Nature Podcast

We'd like to learn more about our listeners, please help us out by filling in this short survey.In this episode:00:45 Is AI-research being co-opted to keep track of people?A significant amount of research in the AI field of computer vision is being used to analyse humans in ways that support the development of surveillance technologies, according to new research. By analysing the contents of thousands of research papers, the team behind the work showed that 90% of studies, and 86% of patents resulting from them, involved data relating to imaging humans. While there are many positive applications for this technology, such as in medical diagnostics, this work shows evidence of a pipeline from computer-vision research to surveillance.Research article: Kalluri et al.News and Views: Computer-vision research is hiding its role in creating ‘Big Brother' technologiesVideo: Is AI powering Big Brother? Surveillance research is on the riseNews: Wake up call for AI: computer-vision research increasingly used for surveillanceEditorial: Don't sleepwalk from computer-vision research into surveillance09:38 Research HighlightsA minuscule robot that can manipulate liquid droplets, and the sensors that can identify hydrothermal explosions at Yellowstone National Park.Research Highlight: This tiny robot moves mini-droplets with easeResearch Highlight: Sensors pinpoint the exact time of a Yellowstone explosion12:12 The first images from the world's largest digital cameraThis week, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has unveiled the first images from its 3,200 megapixel digital camera. We discuss the images, and how the facility will help researchers learn more about the Universe.News: First images from world's largest digital camera leave astronomers in awe19:18 Briefing ChatHow scientists created hexanitrogen, a new molecule made of six nitrogen atoms, and the why researchers are excited about the first confirmed skull of an extinct Denisovan.Chemistry World: Most energetic molecule ever made is stable – in liquid nitrogenNature: First ever skull from ‘Denisovan' reveals what ancient people looked like Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We'd like to learn more about our listeners, please help us out by filling in this short survey.In this episode:00:45 The tiny moths that use the stars to navigateBogong moths use the stars to help them navigate during their enormous migration across Australia, according to new research. Every year, billions of these nocturnal moths travel up to 1,000 km to cool caves in the Australian Alps, despite having never been there before. By placing moths in a flight-simulator that also acted as a planetarium, the team behind the work showed that moths could use the bright Milky Way to help them fly in the correct direction.Research article: Dreyer et al.10:17 Research HighlightsNigeria's pangolins are under threat because their meat is delicious, and how the gravitational pull of other galaxies may prevent the Milky Way colliding with Andromeda.Research Highlight: Why pangolins are poached: they're the tastiest animal aroundResearch Highlight: A long-predicted cosmic collision might not happen after all12:37 How humans expanded their habitats before migrating out of AfricaNew research suggests that shortly before modern humans successfully migrated out of Africa, they massively expanded the range of ecosystems they lived in. By combining climate modelling with data from archaeological sites across the African continent, researchers put forward evidence that 70,000 years ago, humans expanded the ecosystems they lived in to include diverse habitat types from forests to deserts. The authors suggest this ability to live in different places may have helped the later humans that migrated out of the continent around 50,000 years ago.Research article: Hallet et al.21:59 Briefing ChatBlowing bubble-rings could be humpback whales' way of trying to communicate with humans, and the research suggesting that everyone's breathing pattern is unique.Science Alert: Humpback Whale Bubble Rings May Be an Attempt to Communicate With UsNature: How you breathe is like a fingerprint that can identify youSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to legend, physicist Werner Heisenberg formulated the mathematics behind quantum mechanics in 1925 while on a restorative trip to the remote North Sea island of Heligoland.To celebrate the centenary of this event, several hundred researchers have descended on the island to take part in a conference on all things quantum physics. Nature reporter Lizzie Gibney was also in attendance, and joined us to give an inside track on the meeting.News: Happy birthday quantum mechanics! I got a ticket to the ultimate physics party Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:45 A flexible neural-implant that grows with the brainResearchers have developed a soft electronic implant that can measure brain activity of amphibian embryos as they develop. Understanding the neural activity of developing brains is a key aim for neuroscientists, but conventional, rigid probes can damage growing brains. To overcome this, a team have developed a flexible mesh that stretches with the brain and tested it by monitoring single neuron activity during development of frog and axolotl embryos. More testing and ethical considerations will be required, but the researchers hope that eventually such implants could help with neurological conditions that affect humans.Research article: Sheng et al.13:11 Research HighlightsThe exoplanet slowly evaporating into space, and cockatoos that have figured out an innovative way to stay hydrated.Research Highlight: Solved: the mystery of the evaporating planetResearch Highlight: Clever cockatoos learn an easy way to quench their thirst15:30 An AI-based way to repair damaged paintingsBy combining AI tools with mechanical engineering techniques, a researcher has developed a new way to speed up the restoration of damaged paintings. The technique creates a removable mask that can be overlaid onto a painting to cover any damage apparent in the artwork. It was successfully tested on an oil painting, fixing a large number of damaged areas in only a few hours. This could offer a significant speed-boost to painting restoration, which can often take months, or even years.Research article: KachkineVideo: Meet the engineer who invented an AI-powered way to restore art27:36 Briefing ChatA new ranking system could make it easier to spot universities that are chasing publishing metrics at the expense of rigorous science, and evidence that cutting off rhinos' horns deters poachers.Nature: ‘Integrity index' flags universities