What if there were a pill that could add decades to your life? Would you take it? For thousands of years, people have searched for elixirs that could delay death and extend human life. Could new advances in medicine finally make this a reality? From madcap medicine to cutting-edge science, the quest to unlock the fountain of youth is teeming with dreamers, skeptics and charlatans alike. More episodes are available at: hyperurl.co/unlocking

Ancient Jordanian town destroyed by a meteor blast may have inspired Biblical stories, scientists say; Animals are shapeshifting in response to climate warming, and it could be costing them; Tiny flying microchips inspired by maple seeds could help monitor the environment; An inside scoop on how COVID vaccines are being tested on kids; Widespread vaccination should mean the impact of COVID variants ‘will be blunted’; What are the relative sources of light on a moonless night?

Canadian science suffered from COVID. After the election, how do we bring it back better?; Potty training cows to solve the problem of pee pollution; Fashion backward — Archaeologists find 120,000 year old tools for making clothes; How does a black hole eat? With its spiral arms.

Visiting ‘acid lakes’ in Ontario to investigate how they’re recovering from acid rain; Researchers take advantage of 'whale-palooza' gathering to study human-beluga interactions; Pesky bears complicate an investigation of a fast-moving glacier in northern BC; Researchers create aquariums inside wilderness lakes to safely study microplastic impacts.

You can visit our archives and listen to older content at our website at cbc.ca/quirks

How much of a lake or river is actually fish pee? What's corn silk actually for? What happens when an astronaut gets gassy in a space suit? And much more..

Fish out of water get a brain boost; A large star that pulled a disappearing act may be a new kind of ‘blinking giant’; Echidnas have a unique 4-headed penis but only use half at a time; They're not speedy, but these seafloor sponges are on the move; Sick legacy — how DDT exposure from the past can affect many generations to come.

Visiting Venus — NASA announces 2 new missions to Earth's evil twin; Your brain replays new skills at super-speed when you take breaks during learning; Wrens synchronize their brains in order to sing spectacular duets; New study shows puppies are born wired to understand and communicate with humans; Meet the Canadian scientist who paved the way for for groundbreaking mRNA COVID vaccines; Do great apes have the same blood groups as humans?

Sharks were almost wiped out in a mystery extinction 19 million years ago; Caffeine fail - New study shows it can keep you awake, but can’t keep you functional; How an elephant’s trunk acts as a “muscular multitool”; Normally herbivorous sea urchins turn the tables on a predatory sun star; How Indigenous science could help us with our sustainability and diversity crisis.

Salmon CSI - A virus in BC's wild salmon came from salmon farms, research suggests; By swabbing subways researchers discover the municipal microbiome of cities worldwide; Robotic arms get a performance boost by getting touchy-feely; Wolves can reduce collisions between cars and deer, saving lives and money; ‘Mom Genes’ explores the radical biological transformations of motherhood.