Black holes are voracious eaters, but they’re also quite messy, and often after devouring a star, they’ll let out a big burp, launching jets of high energy particles through space. Now, in a recent study, a team of astrophysicists has figured out the formula behind the timing of these burps.

Also today:

• Skiing, hiking and roads are taking a toll on wolverines
• The buzzy, chirpy sounds of the Jurassic forest
• A notorious invasive species has been here a lot longer than we thought. Does that matter?
• Anomalies suggest King Tut’s tomb may conceal hidden chambers

Quirks & Quarks has been nominated for a Signal Award! You can vote for us here.

For more information about today’s episode, visit cbc.ca/quirks.

The El Niño underway in the Pacific Ocean is a natural climate phenomenon but its warming effects are being boosted by climate change. Researchers recently used corals growing around the Galapagos Islands to create a local temperature record of the ocean going back 1,000 years.

Also today:

• Massive study redraws bat family tree and uncovers genetic oddities
• How the Surinam toad uses star-shaped fingertip lobes to ‘see’ its prey
• T. rex tooth enamel reveals these dinosaurs were warm-blooded
• Why great white sharks are converging on the East Coast

It’s long been a mystery why one particular avian dinosaur was the only kind to survive mass extinction, but the recent discovery of a perfectly preserved fossilized feather, found in a cherry-sized piece of dinosaur poop, offers new clues.

Also today:

• Why citizen scientists buried thousands of undies
• How climate change tipped the scales on a catastrophic Himalayan avalanche
• Why an AI leap has left mathematicians feeling uneasy
• Why scientists put teeny-tiny micro-trackers on chimney swifts