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Sep 23: Studying the holes in an asteroid, Great Slave Lake life, stone-age wood and more…
Finding the right homes for bats, understanding marine heat waves and aurorae on other planets
Analysis: Bob's blog
A Canadian-made instrument is vital to asteroid sample return mission
The Canadian Space Agency's contribution to NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission guarantees Canadian scientists will get access to four per cent of the collected asteroid sample
Sep 16: Birth of a baby sperm whale, robot that runs on gas, ship pollution and clouds and more…
Octopus’s garden and can we prevent forest fires?
Analysis: Bob's blog
Electric vehicles could save thousands of lives by reducing pollution, new study finds
Researchers calculated that if 30 per cent of vehicles in Chicago currently running on combustion engines were converted to electric, the reduction in pollution would save billions in health care costs every year.
Whale scientists capture the sights and sounds of a baby sperm whale birth for the first time
Scientists are using machine learning to decode and eventually translate how sperm whales communicate with Morse code-like clicks and pauses.
Sep 9: Science in the field special
We catch up with Canadian scientists who’ve been exploring the Pacific ocean depths, adventuring in the far north and chasing butterflies on the shores of the great lakes.
Analysis: Bob's blog
SpaceX multi-engine Starship harkens back to early days of flights to the moon
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says they've made thousands of improvements to Starship and its launch systems in anticipation of their second launch attempt.
Why aren't animals as vivid as birds? Can you store light in a battery? Our fabulous listener question show
What would happen if we were side-swiped by a comet? Can you store light in a battery? What pollution do rockets produce? How do birds choose how fast to fly? Find out on the latest edition of our ever-fascinating Listener Question show.
Aug 26: 'Oumuamua likely not an alien spaceship, rocket debris, 2 billion-year-old asteroid, and more...
Quiet supersonic aircraft, and Brian Cox talks about black holes
Aug 19: Orca moms and sons, buttless scorpions, echidna snot bubbles, dizzy gorillas and more...
Oldest African dinosaur, fork-headed trilobite, and why birds fly north in the winter
Aug 12: The Milky Way tells its story, the experiments that gave us the modern picture of matter, and more...
And: How humans run on electricity.
Aug 5: Brain cells play Pong, smartphone app for making memories, a real viral video and more...
What music elements move us, and the secret life of the uterus
Do insects and reptiles play? How does our voice change with age? Our holiday question show
On the reprise of this year's edition of our holiday science question show, we've got answers for your burning science questions, like: Why did Bob's voice change so much? Does more C02 help trees grow? Do insects and reptiles play? And more...
July 22: Early riders, Mayan mercury contamination, Neanderthals hunt elephants, and more...
Embalming workshop, farmer violence, and hidden stories in books
Bob McDonald looks back at 30 years of hosting Quirks & Quarks
On Oct. 24, 1992 a new voice took the helm at CBC's already venerable science program. Now, three decades and some 7,000 interviews later, Bob McDonald is ready to look back — while still looking forward.
July 8: Giraffes drink pee, missing bear toes, first animal out of water crawls back in, and more...
Chimps and gorillas socializing, giant penguins, and ankylosaurs go clubbing
Our Summer in the Field special
For many of us, summer is the time for things like beaches, bike rides, and BBQs. For some scientists, however, summertime is also when they are at their busiest, travelling to remote locations to get up close and personal with nature.
June 24: Our fabulous listener question show
What would happen if we were side-swiped by a comet? Can you store light in a battery? What pollution do rockets produce? How do birds choose how fast to fly? Find out on the latest edition of our ever-fascinating Listener Question show.
Analysis: Bob's blog
Tragedy at the Titanic is an analogue for a mission to Mars
If something goes wrong either aboard a submersible on a trip to the deep ocean or on a spacecraft to Mars, the crews are largely on their own
Jun 17: Dragging STEM forward, Lucy's muscles, Canada jay sibling rivalry and more…
Skateboards for preemies and sweet and sour cockroach treats
Analysis: Bob's blog
Phosphates discovered on moon of Saturn suggests the possibility of life
Phosphorus, in the form of phosphates, is generally considered the ultimate limiting nutrient in Earth oceans that's necessary for life
Drag and science unite as LGBTQ researchers bring their work to the stage — for inclusion
Science is a Drag is a performance meant to challenge stereotypes about who belongs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, where scientists present their work in a novel way and perform in drag.
Jan 10: Cat contraception, termite air conditioning, octopuses re-engineer their proteins and more…
Coral viral infection and bizarre brain behaviour
Analysis | Bob's blog
Octopuses could help us conceptualize a different form of extraterrestrial intelligence
It's unlikely that aliens, should they exist, will have a single brain and walk on two legs like they do in the movies, writes Bob McDonald.
New cat contraception method using gene therapy could help manage feral populations
Controlling feral cat populations is controversial and often involves capturing, surgically sterilizing and releasing the animals, which is complex and expensive. U.S. scientists have developed a new method for cat contraception that involves a single injection of a gene that prevents cat eggs from maturing.