Quirks and Quarks

CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks covers the quirks of the expanding universe to the quarks within a single atom... and everything in between.

  1. 17 OCT

    Moose are hot and bothered, and more...

    Nobel Prize in medicine for a leash on our immune system Our immune system has enormous power to defend us against the wide range of pathogens and invaders that nature sends at us. But it’s a double-edged sword, and can target its powerful weapons against us as well. This year’s Nobel prize in Medicine or Physiology went to a group who discovered a critical mechanism that keeps the immune system in check, under normal circumstances, giving them new insights into the diseases that occur when it goes wrong. Yogurt with a creepy-crawly secret ingredient A team of researchers has duplicated an ancient recipe for yogurt that uses a unique ingredient to initiate fermentation: ants. They added squished ants to fresh milk, buried it in an anthill to incubate it, and enjoyed zesty yogurt soon after. A microbiological analysis showed that the ants contributed a bacteria to the yogurt that is also present in sourdough starter. An ancestor of the largest dinosaurs was a dog-sized biped Researchers have discovered a 230 million year old fossil high in the Andes of Argentina that is the precursor to the giant, long-necked sauropod dinosaurs like the iconic brontosaurus. This animal, however, is a two-legged herbivore that likely weighed less than 20 kilograms. Nobel in physics awarded for laying the groundwork for quantum computing Quantum tunneling is a strange phenomenon in which subatomic particles can pass through apparently impenetrable objects like magic. This year’s Nobel prize in physics was awarded to a team that discovered that this strange quantum phenomena can happen on larger scales too, and how their superconducting circuit also absorbs and emits energy at distinct energy levels, laying the groundwork for quantum computers. Neanderthals systematically rendered fat from animal bones Scientists think that the fragmented bones of at least 172 animals discovered at a Neanderthal site in Germany represent the remains of a large-scale processing site where they extracted nutritious and useful fat. This could be used for a range of things, from skin protection to preserving meat similar to pemmican. Moose are hot. Are they bothered? During the fall rut moose, particularly the males, are very active searching for mates and competing with rivals. This activity generates a large amount of heat, which could be a problem as moose don’t sweat. Scientists are investigating if, in a warmer climate, this might be interfering with their reproductive success.

    55 min
  2. 10 OCT

    Celebrating 50 years of Quirks & Quarks!

    On October 9, 1975, CBC listeners across the country heard David Suzuki introduce the very first episode of Quirks & Quarks. 50 years and thousands of interviews later, Quirks is still going strong, bringing wonders from the world of science to listeners, old and new. On October 7, 2025 we celebrated with an anniversary show in front of a live audience at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario. We had guests from a range of scientific disciplines looking at what we’ve learned in the last 50 years, and hazarding some risky predictions about what the next half century could hold.  Our panelists were: Evan Fraser, Director of Arrell Food Institute and Professor of Geography at the University of Guelph, co-chair of the Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council, a fellow of the Pierre Elliot Trudeau foundation, and a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Katie Mack, Hawking Chair in Cosmology and Science Communication at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Luke Stark, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Information & Media Studies at Western University in London, Ontario, and a Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Azrieli Global Scholar with the Future Flourishing Program. Laura Tozer, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Toronto and director of the Climate Policy & Action Lab at the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Ana Luisa Trejos, a professor in the Department Electrical and Computer Engineering and the School of Biomedical Engineering and Canada Research chair in wearable mechatronics at Western University in London, Ontario. Yvonne Bombard, professor at the University of Toronto and scientist and Canada Research Chair at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, where she directs the Genomics Health Services Research Program.

    54 min

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CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks covers the quirks of the expanding universe to the quarks within a single atom... and everything in between.

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