Just off the highway near Innisfail, Alta., a town about 120 kilometres north of Calgary, is a construction site immediately identified by a large tent boasting the words “Deep Sky” in a groovy, arcade-style font.  The roughly two-hectare facility, still under construction, is hosting what could be called a carbon…

They’ve been flocking to Vancouver’s Westside by the hundreds, armed with binoculars, cellphones, cameras and giant telephoto lenses, all in the hope of capturing a glimpse or photo of the city’s newest celebrities — a family of barred owls that has taken up residence in a Douglas Park tree. Drawn…

Hundreds of dead geese found this spring in fields near Lipton, Sask., 90 kilometres north east of Regina, died from avian influenza, reflecting a provincial uptick in the deadly disease, according to the Ministry of Environment. Tests completed earlier this month confirm the birds died from H5, the highly pathogenic…

A fossil-hunting father-daughter team from Vancouver Island has been recognized in the naming of a new genus of giant prehistoric sea lizard found near Courtenay almost 40 years ago. Michael and Heather Trask were the first to find remains of an elasmosaur west of the Canadian Rockies when they discovered the fossils along the…

An invasive fish species has been found in a small waterway north of New Germany, N.S., according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. A single egg-bearing Oriental weatherfish, also known as pond loach, was discovered in Morgans Falls last month.  The fish originate in East Asia, and this is the…

Does a bear poop in the woods? Or in the city?  Researchers in Prince George, B.C., are asking for the public’s help to identify and collect bear scat so they can then analyze it and compare the health of urban bears to those outside the city.  Biologist Laura Graham, a…

As It Happens6:25When flamingos fish for food, they create underwater vortexes During the pandemic, Saad Bhamla watched the flamingos at the zoo perform strange head movements as they ate, and found himself wondering: “What the heck is going on?”   The birds would submerge their heads in the water, with their…

The first step by a human on the surface of Mars will inevitably transfer Earthly microbes onto Martian soil. Scientists are increasingly concerned with what the implications of contaminating another planet will be.  A recent study, published this month in the journal Microbiome, analyzed the clean rooms at the Kennedy Space Center, where…

The climate is changing. Weather patterns are shifting. The globe is warming — and that includes the Great Lakes. The five interconnected freshwater North American lakes attract significant study in the summer, but they are not such a magnet in the winter — and a group of scientists says that…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forecasting an above-average Atlantic hurricane season.  According to the federal climate and weather agency, the season — which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 each year — has a 60 per cent chance of an above-normal season, a 30 per cent…

Massive fires fuelled by climate change led global forest loss to smash records in 2024, according to a report issued on Wednesday.  Loss of tropical pristine forests alone reached 6.7 million hectares (16.6 million acres), an area roughly the size of Panama, marking an 80 per cent spike compared to…

Canada Pension Plan Investments has dropped a net-zero by 2050 target for carbon emissions, according to an annual report released on Wednesday, following several Canadian financial institutions that have backtracked on climate commitments. CPP Investments noted that there have been recent legal developments in Canada that have introduced new considerations around how net-zero…

The leafy trees that tower over Toronto’s High Park are one of the last remaining black oak ecosystems in Ontario. They’re rare, so each year, fire specialists carefully set fires near their roots, in a controlled perimeter  — burning off the dry grass, leaves and twigs. Smoke billows above the…

Some municipal leaders are feeling unprepared and uninformed after learning their regions could become home to the first uranium exploration in Nova Scotia in almost 45 years. On Wednesday, the Nova Scotia government issued a request for exploration proposals at three sites it believes have uranium deposits. The three sites include…

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says the cull of a flock of ostriches in southwest B.C. will move forward in order to fight the threat of avian flu, but it won’t be providing details of the operation in advance. The notice comes as supporters of the farm are gathering…

It’s a massive undertaking, but two men are hoping to turn much of eastern Ontario into a dark-sky preserve — and they’re leaning into astrotourism, something they say has been a growing trend since the pandemic. Dark-sky preserves are considered protected areas that try to reduce light pollution and preserve the night sky…

Two little birds have caused delays in the construction of a new nursing building at Acadia University and could ultimately affect the opening of the facility. The University Club on Westwood Avenue in Wolfville, N.S., was expected to be demolished in January to make way for the new building, with construction…

Predicting the weather long-term is never an easy or bulletproof task, no matter the available science and technology. But what about forecasting the health of a lake, based on the weather and environment, months prior? That’s what scientists continue to do each year for Lake Erie — specifically the western basin…

WARNING: This story contains graphic details. The former owner of a remote lodge in northern Manitoba where recent caribou hunts led to allegations of vandalism and animal wastage says he believes images of dead fetuses at the site were circulated with the intent of making First Nations hunters “look bad.” Police are…

When you watch the video below, don’t get distracted by the cracking concrete or the metal gate rocking back and forth. Keep your eyes focused on the right side of the screen, where you will see an astonishing sight — one that earthquake scientists say has never been caught on camera before. …

As It Happens6:32Scientists capture 1st footage of rare New Zealand snail laying egg from its neck After a dozen years dedicated to studying a rare species of carnivorous snail, Lisa Flanagan was thrilled to finally film the moment that, until recently, had been shrouded in mystery. Flanagan, a ranger at…

It’s been 45 years since Mount St. Helens erupted — and scientists say it will erupt again in our lifetime. Johanna Wagstaffe breaks down what will make it different from the deadly blast in 1980 and how today’s technology is giving us an early warning system.