with high retraction ratesAP: Cutting off rhinos' horns is a contentious last resort to stop poaching. A new study found it worksSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Podcast Extra, we examine President Donald Trump's calls for NASA to land humans on Mars. Although the White House has proposed spending some US$1 billion in 2026 on Mars plans, critics say the final cost will likely be hundreds of billions of dollars spread over a number of years.This call comes amidst plans to drastically reduce NASA's funding, and the proposed cancelling of dozens of the space agency's missions, including projects to study Earth, Mars and Venus.News: Trump wants to put humans on Mars — here's what scientists thinkNews: Five key climate and space projects on Trump's chopping blockNews: Are the Trump team's actions affecting your research? How to contact Nature Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:45 Iron's role in mice sex determinationIron deficiency in mice mothers can sometimes result in their offspring developing female sex organs despite having male sex genes, according to new research. While genetics has been thought to be the primary factor in determining offspring sex in mammals, the new work shows that a lack of iron disrupts an enzyme involved in the development of testes, leading to some mice with male sex-determining genes being born with female genitalia and ovaries. This suggests that sex determination is controlled by more than genetics, but more work will need to be done to understand the precise mechanisms involved.News: Male mice can grow ovaries if their pregnant mums are iron deficientResearch article: Okashita et al.06:31 Research HighlightsHow climate change is making dust storms more likely, and understanding the genetics of a boy who couldn't feel pain.Research Highlight: The perfect storm for dust storms, thanks to global warmingResearch Highlight: CRISPR helps to show why a boy felt no pain08:51 The role of small-scale fishers in sustainabilityThe contributions that small-scale fishers make to sustainable fishing have been described as ‘invisible', but now a huge research project has revealed the role this community plays in feeding populations and protecting oceans. Looking at data from 58 countries, researchers have shown that small-scale fishers account for around 40% of the global catch and feed approximately 25% of the world's population. The people behind the initiative hope that these data can help give a voice to small-scale fishers as people look for ways to feed the world sustainably.Immersive : Small-scale fisheries19:44 Briefing ChatThe discovery of an ‘ambidextrous' protein; and why humpback whales, despite their enormous eyes, appear to be shortsighted.Nature: Rare ‘ambidextrous' protein breaks rules of handednessDiscover Magazine: Big Eyes, Blurry Vision: Why Humpback Whales Struggle to See ClearlySubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the world looking likely to blow past the temperature targets laid out in the 2015 Paris climate agreement, a growing number of voices are saying that carbon removal technologies will be necessary if humanity is to achieve its long-term climate goals. If these approaches succeed, they could help nations and corporations to meet their climate commitments — and help the world to halt global warming.However, questions remain about the financial viability of these technologies, and whether they can live up to the hype.This is an audio version of our Feature: Three ways to cool Earth by pulling carbon from the sky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:33 Was a boom in papers driven by AI?A spike in papers formulaically analysing a public data set has sparked worries that AI is being used to generate low quality and potentially misleading analyses.Nature: AI linked to explosion of low-quality biomedical research papers08:07 Lenses that give humans infrared visionResearchers in China have created contact lenses that can allow humans to see infrared light, which could help with search and rescue missions, sending secret messages and even surgery.Nature: These contact lenses give people infrared vision — even with their eyes shut14:17 Does the Earth's core have a leak?Geologists have uncovered the strongest evidence yet that Earth's core is leaking. Rocks from Hawaii were found to contain isotopes of a rare element, which suggests the material originally came from the core. More work will need to be done to rule out other explanations.Nature: Is Earth's core leaking? Volcanic rocks provide strongest evidence yetSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:45 Treating mosquitoes for malariaResearchers have developed two compounds that can kill malaria-causing parasites within mosquitoes, an approach they hope could help reduce transmission of the disease. The team showed that these compounds can be embedded into the plastics used to make bed nets, providing an alternative to insecticide-based malaria-control measures, which are losing efficacy in the face of increased resistance.Research article: Probst et al.10:42 Research HighlightsThe sunlight-powered device that can harvest drinkable water from desert air, and evidence that the world's richest people are disproportionately responsible for climate impacts.Research Highlight: Atacama sunshine helps to pull water from thin airResearch Highlight: The world's richest people have an outsized role in climate extremes13:02 The genetics that can lead to pregnancy lossResearchers have found specific genetic mutations that can lead to pregnancy loss. It's known that errors, such as the duplication of chromosomes, can lead to nonviable pregnancies but less has been known about non-chromosomal genetic errors. The new work identifies DNA sequence changes that can lead to a non-viable pregnancy. This may offer clinicians the ability to screen embryos for these changes to help avoid pregnancy loss.Research article: Arnadottir et al.22:24 Briefing ChatBespoke CRISPR-based therapy treats baby boy with devastating genetic disease, and the ‘anti-spice' compounds that can lower chillies' heat.Nature: World's first personalized CRISPR therapy given to baby with genetic diseaseNew Scientist: Chemists discover 'anti-spice' that could make chilli peppers less hotSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:46 An antimatter delivery van takes its first road tripResearchers have developed a portable antimatter containment device and tested it by putting it in a truck and driving it around CERN. Their system could represent a big step forward in efforts to take particles made at CERN's ‘antimatter factory' and transport them to other