Quirks and Quarks
CBC
Catégories: Sciences et Médecine
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Old canned salmon provides a record of parasite infection
To study marine ecosystems from the past, scientists picked through canned salmon dating back more than four decades to measure levels of parasites in the fish. Natalie Mastick, a postdoctoral researcher in marine ecology at Yale University, said she found the parasite load in two species of salmon increased in their samples between 1979 - 2021. She says this suggests their ecosystems provided more of the hosts the parasites needed, including marine mammals, which could reflect an increasingly healthy ecosystem. Their study is in the journal Ecology and Evolution.
Mars has more influence on Earth than non-astrologers might have thought
Mars is, on average, about 225 million km from Earth, which would suggest that it has little impact on our planet. Which is true, but as they say a little goes a long way. In a recent study in Nature Communications, researchers studying the history of deep ocean currents found a surprising 2.4-million-year cycle where giant whirlpools form on the ocean floor, linked to cycles in the interactions of Mars and Earth orbiting the Sun. The team, including geophysicist Dietmar Müller from the University of Sydney, say this may act as a backup system to mix the oceans as the Earth warms.
Medieval English silver pennies travelled a long way
Starting in the middle of the 7th century, economic development in medieval England was spurred by the increasing use of handy silver coins that greased the wheels of trade. To date, 7000 of these silver coins have been found that date to the period between the years 660 and 750 AD, but the source of the silver has been mysterious. Using modern technology, researchers from the University of Cambridge, including historian Rory Naismith, have traced the silver right across the continent to its Byzantine source. In their study in the journal Antiquity, the researchers suggest the silver was brought to Europe a hundred years earlier in the form of silver objects, which were melted down and struck as coins in order to put more money into circulation.
Bonobos are not as nice as their reputation suggests
Bonobos are the lesser-known cousin of chimpanzees, and have a reputation for being the more peaceful ape. But a new study published in Current Biology reveals a dark side of bonobos. Anthropologist Maud Mouginot observed the behaviour of bonobos and chimpanzees in their dense tropical forest habitats in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. She was shocked to find out that male bonobos were twice as likely to be aggressive toward other males than chimpanzees. She said this suggests that we need to have a more nuanced view of aggression within and across primate species, including humans.
COVID infections are causing brain inflammation, drops in IQ, and years of brain aging
For many people COVID was more than a respiratory disease. We’re learning now just what kind of impact an infection can have on the brain. It can affect cognition – leading to the famous brain fog – and even shrink and prematurely age the brain. One of the researchers studying these effects is Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, he has found COVID patients suffering from brain fog, confusion, tingling, mini strokes, and even seizure disorders.
Listener Question – The eclipse and the moon’s temperature.
A listener posting as Jeff on X writes: “How hot did the side of the moon that faced the sun get during the eclipse?” We get the answer from Nikhil Arora, an astrophysicist from Queen’s University in Kingston.
Épisodes précédents
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610 - COVID-19’s “long tail” includes a range of impacts on the brain and more… Fri, 12 Apr 2024
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609 - The dark side of LED lighting and more,,, Fri, 05 Apr 2024
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608 - An Australian Atlantis and other lost landscapes, and more... Thu, 28 Mar 2024
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607 - The future of freshwater — will we have a drop to drink, and more. Fri, 22 Mar 2024
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606 - How animals eating, excreting and expiring is like the world's bloodstream, and more Fri, 15 Mar 2024
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605 - How disabled primates thrive in the wild and more… Fri, 08 Mar 2024
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604 - The boreal forest is on the move, and we need to understand how, and more... Fri, 01 Mar 2024
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603 - Icelanders reap the costs and benefits of living on a volcanic island and more… Fri, 23 Feb 2024
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602 - A post valentine’s look at humpback mating songs and a marsupial that’s sleepless for sex Fri, 16 Feb 2024
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601 - Scientists explore which came first, the chicken or the egg, and more… Fri, 09 Feb 2024
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600 - An ancient tree’s crowning glory and more… Fri, 02 Feb 2024
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599 - The aftermath of a record-smashing volcano: Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai two years later, and more... Fri, 26 Jan 2024
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598 - Can diet and exercise be replaced by pills and more… Fri, 19 Jan 2024
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597 - Could buried hydrogen help save the world, and more… Fri, 12 Jan 2024
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596 - A Cave of bones could rewrite the history of human evolution, and more… Fri, 05 Jan 2024
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595 - Our annual holiday question show Fri, 29 Dec 2023
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594 - Seasonal science with reindeer, special stars and miracle babies… Fri, 22 Dec 2023
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593 - The Quirks & Quarks holiday book show! Fri, 15 Dec 2023
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592 - A young carnivorous dinosaur’s last meal and more Fri, 08 Dec 2023
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591 - Cat facts — the latest science on our feline companions Fri, 01 Dec 2023
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590 - How biodiversity contributes to human health and more… Fri, 24 Nov 2023
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589 - Alien blobs in the Earth’s mantle, and much more Fri, 17 Nov 2023
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588 - Eating fossil fuels, sea stars get a head, Right whale diet, music soothes pain and does biology suggest we lack free will? Fri, 10 Nov 2023
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587 - AI research prize and risks, football and lifespan, smart glasses see with sound, most powerful solar storm and killer whale contamination Fri, 03 Nov 2023
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586 - Antarctic ice will melt for a century, the necrobiome recycles your corpse,how apes hang around, brain waves characterize false memories, and finding the biosignatures of long COVID Fri, 27 Oct 2023
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585 - NASA’s metal mission, hungry hippos chew badly, music synchronizes us, cicada boom is trees bane and risks and rewards of deep sea mining Mon, 23 Oct 2023