Scientists in Australia have identified the oldest known fossil footprints of a reptile-like animal, dated to around 350 million years ago. The discovery suggests that after the first animals emerged from the ocean around 400 million years ago, they evolved the ability to live exclusively on land much faster than…

The deep cracking sound bursting from within the ice signals the dramatic fall about to happen. Seconds later, a block of ice some 70 meters tall — the size of a 20-storey building — collapses from the face of the Perito Moreno glacier into the aquamarine water below. The sight has…

A second dead grey whale has washed ashore in British Columbia in less than a week. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has confirmed that the latest dead whale was reported on May 11 in Haida Gwaii near the community of Skidegate, and a marine mammal response team is working with local…

WARNING: This story contains graphic details. The owner of a remote hunting lodge in northern Manitoba says he wants answers after he found a “mass slaughter” of caribou and severe property damage there last month, but police warn that images circulating of the dead animals might not tell the entire…

As Canada’s reliance on U.S. produce hits the spotlight, one Ontario farmer has a pitch: locally grown, year-round produce, grown by artificial intelligence and automation.  In a sprawling two-hectare greenhouse, partially tucked inside a wooden red barn in King City, Ont., an animated Jay Willmot, farmer and entrepreneur, shared his vision.  “From sowing…

As It Happens5:35Dance Your PhD winner channels his inner Kylie Minogue to explain food science After Sulo Roukka finished defending his PhD in “the usual way,” he didn’t quite know what to do with himself. So he dressed up like a chili pepper and made a dance video about it.…

During a family trip to Point Farms Provincial Park north of Goderich, Ont., in 2023, Lucas Atchison was using a metal detector that he got as a gift for his birthday, when he found something big and old. “We were on the beach, we got our metal detector out, and…

After U.S. President Donald Trump took office, sociologist Travers — who goes by one name — nixed plans to attend the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) conference in Seattle this November.  Travers, a full professor at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., is the president-elect of NASSS. But as a…

The black bear population in Ontario has seen significant declines in a few areas of the province, according to a new population survey conducted by government researchers, raising concerns about the health of the bears and the impact of hunting them. The research used DNA sampling to more accurately estimate…

A recent study has found that climate change is altering Arctic plant communities, with some species declining in response to warmer temperatures, while others flourish.  The study, published in the journal Nature last week, looked at over 2,000 plant communities across the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, and Scandinavia over the course of…

Scientists suspect a deadly virus is behind an unusually large number of fish deaths in Lake Huron this spring, where thousands of carcasses have been washing up on Ontario beaches and shorelines from Ipperwash to the Bruce Peninsula.  People living in coastal communities have been posting pictures of the dead fish on social…

Premier Doug Ford’s government has given Ontario Power Generation the green light to start construction on Canada’s first small modular reactor, a new nuclear energy technology to be built next door to the Darlington power plant.  The small modular reactor (SMR) would provide 300 megawatts of power, enough electricity to…

Warning: This story contains graphic images of a mummified body. As It Happens6:06Nobody could have guessed how this 18th-century Austrian mummy was preserved Scientists have figured out how the body of an 18th-century Austrian vicar has remained so well-preserved for nearly 300 years — and it’s unlike anything they’ve seen…

Methane emissions, a key driver of climate change, remain stubbornly high around the world according to an annual update from the International Energy Agency (IEA). That’s despite the fact that the technology to cut those emissions exists now — especially for emissions from the oil and gas sector. “Because methane…

At a conservation site in southwestern Ontario, research student Cam Chevalier lies down flat on his stomach on a wooden bridge and reaches over the edge to scoop some water into a bottle.  The sample he collects at Holiday Beach Conservation Area is the final one for the day  —…

Fifty years ago, the former Soviet Union launched a probe to Venus. Except it never made it. Instead, the rocket engines shut off too early, and the probe was stuck in Earth orbit. Now, it’s making its way back to Earth. Venera 8, launched on March 27, 1972, was one of a…

Toronto’s crowded streets will soon see another type of vehicle: self-driving delivery robots — a decision the city had no approval over and a major concern for one councillor whose downtown ward will be affected.  The pilot project, run by Magna International Inc., will see up to 20 self-driving vehicles, under…

A video posted by two tourists who visited Arctic Bay, Nunavut, last week where they made negative comments about polar bear hunting has sparked outrage among some Inuit in the territory.  Süha Derbent and Murat Uslu are both photographers from Turkey who planned a 10-day trip to Arctic Bay to document how…

He doesn’t live in a sewer, his name isn’t Donatello and he doesn’t ride a skateboard. But little Root the turtle does get around on his own set of wheels. The wood turtle came to live at the Museum of Natural History in Halifax last September. Unlike most turtles, Root is missing his right…

7 days ago News Duration 1:38 Espace pour la vie and Génome Québec are teaming up for the community science project. They’re asking people near Tadoussac, Cacouna, Rimouski and La Malbaie to collect water samples which they’ll use to check the health of organisms in the St. Lawrence River.

As It Happens6:16Did Roman gladiators really fight animals? This one has the bite marks to prove it In one ancient battle between man and beast, it appears the beast reigned supreme. Researchers have identified bite marks, most likely from a lion, on the pelvis of a man buried in what…

New research shows U.S. policymakers are relying on science more than ever — but that’s where the common ground ends. Johanna Wagstaffe breaks down the data that shows how Republicans and Democrats use science differently to shape their policies.

How do you save a whale that’s 15 metres long and thrashing around in distress?  Every summer, North Atlantic right whales migrate up the eastern coast of North America where they face an onslaught of threats. They get struck by ships, face food shortages and — all too often —…

9 hours ago News Duration 2:08 The Central Queens Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation is launching a new project to use a video camera to count how many adult fish are in the West River. This kind of data is crucial to conservation efforts, but right now the information…

Ontario’s government wants to “unleash” its resources with sweeping changes to its laws on protecting species at risk aimed at speeding up environmental approvals. “With President Trump taking direct aim at our economy, it cannot be business as usual,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford while announcing the government’s proposed Bill…

Two orphaned bobcat sisters were released into the wild near Powell River, B.C., on Friday, 10 months after they were found malnourished near a logging road. Last July, Merrilee Prior from the Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society (PROWLS) says she got a call about two kittens being found by someone driving…

A recent executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump to invest in deep sea mining operations could have dire environmental consequences, according to a northern Ontario mining expert. On April 24, Trump issued an executive order called Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources. Its goal is to promote the…

Horses have a distinct type of teeth, and caring for them requires a distinct set of skills. Margaret Craig took up the rare profession of equine dentist. She now travels across Saskatchewan improving horses’ oral health.

