Quirks & Quarkswith Bob McDonald
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April 20, 2019 — Human brain genes in monkeys, urine archaeology, evolving human faces and more
Sharks and heavy metals, life on exoplanets and how insects time their mating
Bob McDonald's blog
Old and new science keep Notre Dame standing
The iconic architecture has kept the building standing for hundreds of years, and survived this week's fire as well
Scientists have put a human brain gene into monkeys. Have they crossed the line?
The genetically modified monkeys performed a bit better on memory tests than non-modified monkeys
Pee-oneering archeology. A new technique uses urine to study the ancient past
Salts from urine can trace where and when domestic animals moved into villages
Why the long face? Human faces evolved to reveal emotions and communicate
Compared to our ape ancestors, our faces are more expressive and more readable
Sharks cope with levels of heavy metals in their blood that would kill other animals
Researchers studying Great White sharks have found lethal levels of mercury and arsenic
Is there life 'out there?' How we'll search for traces of life on nearby exoplanets
We know worlds are common. We need to know if they host life
How do insects like ants time their emergence so precisely?
Insects like flying ants coordinate their mating flights in response to weather events such as rainfall or heatwaves
April 13, 2019 — Black hole imaged, a new tiny human, rebuilding coral reefs and more…
Treating depression with ketamine, flipper fornicates for fun and why cats purr
Bob McDonald's blog
How Canadian astronomy made the black hole photo possible
Canada pioneered the radio telescope integration used in the Event Horizon Telescope
We have the 1st photo of a black hole. Here's how it was taken
Canadian physicist Avery Broderick, who helped photograph the black hole, explains how it was done.
A new tiny hominin discovery gives the 'hobbit' a distant cousin
Discovered in the Philippines, this new human relative changes our picture of 'out of Africa'
Collapsing coral reefs — can we rebuild them?
'If we don't engage in active restoration, we will lose coral reefs completely'
Ketamine works its magic on depression by 'stabilizing the brain in a well state'
The drug helps restore synaptic connections eroded by stress
Female dolphins may know the joy of sex, thanks to a human-like clitoris
Dolphins are known to mate outside of their reproductive period, possibly for pleasure
How and why do cats purr?
Purring is like a hug for cats — it can signal pleasure and sooth anxiety
Apr 6, 2019 —The day the dinosaurs died, Soviet race to the moon, tasmanian devils fight off cancer and more …
Roadside testing for cannabis impairment, and Arctic landslides
Bob McDonald's blog
Scientists plan to freeze ship in Arctic ice to understand melt
Disappearing ice is like a receding hairline for the planet. Canada's Arctic is going bald.
A catastrophe frozen in time — a new fossil site shows how the dinosaurs died
Incredible site has animals buried alive amid debris from the asteroid impact
The race to the moon — what the Russians were doing behind the Iron Curtain
While Apollo was working towards a moon landing, the Russians were still in the space race
Tasmanian Devils are learning to live with the cancer that was pushing them to extinction
Researchers have found changes in the devil's genome and behaviour in recent years that indicate they might be able to coexist with the cancer.
Roadside THC tests do not test for impairment. How can science help?
Unlike alcohol, THC levels can't accurately predict whether you're too high to drive
Permafrost landslides are eating great swathes of Arctic landscape
Sixty square kilometres of land has turned to muck on Banks Island
March 30 — Erasing memories, biggest T-Rex and the smell of Parkinson's and more …
Saturn’s tiny ring moons, Google glass helps autistic kids and a supervolcano eruption
Bob McDonald's blog
High technology helps kids cope with autism
Augmented and virtual reality tools can help children with autism better recognize emotions and deal with phobias.