labs, something currently impossible due to antimatter being destroyed upon contact with matter. The team showed the feasibility of their approach by using the system to safely transport particles of matter and are now looking to adapt it to ferry antimatter particles.Research article: Leonhardt et al.11:45 Research HighlightsHow a tradition of female diving on a South Korean island might have shaped the genomes of the island's population, and a poison-dart frog that curiously seems to be monogamous.Research Highlight: How Korea's female divers have adapted to cold plungesResearch Highlight: A ‘hidden gem' of the Amazon is a frog with odd habits13:46 The mathematics of a near-miss between black holesPhysicists have tackled a longstanding problem in physics — understanding how two black holes gravitationally interact as they fly past each other — which could help with future detections of the gravitational waves that would be created by these events. Rather than repeatedly running expensive computer simulations to approximate the answer to this problem, a team of theorists have come up with a mathematical formula to describe a black hole fly-by, which can be run in a matter of seconds. Their results could be used to identify the tell-tale signatures of these events when they actually occur.Research article: Driesse et al.22:10 Briefing ChatHow physicists turned lead into gold, for a microsecond and at tremendous cost, and the genetics of the skunk cabbage's foul odour.Nature: Physicists turn lead into gold — for a fraction of a secondVideo: Scientists turn lead into goldNature: How skunk cabbages and other smelly plants brew their foul odourSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Podcast Extra, we examine recent developments US National Science Foundation, which has seen significant numbers of research grants terminated. In addition, there have been freezes on funding for new grants and any additional money to existing ones. We also discuss US President Donald Trump's proposed budget for fiscal year 2026, which calls for disproportionately large cuts to federal science funding.News: Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing onesNews: Trump proposes unprecedented budget cuts to US scienceNews: Are the Trump team's actions affecting your research? How to contact Nature Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:46 How fishing activity altered the migration pattern of HerringSelective fishing of older herring has resulted in a large shift in the migration pattern of these fish, according to new research. For years, herring have visited sites on the south coast of Norway to spawn, but in 2020 a rapid shift was seen, with the fish instead visiting areas hundreds of kilometres to the north. Researchers have concluded that too many older fish have been removed from these waters, preventing the knowledge of the best spawning grounds being passed to younger, less experienced fish. This finding shows how human activity can affect animal migration, which could have serious consequences for the delicately balanced ecosystems built around them.Research article: Slotte et al.10:37 Research HighlightsArchaeologists have identified tools that the ancient Maya may have used for tattooing, and the self-assembling stable structures that may help ‘forever chemicals' persist in nature.Research Highlight: Tattoo-making tools used by ancient Maya revealedResearch Highlight: ‘Forever' molecules bunch themselves into cell-like structures13:02 How might AI companions affect users' mental health?AI companions — apps where humans build relationships with computers — are hugely popular, with millions of people around the world using them. But despite increased social and political attention, research investigating how these systems can affect users has been lacking. We find out about the latest research in this space.News Feature: Supportive? Addictive? Abusive? How AI companions affect our mental health24:52 Briefing ChatA technique that lets researchers directly edits proteins within living cells, and how a fibre-rich, low-fat diet could help replenish populations of gut microbes ravaged by antibiotics.Nature: Powerful protein editors offer new ways of probing living cellsNature: How to fix a gut microbiome ravaged by antibioticsSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:00:46 What will be left of US science after Trump 2.0?100 days into his term, President Donald Trump and his administration have already caused the biggest shakeup in modern scientific history, slashing funding, bringing large swathes of US research to a standstill and halting many clinical trials. But many fear these actions are just the beginning. We look at what the long-term impacts of these decisions might be for science in the United States and the world.Nature: Will US science survive Trump 2.0?13:42 Research HighlightsA distant planet that orbits two stars, at a right angle, and how fringe-lipped bats' hearing helps them find palatable amphibians.Research Highlight: ‘Tatooine'-like planet orbits two stars ― but at a weird angleResearch Highlight: For these bats, eavesdropping is a valuable learnt skill16:07 Briefing ChatThe first skeletal evidence from bones that Roman gladiators fought lions, and scientists finally pinpoint the genes responsible for three of the pea traits studied by Gregor Mendel.BBC News: Bites on gladiator bones prove combat with lionNature: Century-old genetics mystery of Mendel's peas finally solvedSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Research shows that, over the past two decades, rates of mental illness have been increasing in adolescents in many countries. While some scientists point to soaring use of smartphones and social media as a key driver for this trend, others say the evidence does not show a large effect of these technologies on teenagers' psychological health.At the heart of the dispute is a large, complex and often conflicting body of research that different researchers interpret in different ways. This has left parents unsure what to do.This is an audio version of our Feature: Do smartphones and social media really harm teens' mental health? