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Quirks and Quarks

CBC

CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks covers the quirks of the expanding universe to the quarks within a single atom... and everything in between.

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  • 34 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 54 min
  • English

Episodes 34

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  • Yesterday · 54 min

    How to nuke an asteroid, and more…

    <p>After a massive, fresh asteroid impact crater was spotted on the moon, scientists jumped on the opportunity to study it to better understand the violent history of such impacts in our little nook of the solar system. If we ever find one on a collision course with Earth, scientists have simulated how we might be able to defend our planet from any potentially hazardous asteroids — with a nuclear bomb.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Also today:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>The Earth is moving in strange new ways in

  • October 30 · 54 min

    Ice Age Alaskan basecamp shows what life was like 13,800 years ago

    <p>Archaeologists excavating a 13,800-year-old site in Alaska have uncovered a treasure trove of artifacts and domestic features that shed new light on the life and culture of the people who settled into the region. Hunter-gatherers lived at this site, known as Shég’ Xdaltth’i’, near the end of the last Ice Age when the Bering Land Bridge provided a passageway between mainland Russia and Alaska.</p><p><br></p><p>Also today:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Long space missions may raise astronauts’ risk of hip f

  • October 23 · 54 min

    Spooktacular bogs, zombie cells, ghostly stars and more…

    <p>The biting dynamics of the world’s deadliest mosquitoes: meet the researcher who rolled up her sleeves and endured more than 1,000 mosquito bites, all to understand how these deadly little creatures bite and guzzle our blood.</p><p><br></p><p>Also today:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Astronomers spot ghostly green star</li><li>Stubby-legged sled dogs pull loads better</li><li>Inside the stinky, spooky, magical world of bogs</li><li>How a Zombie-like state lets cancer cells escape chemo</li></ul><p><br></p

  • October 16 · 54 min

    Scientists find anti-aging secrets in a 194-year-old tortoise

    <p>DNA samples from the oldest living land animal show how good genes and limited biochemical wear and tear have given a giant tortoise named Jonathan an extended lifespan. The genetic switches that control the genes for DNA repair and metabolism more closely matched his much younger relatives.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Also today:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>What fossilized vomit reveals about ancient sea monsters</li><li>Meet the Nobel-winning physicist who hunts for ghost particles at the South Pole</li><l

  • October 9 · 54 min

    Nobel laureates share their winning science

    <p>We talk to two of this year’s newest Nobel Laureates, Dr. Karl Deisseroth and Peter Hegemann, about their discoveries in optogenetics, a technique that has transformed what we know about the brain — all thanks to a light-detecting algal protein.</p><p>Also today:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Gut microbes can encourage fever after vaccination</li><li>Weather forecasters are less confident in their predictions these days. Here’s why</li><li>What raccoons and other wild brains can teach us about ourselves</

  • October 2 · 54 min

    How feasting black holes time their burps

    <p>Black holes are voracious eaters, but they’re also quite messy, and often after devouring a star, they’ll let out a big burp, launching jets of high energy particles through space. Now, in a recent study, a team of astrophysicists has figured out the formula behind the timing of these burps. </p><p>Also today:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Skiing, hiking and roads are taking a toll on wolverines</li><li>The buzzy, chirpy sounds of the Jurassic forest</li><li>A notorious invasive species has been here a lo

  • September 25 · 54 min

    How corals tell us climate change is supersizing El Niño

    <p>The El Niño underway in the Pacific Ocean is a natural climate phenomenon but its warming effects are being boosted by climate change. Researchers recently used corals growing around the Galapagos Islands to create a local temperature record of the ocean going back 1,000 years.</p><p>Also today:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Massive study redraws bat family tree and uncovers genetic oddities</li><li>How the Surinam toad uses star-shaped fingertip lobes to ‘see’ its prey</li><li>T. rex tooth enamel reveals

  • September 18 · 54 min

    A feather found in dino poop and more...

    <p>It’s long been a mystery why one particular avian dinosaur was the only kind to survive mass extinction, but the recent discovery of a perfectly preserved fossilized feather, found in a cherry-sized piece of dinosaur poop, offers new clues.</p><p><br></p><p>Also today:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Why citizen scientists buried thousands of undies</li><li>How climate change tipped the scales on a catastrophic Himalayan avalanche</li><li>Why an AI leap has left mathematicians feeling uneasy</li><li>Why sci

  • September 11 · 54 min

    Summertime and the science isn’t always easy

    <p>Summer is fieldwork time for many scientists. We talk to researchers who have been busy hiking on fresh lava, capturing thousands of ticks, shooing away moose from their study sites, and even spelunking for Neanderthals — all in the ever-important quest for data.</p>

  • September 4 · 54 min

    Sweat, comets and dino milk. It’s our summer question show!

