Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 07 Jan, 2025 05:24 PM
Researchers have discovered sea sponges' ability to sneeze like people after a study off the B-C coast.
University of Alberta professor Sally Leys says a study into the behaviour of a sea sponge nicknamed Belinda over four years found the animal doing slow-motion sneeze-like contractions lasting about a day.
Leys says the motion was used to clear out debris accumulated while it was filter feeding.
Leys says hundreds of hours of video was collected during the study off Vancouver Island's coast between 2012 and 2015.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer says the number of Canadians in need of affordable housing is still rising, even though Canada is spending billions of dollars a year to address the shortage. A new report from the budget watchdog this morning says 2.4 million Canadian households are now in core housing need.
Mounties in Nanaimo are looking for witnesses or camera footage that may help them pinpoint the person, or people, involved in the vandalism of dozens of vehicles over several hours. An RCMP statement says officers received 42 reports of windows being smashed, tires being flattened and broken side mirrors.
A scam involving fake taxis being used to steal people's debit and credit cards appears to have made its way to Abbotsford after a warning from Burnaby R-C-M-P. The scam involves the use of a black vehicle with a taxi sign on the roof and two fraudsters, one posing as a driver and one as a passenger.
Police on Vancouver Island say a signal from an S-O-S device led them to find the body of a man who was last known to live in Nelson. R-C-M-P say they received an S-O-S call from the device associated with the man early Tuesday morning, leading them to a makeshift campsite outside Port Alberni.
Another piece of the puzzle for conservation efforts along the Rocky Mountain Trench in B.C. is in place. Nature Conservancy Canada says wildlife including grizzly bear numbers have been declining in the region, which is why it added a new conservation area next to Kootenay National Park that links to a "network of already protected" lands.
In a statement issued Wednesday night, the union said a mediated settlement has been reached that requires Canada Post to notify affected employees that they are not on a temporary layoff.
