Alex Coates, PhD

Why AI chatbots lie to us A few weeks ago, a colleague of mine needed to collect and format some data from a website, and he asked the latest version of Anthropic’s generative AI system, Claude, for help. Claude cheerfully agr...

In my latest (and last!) column for Science’s Expert Voices series, I write about the reasons behind AI chatbots’ “deceptive” behaviors (and why Claude threatened a fictional CEO with blackmail).

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Find out more here! 🔗 doi.org/10.1123/ijsn...

Is magnesium an effective topical treatment to aid recovery?🧴

Coates et al. (2025) conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the potential for a commercial topical magnesium gel to reduce muscle soreness after unaccustomed exercise.

Much Ado About Zone 2: A Narrative Review Assessing the Efficacy of Zone 2 Training for Improving Mitochondrial Capacity and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in the General Population - Sports Medicine Popular media has recently positioned Zone 2 training—defined as low-intensity exercise below the lactate threshold—as the optimal intensity for improving mitochondrial and fatty acid oxidative capaci...

Great new article: Much Ado about Zone 2 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

In Québec City for a fantastic long weekend of ice hockey research—great conversations with Canadian and international experts bringing diverse backgrounds and fresh perspectives to the game 🏒

Unsurprisingly, standing room only for the one and only @louisemburke.bsky.social delivering the ACSM Presidents Lecture.

#ACSM25 #GOAT

🚨LEAD FEATURE ARTICLE🚨 July 2025✨

Another fantastic paper from @monash_uni has been selected as the lead feature for our July issue!

‘The Effects of Prebiotic Supplementation on Markers of Exercise-Induced Gastrointestinal Syndrome in Response to Exertional Heat Stress’

Sample size estimation revisited Published in Journal of Sports Sciences (Ahead of Print, 2025)

The journal of Sports and Sciences will now require mandatory sample size estimation and justification www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... This is an excellent step that will improve scientific papers. I expect many other journals will follow.

“Skeletal muscle properties in #LongCOVID and #ME/CFS differ from those induced by bed rest”

Objective science debunking deconditioning theories! 💥 🎤

@patientled.bsky.social

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

I spoke with UN Secretary-General António Guterres today. In this time of rising conflict, Canada is ready to lead.

We will build coalitions, defend democracy, and stand up for our values on the world stage. As others step back from global leadership, Canada is stepping up.

Integrative Field-Based Health and Performance Research: A Narrative Review on Experimental Methods and Logistics to Conduct Competition and Training Camp Studies in Athletes - Sports Medicine Field-based sport research involves studies that collect data from athletes and/or teams during competition and/or their daily training environments. Over the last decade, sport-specific field-based research projects have significantly increased in number and complexity, partially owing to the further development of more portable measurement equipment (e.g., indirect calorimetry, desktop blood/gas analyzers, portable laboratories, etc.) and/or wearable or consumable technologies (e.g., smart watches, sensors, core temp pills, etc.). However, given these rapid advances and novelty, challenges remain in the validity and applicability of these devices. Unfortunately, there are no global ethical or best-practice standards for the use of portable devices and/or wearables in sport; however, this review will outline various opportunities and challenges. Many decision trade-offs are required when designing field-based research studies to balance gold-standard scientific rigor and strict research control with highly applied, but less-controlled, “real-world” conditions. To our knowledge, there are no narrative reviews that take a wholistic view of the logistical and methodological considerations of field-based research in athletes. Accordingly, this review takes a multi-disciplinary methodological approach (physiological, nutritional/energetic, biomechanical, musculoskeletal, cognitive, and psychosocial factors), along with the logistical considerations involved in project planning, research design, and ethics of field-based research with elite athletes and/or teams. We also provide practical guidance for characterizing the extreme demands of elite training and competition to support research that ultimately catalyzes improved understanding of the limits of human capacity. We hope this review can serve as a practical guide for researchers undertaking elite athlete field-based research.

Excited to see this one published.
“Integrative Field-Based Health and Performance Research” dives into the challenges and best practices of doing high-quality science in real-world sport. Grateful to work with an amazing group of authors on this!

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Lab News Human Performance and Health Research Laboratory University of Guelph

New summary post and podcast:

Can EMS combined with BFR offset the effects of physical inactivity? Dr. Chris Pignanelli’s research suggests it's not a full substitute for exercise, but offers key insights for future interventions

hplguelph.weebly.com

Great day of performance testing with Team BC kayakers!

