Lots of new animals are heading for your city, study suggests

When you look out the window or walk your dog in the year 2100, the animals you spot might be quite different from what you see today, a new study suggests. Many wildlife species are moving due to climate change — which means Canadian cities could get an influx of wild climate refugees. They could … Read more

New documentary shows gender diversity par for the course in nature

The natural world is full of gender diversity: female hyenas have pseudo penises used for sex and urination, many species of fish and plants change their sex over their lifespan, and female lions have been known to grow manes and develop a masculine growl. Those are among many examples in a new episode of CBC’s The Nature … Read more

Citizen scientists discover a treasure trove of active asteroids

The citizen science program Active Asteroids is looking for volunteers from the public to sift through astronomical photographs of asteroids to look for signs of tails which may indicate the presence of water. Active asteroids are rare small bodies in our solar system with an asteroid-like orbit and comet-like tail. Spotting them is a bit … Read more

Scientists try to unravel the case of 1,300 mysteriously preserved human brains

6:39Scientists try to unravel the case of 1,300 mysteriously preserved human brains Oxford University’s Alexandra Morton-Hayward spends her days surrounded by brains — literally.  The undertaker-turned-scientist is trying to unravel why some human brains remain remarkably well-preserved after death, sometimes for thousands of years, even when all other soft tissue has long decayed. And anyone … Read more

Discovery of 12,000-year-old preserved human brains contradicts deterioration theory

NEW DELHI: Scientists have made a surprising discovery challenging the belief that brains deteriorate rapidly after death. The research led by Oxford University’s Alexandra Morton-Hayward defies the common notion of rapid brain decomposition. It was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.Over 4,400 well-preserved human brains, some dating back 12,000 years, from … Read more

Screen time can affect children’s language development, study suggests

You may have seen the sight of a very young child completely engaged in a handheld device while the parents enjoy a little peace and quiet. But a new study shows that too much time alone on those devices could have a detrimental effect on the child’s ability to speak fluently. According to a recent … Read more

New study suggests dark matter as distorted parallel universe

NEW DELHI: Scientists have put forward a theory that dark matter might actually be an alternate universe. In a recent study quoted by Daily Express, Dr Arushi Bodas and his team at the University of Chicago’s Enrico Fermi Institute suggest that dark matter could be seen as a distorted parallel universe that never fully developed.Dark … Read more

How documenting the disappearance of the great auk led to the discovery of extinction

Quirks and Quarks17:24How documenting the disappearance of the great auk led to the discovery of extinction When species cease to exist, we often say they went “the way of the dodo.” But it might be more fitting to say they went “the way of the great auk” because it was the Icelandic bird’s disappearance that led to the discovery that … Read more

These are the 1st images of humpbacks having sex, and they’re both males

As It Happens6:291st images humpback whale sex is between 2 males When biologist Stephanie Stack first saw the photographs of two humpback whales mating in the warm waters of Hawaii, she says her mind was “completely blown.” “When I realized that it was two males, it was not what I was expecting,” she told As … Read more

North Pacific humpback whale numbers fall by 20%, but some scientists aren’t worried yet

A sprawling international study of humpback whales in the northern Pacific has found their population has shrunk significantly since 2012 — despite the once-endangered species’ remarkable comeback from the brink of extinction.  The new research, published in Royal Society Open Science journal on Wednesday, estimated a roughly 20 per cent drop in the cetacean species’ numbers … Read more