Blobs in the Earth’s interior mantle have been puzzling geologists for decades. Find out how a new study solves the mystery by linking them to an ancient planet that collided with Earth to form the Moon. I was living in Ottawa in the late 1980s when the Australian rock band INXS released the song Never Tear Us Apart. It contains the iconic line, “two worlds colliding, and they will never tear us apart.”

Remembrance Day in Canada commemorates the veterans who gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars, Korea and Afghanistan. Find out the topics on which I found myself reflecting during this annual moment of silence. It’s Remembrance Day. I spent this morning in our local town square, taking part in the services. The ceremony doesn’t change much year over year. …

The carbon budget estimates how much more C02 we can emit into the atmosphere and still keep global warming below 1.5˚ C. Find out why a new study found that we only have a 50% chance of meeting our climate targets. It will soon be eight years since the historic 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) meeting in Paris. I can still remember the jubilation when representatives from nearly 200 countries finally reached an agreement on climate change.

Space junk is the debris left behind from spent rocket stages and defunct satellites. Find out why the discovery of space junk particles in the stratosphere has implications for our environment and climate. We humans have transformed out attitudes about junk over the course of my lifetime. I can remember the kids on the street where I grew up comparing, and feeling quite competitive, about how much trash our families set out on the curb.Sa

The Gaza crisis has captured everyone’s attention over the past couple of weeks. Find out why the roots of the conflict, and its solutions, lie in all parties understanding and respecting universal human rights. Everyone I’ve spoken to recently is reeling from the horrific events of the Gaza Crisis. We’re…

“ Survival of the boring” describes a traditional view that evolution favours unremarkable, generalist species over innovation. Find out how a new study challenges that assumption by showing that diversity and innovation often drive evolutionary success. Not everyone is a fan of raccoons, but I’ve always admired them. They can be a nuisance if I forget to latch my composting bin on garbage day, and they find their way into it.

The Orion Nebula is one of the most studied areas of star formation in the galaxy. Find out how the new James Webb Space Telescope has revealed previously unknown objects that defy our understanding of how stars and planets form. The very first constellation I remember learning about was Orion. I think I read about it in school first and then easily found it after dark. It’s unmistakable in the winter sky in this part of the world. It dominates the view to the south from late autumn all the…

The Indonesian hunter gatherers known as the Punan Batu have their own, secretive language that they sing instead of speaking. Find out how this trait, combined with their unique genetic background, gained them official recognition and legal rights as Indigenous peoples. Borneo has always had an air of mystery for me, a synonym for an impossibly remote and inaccessible place, a bit like Timbuktu. Today, we call that kind of attitude “exoticism” and it has very little to do with actual geography.

The Earth Species Project is using artificial intelligence (AI) to understand how animals communicate. Find out how learning to “talk to the animals” could boost animal conservation and welfare around the world. Growing up, one of the first movies I remember seeing at our local theatre was Doctor Dolittle. It was a musical starring Rex Harrison as a veterinarian who discovered how communicate with a wide range of animals.