Cocaine's main byproduct made wild juvenile Atlantic salmon swim twice as far, which could put them in more danger. Cocaine and many other chemicals and drugs — along with their byproducts are found in many waterways, but especially around wastewater treatment plants. Scientists exposed the fish to cocaine and its byproduct to see how it impacted their behaviour in the wild.

IDEAS, hosted by Nahlah Ayed is a weekday podcast that explores how ideas shape our world.

“One of your tribe is enough.” That’s what Margaret Rossiter was told when she said she wanted to study female scientists in the ‘70s. Nevertheless, Rossiter persisted. She found and documented hundreds of women whose contributions to science had been overlooked, under-credited and misappropriated. Then she made history herself by coining the term “The Matilda Effect” to describe why those women failed to get the credit they deserved.

Who is Matilda? Matilda Joslyn Gage was a suffragist erased from history. She was known as being too radical for Susan B. Anthony. This episode of IDEAS shares her story.

You can find more episodes of IDEAS wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/IDEASxQQ

Seabird poop plays a surprising role in bringing life to barren islands, spreading nutrients throughout the ocean, and even creating wealth for an ancient human empire.

PLUS:

• The precursors of written language go back a lot earlier than we thought
• Dolphins exposed to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill also more likely to be hit by boats
• From the archives: Canadian astronomer spots a supernova visible to the naked eye
• Quirks Question: How do beavers choose their trees?
• Mapping the universe in three dimensions

We tend to think of animals like snakes, rats and even cockroaches as pests, but in her new book, biologist Marlene Zuk says there's a lot we can learn from these less than desirable creatures, if we just give them a chance.

PLUS:

• A case of mistaken identity: The truth about the world's 'oldest' octopus fossil
• From the archives: Carl Sagan on the worlds beyond our solar system
• The evolutionary cost of our relationship with fire
• We're not speaking as much as we used to — and scientists are concerned

There's been a growing movement to develop new technologies to replace at least some of the animals used in scientific research. Researchers across Canada are working to create these tools, to usher in a new animal-free era for medical science.

PLUS:

• Harbor seals can 'talk' thanks to their parrot-like brains
• 'Flaming hot' water ice may explain Neptune and Uranus' strange magnetism
• A thigh bone that could represent the oldest evidence of our human lineage
• The ravens of Yellowstone remember where wolves typically kill their prey

On their mission around the moon, Jeremy Hansen and his crewmates will become the only four people on Earth to ever lay eyes on the entire far side of the moon. Since joining the space program, the Artemis astronauts have been undergoing intensive geological training to help train their eyes to look for lunar features that satellites can't pick up.

PLUS:

• How Neanderthals skillfully hunted and butchered a giant elephant
• Filming fish over their lifetime reveals behaviours that lead to longevity
• How our food environment shapes our tastes — and health

New research confirms that dogs were the first animal to form a domestic relationship with humans, dating back to the end of the last Ice Age almost 16,000 years ago.

PLUS:

• Constructing shelters out of Martian soil may be possible with bacterial help
• Male-on-male cricket 'twerking' and 'booty bumping' is not a case of mistaken identity
• Narrowing down potential alien signals from 12 billion to 100, thanks to SETI
• Researchers find a brain switch in mice to turn a deadbeat dad into a doting one

An unusual hellscape of a planet found 34 light years from Earth has a deep ocean of molten magma surrounded by noxious, hot, rotten egg-type fumes. It just may be the most uninhabitable alien landscape we've ever come across.

PLUS:

• Neanderthal DNA can help explain how human faces form
• Nearly indestructible teeny tiny tardigrades struggle to survive in Martian dirt
• Tiny tags on monarch butterflies allow scientists to track their exact migration route
• A weird fish has a big hole in its head. Scientists finally have an idea why.