Bob McDonald

Bob McDonald is the host of CBC Radio's award-winning weekly science program, Quirks & Quarks. He is also a science commentator for CBC News Network and CBC-TV's The National. He has received 12 honorary degrees and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Latest from Bob McDonald

Analysis | Bob's blog

Self-driving cars know the rules of the road — but not rules of humanity

When it comes to reading cues from human drivers, autonomous vehicles have a ways to go.
ANALYSIS | BOB'S BLOG

A new robot bee flies like its natural counterpart, but it can't land on the ceiling

A robotic insect with four wings is the first to be able to control itself in all three axes of movement like a bee. But landing on the ceiling like a fly is still beyond its reach. 
Analysis

You can help scientists discover new asteroids that might threaten Earth

Bob McDonald's blog: Astronomers are asking for the public's help to scan through thousands of images of the night sky to search for undiscovered asteroids — some of which have the potential to collide with Earth.
Analysis

NASA engineers hope to send a robot snake to explore Saturn's icy moon Enceladus

Bob McDonald's blog: Nature-inspired robots could help us get around and into extreme icy terrains to explore subsurface moon oceans.
Analysis

Future fate of the Earth seen as planet is engulfed by its parent star

Bob McDonald's blog: Humanity gets its first glimpse of what happens when an aging star overwhelms a close orbiting planet, just as our sun is expected to eventually do with Mercury, Venus and Earth.
Analysis

Black holes are messy eaters, two studies show

Bob McDonald's blog: Black holes are known to suck in anything that comes near them in spacetime, but two new studies refine our understanding of these phenomena.
Analysis

Big projects are waiting for Starship to straighten up and fly right

Bob McDonald's blog: Space projects from both public and private industries are looking to take advantage of the world's biggest reusable rocket, once SpaceX's Starship is ready to take off again.
Analysis

Europe's JUICE mission will get us closer to searching for life inside other worlds

Bob McDonald's blog: If there is life around our sun, we're more likely to find it inside other bodies in the solar system than on any surface
Analysis

Jeremy Hansen's flight around the moon is a continuation of Canada's participation in the space program

Bob McDonald's blog: Canada's role in space has been largely silent for six decades since the development of the Avro Arrow, and when we launched our first satellite. But we've been there for the whole ride.
Analysis

Some planets could support life in a narrow twilight zone, study suggests

Bob McDonald's blog: Scientists used climate models to show how planets around other stars with extreme environments could have a relatively benign twilight zone — which could mean a higher chance of life existing on these planets.

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