Early on in the pandemic, in 2021, Hugh Potter ate dinner and watched TV next to his wife while she coughed violently from COVID-19, yet he never even sniffled. It’s been thought that some people may not have gotten COVID because they were careful to avoid exposure. Alternatively, some people…

An unusual infestation of cutworms is wreaking havoc in fields in Abitibi-Témiscamingue. Témiscamingue, in northwestern Quebec, has been especially affected by the damage caused by cutworms — caterpillars that can destroy canola, potato and grain crops in a matter of days. Cutworms are found every year in small quantities in…

The Dose20:45What can I do to prepare for a summer medical emergency? As the parent of four very active children, Dr. Shaneka Kulasingham is no stranger to taking precautions to prevent medical emergencies while travelling.  And as an emergency physician at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton in Ontario, Kulasingham is also…

Two NASA astronauts will stay longer at the International Space Station as engineers troubleshoot problems on Boeing’s new space capsule that cropped up on the trip there. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Friday did not set a return date until testing on the ground was complete and said the…

Earth is surrounded by rocky bodies and bits of debris from when the solar system formed roughly 4.5 billion years ago. On Saturday, one of those leftover rocks will whiz past Earth. The asteroid is called 2024 MK and, at its closest, it will pass roughly 290,000 km from Earth. While…

Over 45,000 species are now threatened with extinction — 1,000 more than last year — according to an international conservation organization that blames pressures from climate change, invasive species and human activity such as illicit trade and infrastructural expansion. The International Union for Conservation of Nature released its latest Red…

The world is full of dangers when you’re a falcon chick less than six weeks old and learning to fly — even if you’re a member of the fastest species on Earth. This week, three falcon chicks named Hugo, Polo and Estebane started to spread their wings around the nest…

Wedged into the tiny holes of masonry bricks, which heat their bodies up to near 30 C, you might think Australian green and golden bell frogs would be uncomfortable. But new research says the amphibians love it, and that these DIY dry saunas — made with spray-painted bricks housed in plastic…

This story has been updated since it was first published to include new details from the London Police Service. London police are investigating the deaths of two animals and the illness of a third after they were on display at a petting zoo for children, part of a weekend Pride event…

China’s Chang’e 6 probe returned to Earth with rock and soil samples from the little-explored far side of the moon, in a global first. The probe landed in the Inner Mongolian region in northern China on Tuesday afternoon.  “I now declare that the Chang’e 6 Lunar Exploration Mission achieved complete success,”…

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is recommending the adoption of an emergency decree to protect the boreal caribou in Quebec as some herds cross the “threshold of near-disappearance.” The Pipmuacan, Val-d’Or and Charlevoix woodland herds could soon be subject to federally imposed protection measures. In a letter addressed to Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette,…

Tick experts are warning Canadians to be on the lookout for symptoms of a tick-borne disease whose case counts have been steadily increasing over the past 15 years. Anaplasmosis is an infection contracted by humans and animals caused by the Anaplasma phagocytophilum bacteria and spread by ticks.  In the early 2000s, provinces…

The Current11:38How our discarded drugs are sparking sex changes in fish What do fish act like on anti-anxiety medication? According to Karen Kidd, “they get bolder” and don’t rely on their usual survival skills — and that’s part of a big problem. “Fish are swimming around in the soup of…

Why do humans live so long? A new study suggests a mother’s care could be a major part of it. The study, out of Cornell University, says that the reason humans and other primates live so long can be at least partly explained by the mother-child relationship. Maternal care leads to the…

As It Happens6:30Alaska man helps trapped and shrieking baby moose — while avoiding its mama When Spencer Warren pulled up at work on Friday morning, he heard a strange, high-pitched creaking sound from the nearby lake.  “I’m used to the animals on the lake, and I said, ‘That’s an odd…

Cancer-causing chemicals are being blown downwind from coal mines in southern British Columbia in concentrations that rival those next to oilsand mines, newly published research has concluded. “Our results reveal, for the first time, clear evidence that coal mining contaminants are spread far downwind from their sources,” says the paper, published in the journal…

If, on a clear night, you were to gaze up into the blackness of the sky, you would expect to see nothing but the magnificent Milky Way stretching out above you, billions of stars twinkling in place. Instead, every few minutes or so, you will most likely also see an…

A family of polar and grizzly bear hybrids, or grolars, in Canada’s western Arctic — which all started with a “pretty strange” female polar bear — is “quite rare,” according to a new study.  The research paper, published last week in the journal Conservation Genetics Resources, used a new tool…

Laurie Rousseau-Nepton says she wants to understand the very large and the very small, and that’s why she became the first Indigenous woman in Canada to earn a PhD in astrophysics.  Rousseau-Nepton received her PhD in 2017 from Université Laval in Quebec City. She said that at the time she wasn’t aware…

When wolves are killed by bullets fired from helicopters during Alberta government culls, surviving members of the pack quickly learn to evade the threat, a new study has found.  For nearly two decades, Alberta has killed off hundreds of grey wolves each year in an attempt to bolster dwindling caribou…

Last year was the hottest in recorded human history, and this year Canada continues to be affected by heat waves and record-breaking temperatures. One big shift is the increase in nighttime temperatures, prompting health concerns across the country as certain nightly forecasts across Eastern Canada predict highs of 24 C,…

Tallica Robson has always been a child who reaches for the stars. The 10-year-old, who wants to be an astrophysicist, says her interest in the topic took off when she came across a book at school called The Mysteries of the Universe. “I kept reading that book over and over…

Two new studies are highlighting what researchers say is the harmful effect of log booms — floating structures that contain logs before processing — on fish habitats in B.C. rivers. A report from the Pacific Salmon Foundation and the B.C. Conservation Foundation (BCCF), led by the Cowichan Tribes, finds the presence of log booms…