The search for life beyond our own planet is something that astronomers have been doing for decades now, with no results. But on April 17, a study was published revealing that a team of astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), led by Nikku Madhusudhan, had discovered gases on…

Amazon’s first batch of internet satellites rocketed into orbit on Monday night, the latest entry in the mega constellation market currently dominated by SpaceX’s thousands of Starlinks. The United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket carried up 27 of Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites, named after the frigid fringes of our solar…

Quebec’s Wildlife Ministry dropped about 75,000 vaccine baits around towns near the U.S. border in April. It has confirmed 16 cases of rabies in raccoons since the beginning of 2025.

A pesticide sprayed on New Brunswick forests more than 55 years ago can still be found in some brook trout in the province, according to a new study. DDT was sprayed from planes across northern and central New Brunswick — more than half the province — between 1952 and 1968 to control the spruce…

As It Happens6:01Elephants form ring of protection around little one during earthquake Mkhaya, a seven-year-old elephant at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, can rest easy knowing her family has her back. When a 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck the area on Monday, Mkhaya’s herd wasted no time forming a protective barrier…

This First Person column is the experience of Roger Jenkins, who lives in Storeytown, N.B. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ.  In the summer of 1962, I was allowed to tag along with my father on his job. He had been hired by a…

Tucked away in Waterton Lakes National Park, little greyish brown butterflies — long thought to be just another population of the half-moon hairstreak butterflies — are now being recognized as their own species known as Satyrium curiosolus, or the curiously isolated hairstreak. The pollinator lives exclusively across approximately 300 hectares…

6 days ago News Duration 6:31 The Vancouver Island community of Tofino could face serious risk if an earthquake and tsunami hit, according to Katsu Goda, an Earth sciences professor at Western University. Goda spoke to CBC’s On The Coast about how tsunami towers — made of strong metal —…

When a Spanish fancier released his eight-month-old pigeon for its very first race, the plan was for it to fly to Majorca from Ibiza, approximately 120 kilometres over the Mediterranean Sea.  Instead, the bird ended up some 5,000 kilometres across the Atlantic Ocean on Sable Island, a remote sandbar off Nova Scotia. David…

The world’s rainbow reefs have gone ghostly white in seas around the globe. The “most intense global coral bleaching event ever” has so far struck 84 per cent of the world’s reefs and is ongoing, the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) — a global partnership between nations and non-governmental and international…

As It Happens6:25Meet the bastetodon, a newly discovered apex predator of ancient Egypt What had the body of a dog, the face of a cat and jaws powerful enough to potentially crush the bones of an elephant?  Meet the Bastetodon, a newly discovered species of apex predator, roughly the size of a…

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Every year, thousands of people walk, run, bike or ski in Vancouver’s iconic North Shore Mountains.  But some of those trips don’t go according to plan. More than 100 people call North Shore Rescue every year because they got lost or injured in the dense and steep coastal rainforest.  Locating…

evEn IF yOU cAN UNdersTanD eVEry OnE oF tHese WORdS, HOW thiS SEntENce lOOks, MaTTeRs.   Beyond being an affront to CBC News style, a sentence like the one above also makes the reader work a little harder, affecting a concept called fluency.  “Fluency is just the ease with which we…

For the first time ever, a Canadian team has qualified for both the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) and the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) world championships in the same year. About 30 students from Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School in Sudbury are now in Houston, Texas, to compete in the world championships. “I never…

As It Happens6:021,900-year-old Roman papyrus details elaborate tax evasion scheme If you thought you would find few parallels between today’s world and the world of 2,000 years ago, or you feel like you’re the only one dealing with taxes on seemingly everything, think again.  According to a recent analysis of…

A new study led by the Pacific Salmon Foundation and three northern Vancouver Island First Nations suggests that water collected near active open-net salmon farms contains four times more pathogens harmful to wild salmon than samples collected near inactive salmon farms. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, examined…

A new study led by a University of Calgary scientist has found evidence that suggests Mars once had a carbon cycle, giving further support for the past habitability of the red planet. Using data collected from the Mars rover Curiosity, a team of scientists found an iron carbonate mineral called…

In a potential landmark discovery, scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope have obtained what they call the strongest signs yet of possible life beyond our solar system, detecting in an alien planet’s atmosphere the chemical fingerprints of gases that on Earth are produced only by biological processes. The two…

Scientists have identified fossil dinosaur footprints from a new species in B.C. and Alberta. They’re believed to be the first tracks found in the world to be identified as belonging to club-tailed ankylosaurs, offering new insights about gaps in the fossil record. The new species, which has been named Ruopodosaurus…

Babies and children up to age four could be breathing in plasticizers and other chemicals from their mattresses while they sleep, a Canadian study suggests. Federal regulations set limits on some phthalates or plasticizers, which are substances added to products to make them more flexible. Miriam Diamond, an environmental chemist at…

Rachel Metz of the Philadelphia Zoo recounts the moment ‘Mommy’ — a 97-year-old Western Santa Cruz Galapagos Tortoise — produced four new hatchlings, becoming the oldest known first-time mother of her species.

