Science

We applaud the federal government’s decision to ban harmful microbeads. We are happy to finally say goodbye to these problematic plastic particles that have polluted Canada’s rivers and lakes for far too long, putting fish, wildlife and human health at risk. According to announced draft regulations, Canada will ban the sale of toiletries used to exfoliate or cleanse containing microbeads ... Read More »

Some have described it as a hum. Others describe it as a beep. What we know for sure is this: it’s weird, it’s coming from the sea floor, and the Canadian military has started investigating Nunavut’s Fury and Hecla Strait because of a ping from the deep. They’re still stumped, and residents are clamoring for answers as the sound seems ... Read More »

The Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys captured this view of NGC 362 which, being a globular cluster, contains hundreds of thousands of stars and resides in the outskirts of a galaxy. The stars that compose globular clusters all orbit the cluster center, occasionally interacting, gravitationally, with a close-passing star. The orbits of these stars are typically not as ... Read More »

Towards the middle of November, between the 11-12, the Taruids meteor shower intensifies in strength, due to the combining of the North and South Taurids Meteor Shower. Unlike its more famous cousins — the Perseids, Orionids and Leonids — the Taurids don’t typically have nearly as many meteors to look at. So why should we look? Because some Taurids are ... Read More »

MMS now holds the Guinness World Record for highest altitude GPS fix – 43,500 miles above Earth’s surface. The four MMS spacecraft incorporate GPS measurements into their precise tracking systems, which require extremely sensitive position and orbit calculations to guide tight flying formations. Read More »

A team from MIT and NASA led by Neil Gershenfeld is developing a new type of “morphing” wing that rather than using conventional flaps, changes its shape. This new wing is made up of overlapping strips that could be assembled by small robots, resulting in aircraft that are simpler to build, use less fuel, and boast improved agility. The materials ... Read More »

Russian researchers have developed a new sensor powered by nanoparticles. Scientists say the new sensor offers groundbreaking sensitivity to environmental pollutants — and even terrorists threats. The advantage of using a binary metal oxide sensor is that one of the components provides a high density of conductive electrons, and the second component is a strong catalyst. To effectively detect and ... Read More »

Climate change is the biggest health threat of the 21st century, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Canada has already seen smoke-related health impacts and stressful evacuations as the result of increased wildfires; the spread of Lyme disease; and food security and mental health challenges related to rapid changes in the Far North, which is two to three degrees ... Read More »

The mystery of a “pinging” sound emanating from the Arctic seafloor in Canada, which local hunters say has been driving away wildlife, just grew deeper. The sound, also described as a hum, was coming from the sea floor, according to local politician Paul Quassa. He revealed the noise was frightening the animals from a hunting ground that used to be ... Read More »

Sean Smyrichinsky may have found lost nuclear weapon that was packed with lead when it was dumped off B.C. in 1950. An American B-36 bomber en route from Alaska to Texas during a training exercise lost power in three engines and began losing altitude. To lighten the aircraft the crew jettisoned its cargo, a 30-kiloton Mark 4 (Fat Man) nuclear ... Read More »

On November 3, 1957, the Soviet Union sent Laika, a stray dog picked off the streets of Moscow, on a one-way trip to space. Riding into orbit on Sputnik 2, Laika had one mission: to gauge whether space travel was fit for humans. She was the first animal ever to orbit Earth. Laika was a cheap, less risky alternative to ... Read More »