Life at the limits, and more…

Quirks and Quarks

Remembering Jane: a conversation with Jane Goodall on her storied career

Science lost a unique pioneering figure this week. Jane Goodall — primatologist, conservationist and activist — died at the age of 91. In 2002, she visited the Quirks & Quarks studio to talk with Bob McDonald ahead of the Canadian launch of her IMAX film Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees. Bob and Jane spoke about how a girl growing up in urban England developed a love for animals, why scientists critical of her work were wrong, and how she was able to get close to the wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park.

Scientists can predict what colour a person is looking at based on brain activity

Scientists can predict what colour a person is looking at based on brain activity

Do you see what I see? New research says you do. Using brain imaging technology, scientists were able to predict what colour a person was looking at by reading their brain activity. This suggests that everyone responds essentially the same way to certain colours. Michael Bannert, a postdoctoral student at Tuebingen University in Germany, led the research published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

A Mars rover spots strong evidence of ancient life on the red planet

Earlier this month, NASA revealed that their Perseverance rover gathered what could be the strongest evidence yet that life may have existed on Mars. Using the rover's scientific instruments, scientists identified two minerals in an ancient river that they say are most often found as a result of microbial life here on Earth. They also set aside a sample for a future return mission. Joel Hurowitz, a geologist at Stony Brook University, says he can't wait to get the sample back to Earth to find out if it truly is a sign of life. It was published in the journal Nature.

Life at the limits: searching for 'Intraterrestrial' life deep within the Earth’s crust

A new book explores the latest research into the search for life deep inside the Earth, where the sun doesn't shine and oxygen doesn't reach. Scientists travel to some of the most geologically dangerous regions of our planet to understand how life forms in extreme environments, and answer deep questions like the origin of life on Earth and what life might be like off of our planet. Karen Lloyd, a subsurface biogeochemist from the University of Southern California, is the author of Intraterrestrials: Discovering the Strangest Life On Earth.