They came, they quizzed, they conquered

McGill may have lost its bragging rights over the Maclean's university rankings in recent years ("We're number three!" just doesn't have the same cachet as "We're number one!"), but thanks to a quick-witted crew of professors, the University can now lay claim to a prize that eluded the grasp of some of the finest universities in the land-the Discovery Channel's Golden Brain Award.

The network's flagship series, @discovery.ca, organized a science competition pitting teams of professors from different universities against each other. The McGill squad bested colleagues from Lakehead, Memorial and the University of Toronto on route to a Golden Brain championship match against the University of Manitoba that aired last month.

The McGill team racked up the points against the game but outmatched Manitobans, solving queries about recent genetic discoveries and the Loch Ness Monster. The University's squad even had a chance to be true to their school, backing the home boy in a question about scientific integrity. When asked which famed scientist was never accused of fiddling with research results, the McGill team unhesitatingly opted for onetime McGill professor Ernest Rutherford over the likes of Gregor Mendel, Issac Newton and Galileo (it turned out to be the right answer, too).

McGill bested Manitoba 20 to 10 and the only time the McGill team looked truly dumbfounded was when @discovery.ca host Jay Ingram suggested that they might want to celebrate their triumph by giving each other "high fives." After a few awkward seconds, the McGill squad waved instead. Representing McGill at the championship match were physics professors John Crawford and Dominic Ryan, earth and planetary sciences professor Olivia Jenson and plant science professor Don Smith. Faculty who represented McGill in previous matches include plant science professors Deborah Buzsard and Tim Paulitz and mathematics professor Wilbur Jonsson. They might not know "high fives," but they sure know their science.