Quirks and Quarks

Jul 5: Using oceans to soak up excess CO2, and more...

On this week's episode of the Best of Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald: lizard bubble breathing, ancient puberty, zapping an asteroid, and fish walk on fingers.

Lizard bubble breathing, ancient puberty, zapping an asteroid, and fish walk on fingers

Two women stand on a boat in a harbour with their backs to the camera. In front of them is water, and a tall smokestack on the shore.
Ruth Musgrave and colleagues are working to understand the lasting effects of ocean alkalinity enhancement. Some suggest this technique could remove 30 billion tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere per year. (Moira Donovan)

On this week's episode of the Best of Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald:

A Central American lizard creates a bubble of air underwater to breathe

Semi-aquatic lizards in the western rainforests of Central America have the ability to hide from predators underwater by breathing from a bubble of air they form over their heads. In a new study in the journal Biology Letters ecologist Lindsey Swierk, from New York State University at Binghamton, found that the lizards with this bubble-breathing trick could stay underwater for 30 per cent longer than the lizards that were prevented from forming a bubble. 

A lizard in profile that's underwater seems to be looking at the camera as a bubble almost the size of its head sits on its snout over its nose and between the eyes.
A lizard called the water anole hides from predators underwater for long periods by breathing from a bubble of air attached to their heads. (Lindsey Swierk )
Ice Age Teens went through puberty just like today's kids

A new analysis of the bones of teenagers from 25,000 years ago shows they experienced puberty in much the same way as teens today. An international team of researchers including Paleolithic archeologist April Nowell analyzed the bones of 13 teens found across Europe, and by looking at particular markers in the bones, they were able to see which stage of puberty the teens were in when they died. The researchers could not only infer things like whether their voices were breaking, but by doing muscle analysis, they found that the teens were healthy and active, and likely involved in hunting and fishing. The research was published in the Journal of Human Evolution.

A woman wearing a black shirt and blue gloves stands over skeletal remains laid out on a white table.
Dr. Mary Lewis from the University of Reading (UK) inspects the skeletal remains of a teenager known as Romito 2, found in southern Italy. (University of Reading)
How we might zap an asteroid on a collision course with Earth

A new experiment using the world's most powerful radiation source has shown the way to deflecting asteroids with X-rays. The X-rays were used to vaporize some of the surface of a model asteroid, creating a rocket-like effect. Nathan Moore, a physicist at the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, says it's a proof of principle for the concept of deflecting a real asteroid using X-rays generated by a powerful nuclear explosion. The study was published in the journal Nature Physics. 

Z Machine
The world’s most powerful and efficient laboratory radiation source known as the Z Machine, at Sandia National Laboratories. (Randy Montoya, courtesy Sandia National Laboratories)
A really weird fish walks on its fingers and tastes with them too

The sea robin is a strange fish with wing-like fins and finger-like bony structures that it uses to prop itself up as it roams the ocean floor. New research from a team of scientists from Harvard and Stanford Universities, including Nick Bellono, looked at how these bizarre creatures use their legs to hone in on their prey. It turns out these funny finny fingers can also taste food in the sediment of the sea bottom. The research was published in the journal Current Biology.

A light brown fish with six spindly legs and white fins, against a black background.
The Sea robin's six legs are shaped like tiny shovels to dig into sand to find prey. They are also covered in tiny bumps, like those on our tongues, allowing them to "taste" what they find. (Anik Grearson)
Using the sea to soak up our excess carbon dioxide

We've released 1.5 trillion tons of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. We may slow our emissions, but the CO2 we've already released will warm our planet for thousands of years. Which is why scientists are now trying to understand how we might safely attempt to remove it on a vast scale. Journalist Moira Donovan explores research into marine carbon dioxide removal, and how scientists are trying to understand if we can fix a problem they'd hoped we'd never face. Moira speaks with: 

  • Will Burt – Chief Ocean Scientist, Planetary Technologies
  • Katja Fennel – Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax
  • Kai Schulz, Biological Oceanographer, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Australia 
  • Ruth Musgrave – Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax