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Quirks in the Arctic, Part 1

The Amundsen, from the ship's helicopter

Global warming is expected to have dramatic effects on the Arctic. In fact, it appears those changes are underway already. To understand what those changes will mean for the life and landscape of the North, Canadian researchers are working on the Coast Guard Icebreaker Amundsen, which has been specially refitted as a science research vessel. Quirks & Quarks producer Jim Lebans traveled north to join researchers on the Amundsen in the western Arctic. He brought us back a report on the work they're doing.

On this week's show we look at the people working and exploring the Arctic aboard the Amundsen, and how they're doing their work. Jim speaks with Dr. Martin Fortier, the Executive Director of ArcticNet, the research consortium leading the work aboard the Amundsen. Marie-Emmanuelle Rail from Quebec's INRS at the University of Quebec, and Luc Michaud from Laval University's Biology Department show him the equipment they use to take samples and oceanographic data on the voyages. Dr. Gary Stern, the chief scientist on the voyage, and Research Scientist with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans based in Winnipeg, explains the hectic and grueling schedule on the ship. Dr. Jody Deming, a professor of Biological Oceanography and Astrobiology at the University of Washington, talks about the conditions she works in and why she enjoys field work in the Arctic. Dr. Don Forbes of the Geological Survey of Canada based in Halifax also talks about how some researchers come to love the Arctic during their time here.

Next week we'll take a closer look at the research going on aboard the ship.

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Related Links

CCGS Amundsen
ArcticNet: Research in Canada's North
2006 ArcticNet Expedition Logbook
Producer Jim Lebans' Arctic Diary

The Archon X-Prize in Genomics

The $10-million helix, DNA

Just over two years ago, the X-Prize Foundation awarded a $10-million prize to Burt Ratan and his team for being the first privately funded group to put a human in space. Now the foundation has turned its eyes inward and has come up with another $10-million contest, The Archon X-Prize. This one is for work on the human genome. They're challenging scientists to come up with a way to sequence the genomes of 100 people, in the space of 10 days. Considering it takes months to sequence a human being right now, this is a formidable problem to overcome. Dr. Steve Scherer is a senior scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and he's looking at what it's going to take to win this new X-Prize.

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Related Links

Information about the Genomics X-Prize
The Human Genome Project homepage
Dr. Scherer's homepage
The Centre for Applied Genomics

Robotic Rat Whiskers

A rat's best kept secret: his whiskers - Courtesy, Dr. Hartmann

Rats are the lab animal of choice for many scientists, and have helped answer many scientific questions. But they have been reluctant to give up one secret: how their whiskers -- the long strands of facial hair that help them navigate in dark and unfamiliar places -- work. Biologists and neurologists have studied these sensory tools for more than a hundred years. Now a lab in Illinois has put it all together and even created a robotic model that mimics real rat whiskers. Turns out, it's not the whisker itself that's sensing the surrounding environment, it's a receptor at the whisker's base. By measuring the degree to which the whisker bends in any direction -- up, down and side to side -- the rat, and now the robot, can gather a complete reconstructed image of the surface it is touching. The robotic whiskers are the work of Dr. Mitra Hartmann. She's an assistant professor of both mechanical and biomedical engineering at Northwestern University in Evanston, and she hopes these robotic whiskers will soon be used in such diverse areas as planetary exploration and industrial assembly lines.

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Related Links

Study in Nature
Dr. Hartmann's lab

Rethinking Autism: Your Feedback

Does Autism belong in the DSM-IV?

Last week, the show featured a discussion of autism, and whether or not it should be classified as a disorder in reference manuals like the one pictured above. You responded, so this week we have a selection of your letters. Freelance science journalist, Alison Motluk, who produced the original story, joins Bob to read the letters.

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Related Links

Our original story