Toronto's summer of the umbrella has helped cause an explosion of small animals, bringing many unusual sightings of rabbits and groundhogs and causing havoc for golf course grounds crews.

"There weren't very many butterflies around at all," recalled Carolyn King, a butterfly enthusiast who attends a handful of spotting expeditions each year. But after a frustrating few hours her partner, Steven LaForest, found something – a tiny blue and brown critter neither of them had seen here before.

Scientists will today unveil the first genome-wide map of the spinal cord of the mouse, a move experts say will accelerate research – and point to potential treatments – in human spinal cord diseases.

The map, dubbed the Allen Spinal Cord Atlas, charts the genetic activity within the mouse spinal cord and will help researchers understand various diseases and disorders, including ALS, multiple sclerosis, paralysis and other spinal cord injuries.

The small, blacklegged ticks that cause Lyme disease are popping up in new regions across the country, prompting the Public Health Agency of Canada to develop new maps to educate the public about the spreading risk.