This Week

May 25: The Origin of Feces

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 | Categories:

May 25: The Origin of Feces
Cow pies, scat, droppings, guano, dung, manure, night soil, poop, fecal matter, sh*t. Call it what you may, excrement plays a crucial role in evolution, culture and the environment. In his new book, "The Origin Of Feces", Dr. David Waltner-Toews, a Canadian veterinarian and epidemiologist, tackles the sometimes taboo but always smelly subject that many wish would simply go away. But as it piles higher and deeper, there are just as many who think waste can be put to good use and can play a key role in a sustainable society. We'll explore why waste matters to biodiversity, agriculture, public health, food production and distribution, and global ecosystems.

Plus - Bacteria survives in the sub-zero Arctic; ancient pottery point to the origins of cooking; and the slow painful death of an entangled whale.

Oldest Water May Be Clue to Life on Mars * Oldest Evidence of Human Hunting * Humans and Dogs Evolved together * Apps for Apes * Beetles Make Antifreeze

Saturday, May 18, 2013 | Categories: Episodes

Oldest Water May Be Clue to Life on Mars * Oldest Evidence of Human Hunting * Humans and Dogs Evolved together * Apps for Apes * Beetles Make Antifreeze
Today on the program, we look into a project called Apps for Apes that uses iPads to provide mental stimulation for bored orangutans, and which is teaching researchers about the brains of our ape cousins.  Plus, we'll find out how early humans cracked the craniums of hunted and scavenged animals for some real brain food; we'll learn how dogs and humans evolved together; and we'll hear how longhorn beetles can survive an Arctic winter. But first, ancient water runs deep.

Read More »

Listen

Bone Head Dinosaur Diversity * Using Elephants to Study Dinosaur Metabolism * Hairy Bat Tongues Lap Liquid * Compound Eye Camera * Bone Worm Devours Whale Skeletons * Seeing Faster than the Eye can Follow

Saturday, May 11, 2013 | Categories: Episodes

Bone Head Dinosaur Diversity * Using Elephants to Study Dinosaur Metabolism * Hairy Bat Tongues Lap Liquid * Compound Eye Camera * Bone Worm Devours Whale Skeletons * Seeing Faster than the Eye can Follow
Today, the animal world amazes, inspires, frightens and delights us.  First up: new insights into small dinosaurs from a big bone, and experiments on elephants educate us about dinosaur exercise.  Plus, a look at how a hairy tongue helps bats lap liquid, how an insect eye has inspired a new kind of compound camera, how a tiny worm can devour a whole whale carcass, and how our brains help us see faster than the eye can follow.

Read More »

Listen

Shark Embryos Cannibalize Their Siblings * Does Antimatter have Anti-gravity? * Humpbacks Take Fishing Tips From Friends * My Beloved Brontosaurus * Question Period - Moon's Moons

Saturday, May 4, 2013 | Categories: Episodes

Shark Embryos Cannibalize Their Siblings * Does Antimatter have Anti-gravity? * Humpbacks Take Fishing Tips From Friends * My Beloved Brontosaurus * Question Period - Moon's Moons
OK, Imagine a dinosaur.  Nope, you're wrong.  That's pretty much the lesson from a our guest today who's written a new book which examines why much of the popular image of dinosaurs is outdated, and hasn't kept up with the latest scientific understanding of these magnificent beasts.  Plus we'll hear how a single humpback whale might have changed the feeding habits of hundreds of others;  we'll learn how a Canadian scientist is trying to figure out  whether antimatter falls up or down; and we'll find out if the moon can have its own moon.  But first, Jaws - the very early years.

Read More »

Listen

Paleofantasy * Why Vermin Can't Vomit * Squirrel Stress Makes Big Babies * Better Bacterial Biofuels * Big Stars make Long Gamma-Ray Bursts

Saturday, April 27, 2013 | Categories: Episodes

Paleofantasy * Why Vermin Can't Vomit * Squirrel Stress Makes Big Babies * Better Bacterial Biofuels * Big Stars make Long Gamma-Ray Bursts
How did our ancestors live and can we learn lessons from them on how we should live today?  Well, a guest on today's program says we don't know, and probably not, and warns us against putting too much faith in a Paleofantasy.  Plus, we'll learn why voles can't vomit and rats can't retch; we'll hear how mother squirrels give a boost to their babies when population booms; we'll learn how to create E.coli bacteria that can cook up some gas; and we'll hear about a gamma ray burst that burst into the record books.

Read More »

Listen

Parasitic Worm Inspires Better Skin Graft * Penis-like Organ Helps Bowheads Keep Cool * Beothuk Beliefs Inspired by Birds * Lake Erie Algae Bloom * Time Reborn

Saturday, April 20, 2013 | Categories: Episodes

Parasitic Worm Inspires Better Skin Graft * Penis-like Organ Helps Bowheads Keep Cool * Beothuk Beliefs Inspired by Birds * Lake Erie Algae Bloom * Time Reborn
Does the universe have too much time or not enough? Or does it have any at all?  That's the question we examine this week as we try to determine if time, in fact, is real.  Plus, we'll learn how bowhead whales keep a cool head; we'll hear why birds were so important to the Beothuk people of Newfoundland; and we'll look into what lessons have been learned from a giant algal bloom in Lake Erie. But first, how to worm your way into medical school.

Read More »

Listen

 

Stay Connected with Quirks & Quarks

Most Recent Podcast

Space Exploration

Space Travel Predictions

CBC's Rewind takes a look at space travel predictions since 1946. Listen to great clips from the CBC Radio Archives, with new commentary from Bob McDonald, about where space exploration should have taken us by now.

Books

Science Books on Quirks

Want to hear about some of the latest popular science books from the people who wrote them? Check out our list of recent interviews with science authors.

Coming Soon: Halifax Question Show

Bob McDonald We're coming to Halifax in early June for our annual Quirks Question Roadshow, and we want to see you there. Stay tuned to this space for details.

Latest Audio

Featured Audio

Please download the latest version of Flash Player to view this content.
All show audio »