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:27 Five people see ‘olo', a brand-new colourUsing a laser system to activate specific eye cells, a team has allowed five study participants to perceive a vibrant blue-greenish hue well outside the natural range of colours seen by humans. Although the setup required to accomplish this feat is currently complicated, this finding could provide more understanding about how the brain perceives colour and could one day help boost the vision of people with colour blindness.Nature News: Brand-new colour created by tricking human eyes with laser08:30 US regulator greenlights pig-liver transplant trialThe US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first trial to test whether genetically modified pig livers can be used safely to treat people with organ failure. In the initial phase of the trial, four people with severe liver failure will be temporarily connected to an external pig liver that will filter their blood. Participants will then be monitored for a year for safety and changes in liver function. The organs have been genetically modified to make them more compatible with humans.Nature News: Pig livers for people: US regulator greenlights first safety trial14:08: A chunk of lab-grown chickenUsing a designer ‘circulatory system', a team of researchers have created what they think is the largest piece of meat grown in the laboratory yet. One of the challenges to producing larger pieces of lab-grown meat has been providing cells with sufficient oxygen and nutrients, something the team's new setup helps overcome. They used it to grow a chunk of chicken muscle about the size of a nugget, but multiple challenges remain before meat produced in this way could make it to market.Nature News: Winner, winner, lab-made dinner! Team grows nugget-sized chicken chunkSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Categorizing things is central to science. And there are dozens of systems scientists have created to name everything from the trenches on the sea bed to the stars in the sky.But names have consequences. What's in a name is a series exploring naming in science and how names impact the world. We look at whether the system of naming species remains in step with society, how the names of diseases can create stigma, and how the names chosen by scientists can help, or hinder, communication with the public.In episode three, we're looking at how the names chosen for concepts in physics can inadvertently send researchers down very specific research avenues while distracting them from others. In this podcast we hear five stories about the importance of names and how much can be lost in translation when physicists try and label the unknown.For a list of sources and music used, please visit the podcast show notes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:00:46 A potato pangenomeResearchers have created a ‘pangenome' containing the genomes of multiple potato types, something they believe can help make it easier to breed and sequence new varieties. The potato's complicated genetics has made it difficult to sequence the plant's genome, but improvements in technology have allowed the team to combine sequences, allowing then to look for subtle differences in between varieties.Research Article: Sun et al.09:57 Research HighlightsHow ancient DNA analysis revealed that unusually bound medieval books are covered in sealskin, and top quarks and their antimatter counterparts are detected after nuclear smash-ups at the Large Hadron Collider.Research Highlight: Mystery of medieval manuscripts revealed by ancient DNAResearch Highlight: Top quarks spotted at mega-detector could reveal clues to early Universe12:30 The top cited twenty-first century research papersAnalysis from Nature reveals the 25 highest-cited papers published this century and explores why they are breaking records. We hear about the field that got the highest number of papers on the list, and whether any feature in the all-time top citation list.News Feature: Exclusive: the most-cited papers of the twenty-first centuryNews Feature: These are the most-cited research papers of all timeNews Feature: Science's golden oldies: the decades-old research papers still heavily cited today21:47 Briefing ChatRe-analysis of a cosmic collision shows evidence of a planet spiralling into its host star, and how shrugging off lighting strikes gives tonka bean trees an evolutionary edge.Science: Astronomers spot a planetary ‘suicide'Live Science: Tropical tree in Panama has evolved to kill its 'enemies' with lightningVote for us in this year's Webby AwardsVote for How whales sing without drowning, an anatomical mystery solvedVote for What's in a name: Should offensive species names be changed? The organisms that honour dictators, racists and criminalsVote for Cancer-busting vaccines are coming: here's how they work Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:46 Complete sequencing of ape genomesResearchers have sequenced the complete genomes of six ape species, helping uncover the evolutionary history of our closest relatives and offering insights into what makes humans human. The genomes of chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, Bornean orangutan, Sumatran orangutan and siamang have been sequenced end-to-end, filling in gaps that have long eluded researchers.Research Article: Yoo et al.News: What makes us human? Milestone ape genomes promise clues08:47 Research HighlightsHow sunflower stars are evading a mysterious epidemic, and how solar panels made of moon dust could power lunar bases.Research Highlight: Revealed: where rare and giant starfish hide from an enigmatic killerResearch Highlight: Solar cells made of Moon dust could power up a lunar base11:36 How to make a competitive laser-plasma acceleratorAfter decades of research, physicists have demonstrated that, in principle, an alternative kind of particle accelerator can work just as well as more conventional designs. Many particle accelerators that power huge experiments like the Large Hadron Collider at CERN are radio-frequency accelerators, but they are large and limited in how strong their magnetic fields can be. The new work shows that accelerators that instead use plasma to accelerate particles could be a viable alternative and could be built at much smaller scales.Research article: Winkler et al.19:55 Briefing ChatA drug that makes blood poisonous to mosquitoes, and how an AI worked out how to solve key challenges in Minecraft by ‘imagining' solutions.Science Alert: Drug For Rare Disease Turns Human Blood Into Mosquito PoisonNature: AI masters Minecraft: DeepMind program finds diamonds without being taughtVote for us in this year's Webby AwardsVote for How whales sing without drowning, an anatomical mystery solvedVote for What's in a name: Should offensive species names be changed? The organisms that honour dictators, racists and criminalsSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Science writer and New York Times columnist Carl Zimmer's latest book Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life we Breathe dives into the invisible maelstrom of microbial life swirling in the air around us — examining how it helped shape our world, and the implications that breathing it in can have on human health. Carl joined us to discuss historical efforts to show that diseases could spread large distances through the air, the staunch resistance to this idea, and what the rivalry between these two groups meant for public health.Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe Carl Zimmer Dutton (2025)Music supplied by SPD/Triple Scoop Music/Getty Images Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Podcast Extra, we hear the latest on how decisions by the Trump administration are affecting science in the US. Most recently, a purge of National Institutes of Health (NIH) leadership has seen the chiefs of multiple institutes and centres removed from their posts.Plus, after cancelling nearly all NIH projects studying transgender health, the White House has directed the agency to focus on studying “regret” after a person transitions to align their body with their gender identity.News: ‘One of the darkest days': NIH purges agency leadership amid mass layoffsNews: Exclusive: Trump White House directs NIH to study ‘regret' after transgender people transitionNews: Are the Trump team's actions affecting your research? How to contact Nature Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:46 Millimetre-sized pacemaker fits inside syringeResearchers have developed a tiny, temporary pacemaker that dissolves when no longer needed, helping to overcome some of the challenges associated with current devices. Temporary pacemakers are often required after heart surgery but implanting them can require invasive procedures. This new device is injectable, requires no external power and is controlled using light shone through the skin. The tiny pacemaker has shown promise in animal and heart models, and the team think it could also be used in other situations where electrical stimulation is needed, like the brain.Research Article: Zhang et al.08:19 Research HighlightsMeasurements show that global warming is causing lakes to lose their oxygen, and a massive, 30-year analysis showing that a diet of plant-rich foods is associated with healthy ageingResearch Highlight: Life-giving oxygen is wafting out of lakes worldwideResearch Highlight: The best foods for healthy ageing ― and the worst10:21 Shingles vaccine linked to reduced dementia riskA large-scale population study suggests that getting a shingles vaccine reduces the probability of someone getting dementia by around one-fifth. By taking advantage of the way a shingles vaccine was rolled out in Wales, a team were able to compare dementia outcomes in vaccine-eligible people to those born just a few weeks earlier who were ineligible. Although more tests will be needed to confirm this finding and to understand the mechanisms behind it, the team hope that vaccination against this viral infection could represent a cost-effective way to for preventing or delaying dementia.Research article: Eyting et al.20:20 Briefing ChatData suggests that racial profiling plays a role in whether someone receives a traffic citation or fine, and studies suggest that paying researchers who review manuscripts could speed up the peer-review process, without affecting the quality of reviews.Ars Technica: Study of Lyft rideshare data confirms minorities get more ticketsNature: Publishers trial paying peer reviewers — what did they find?Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With money pouring in and an unprecedented level of public attention and excitement, scientists are publishing a steady stream of papers on ways to measure how rapidly a person's body is declining.However, there are mixed feelings of enthusiasm and apprehension among researchers about efforts to develop tests that measure the impact of ageing on the body, as they are often interpreted and presented without a full reckoning of the uncertainties that plague them.This is an audio version of our Feature: How quickly are you ageing? What molecular ‘clocks' can tell you about your health Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:00:46 Newly discovered molecule shows potent antibiotic activityResearchers have identified a new molecule with antibiotic activity against a range of disease-causing bacteria, including those resistant to existing drugs. The new molecule — isolated from soil samples taken from a laboratory technician's garden — is called lariocidin due to its lasso-shaped structure. The team say that in addition to its potent antibiotic activity, the molecule also shows low toxicity towards human cells, making it a promising molecule in the fight against drug-resistant infections.Research Article: Jangra et al.09:36 Research HighlightsA reduction in ships' sulfur emissions linked to a steep drop in thunderclouds, and the epic sea-voyage that let iguanas reach Fiji.Research Highlight: Ship-pollution cuts have an electrifying effect: less lightning at seaResearch Highlight: Iguanas reached Fiji by floating 8,000 kilometres across the sea13:54 Assessing the nuances of humans' biodiversity impactsA huge study analysing data from thousands of research articles has shown that the human impacts on biodiversity are large but are in some cases context dependent. The new study reveals that at larger scales, communities of living things are becoming more similar due to human influence, but at the smaller scale they are becoming more different. "These are generally unwanted effects on biodiversity," says study author Florian Altermatt, "this is one more very strong argument that stopping and reducing these pressures to halt and reverse biodiversity declines is needed."Research article: Keck et al.21:45 Briefing ChatHow a proposed green-energy facility in Chile could increase light pollution at one of the world's most powerful telescopes, and how a calving Antarctic iceberg revealed an unseen aquatic ecosystem.Nature: Light pollution threatens fleet of world-class telescopes in Atacama DesertScientific American: Stunning Antarctic Sea Creatures Discovered after Iceberg Breaks AwaySubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:46 Microsatellite makes messaging secureA tiny satellite has enabled quantum-encrypted information to be sent between China and South Africa, the farthest distance yet achieved for quantum communication. Using a laser-based system, a team in the city of Hefei was able to beam a ‘secret key' encoded in quantum states of photons, to their colleagues over 12,000 km away. This key allowed scrambled messages to be decrypted — including one containing a picture of the Great Wall of China. The team's system is drastically smaller and cheaper that previous attempts, and they think it represents a