This week on Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald:
Voyager 1 nearing a groundbreaking one light-day achievement
On November 18, Voyager 1 will be positioned 25.9 billion kilometers from Earth, marking the first time a human-made object has reached the distance of one light-day. Bob McDonald recalls witnessing the launch of Voyager 2 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 20, 1977, alongside Jon Lomberg, the space artist and design director of the Golden Record, which is included on both spacecraft. They reconnect to discuss the mission’s launch and significance. Joe Westlake, a space physicist and head of NASA’s heliophysics division, elaborates on how the Voyager spacecraft continue to unveil scientific findings about the galaxy outside our solar system, nearly five decades later.
Accelerating renewable energy could prevent a ‘global meltdown’
As the U.N. climate change conference begins in Turkey, the world is at risk of exceeding the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 C climate threshold. Experts assert that global initiatives to reduce carbon emissions need to hasten to prevent a “global meltdown.” John Pomeroy, a hydrologist from the University of Saskatchewan, recently published a study in Science highlighting the vulnerability of the planet’s polar regions. He indicates that even maintaining the temperature at 1.5 C would plunge Canada into “a very bad spiral, into dysfunction.” Another study in Nature Climate Change by Corinne Le Quéré, a climate scientist at the University of East Anglia, noted that from 2019 to 2025, 59 countries, including Canada, managed to reduce their carbon emissions while growing their GDP, but emphasized that further efforts in transitioning to renewable energy are critical.
Recent research indicates that while some progress has been made in the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy, a more rapid acceleration is necessary to prevent a ‘global meltdown.’ (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
Scientists uncover compelling evidence of dinosaur blood
A team of researchers has reported the discovery of fossilized blood remnants inside a dinosaur leg bone estimated to be 115 million years old. Led by Kliti Grice, a geochemist at Curtin University in Australia, the team was astonished to find molecular indicators of heme, an iron-rich compound present in blood, within the dinosaur bone. Further investigation revealed microscopic structures resembling red blood cells and other chemical signatures of blood. Utilizing 30 distinct methods, the team published their findings in the journal PNAS. Grice notes that these results provide robust evidence that certain biomolecules can endure for far longer than previously believed under specific burial conditions.
Researchers have found remnants of dinosaur blood preserved in this unassuming thigh bone for 115 million years. (Curtin University)
Exploring the connections between humans and birds
Throughout history, birds have played a significant role in human culture — appearing in our artwork, fashion, and cuisine. However, this fascination has contributed to their decline and even extinction. Research indicates that the North American bird population has experienced a loss of nearly three billion adult breeding birds 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 most recent being Under Their Wing: How Birds Shape the Human Experience.
Pete Dunne, an avid bird enthusiast, examines the intricate ways in which human history has intertwined with birds in his book Under Their Wing: How Birds Shape the Human Experience. (Chelsea Green Imprint / Penguin Random House)
Your genetic makeup affects your medication response
It’s often uncertain how your body will react to a new medication until you actually take it. Certain drugs may perform differently based on an individual’s DNA. While researchers are aware of some correlations between genes and medications, this knowledge is frequently underutilized — partly due to a lack of comprehensive data on the prevalence of these DNA variations globally. In a recent study published in Science, Philip Empey, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh, and his team examined 100,000 Americans from diverse ancestral backgrounds to gain insight into the frequency of these genetic variations.
A digital depiction of the human genome. (Mario Tama /Getty Images)