Much of the hype over hydrogen in Newfoundland and Labrador has subsided, and the harsh realities facing this nascent industry are casting a cloud of uncertainty over plans to dot the landscape with hundreds of wind turbines and construct hydrogen plants from Stephenville to Argentia. Some have downsized their multi-billion-dollar projects or are exploring alternative business…

Indigenous legal advocates in northwestern Ontario are sounding the alarm over the Ontario government’s cancellation of its contract with Starlink, citing concerns with people’s access to legal services in remote First Nations. Last month, Premier Doug Ford announced he’d be ripping up the $100-million deal with Elon Musk’s internet provider,…

Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin launched his fiancée Lauren Sanchez into space Monday with an all-female celebrity crew that included singer-songwriter Katy Perry and CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King. It was the latest wave in space tourism, where more of the rich and famous than ever before — or lucky and well-connected…

A call from Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew for scientists in the U.S. to consider moving here has researchers in this province demanding more funding to give those who relocate a reason to stay. In an open letter to the provincial government, dozens of scientists, researchers and academics questioned how it expects…

Cost of Living9:14Should Canada grow more of its own food? While Canadians are taking time at the grocery store looking for Canadian-made products and labels like the maple leaf, local food growers are ramping up production to meet demand. Jon Lomow is the co-founder of Fieldless Farms, an indoor vertical farm…

The Centre for Whale Research says one of its field biologists has spotted a new calf in a pod of endangered killer whales off British Columbia’s southern coast. The Washington-based centre says in a Facebook post that biologist Mark Malleson encountered J-pod, part of the larger population of southern resident killer whales, as…

In a sudden and unexplained change from previous decades, the federal government has stopped covering the travel costs of Canadian experts volunteering for the next major global climate science assessment. The decision to end travel funding means that Canadian scientists are now wondering whether they can still participate in the…

American biotech company Colossal Biosciences has announced they have created the “world’s first successfully de-extincted animal,” using ancient DNA and gene-editing technology to create hybrid puppies that they are calling resurrected dire wolves.   So far, three snow white pups have been born — two males and a female — and they’re being…

Canada has a unique chance to become a medical and scientific powerhouse — if it moves quickly to scoop up professionals leaving the United States in the wake of health cuts and layoffs, the head of the Canadian Medical Association says. Dr. Joss Reimer, president of the Canadian Medical Association,…

Thanks to a mouse watching clips from The Matrix, scientists have created the largest functional map of a brain to date — a diagram of the wiring connecting 84,000 neurons as they fire off messages. Using a piece of that mouse’s brain about the size of a poppyseed, the researchers identified…

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One of the great things about astronomy is that it’s full of surprises, especially when it comes to comets — you just can’t predict when a new one might pop up. But when one does appear, it gets both amateur and professional astronomers very excited.  And that’s why there’s a lot of…

Simon Lalonde warns the guests touring his apiary that the yellowish goo his bees are depositing on their clothes isn’t honey. It’s basically bee poop, Lalonde says. It’s a sunny spring day at From Hives to Honey, an apiary a short drive from Clavet, Sask., and the bees are leaving…

It’s a fierce, majestic beast that disappeared thousands of years ago, save for artistic renderings in books and on screen, as in Game of Thrones. Or, maybe, it’s just a grey wolf with a few tweaks. American biotech company Colossal Biosciences made a surprise announcement Monday, claiming it had brought the…

Officials are urging residents to be alert and secure their garbage bins as B.C.’s bears wake up from their winter hibernation over the coming weeks. There are between 120,000 and 150,000 black bears in the province, according to advocacy group WildSafeBC, and the dozy bears start getting more active in…

First Nations in northeastern Ontario are preparing for the spring goose hunt, but while the deeply significant cultural tradition is eagerly anticipated, it’s tinged with anxiety this year as well thanks to reports of avian influenza in southern Ontario. The Canadian Wildlife Health Co-operative attached to the University of Guelph…

There is a window of relief for British Columbia farmers from the devastating waves of avian flu, leaving them to assess the toll of outbreaks spanning more than three years that saw millions of birds culled at hundreds of farms. Farmers and scientists also worry what the next migration of wild birds…

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Since Jane Goodall’s groundbreaking discovery in 1960 that chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania use tools to fish termites out of their mounds, further research has found that they use a variety of different tools to suit specific purposes. Chimps have been found to use longer sticks to probe tree…

As It Happens6:44This bird’s nest is made of candy wrappers and face masks. Here’s what we can learn In the city centre of Amsterdam, a seemingly ordinary bird nest tells an extraordinary story of human impact on the environment.  It’s constructed from unexpected materials, including sunglasses, earphones, fireworks and even car…

What On Earth27:44Tasty, climate-friendly food that kids will make (and eat) Jaela Villalobos originally signed onto the after-school cooking class she’s currently taking to spend time with a friend, but the 10-year-old says the experience has been enriching and eye-opening.  “Whatever we eat can also affect the planet,” said the…

2 hours ago News Duration 3:04 Scientists say it’s likely that the closest active volcano to the Alaskan city of Anchorage will erupt soon. If it does, the primary concern is ash, which could impact both residents and flights in the area. Here’s how scientists are preparing.

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A Vancouver-based mining company is looking to sidestep the international agency charged with regulating mining in international waters after lengthy negotiations it says have gone nowhere.  The Metals Company (TMC) will instead seek permission from the U.S. to start deep-sea mining in the Pacific Ocean, rather than from the UN-affiliated International…

B.C. researchers have found that the fiords of the Central Coast may be providing refuge for the critically endangered sunflower sea star, a discovery that could have implications for wider ecosystems at risk due to warming seas. Nine out of 10 sea stars have been wiped out since 2013 due to…

It’s hard to describe the sheer size of a whale when it washes ashore. That’s why Brendon Gould took to the beach with his drone in River of Ponds, N.L., on the Northern Peninsula. In a social media video that has amassed over 10,000 views, Gould lies on the rocks…

After sustaining a spinal cord injury in a motor vehicle accident, Josh Nevers is learning to walk again, even though he doesn’t have much feeling in his legs. A patient at the Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton, one aspect of his physiotherapy sessions has especially…

On June 5, 2024, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore soared into a blue sky in a new Boeing capsule called Starliner. Their mission? To test the spacecraft, dock with the International Space Station (ISS), and then return home a few days later. Instead, the pair returned in a SpaceX…

Inky black shards of volcanic glass unearthed in Alberta are helping researchers trace the movements of Indigenous people across Western Canada centuries ago.  Hand-carved arrowheads and jagged spears made of obsidian, a sharp rock formed by volcanic magma, are remnants of vast prehistoric trade networks that once cut across western…

As It Happens5:56It gave us the best map of the Milky Way. Now the Gaia spacecraft is orbiting into retirement After more than a decade of delivering groundbreaking discoveries from the far reaches of our galaxy, the Gaia spacecraft officially completed its mission and was shut down on March 27 due…

Rescuers freed four people from collapsed buildings in Myanmar on Monday, Chinese media reported, offering some hope three days after a massive earthquake killed around 2,000 as searchers raced to find more survivors in Myanmar and Thailand. Among those rescued from the rubble in Myanmar’s second-largest city, Mandalay, in the early…

As It Happens6:32Rare sighting of a ‘sharktopus’ leaves onlookers stunned and puzzled Marine biologist Rochelle Constantine and her research team encountered something completely unexpected during a research trip off New Zealand’s northern coast — a sight that left them absolutely stunned. While observing a shortfin mako shark swimming through the…

Pacific Whale Watching Association executive director Erin Gless recounts the moment a baby orca, descended from the legendary matriarch Wake, was spotted in the Salish Sea, off the coast of Vancouver Island.

Wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen recounts the moment he came within a metre of a rare spirit bear or kermode and captured intimate portraits of the iconic animal.

Grab those solar glasses, eastern Canada: You’re in for a partial solar eclipse on Saturday morning. If you hope to catch it, you’ll have to wake up early, as the eclipse begins just before sunrise — and be in the right place. Solar eclipses occur as the moon passes in…

A powerful earthquake rocked Southeast Asia on Friday, killing several people, bringing down a skyscraper under construction in Bangkok and toppling buildings in neighbouring Myanmar, where the ruling junta declared a state of emergency in some areas. At least three people were killed in the town of Taungoo in Myanmar…

A log of wood believed to be 50 million years old has been hauled up from below ground at Diavik diamond mine in the N.W.T. — a find that researchers say is remarkable but not uncommon.  In a post about the discovery on Facebook last week, the mine described it…

Eleven years after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the Malaysian government has approved a new search for the plane. One company is so certain new technology will help them find it that they’ve wagered $70 million.

Essex County, Ont., couple Leslie and Bob Meloche have been perfecting a unique delicacy for their bed and breakfast guests over the past five years: black walnut tree syrup. Afternoon Drive6:04Black walnut trees can make syrup too Leslie and Bob Meloche run The Walnut Grove B&B in Essex County and have…

A tense situation among members of an isolated base in Antarctica could foretell conflicts among astronauts on a long distance journey to Mars. The South African Antarctic research base, SANAE IV, is located at a remote location in East Antarctica. It hosts a nine-member team made up of a doctor,…

U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign to eliminate diversity efforts and language from government organizations has officially reached the moon, with NASA erasing references to its promise to land the first woman and first person of colour on the lunar surface from several of its web pages, citing Trump.  The space agency pledged five…

Mating season for wild turkeys in southern Quebec runs from late March to early April, meaning the male birds can get aggressive. Experts say more and more turkeys are showing up in urban areas because winters are milder and there’s plenty of food.

On Sable Island, a thin crescent-shaped sandbar in the Atlantic Ocean, the shifting landscapes make for dazzling — and jarring — experiences. The remote island is home to about 450 feral horses, more than 20,000 seals, countless seabirds and, at its peak, roughly 15 humans in the summer. Being so…

The Current12:54Divers are risking their lives to collect algae. Why? On top of the ice, lakes in the winter don’t look like much. They’re barren and seemingly lifeless, a white expanse stretching out as far as the eye can see. But the view from below is something entirely different and…

Marine mammal expert Ashley Noseworthy recounts the moment a pod of dolphins greeted the SpaceX capsule carrying NASA astronauts returning from nine months stuck in space.

Bird flu is at a dangerous point in the United States: Nearly 167 million birds have been impacted by the H5N1 strain since 2022, and 70 people have been infected. Now, birds are flying our way for the spring migration season. A snow goose near Montreal, a great horned owl in southwestern…

Purging our world of microplastics requires change at the government level. But until that happens, here are some things individuals can do to make a difference. Plastic pollution has reached every corner of our planet, from the highest mountaintops to deep ocean trenches. It also contaminates the air we breathe…

The Current19:46Stranded, this diver lost oxygen for 25 minutes. He survived Chris Lemons says the day of the accident that would nearly claim his life started like any other. “It was very much a normal day at the office,” Lemons told The Current‘s Matt Galloway.  For him, “the office” was…

As It Happens5:29Scientists thought this Antarctic sea floor would be barren. But it’s teeming with life When the crew aboard an ocean science expedition learned that an iceberg the size of Chicago had broken off from an Antarctic ice shelf, they knew they had to stop what they were doing…

As It Happens6:25Elderly penguins are retiring in style with their own island at this Boston aquarium The senior African penguins at the New England Aquarium in Boston have received their own island, where they are fed restaurant-grade fish and vitamins, and get pampered with acupuncture and physiotherapy sessions.   This new…