big step towards the creation of a global network of secure, quantum communication.Research Article: Li et al.News: Mini-satellite paves the way for quantum messaging anywhere on Earth09:53 Research HighlightsHow storms known as ‘atmospheric rivers' could replenish Greenland's ice, and a prosthetic hand that can distinguish objects by touch almost as well as a human.Research Highlight: Mega-storm dumps 11 billion tonnes of snow ― and builds up a melting ice sheetResearch Highlight: Robotic fingers can tell objects apart by touch12:27 An AI that gives other AIs helpful feedbackResearchers have created an AI system called TextGrad which can provide written feedback on another AI's performance. This feedback is interpretable by humans, which could help researchers tweak the incredibly complicated, and sometimes inscrutable models that underpin modern AIs. “Previously optimising machine learning algorithms requires quite a lot of human engineering,” says James Zou, one of the team behind this work, “but with TextGrad, now the AI is able to self-improve to a large extent.”Research Article: Yuksekgonul et al.20:55 How the Trump administration's cuts are affecting scienceThe first two months of Donald Trump's presidency has seen swingeing cuts to US federal funding for research, particularly to research associated with DEI. We hear the latest on these cuts and their impact from reporter Max Kozlov.Nature: ‘My career is over': Columbia University scientists hit hard by Trump team's cutsNature: How the NIH dominates the world's health research — in chartsNature: ‘Scientists will not be silenced': thousands protest Trump research cutsNature: Exclusive: NIH to terminate hundreds of active research grantsSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:46 2D metals made using sapphire pressTaking inspiration from industrial forging, researchers have demonstrated a way to squeeze molten metals into atomically-thin layers, creating relatively large flakes of 2D metals. Using a hydraulic press containing two sapphire anvils, a team was able to create sub-nanometer thick sheets of different metals — these sheets had diameters exceeding 0.1 mm, orders of magnitude larger than other methods have achieved. 2D metals have been theorized to possess several useful properties not seen in their larger, 3D counterparts, but have been difficult to make at scale, something this method may help overcome.Research Article: Zhao et al.News and Views: Metals squeezed to thickness of just two atoms09:36 Research HighlightsThe discovery of ancient puppets on remains of a large pyramid offers a glimpse into rituals in Mesoamerica, and how the presence of a certain pattern of sleep brainwaves might help predict which people will recover from an unresponsive state.Research Highlight: Ancient puppets that smile or scowl hint at shared ritualsResearch Highlight: Who's likely to wake up from a coma? Brainwaves provide a clue12:17 The virology lessons learnt from the COVID pandemicSARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, has become one of the most closely examined viruses on the planet. In the five years since the pandemic, over 150,000 articles have been written about it, and 17 million genome sequences have been generated. We discuss the lessons virologists have learnt from this intense study of a single organism, and how these might help the world prepare for future pandemics.News Feature: Four ways COVID changed virology: lessons from the most sequenced virus of all time23:36 Briefing ChatHow an AI alert-system could help researchers train their telescopes on a neutron star collision, and how expiration dates on plastic food-waste helped biologists age birds' nests.Nature: How AI could let us watch epic star collisions in real timeScience: Plastic waste in bird nests can act like a tiny time capsuleSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:46 Ancient humans made bone tools 1.5 million years agoA 1.5-million-year-old cache of animal-bone tools reveals that ancient humans systematically crafted with this material much earlier than previously thought. Researchers uncovered 27 bone artefacts in Tanzania honed into sharp tools almost 40 cm long. This discovery pushes back the dedicated manufacture of bone tools by around a million years and could have helped these early humans develop new kinds of technology. “This raises a lot of interesting questions,” says study author Ignacio de la Torre.Research Article: de la Torre et al.09:11 Research HighlightsCane toads' remarkable homing abilities, and evidence that the block of rock that makes up southern Tibet originated in what is now Australia.Research Highlight: Take me home, country toadsResearch Highlight: Lhasa′s rocks reveal an Australian birthplace11:45 A trove of antibacterial molecules hidden in human proteinsTo help protect against infection, cells in the body will selectively cut proteins to produce molecules known as antimicrobial peptides, according to new research. A team has found that many potential peptides appear to be locked up within proteins — to get them out, cells shift the activity of a waste-disposal system called the proteasome, known for its role in protein degradation and recycling. In tests, one of these peptides showed efficacy at protecting mice from infection, indicating that these molecules could one day have therapeutic potential.Research Article: Goldberg et al.News and Views: Protein waste turned into antibiotics as a defence strategy of human cells21:08 Briefing ChatAn update on two missions heading to the Moon to look for water, and why fears that a crucial ocean-current system will collapse in the face of climate change may be incorrect.Nature: Meet the ice-hunting robots headed for the Moon right nowNature: Iconic ocean-current system is safe from climate collapse ― for nowSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past two decades, research has emerged showing that opportunities for risky play are crucial for children's healthy physical, mental and emotional development. However, because play is inherently free-form it has been difficult to study. Now, scientists are using innovative approaches, including virtual reality, to probe the benefits of risky play, and how best to promote it.This is an audio version of our Feature: Why kids need to take more risks — science reveals the benefits of wild, free play Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:47 A ‘smart' way to quickly detect cardiac arrestGoogle researchers have developed an AI for a smartwatch that will call for help if its wearer is having a cardiac arrest. Trained, in part, on data gained when patients had their hearts deliberately