A perfectly preserved burrow of fossilized snakes shows that the reptiles have been social creatures for almost 40 million years, says a new research paper co-authored by a University of Alberta paleontologist. It’s well known that snakes today gather in burrows for all kinds of reasons, including breeding and surviving cold temperatures by piling together … Read more
Oxygen is being produced on the ocean floor — seemingly by ancient lumps of metal — according to a new study. That discovery is putting the scientists behind it at odds with the Canada-based mining company that funded them. “We were the worst critics of this paper for a long time,” Andrew Sweetman of the Scottish … Read more
In the chilly waters of Vancouver Island’s Barkley Sound, gardeners are at work on the sea floor. They are scientists from the University of Victoria (UVic) who are trying to regrow kelp forests, a crucial part of the marine habitat, amid threats from heat waves, climate change and voracious sea urchins. Julia Baum, a UVic … Read more
The Current17:46Ancient kids’ drawings show life in doomed Pompeii Amid the unearthed sculptures and grand artwork that display the affluence of the once-grand city of Pompeii before its destruction, there’s a little drawing of the outline of a hand and some stick figures on the wall of a kitchen that tell a different story. “I think … Read more
As It Happens5:33This Ontario-based YouTuber filtered — and drank — his own sweat with a replica Dune Stillsuit What does water filtered through the iconic Stillsuit from Dune taste like? “Warm … and it’s got a tang to it,” YouTuber Darryl Sherk told As It Happens host Nil Koksal. Sherk and his colleagues at Hacksmith … Read more
China on Friday launched a lunar probe to land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights into differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side. It is the latest advance in China’s increasingly sophisticated space exploration program, which is now competing with the U.S., still … Read more
Quirks and Quarks19:12An Indigenous ecologist on why we need to stop and listen to save the planet Indigenous ecologist Jennifer Grenz has spent decades working to protect ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest through restoration and invasive species management. But recently, frustrated by the limitations of her work, she set out on a mission to incorporate … Read more
Last November, the Voyager 1 spacecraft began sending gibberish radio signals back to Earth. Engineers have now identified the problem, but trying to repair a 46-year-old device on a craft 24 billion kilometres from Earth is not easy. Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 were both launched in 1977 on a reconnaissance mission to … Read more
Federal Health Minister Mark Holland suggested on Monday that there are gaps in the early stages of screening scientists at secret-level facilities such as the National Microbiology Lab (NML) in Winnipeg. Holland told the House of Commons special committee on Canada-China relations there is a “responsibility of those individuals to disclose their engagements and affiliations.” He … Read more
The team at Research Casting International in Trenton, Ontario is responsible for preparing and building many dinosaur skeletons that are on display in museums around the world. (Ideacom International Inc. ) Roberto Verdecchia is one of the directors of Secrets of the Jurassic Dinosaurs The next time you step into the Royal Ontario Museum, the … Read more
