Apart from the obvious win in landmass size, Canada has a smaller population, smaller economy, smaller-sized buffets and much smaller military and research budgets than our big brother to the south. However, Canadian pilots pull off Top Gun wins, and Canadians continue to forge ahead in their labs with MacGyver-like ingenuity.

Lord Rutherford, who graced the physics labs of McGill University at the turn of the century, is credited with the battle cry: “We haven't the money, so we've got to think.” I would add, “and get out the duct tape”. My master's thesis setup used duct tape to retrofit an old pump to avoid buying a new one. Fellow Canadian researcher Paul Campbell cooked up a unique mouse stereotaxic-mount-cum anaesthesia box that incorporated a latex glove with a hole cut out. He admits that a bit of gas leaked into the room, but argues “that's why you start with extra brain cells, isn't it?”

Walking to the local hardware store where they retooled the dusty pump I found at the back of the lab, dreaming up high-tech/low-cost solutions, staying with local friends at foreign conferences — the eternal Canadian search for thrift in research adds yet another educational angle to my graduate student experience.