Quirks and Quarks

May 31: Why music makes us groove, and more...

On this week's episode: Korean sea women are scientific marvels, Robo-cakes as the future of food, clownfish shrink during heatwaves, and a new lab to study extreme storms in Canada.

Korea's sea women, Robo-cake, shrinking clownfish, and Canadian storm science

A shirtless guy wearing shorts is bent over as he dances in front of a huge crowd of summer revelers.
Scientists in France investigated how our brains experience groovy music to better understand how we anticipate and process rhythms in time. (David McNew/Reuters)

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

Mutant super-powers give Korean sea-women diving abilities

The Haenyeo, or sea women, of the Korean island of Jeju have been celebrated historically for their remarkable diving abilities. For hour after hour they dive in frigid waters harvesting sea-life, through pregnancy and into old age. A new study has shown they are able to do this because of specific genetic adaptations that appeared in their ancestors more than a thousand years ago. These genes make them more tolerant to the cold, and decrease diastolic blood pressure. The women also spend a lifetime training, beginning to dive at age 15 and continuing on until their 80s or even 90s. Melissa Ilardo of Utah University and her team published their findings in the journal Cell Reports.

A female diver swimming, holding onto a net full of shells.
The South Korean "Haenyeo" or "Sea Women" are traditional female divers on Jeju Island. They have genetic differences that allow them to safely dive for hours at a time, even during pregnancies. These genes, plus their life-long training, allow the women to dive daily into cold water, well into their 80s. (Chung Sung-Jun via Getty Images)
This dessert is automatic and autonomous
 

Care for a slice of robo-cake? Scientists in Europe have baked up a cake with pneumatically powered animated gummy bears, and candles lit by chocolate batteries. They think their edible robotics could develop in the future to food that could bring itself to the hungry and medicine could deliver itself to the sick. Mario Caironi of the Italian Institute of Technology and his colleagues presented their creation at Expo 2025 Osaka.

Two men put the top layer on a three layer cake.
RoboCake with pneumatic gummy bears and chocolate cookie batteries powering LED candles is assembled. (EPFL/Jamani Caillet - CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Shrinking Nemo — heat is causing clownfish to downsize

Scientists have found that clownfish, made famous by the Disney movie Finding Nemo, have an ability never seen before in fish in the coral reefs. When the water they live in gets warmer, they are able to shrink their bodies — becoming a few per cent of their body length shorter — to cope with the stress of the heat. Melissa Versteeg of Newcastle University says the size of the clown anemonefish is important for their survival and their ranking within their hierarchical society. The research was published in the journal Science Advances.

An orange and white fish against a colourful coral background.
Clown anemonefish can shrink their body sizes from 1% to 7% in response to environmental stressors, such as heat waves. (Stephen Chernin via Getty Images)
When the music moves you — the brain science of groove

You know that groove feeling you get when you listen to certain music that compels you to shake your bootie? Scientists in France investigated how our brains experience groovy music to better understand how we anticipate rhythms in time. They discovered that we perceive time in the motor region that controls movement. Benjamin Morillion from Aix Marseille Université said they also found a specific rhythm in the brain that helps us process information in time, that could predict if a person thought the music was groovy. The study was published in the journal Science Advances.

A blond woman with dreadlocks is dancing her butt off on a street with many others as she looks into the camera with a huge smile and her tongue sticking out slightly.
Revellers dance at a rave party in central Kyiv. (Vladyslav Musiienko/Reuters)
Scientists hope a new storm lab will help us understand destructive weather

Extreme weather is far less predictable than it used to be, and now a new research centre at Western University wants to transform our understanding of Canada's unique weather systems. The Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory will collect nation-wide data on extreme weather, including hailstorms, tornadoes, and flash flooding, and look for patterns to help predict where they'll be hitting and how to prevent the most damage. 

Producer Amanda Buckiewicz spoke with:

  • Greg Kopp, ImpactWX Chair in Severe Storms Engineering and CSSL founding director at Western University
  • Harold Brooks, senior research scientist at NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory
  • John Allen, associate professor of meteorology at Central Michigan University
  • Paul Kovacs, executive director of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction at Western University
  • Tanya Brown-Giammanco, director of Disaster and Failure Studies at NIST
Researchers from Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project survey damage in Tweed, Ont., on June 28, 2023.
Researchers from Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project survey damage in Tweed, Ontario. (Megan McCleister/CBC)