School boards across the province are bracing for the total solar eclipse that will grace Canadian skies in early April. Several school boards are considering closing while others argue it could be a learning opportunity for students. School board can’t guarantee ‘5-year-old won’t take off their glasses.’ Over 60 years …
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Weird ancient tree from before dinosaurs found in Canadian quarry
Forests of giant, scaly-stemmed club mosses once rose from ancient swamps in Atlantic Canada. But fossils found in a New Brunswick quarry show some trees that grew among them were even stranger — more like the truffula trees in Dr. Seuss books than any tree that exists today. Before age …
Read More »New discoveries show early humans lived in the frigid north alongside Neanderthals
New discovery of human bones suggest that Homo sapiens were living side by side with Neanderthals in Northern Germany, 46,000 years ago. Another discovery of a stone-age ropemaking tools is shedding light on the inventive nature of these ancient humans. Ancient human bones and a stone-age ropemaking tool are re-writing …
Read More »James Webb telescope provides new clues into the nature of our Milky Way galaxy
The James Webb Space Telescope continues to astound astronomers. A recently released gallery of galaxies shows stunning details of 19 nearby spiral galaxies that are similar to our own Milky Way. We can’t take a galaxy selfie, so scientists look to other galaxies to better understand our own. The James …
Read More »How effective a climate solution is removing CO2 from the atmosphere?
In this week’s issue of our environment newsletter, we look at the efficacy of carbon removal and examine the pros and cons of AI as a climate solution. Also: Do we need another giant cruise ship? Our planet is changing. So is our journalism. This weekly newsletter is part of …
Read More »Hungry, hungry otters may help marshes with climate change
A new study in the journal Nature shows that strengthening populations of sea otters in a California salt marsh is changing its physical landscape to become more climate-resilient and less affected by soil erosion. And it comes down to something as simple as what they’re eating. They eat a lot …
Read More »Purple haze, don’t know why? Here’s the science behind the colourful fog seen in B.C.’s Okanagan
Some residents of B.C.’s Okanagan Valley were briefly enveloped in shades of pink and purple this morning, when a hued fog appeared for several minutes. It’s an ‘incredibly rare phenomenon,’ a CBC science specialist says. Hued fog an ‘incredibly rare phenomenon,’ says CBC science specialist. Some residents of British Columbia’s …
Read More »I’d become complacent around wildlife working in parks — until a predator stole my supper
Chad Dupuis had been living and working in the northern Alberta forest for several years and had numerous wildlife encounters. His lost dinner was a reminder that the parks are the animals’ home and we’re encroaching on it. It was a good reminder that inside the forest, we’re the visitors …
Read More »James Webb telescope captures luminous images of 19 spiral galaxies
A batch of newly released images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope show in remarkable detail 19 spiral galaxies residing relatively near our Milky Way, offering new clues on star formation as well as galactic structure and evolution. Astronomer says ‘stunning’ photos reveal more about star formation. A batch …
Read More »AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio urges Canada to build $1B public supercomputer
The man who’s known as the godfather of artificial intelligence says he’s pitched governments on the idea in order to keep up with — and keep tabs on — private tech giants. Government needs ‘that muscle’ to keep up with tech companies, Bengio says. Yoshua Bengio has been thinking for …
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