This week’s edition of Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald features:
Voyager 1 nearing significant one light-day milestone
On November 18, Voyager 1 will be positioned 25.9 billion kilometers away from Earth, marking it as the first human-made object to achieve a distance equivalent to one light-day. Bob McDonald recalls witnessing the launch of Voyager 2 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 20, 1977, alongside Jon Lomberg, an artist and design director for the Golden Record, which is onboard both Voyager spacecraft. They reconnect to discuss the launch and the significance of this mission. Joe Westlake, a space physicist and director of NASA’s heliophysics department, elaborates on how the Voyager probes are still contributing valuable scientific insights about the galaxy beyond our solar system, nearly 50 years later.
Accelerating renewable energy could prevent a ‘global meltdown’
As the annual climate change conference organized by the U.N. begins in Turkey, the world risks exceeding the Paris Agreement’s climate goal of 1.5 C. Experts assert that international initiatives to reduce carbon emissions must gain momentum to prevent a “global meltdown.” John Pomeroy, a hydrologist from the University of Saskatchewan, who recently published a study in Science regarding the vulnerability of the planet’s polar regions, indicated that even maintaining a 1.5 C limit could push Canada into “a significant downward spiral, leading to dysfunction.” Another study featured in Nature Climate Change, highlighted by Corinne Le Quéré, a Canadian climate scientist at the University of East Anglia, revealed that from 2019 to 2025, 59 nations, including Canada, managed to decrease their carbon emissions while simultaneously boosting their GDP, but she emphasizes that there remains a significant amount of work ahead in the shift towards renewable energy.
Recent findings indicate that while some progress has been made in moving away from fossil fuels towards clean energy, a more rapid acceleration will be necessary to prevent a ‘global meltdown.’ (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
Strongest evidence of dinosaur blood discovered by scientists
A team of researchers has reported the discovery of fossilized blood evidence within the leg bone of a dinosaur that lived 115 million years ago. Led by Kliti Grice, a geochemist from Curtin University in Australia, they were astonished to find molecular traces of heme, a molecule rich in iron commonly found in blood, inside the dinosaur bone. Further investigation revealed microscopic features resembling red blood cells, along with additional chemical indicators of blood. After employing 30 different methods, the team published their findings in the journal PNAS. Grice asserts that these findings provide compelling evidence that certain biomolecules can endure for much longer than previously believed under specific burial conditions.
Traces of dinosaur blood have been found preserved in this ordinary appearing thigh bone for 115 million years. (Curtin University)
Exploring the connections between humans and birds through feathers
Throughout history, birds have been a constant presence in our lives — depicted in our art, fashion, and meals. However, this fascination has contributed to their decline and even extinction. Statistics indicate that nearly three billion adult breeding birds in North America were lost from 1970 to 2019. Pete Dunne, the former director of the Cape May Bird Observatory in New Jersey, has authored over 20 books on birds, with his latest being Under Their Wing: How birds shape the human experience.
Renowned birder Pete Dunne examines the numerous ways in which the evolution of humans has been interconnected with birds in his book, Under Their Wing: How Birds Shape the Human Experience. (Chelsea Green Imprint / Penguin Random House)
Genetic factors influence medication responses
The body’s reaction to new medications can be unpredictable until they are actually administered. Some medications may yield varying effects based on an individual’s genetic makeup. While researchers are aware of certain associations between genes and drug effectiveness, these insights are not always applied in practice — largely due to the limited understanding of how prevalent these genetic variations are globally. A recent study published in Science, led by Philip Empey, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh, examined 100,000 Americans from diverse ancestral backgrounds to gain deeper insights into the frequency of these genetic differences.
A digital visualization of the human genome. (Mario Tama /Getty Images)