Nothing will radicalize you like seeing another person’s garbage in your body.  In my blood, in my lungs and in my guts, there are tiny, invisible particles of plastic bags, medical waste, tire dust, synthetic clothing and food packaging.  Making the film Plastic People made me realize I am a…

A Saint John auction house has opened online bidding on a collection of megalodon shark teeth that are millions of years old. Sarah Jones, curator at Jones Auction House, said interest has already picked up for the teeth of the extinct species, which lived about 3.6 million to 23 million to years ago.  Since the auction…

As astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams get their land legs back on Earth, the effects of being stranded in space for nine months — and their recovery — will give scientists a chance to improve preparations for eventual, and even longer, space flights, say experts. NASA aims to send humans to Mars as early as…

If you want to win prizes from the Tim Hortons Roll Up To Win game this year, a University of Waterloo associate professor says the best time to play online is in the morning on weekends. “I had the most success at 8:30 a.m. [on] the weekend, winning around one time…

After a week-long trip to the International Space Station ballooned into a nine-month stay, two NASA astronauts have finally touched — or splashed, rather — down on Earth.  On Tuesday, at 5:57 p.m. ET, a capsule came down off the coast of Tallahassee in the Florida Panhandle, bringing Suni Williams and Barry (Butch) Wilmore back to the Earth’s…

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams departed the International Space Station early on Tuesday morning in a SpaceX capsule for a long-awaited trip back to Earth, nine months after their faulty Boeing Starliner craft upended what was to be a roughly week-long test mission. Wilmore and Williams, two veteran…

Michael Schwinghamer has a passion for shipwrecks and is on a mission to capture them in their watery graves — leaning on his background in surveying and diving. His 3D renderings of ships lying on the sea floor could be the last glimpse before they’re gone forever. CBC’s Dave Irish…

Canada People around the world got to witness a rare total lunar eclipse coinciding with a full moon, dubbed a blood worm moon, late Thursday into early Friday. Check out the scenes from here and abroad. For North America, next blood moon during total lunar eclipse will be in March…

Ancient mammals that lived in the time of dinosaurs were mostly the same dark-brown colour, according to a new study providing clues about how those mammals evolved as they faced giant predators. The study, published in the journal Science, used scientific techniques that have similarly shown the colouring of various…

A SpaceX capsule delivered four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) early Sunday in a NASA crew-swap mission that will allow a pair of stuck astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, to return home after nine months on the orbiting lab. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked at the ISS just…

The replacements for NASA’s two stuck astronauts launched to the International Space Station on Friday night, paving the way for the pair’s return after nine long months. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams need SpaceX to get this relief team to the space station before they can check out. Arrival is…

Hello, Earthlings! This is our weekly newsletter on all things environmental, where we highlight trends and solutions that are moving us to a more sustainable world. Keep up with the latest news on our Climate and Environment page. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox every Thursday.  This week: Confused about…

A meteorologist who made a life-saving call to a Newfoundland mayor urging him to evacuate residents from the path of post-tropical storm Fiona in 2022 says cuts to weather services in the United States could have impacts in hurricane-prone Atlantic Canada. Eddie Sheerr is among a growing number of Canadian…

As It Happens5:47Saturn solidifies its title as moon king, with the discovery of 128 new moons If you’re a fan of our night sky here on Earth and its singular moon, then you’d probably really, really love the view from Saturn. A team of scientists — including a Canadian from…

NASA and SpaceX on Wednesday delayed the launch of a replacement crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station that would have set in motion the long-awaited homecoming of U.S. astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. NASA had been set to launch a SpaceX rocket from Florida carrying a…

A NASA telescope was launched into space from California on Tuesday for a mission to explore the origins of the universe and to scour the Milky Way galaxy for hidden reservoirs of water, a key ingredient for life. The U.S. space agency’s megaphone-shaped SPHEREx, short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of…

This week, robed in twilight, a “blood worm” will pierce the night sky. As ominous as that sounds, don’t think leeches — think lunar. Late Thursday night or Friday early morning, North Americans with clear skies can look up to see a full moon with a beautiful reddish hue.  And while…

CBC’s Giacomo Panico visited a former NATO radome that’s now privately owned and used by a local group of radio astronomers.

A retired Yukon-based entomologist is finding artistic inspiration in the tiniest and most private of places: beetle genitalia. Benoit Godin has been studying aleocharine rove beetles for 18 years. The insects spend most of their time in the litter layer of soil and can be found all across North America, including in the…

Bo Hedges’ parents have lived on their ranch north of Fort St. John, B.C., for close to 50 years, running the Dead Horse Creek Cattle Company on the property where a natural spring bubbles up near their log home. It sounds peaceful — but Hedges said earthquakes triggered by natural gas industry…

A bald eagle may have thought it spotted an easy lunch in a Canada goose sitting on an icy bay in Burlington, Ont., but according to Mervyn Sequeira — who watched and photographed a 20-minute battle between the two birds — the goose held its own. During his weekly Sunday morning family hike at…

The federal government is moving to add PFAS, a class of thousands of chemicals used in a wide range of products from food containers to clothing, to the official list of toxic substances, in light of growing scientific and public concern about the substances in Canada and around the world.…

Canada’s participation in U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned “Golden Dome” missile-defence system for North America is limited to research involving the detection of incoming threats, the U.S. commander for NORAD told a defence conference on Wednesday. Gen. Greg Guillot told the annual Conference of Defence Associations Institute annual forum in…

Hello, Earthlings! This is our weekly newsletter on all things environmental, where we highlight trends and solutions that are moving us to a more sustainable world. Keep up with the latest news on our Climate and Environment page. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox every Thursday.  This week: Who’s going…