You can catch the ‘nocebo’ effect from family, friends – even social media. But what is it, actually? The nocebo effect is the opposite of the placebo effect. And it can affect what we think of medicines, and the side-effects we report.

You can catch the ‘nocebo’ effect from family, friends – even social media theconversation.com/you-can-catc...

"...when someone expects a negative outcome ... and this triggers worse health."

Very relevant to vaccine adverse events. Studies show a large % of AEs are nocebo effect.

In Canadian election, top Conservative candidate vows to end ‘woke ideology’ in science funding Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party is trying to topple Liberal government in 28 April election

Whether or not you are in science, this kind of attitude toward discovery and academic freedom in Canada is worrisome

www.science.org/content/arti...

Big day at BPK Research Day for the Lab! Congrats to Alicia who won the 3MT on her work examining glycemic control in overtrained athletes, and 3rd place for Zaeema in the poster competition for her work examining academic stress & training fatigue in varsity soccer players! @sfuscience.bsky.social

A figure depicting the protocol for this study, showing the training program for the two groups and the timing and nature of physiological assessments.

Our study comparing two frequencies of exercise training was chosen as the Editor's Choice for February in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. It's available open access here onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

I'm making sure this gets the profiling it needs for the upcoming Canadian Election. The Conservative Party of Canada is using the US-WhiteHouse playbook instead of coming up with a better way to ensure Canadian science shines.

www.caut.ca/latest/2025/...

Analysis | Trump says Canadians would pay ‘much lower taxes’ as Americans. He’s wrong. Even with government-provided health insurance, Canadians pay not much more than Americans in taxes.

Canada join US? No, no, no...

Many reasons, including Canada has better:
- Social mobility (Canadian Dream > American Dream!)
- Healthcare
- Life expectancy
- Education
- Equality
- Standard of living
- Freedom (ironically, US generally ranks low)
- Safety
- Etc

#TeamCanada 🇨🇦

wapo.st/3Y2TvAk

SFU first in Canada to adopt university-wide open scholarship framework Simon Fraser University (SFU) is the first institution in Canada to formally adopt a university-wide open scholarship framework. Led by SFU’s Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology (INN), wi...

#SFU is the first in Canada to adopt a university-wide open scholarship framework! Led by @sfuneuro.bsky.social in partnership with Tanenbaum Open Science Institute @theneuro.bsky.social, we’re breaking down barriers and boosting collaboration across disciplines. www.sfu.ca/sfunews/stor...

careers.uoguelph.ca/job/Guelph-A...

In a few days, Mark Carney will be the next Prime Minister of Canada.

Carney just gave up his entire portfolio to help grow Canada's economy.

Pierre PoiLIEvre won't even get a security clearance.

The choice in the next election is crystal clear
#NeverPoilievre
#noPoilierveforCanada
#VOTELIBERAL

I’m excited for academic twitter to slowly migrate over here. For now, here’s a pic of some sports science women from my lab for international women’s day

Really wish people would stop talking about the problem with Science under Trump as “budget cuts”.

No. Budgets are set deliberatively by elected members of congress. Budgets haven’t been cut.

What’s happening are *purges* and *censorship*.

Canada goose fights off bald eagle in rare, symbolism-laden battle on ice Photographer captures 20-minute clash between birds emblematic of Canada and US amid high trade tensions

"Despite multiple attacks by the eagle, the goose remained unbowed. The raptor, defeated, flew off."

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

New paper from our group, led by Dr Devin McCarthy, exploring a novel form of caffeine administration link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Blue plaque review series: A.V. Hill, athletic records and the birth of exercise physiology Abstract figure legend Depiction of the world running records from 1925 studied by A. V. Hill and those of 2025 up to and including ultradistance events on a semi-logarithmic plot. These records, in ...

A.V. Hill was a hero, a genius, and the most upright person Bernard Katz ever met. He helped bring exercise physiology into being. Here’s our review of that story, published in @jphysiol.bsky.social. physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Repeated Carbon Monoxide Inhalation in Sports: A New Frontier or a Dangerous Gamble? Click on the article title to read more.

New editorial addressing the potential risks and benefits of carbon monoxide inhalation in sports. We explore its physiological implications, ethical considerations, and the need for evidence-based guidelines

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Acute Effects of Cannabis Inhalation on Arterial Stiffness, Vascular Endothelial Function, and Cardiac Function | Journal of the American Heart Association

Newest publication from our lab
www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/...

First three posters from the lab were a success at CSEP 2024!