Quirks and Quarks

Scientists spent nearly 25 years studying close to 800 polar bears in the Barents Sea region and discovered that those polar bears seem to be doing just fine, even though melting sea ice is also a major issue.PLUS:Sargassum seaweed is becoming such a problem, you can see it from spaceWhy some people only get mild sniffles with a cold and others get sickA woolly rhino's DNA found in an ancient wolf’s stomach reveals their quick demiseHow to change a memory — one scientist's quest to understand memory permanence

Some dogs are more adept at learning language than others. Researchers studying these special dogs discovered that, much like toddlers, these smart furry canine companions can pick up words just by eavesdropping on their owners' conversations.PLUSTracking space debris using seismometersUsing nitrogen to boost treesHow Mars shapes our climateExtracting ice age mammoth RNA and using lichens to find dino bones

We may share a common ancestor with chimpanzees, but somewhere along the evolutionary line to us, our brains took a major detour. New research suggests that chimpanzees can rationally weigh evidence, a trait that used to be thought as uniquely human.PLUS:Why penguin-eating pumas live closer together in PatagoniaAnts sacrifice the strength of individual workers for quantityMapping the landmass beneath Antarctica's massive ice sheetHow deep sea ocean environments affect fish body shape

An unassuming fossilized slab in the basement of a museum in Brazil turned out to be 110-million-year-old dinosaur vomit, and inside that vomit were the bones of two strange, seagull-sized pterosaurs.PLUS:Loss of fresh groundwater is now the leading driver of sea level riseHow doubting your self-doubt makes you doubt lessA huge black hole in a peculiar galaxy may date from the universe’s earliest moments Shining a light on where viruses hide out in our bodies, and how they make us sick

On this week’s episode of Quirks & Quarks, it's our ever-popular and always satisfying Holiday Listener Question Show that includes: Why did a Canadian astronaut's eyesight change when she went to space? How is the dust inside our homes changing? Why do some professional athletes stick out their tongues when they play?Why are most fruits round, but bananas and pineapple are not? What would have happened if the dino-killing asteroid never struck Earth?We'll satisfy all these scientific curiosities and many more!

In 2000, Quirks & Quarks celebrated its 25th anniversary by travelling forward in time — to 2025 — to find out how science had changed in the years since. In this fictitious future, our present, Zargon the robot, wakes up a Bob McDonald clone from the year 2000 to speak with scientists about 25 years of science. It's a mindbending audio time-capsule with predictions that were oddly prescient, sometimes unsettling or wildly wrong.

We talk to authors of some of this year’s most fascinating science books in our annual Holiday Book Show.INCLUDING: Questioning the purpose of whale song — for love or echolocation?Journeying through deep geological time to better tackle problems of the futureBiological sex is complicated but that's what helps animals like humans thriveMini reviews of: The Martians by David Baron, Dinner With King Tut by Sam Kean and The Mind Electric by Pria Anand. 

Next stop - the moon! Jeremy Hansen stops by our studio to chat about how he’s prepping to be the first Canadian to go to the moon.Plus:Santa’s reindeer may be losing their antlers –– and climate change could be the culpritReindeer are the only animal in the deer family where the females also grow antlers, and they typically have a full rack over the wintertime and drop them in June when they give birth. University of Guelph PhD student Allegra Love was monitoring reindeer on Fogo Island in Newfoundland, when she made a surprising discovery that female reindeer are losing and growing their antlers much earlier than usual. This can put more stress on the animal during a crucial part of their pregnancy, and the researchers think this could eventually lead to the reindeer losing their antlers altogether. The work was published in the journal Ecosphere.Pterosaur brains reveal clues about why these mighty fliers took to the skiesFlight has only evolved among vertebrates three times — in bats, birds, and first in pterosaurs. How pterosaurs first took to the skies was always a mystery to scientists, until the discovery of a fossilized 230-million year old pterosaur relative in Brazil. An international team, including Ohio University professor Lawrence Witmer, used an MRI for detailed analysis of the fossilized skull, to pinpoint the miniscule brain changes that happened as the animal developed the capacity to fly. The research was published in the journal Current Biology.Scientists are using AI to find life in 3 billion year old rocksEarth’s earliest signs of life are often incredibly difficult to detect. An international team of researchers have developed a new tool that uses AI to find “whispers” of life locked inside ancient rocks. Using this tool, the researchers, including astrobiologist Michael Wong from Carnegie Science, were able to detect fresh chemical evidence of life in rocks that are 3.3 billion years old. This tool can not only be used to explore the origins of life here on Earth, but also on Mars and other planetary bodies. The work was published in the journal PNAS.

Russell Engelman, a PhD student at Case Western Reserve University, reveals fascinating insights about Dunkleosteus, an ancient armored fish that lived 360 million years ago in Ohio. He delves into its unique anatomy, including its blade-like fangs and the environmental conditions of its tropical habitat. Meanwhile, Dr. Stefan Comrade discusses the detrimental effects of industrial chemicals on gut bacteria and his innovative use of machine learning to predict toxicity. Lastly, Dr. Benjamin Ward-Cherrier shares groundbreaking work on training brain organoids to process sensory information, paving the way for biological computing.

Dr. James Napoli reveals the fascinating discovery of a new dinosaur species, Nanotyrannus, highlighting its unique features. Dr. Luke Leckie shares how ants cleverly redesign their nests to curb disease spread. Dr. Allison Muotri uncovers evidence of ancient lead exposure in hominins, potentially influencing human evolution. Dr. Liam Zari discusses how smallmouth bass are evolving in response to removal efforts. Lastly, Dr. Maria Strack stresses the environmental risks associated with peatland development and the permanent damage it may cause.