Quirks & Quarkswith Bob McDonald
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May 18, 2019 — Our plastics problem, mystery of the missing brain cells, overeating processed food and more...
Smartphones detect ear infections, moonquakes, and why geese honk while migrating
Quirks & Quarks public debate: Should we have humans in space?
On June 11, join us in Toronto to attend a live taping of this Quirks & Quarks special program or catch it on our livestreams
Bob McDonald's blog
Kissing Kuiper belt objects produce a planetesimal
Ultima Thule's two lobes came together in a gentle collision that allowed them to stick together without breaking up
We need plastics — how do we avoid choking the planet with them?
Technologies for biodegradable and more easily recyclable plastics could help solve our plastic problem
Learning from tragedy — a baby lacking critical brain cells and a medical detective story
'I don't think we should forget how much can be learned just from a single patient with a rare disease'
Processed food is full of bad stuff, but the real problem is you eat too much of it
A new study found that people ate significantly more calories on an ultra-processed diet compared to a nutritionally equivalent unprocessed food diet.
'Siri, does my baby have an ear infection?' An app does medical diagnosis
A new smartphone app can detect the presence of fluid in the middle ear, a sign of infection
Moonquakes show the moon is still geologically 'alive'
The moon might still be shrinking and so its skin is wrinkling
Why do Canada geese honk while migrating?
Geese honk when they fly as a way of keeping the flock together by communicating position shifts within their V-formation
May 11, 2019 —Zapping the brain to improve memory, the mission that almost landed on the moon and more
Does a dull sweet tooth make us fat, whale barnacles, and STEVE’s shining secret
Bob McDonald's blog
Finding the fingerprint of human influence on climate
Scientists created a global, historical 'drought atlas' showing a clear pattern of warming associated with emissions
Cutting-edge experiments show an electrical zap improves memory in older adults
Mild electrical stimulation gives older adults the memory performance of 20-year olds
Countdown to the moon landing: Apollo 10 — the mission that came so close to the moon
50 years ago this month, Apollo 10 came within 14km of the moon, and paved the way for the landing
It's all about the sugar fix: Eating too much sugar causes fruit flies to eat even more
Eating too much sugar diminished the sweet sense of taste in fruit flies, causing them to overeat
Barnacles stuck to ancient whales kept an itinerary of whale migration routes
Barnacle shells preserved a chemical signature of the journeys whales took
The secret of STEVE's glow — understanding the purple pal of the aurora borealis
STEVE’s mauve streaks caused by heating of charged particles high up in the atmosphere
May 4, 2019 — Brain resuscitation, Hippos supply algae skeletons, slug surgical glue and more...
Air conditioner carbon capture, coral reef halos and size and quantum mechanics.
Bob McDonald's blog
Ups and downs of commercial spaceflight
This year — the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing — will be a landmark year for commercial space flight
How late is too late to revive a brain? Pig brain study raises questions
Scientists partially revive pigs’ brains 10 hours after they were decapitated
Hippo poop provides a key mineral for vital algae's tiny skeletons
Silica from grass on land is vital to producing aquatic diatom's glassy shells
Stitching up surgical cuts with slug slime
The Dusky Arion slug produces a sticky goo to protect itself from small predators, but the defensive goo turns out to have excellent qualities as a medical adhesive
How air conditioners could keep you cool and capture carbon
Researchers propose modules attached to AC fans to help suck carbon out of ambient air
Holy coral reefs? They've got a 'halo' that could show if they're healthy
Reef patches are surrounded by rings of bright sand that's been cleared by reef fish
How big is too big for quantum mechanics?
The behaviour of both large and small objects can explained with quantum mechanics, it just gets really complex with bigger objects.
April 27, 2019 —Oilsands emissions underestimated, Chernobyl's wildlife, a comet trapped in an asteroid and mo
Mice run laps in zero-g, taking the uncertainty out of quantum, and species invading from Canada.
