Quirks and Quarks
CBC
Categorias: Ciencia y medicina
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Hurricane Helene’s killed hundreds, but the true death toll could end up in the thousands
Hurricanes and tropical storms in the US kill about 24 people directly, but a new study looking at “excess deaths” suggests that in the affected areas the mortality rate is elevated for about 15 years. Rachel Young, a postdoctoral researcher from UC Berkeley, analyzed the long tail of these storms from 1930-2015. She found the true death toll ranges from 7,000 to 11,000 per storm. Her team suspects many factors feed into the excess deaths, including how rebuilding costs could impact funds for future medical care, damage to local health systems and exposure to pollution during the storm. Their study is in the journal Nature.
A new NASA mission will search for signs of life on a Jovian ice moon
Next week NASA hopes to launch a major mission to one of Jupiter’s most fascinating moons. The Europa Clipper will visit the ice moon Europa, whose icy shell is thought to cover an ocean that could contain twice the water that's in all of Earth’s oceans. The fascination with Europa is based on the idea that water is an essential ingredient for life. As a result, Europa could be one of the most promising places in our solar system for life to exist. We talk about the upcoming mission with Cynthia Phillips, the Project Staff Scientist and Planetary Geologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Tarantulas’ creepy hair is likely a defence against predatory army ants
You would think that a venomous spider the size of your fist wouldn’t have too many natural enemies. But Dr. Alireza Zamani from the University of Turku, Finland says it's the arachnid's fuzz, rather than its bite, which discourages predatory army ants. A new study in the Journal of Natural History suggests the tarantula’s barbed hairs keep the ants from being able to attack the spiders, and also protects their eggs, which the arachnids coat in a generous helping of hair.
Whales use underwater bubble blowing in sophisticated ways to trap prey
Scientists have long known that humpback whales use bubbles to corral and concentrate krill and small fish to feed on. But new underwater cameras and airborne drones have provided an unprecedented view of how this is done, revealing how the whales use complex patterns of bubbles in different ways depending on the prey. Andy Szabo, a Canadian whale biologist and executive director of the Alaska Whale Foundation, said the humpbacks’ bubble-nets result in a sevenfold increase in the amount of krill they gulp up per lunge. The study was published in Royal Society Open Science.
The Bomb Doctor: after the explosion this investigator seeks out evidence in the rubble
Explosive attacks often leave behind tragedy, carnage and chaos. But in the rubble is evidence that could provide vital clues for bomb forensic investigators. Kirk Yeager, the FBI’s chief explosives scientist, describes his work at crime scenes as “walking into hell blindfolded.” In his new book, called The Bomb Doctor: A Scientist's Story of Bombers, Beakers, and Bloodhounds, he explains how he and his colleagues tease out evidence from the scorched and smouldering aftermath of an attack.
Episodios anteriores
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628 - The FBI's chief explosives scientist deconstructs bomb forensic investigations and more... Fri, 04 Oct 2024
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627 - Plastic: We need to understand the problem and the solutions, and more Fri, 27 Sep 2024
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626 - An astronaut takes a birds-eye view of migration and more Fri, 20 Sep 2024
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625 - Science in the Field special. Catching up on the sights and sounds of what Canadian researchers did this summer Fri, 13 Sep 2024
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624 - Overheated Bonus Podcast -- a hostful behind-the-scenes chat Mon, 09 Sep 2024
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623 - Overheated - a Quirks & Quarks special about urban heat Fri, 06 Sep 2024
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622 - Quirks & Quarks is on hiatus for the summer. New podcasts will appear in September Fri, 28 Jun 2024
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621 - Listener Question show Fri, 21 Jun 2024
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620 - The age of monotremes, Third thumb, bird dream sounds, astronaut health database, aging and exercise, and sound perception Fri, 14 Jun 2024
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619 - The pursuit of gravity, and more… Fri, 07 Jun 2024
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618 - Killer whales are ramming boats for fun, and more... Fri, 31 May 2024
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617 - The risks and benefits of pandemic virus research and more… Fri, 24 May 2024
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616 - Sounds and smells of nature, and more... Fri, 17 May 2024
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615 - Why the famous Higgs particle plays the field and more… Fri, 10 May 2024
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614 - Quirks & Quarks goes to the dogs -- a dog science special Sat, 04 May 2024
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613 - Tiny black holes that could smash through our planet, and more… Fri, 26 Apr 2024
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612 - Bonus: What On Earth's Earth Day special Mon, 22 Apr 2024
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611 - Why this Indigenous researcher thinks we can do science differently, and more… Sat, 20 Apr 2024
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610 - COVID-19’s “long tail” includes a range of impacts on the brain and more… Fri, 12 Apr 2024