stopped during a medical procedure, the team's machine learning algorithm can automatically detect the telltale signs of cardiac arrest. The team think this system could save lives, although more testing is required. "Our hope is that as these capabilities expand it provides a new way to keep people safer,” says Jake Sunshine, one of the researchers behind the study.Research Article: Shah et al.09:15 Research HighlightsEvidence that a low dose of yellow fever vaccine might be enough to provide lasting immunity, and the odd umbrella-shaped tree fossil that suggests that early plants may have been more complex than previously thought.Research Article: Kimathi et al.Research Article: Gastaldo et al.11:10 Briefing ChatMicrosoft's new AI that helps create video game ‘worlds', and why dogs blink more when other dogs do the same.Nature: Microsoft builds AI that creates ‘impressive' video-game worldsScience: Dogs, like people, may use blinking to bondSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

01:14 A simple switch to reduce racist ratingsA study of almost 70,000 ratings showed that racial discrimination could be eliminated from an online platform by switching from a five-star rating system to a thumbs up or down. The platform connected customers to workers who performed home repair jobs, and prior to the shift people categorised by the study authors as ‘non-white' had lower ratings and got paid less than their white counterparts. Through follow up studies the authors also showed that the five-star system allowed people to impart their personal opinions, whereas a thumbs up or down just focused them on whether a job was good or bad. The team hopes this could be an easy-to-implement shift to tackle racial discrimination.Research Article: Botelho et al.News and Views: Racial bias eliminated when ratings switch from five stars to thumbs up or down11:24 Research HighlightsExperimental evidence that cockatoos like flavouring their food, and the harsh climate of sixteenth century Transylvania.Research Highlight: Gourmet cockatoos like to fancy up their foodResearch Highlight: Transylvanian diaries reveal centuries-old climate extremes14:05 An analysis of retraction hotspotsA Nature investigation has revealed where the most retractions come from, with hospitals in China and institutions in India and Pakistan topping the list. Retractions are a normal part of science and may be a sign of necessary scrutiny, but they can also signal misconduct and use of paper mills. Features Editor Richard Van Noorden joins us to discuss what this means for science and tackling sloppy research.Nature: Exclusive: These universities have the most retracted scientific articles22:43 Briefing ChatLayoffs in the US's Environmental Protection Agency, reactions to the DEI purge at NASA, and what RFK Jr.'s role as secretary of Health and Human Services could mean for health research.Nature: ‘Targeted and belittled': scientists at US environmental agency speak out as layoffs beginNature: NASA embraced diversity. Trump's DEI purge is hitting space scientists hardNature: Vaccine sceptic RFK Jr is now a powerful force in US science: what will he do?Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:00:45 An elusive, cosmic neutrino with a record-breaking energyAn enormous array of detectors, deep under the Mediterranean Sea, has captured evidence of the highest-energy neutrino particle ever recorded, although researchers aren't sure exactly where in the cosmos it originated. Calculations revealed this particle had over 30 times the energy of previously detected neutrinos. The team hopes that further study and future detections will help reveal the secrets of high-energy phenomena like supernovae.Research Article: The KM3NeT Collaboration11:34 Research HighlightsHow bonobos adjust their communication to account for what other individuals know, and the discovery of a huge collection of beads adorning the attire of the powerful Copper Age women in Spain.Research Highlight: Bonobos know when you're in the know ― and when you're notResearch Highlight: Record-setting trove of buried beads speaks to power of ancient women14:15 US judge puts NIH grant cuts on holdA judge has blocked a policy that would have slashed billions of dollars of funding for US research institutions, which come as part of President Donald Trump's controversial crackdown on government spending. We discuss the reasoning behind the proposed cuts and the impacts they may have if enacted. We also look at the effects that President Trump's executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and funding are having across the US.Nature: ‘Devastating' cuts to NIH grants by Trump's team put on hold by US judgeNature: Have Trump's anti-DEI orders hit private funders? HHMI halts inclusive science programmeNature: Scientists globally are racing to save vital health databases taken down amid Trump chaos25:50 Briefing ChatWhy the latest odds on asteroid 2024 YR4's chance of impacting Earth are so hard to calculate, and how the latest version of DeepMind's AlphaGeometry AI has reached the gold-medal level in geometry.New York Times: Why the Odds of an Asteroid Striking Earth in 2032 Keep Going Up (and Down)Nature: DeepMind AI crushes tough maths problems on par with top human solversSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 2 of 'What's in a name' we look how choosing names can help, or hinder, attempts to communicate important messages.Categorizing things is central to science. And there are dozens of systems scientists have created to name everything from the trenches on the sea bed to the stars in the sky.But names have consequences. In our series What's in a name we explore naming in science and how names impact the world — whether the system of naming species remains in step with society, how the names of diseases can create stigma, or even how the names of scientific concepts can drive the direction of research itself.In episode two, we're looking at how the names chosen by scientists help, or hinder, communication with the public.Well chosen names can quickly convey scientific concepts or health messages — in emergency situations they can even save lives. We'll hear how the systems of naming tropical storms and Covid-19 variants came to be, and how they took different approaches to achieve the same outcome.We'll also consider the language used to talk about climate change, and how the ways of describing it have been used to deliberately introduce uncertainty and confusion.Listen to the first episode Should offensive species names be changed? The organisms that honour dictators, racists and criminalsFor a list of sources please