goldberg is a writer with University Relations at the University of Toronto.