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Canada's Housing Market Just Showed Its Strongest Sign of Life in 2026

  July 6, 2026 May sales jumped 5.5% nationally, listings tightened, and prices broke back above $700,000 — here's what it actually means if you're buying or selling in Ontario. The headline: After the slowest start to a year in recent memory, Canadian home sales rose 5.5% from April to May 2026 — the first real sign of momentum this year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). What actually happened in May National home sales climbed 5.5% month-over-month in May, the strongest single-month gain of 2026 so far. New listings pulled back slightly, down 1%, and that combination tightened the national sales-to-new-listings ratio to 49.2%, up from 46.2% in April. For context, anything between 45% and 65% is generally considered a balanced market, so Canada has moved off the buyer-friendly end of that range and toward the middle. The national average home price came in at $702,079, up 1.5% year-over-year and the first time it has topped $700,000 in nearly two year...

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Revolutionary Gene Therapy Restores Hearing in Deaf Toddler

 

In a remarkable medical breakthrough, an 18-month-old toddler named Opal Sandy has regained her hearing thanks to a pioneering gene therapy trial. Born deaf due to a rare genetic condition affecting the OTOF gene, which is responsible for producing a protein essential for hearing, Opal’s prospects for natural hearing were bleak. However, the innovative treatment at Cambridge University Hospitals in England has opened up a world of sound for her.

The procedure involved the infusion of a working copy of the OTOF gene into Opal’s right ear, a process that took a mere 16 minutes. Remarkably, within weeks, Opal began responding to loud noises, and after 24 weeks, she could hear whispers, indicating a near-normal level of hearing restoration.

Opal’s case is part of the Chord trial, which is recruiting more children from the UK, Spain, and the US to undergo similar treatment. The trial is being closely monitored, with participants followed up for five years to assess the long-term efficacy and safety of the therapy.

The success of this gene therapy is a beacon of hope for many suffering from genetic deafness, signaling the dawn of a new era in medical science where conditions once thought incurable are now within the realm of treatment. Opal’s story is not just a personal victory; it’s a milestone in genetic medicine, showcasing the incredible potential of gene therapy to change lives.

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