Cuts to the U.S. agency responsible for weather forecasting and climate science have left scientists on this side of the border concerned about the reliability of data Canada needs to predict dangerous events, conduct accurate flood forecasts and understand broader changes to the climate. In late February, President Donald Trump’s administration…

Nearly two months after an explosion sent flaming debris raining down on the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX launched another mammoth Starship rocket on Thursday, but it lost contact minutes into the test flight as the spacecraft came tumbling down and broke apart. This time, wreckage from the latest explosion was…

What does your smartphone have in common with a solar panel, or an EV battery, or a piece of military equipment? They’re all made using critical minerals — an essential ingredient in powering the modern technology that we use every day. “They’re absolutely the central thing for what I call the electro-digital…

A fluttering butterfly makes most people smile with delight — a reaction that makes them special among insects. Some people love butterflies so much that, like birders, they look for and count them for fun. In the past two decades, those volunteers, along with researchers, have spotted and counted 12.6…

The world’s largest iceberg appears to have run aground off the coast of a remote British island home to millions of penguins and seals — potentially threatening local wildlife, but also providing an opportunity for research into such rare “megabergs.”  Known as A23a, the massive slab of ice — roughly the…

During lunch recess at Arnott Charlton Public School in Brampton, Ont., girls tinker with coding small, colourful LED lights-and-circuits kits or compose music on laptop computers. A laughing trio of fourth graders fine-tunes a small wheeled vehicle with an extendable arm as they “rescue” a duck.  They’re engaged and having…

It was just another routine stroll for Imaan Jiwa, who often visits the West Vancouver seawall to relax after a busy workday. “It’s kind of like my place of peace,” the Vancouver resident told CBC News. But on Friday, as she rested on a bench near Ambleside Beach, something extraordinary…

Southwestern British Columbia has experienced several small but noticeable earthquakes over the past few weeks. Seismologist Johanna Wagstaffe explains why these tremors do not increase or decrease the likelihood of a larger earthquake.

A private lunar lander carrying a drill, vacuum and other experiments for NASA touched down on the moon Sunday, a success for the latest in a string of companies looking to kickstart business on Earth’s celestial neighbour ahead of astronaut missions. Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander descended from lunar orbit…

A 4.1-magnitude earthquake struck 42 km east of Sidney, B.C., Monday morning.  The earthquake, which occurred at 5:02 a.m. PT, was lightly felt around Victoria and Vancouver, according to Earthquakes Canada. It was originally reported as a 4.5 magnitude and later updated to a 4.1. It occurred near Orcas Island, Wash.,…

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan are trying to determine if pea milk might be as beneficial as dairy for older adults trying to preserve their bone density. The study is being led by Phil Chilibeck, a professor of kinesiology at the U of S. Chilibeck said his previous research comparing…

CBC News joins scientists aboard HMCS Margaret Brooke on a mission to Antarctica to unlock climate clues from the southern pole that they hope will shed light on what’s happening in the Arctic.

There’s less toxic PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in raincoats and other products sold in Canada, thanks to new rules elsewhere. But where are PFAS still found? What are the rules here anyway? Should you throw out your old Gore-Tex jacket? And what should you do to avoid products with PFAS? Here’s a closer…

Pop star Katy Perry and journalists Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez, who is also billionaire Jeff Bezos’s fiancée, are set to blast off into space on a Blue Origin rocket, marking the first all-female flight crew in more than six decades. The New Shepard rocket, an 18-metre suborbital spacecraft, will carry…

As It Happens7:03For the 1st time in Canada, surgeons are putting teeth in patients’ eyes to restore sight When Brent Chapman’s doctor first pitched him on the idea of having one of his own teeth surgically embedded in his eye to restore his sight, he says he felt “a little…

New observations of a small asteroid discovered in December have led astronomers to conclude that the chances of it striking Earth are almost zero, after earlier data had indicated a higher risk of a collision with this space rock about 40 to 90 metres wide. The asteroid — called 2024 YR4 — is…

Kevin Carrier has a lot of tools in his tool belt. He’s an expert in all things assistive technology and said recent advancements are opening doors for people with disabilities — people like him. Carrier has Stargardt disease, which causes vision loss. It’s a perspective that helps him in his role with Vision…

As It Happens5:53Captain ‘lost for words’ after witnessing a super pod of more than 2,000 dolphins Evan Brodsky was scouting for sea creatures on Friday when he hit “the motherlode.” Brodsky, captain and videographer for a private boat tour company, was out on Monterey Bay south of San Francisco, Calif., on Friday when he…

A dishwasher-sized NASA satellite was launched into space from Florida on Wednesday to identify places on the moon’s surface where water exists — for example, in the permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral carrying NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer…

Quirks and Quarks19:35Is dark energy dying? A new theory suggests that the universe has different time zones There’s a cosmic controversy brewing in the universe. It centres around the mysterious force known as “dark energy.” This concept emerged from observations of distant supernovae that, in the late 1990s, seemed to…

High school and CEGEP students from across Canada spent months building their robots to face off in a giant game of tick-tack-toe for the 24th edition of the CRC Robotics Competition.

If you’re one of the people who ran outside during the B.C. earthquake last week, you’re not alone. But it’s not the safest choice. Here’s why.