    <p>Quirks &amp; Quarks has been taking your burning questions for 50 years. And while we thought we might have answered every question there is, our listeners proved there are always more science questions for us to tackle. Including:</p><ul><li>What does the black hole orbit?</li><li>What do you sweat out in a sauna?</li><li>Why are robins' eggs blue?</li><li>What if we no longer had a moon?</li><li>Did dinosaurs produce milk?</li><li>Were there ever giant humans?</li></ul>

  • August 21 · 54 min

    Celebrating 50 years of Quirks & Quarks!

    <p>For our 50th anniversary celebration last October, we spoke with some of Canada's top scientists about their predictions for the future. We revisit our conversations with:</p><ul><li>Evan Fraser, director of Arrell Food Institute and professor of geography at the University of Guelph</li><li>Katie Mack, Hawking Chair in Cosmology and Science Communication at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics</li><li>Luke Stark, assistant professor in the faculty of information and media studies

  • August 7 · 54 min

    Dust? Tongues? Uranus? It’s our Holiday Question Show!

    <p>On this week’s best of <em>Quirks &amp; Quarks</em>, we revisit our annual holiday listener question show, with fascinating queries like:</p><ul><li>Why did a Canadian astronaut's eyesight change when she went to space?&nbsp;</li><li>How is the dust inside our homes changing?&nbsp;</li><li>Why do some professional athletes stick out their tongues when they play?</li><li>Why are most fruits round, but bananas and pineapple are not?&nbsp;</li><li>What would have happened if the dino-killing ast

  • July 24 · 54 min

    Using ants to make yogurt, and other producer picks

    <p>From elephant whiskers to Arctic rhinos and even science programming in prisons, we revisit some of our producers’ favourite stories from this season. Including:</p><ul><li>One of the world's earliest plant-eaters discovered in Nova Scotia</li><li>Elephant trunk whiskers increase their sensitivity to better 'feel' their surroundings</li><li>Yogurt with a creepy-crawly secret ingredient</li><li>Rhinos roamed Arctic Canada 23 million years ago</li><li>Bringing science education to the incarcera

  • July 17 · 54 min

    Whales, sex and rocks — it's our book show!

    <p>We revisit our conversations with authors of some of the year’s most fascinating science books in our annual holiday book show. Featuring:</p><ul><li>Questioning the purpose of whale song — for love or echolocation?</li><li>Journeying through deep geological time to better tackle problems of the future</li><li>Biological sex is complicated, but that's what helps animals like humans thrive</li></ul><p>Plus, science journalist and <em>BookLab</em> podcast co-host Dan Falk reviews <em>The Martia

  • July 10 · 54 min

    Pumas vs. penguins, and other clever carnivores

    <p>From tiny T. rexes to a car-sized sea monster, we revisit some of our favourite stories about predators in their prime, like:</p><p><br></p><ul><li>Smaller tyrannosaur solves decades-long debate about the T. rex</li><li>Among Yellowstone’s top predators, wolves beat out cougars as the top dog</li><li>Bears with us. Tracking grizzlies in B.C.</li><li>Cleveland’s ancient car-sized sea monster had bony fangs made out of its skull</li><li>Wild wolves run for their lives when they hear Big Bad Hum

  • July 3 · 54 min

    Summer Science Spectacular

    <p>From camping out on 'bird poop island,' chasing down wild dogs in Madagascar, or even looking for bombs in a bog in Ottawa –– no one quite does summer like scientists. This week, we revisit some of the hijinks that Canadian researchers got up to last year as they left their labs to get their hands dirty in the field.</p><p><br></p><p>FEATURING:</p><p><br></p><ul><li>Camping out on a remote island with thousands of screaming, pooping, barfing birds</li><li>Dodging lions and mongooses to monito

  • June 26 · 54 min

    Sweat, comets and dino milk. It’s our summer question show!

    <p>Quirks &amp; Quarks has been taking your burning science questions for half a century. And while we thought we might have answered every question there is to answer over the years, our listeners proved there are always more fascinating head-scratchers for us to tackle.</p><p><br></p><p>Like:</p><p><br></p><ul><li>Are comets eternal?</li><li>In a sauna, what am I sweating out?</li><li>Did dinosaurs produce milk?</li><li>If heat rises, why is there snow on the top of mountains?</li><li>What doe

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