Researchers are trying to unlock the mystery of how grey seal pups on Sable Island develop the capacity to survive their first year. After all, the odds are very much against these cute, furry blobs. Up to about 400,000 grey seals gather on the tiny sandbar about 300 kilometres southeast of Halifax…

What On Earth28:12This one weird climate fix is like ‘burnt toast’ It might be considered an odd retirement hobby, but Greg Porteous spends his spare time making biochar.  Biochar is a black, charcoal-like substance created by applying high heat to organic materials such as wood, plant matter and even sewage sludge.…

When Chelsea Coles opened her door on Monday morning, it took her brain a while to figure out what was going on. Despite temperatures well below -30 C when factoring in the wind chill, a blast of heat hit her instead. And then she saw the moose. “I scared her,…

4 days ago News Duration 7:34 Broadcast meteorologists used to focus only on short-term forecasts. But as climate change impacts become more evident in the daily weather, their role is shifting. CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe speaks with ABC’s meteorologist, Ginger Zee, to discuss this new reality.

Ideas53:59Naming Life: The Race to Classify Millions of Unidentified Species In a time of unprecedented biodiversity loss — what’s in a name? In 2023 scientists announced a startling discovery in the Pacific Ocean — in a site proposed for deepsea mining, the seafloor was not a barren wasteland, but a…

On Feb. 21, a 4.7 magnitude earthquake hit southwest B.C. near Vancouver. Read updates on that story here. The story below is about an earthquake felt in northern B.C. and Alberta on Feb. 20. A 4.7 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Alberta and B.C. Thursday morning. The quake was originally reported…

Hello, Earthlings! This is our weekly newsletter on all things environmental, where we highlight trends and solutions that are moving us to a more sustainable world. Keep up with the latest news on our Climate and Environment page. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox every Thursday.  This week: American scientists…

As It Happens6:20Baby seal found on city streets is learning to eat fish so he can swim free Animal rescuer Sarah Callan was surprised, to say the least, when she learned about a baby seal flopping around the busy streets of New Haven, Conn. Callan is the manager of animal rescue…

The challenge facing Montreal snow-removal crews this week is without precedent: two big storms back to back have left more than 70 centimetres of snow to clear. It’s the most in a four-day period on record, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. A city official marvelled recently that the…

There’s been a lot of ice this winter, making for slippery sidewalks and driveways. And it’s sometimes hard for people to track down road salt. So what can you use instead? CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon explains.

Scientists recently resurrected the original computer code for ELIZA, considered the world’s first chatbot, and thought by many to be the first use of artificial intelligence (AI). Its original creator, however, was adamant the program was not intelligent at all. ELIZA was a simple program created in the 1960s by…

Two young orphaned cougars were taken in by the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo on the weekend. The cougar kittens will stay temporarily with the animal care, health and welfare team at the zoo until a permanent home at another facility in Canada is determined. The zoo says the cubs are about five to six months…

2 days ago News Duration 1:48 Coyotes are a regular presence in many Canadian cities, causing few problems and preying on pests. But people in one downtown Toronto neighbourhood say they’re being terrorized, something experts say can be a bigger problem during mating season and if the animals get too…

Travelling for international meetings or even joining a call with Canadian counterparts has become impossible for some U.S. government scientists, under new directives since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.  Canadian ecologist Aaron Fisk says he recently tried to set up a virtual call to discuss plans with American colleagues,…

A local angler had a pretty notable catch recently. Dylan Sampson could have never imagined a muskie would be at the end of his fishing line in the Toronto Harbour back in December. “When I saw the pattern, I knew right away it was not a pike,” Sampson said. It was…

As It Happens6:29Newly discovered fungus turns spiders into zombies Tim Fogg walked past the zombie spider fungus many times over the years before he learned what it actually was. As someone who explores caves for a living, Fogg would often see little globs of fuzzy white fungus on the walls of…

Photographer Ben Hartley recounts the moment he risked his life to capture some of the world’s bravest surfers riding some of the world’s biggest waves in Nazaré, Portugal.

It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. About CBC Accessibility Accessibility Feedback

As It Happens6:15Study finds cockatoos dunk their snacks in dip for flavour Cockatoos are real problem solvers, and sometimes their problem is that their food is too bland.  A new study by cognitive biologists has found that some cockatoos will solve that problem the same way many people do —…

New research says the world’s peatlands — squishy, waterlogged, buggy habitats — are vastly under-protected, despite the critical role they play in regulating the environment.  “17 per cent of peatlands are currently protected,” said Kemen Austin, lead author of the new research published in Conservation Letters and director of science at the…

The call to Angela Rasmussen came out of the blue and posed a troubling question. Had she heard the rumour that key data sets would be removed from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website the next day? It’s something Rasmussen had thought could never happen. “It had never…

More than 60 nations gathered in Paris this week for an AI summit that was meant to bring world powers together to set a global agenda on the rapidly developing technology. Instead, it showed that some are diverging sharply. Over the last several years, the European Union has pursued aggressive…

It attacks the brain. It has a 100 per cent fatality rate. And it has spread all across southern and central Alberta. Fifteen years ago, chronic wasting disease was rare in the province’s deer populations, showing up in a small percentage of animals in a handful of locations, mostly along…

The sound of chainsaws rips through the air. A tree falls to the ground.  This may sound like the usual destruction of our environment, but this time, it’s not what it seems. These loggers at work actually live in the forest — and want to protect it. Within the Maya…

The investigation began with midnight gunshots, a wounded deer and attempts by alarmed locals in the tiny community of Bridge Lake, B.C., to effect the “citizen’s arrest” of a bewildered hunter allegedly deserted by his friends. A trail of blood later led to a raid on a nearby property where…

It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. About CBC Accessibility Accessibility Feedback

A paddleboarder who got too close to a pod of orcas near Tofino, B.C.,  has been found guilty of unlawfully disturbing killer whales, a breach of the Federal Fisheries Act.  Christie Jamieson, 40, was fined $2,500 earlier this month following the incident in Ucluelet Harbour, off the west coast of Vancouver Island, in January 2021.…

Harley Newton, chief scientist for Ocearch, recounts the moment her team captured, measured, tagged and released their largest-ever male great white shark at 4.2 metres long and 750 kilograms.