visithttps://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-04200-9Music creditsPremiumaudio/Pond5Richard Smithson/Triple Scoop Music/Getty Images Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:00:45 How arithmetic skills don't transfer between applied and academic environmentsMathematics skills learnt in real-world situations may not translate to the classroom and vice versa, according to a new study. A team surveyed children in India who work in markets, to see whether the skills they learnt there transferred to the classroom. While proficient at solving market-based arithmetic problems, they struggled to solve problems typically used in schools. The reverse was seen for children enrolled in schools with no market-selling experience. The authors hope this finding could help adjust teaching curricula and bridge the gap between intuitive and formal maths.Research Article: Banerjee et al.12:38 Research HighlightsWolverine populations rebound in Sweden and Norway, and why wobbly arrows launch faster than rigid ones.Research Highlight: Who's the new furry neighbour? It might be a wolverineResearch Highlight: How a wobbly arrow can achieve superpropulsion14:59 The unexpected movements seen in super-dense crowdsA study has revealed that when packed crowds reach a certain density, large groups of people suddenly start to move in circular patterns — a finding that could be used to identify dangerous overcrowding. By assessing footage of the densely-packed San Fermín festival, a team observed this spontaneous phenomenon, and modelled the physics underlying it. Studying the movements of giant crowds has been difficult, and the team hope this work could help event organisers to identify and respond to situations where people could get hurt.Research Article: Gu et al.News and Views: Crowds start to spin when their densities hit a thresholdSound effects:Crowd Cheering - Ambience by GregorQuendel via CC BY 4.0Cupinzano sounds by Europa Press - Footage News via Getty Images24:00 Briefing ChatAn update on the US National Science Foundation's scrutinizing of grants to comply with President Trump's directives, and why scratching an itch may have unexpected antibacterial properties.Nature: Exclusive: how NSF is scouring research grants for violations of Trump's ordersNature: Why it feels good to scratch that itch: the immune benefits of scratchingSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The explosive improvement in artificial intelligence (AI) technology has largely been driven by making neural networks bigger and training them on more data. But experts suggest that the developers of these systems may soon run out of data to train their models. As a result, teams are taking new approaches, such as searching for other unconventional data sources, or generating new data to train their AIs.This is an audio version of our Feature: The AI revolution is running out of data. What can researchers do? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:00:46 Evidence of ancient brine reveals Bennu's watery pastAnalysis of samples taken from the asteroid Bennu reveal the presence of organic compounds important for life, and that its parent asteroid likely contained salty, subsurface water. Collected by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, these rocks and dust particles give insights into the chemistry of the early Solar System, and suggest that brines may have been an important place where pre-biotic molecules were formed. As brines are found throughout the Solar System, this finding raises questions about whether similar molecules will be found in places like Jupiter's moon Europa.Research Article: McCoy et al.Research Article: Glavin et al.News: Asteroid fragments upend theory of how life on Earth bloomed14:22 Research HighlightsHow seaweed farms could capture carbon, and why chimps follow each other to the bathroom.Research Highlight: Seaweed farms dish up climate benefitsResearch Highlight: All together now: chimps engage in contagious peeing16:31 How maize may have supported a civilizationResearchers have found evidence of intensive maize agriculture that could help explain how a mysterious South American society produced enough food to fuel a labour-force big enough to build enormous earth structures. It appears that the Casarabe people, who lived in the Amazon Basin around 500-1400 AD, restructured the landscape to create water conserving infrastructure that allowed for year-round production of maize. While this work provides new insights into how the Casarabe may have established a complex monument-building culture, these people vanished around 600 years ago, and many questions remain about their lives.Research Article: Lombardo et al.25:52 DeepSeek R1 wows scientistsA new AI model from a Chinese company, DeepSeek, rivals the abilities of OpenAI's o1 — a state-of-the art ‘reasoning' model — at a fraction of the cost. The release of DeepSeek has thrilled researchers, asked questions about American AI dominance in the area, and spooked stock markets. We discuss why this large language model has sent shockwaves around the world and what it means for the future of AI.News: China's cheap, open AI model DeepSeek thrills scientists Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:56 How the paths to professorship varyA huge analysis of hiring practices has revealed that criteria to get a promotion to full professorship is hugely variable around the world. The authors suggest that this variability results in researchers from countries that value one type of metric being locked out of professor positions in others. They hope that the database of hiring practices created in this study could help institutions adjust their hiring policies to create a more diverse science workforce.Research Article: Lim et al.News: Want to become a professor? Here's how hiring criteria differ by country21:48 Research HighlightsLasers reveal hidden tattoos on ancient mummified-skin, and a new pill that cuts flu symptoms and viral levels in the body.Research Highlight: Hidden tattoos on mummy skin emerge under a laser's lightResearch Highlight: Got flu? Promising drug shortens symptoms12:13 Cancer cells' broken mitochondria could poison immune cellsResearchers have shown that cancer cells can slip their dysfunctional mitochondria into T cells, limiting the immune system's cancer-fighting capabilities. Cancer cells are known to steal healthy mitochondria from immune cells to help tumours survive and thrive. Now, researchers have shown mitochondria can move in the opposite direction too, with the donor T cells showing signs of various stress responses that make them less effective when inside a tumour. The team showed that blocking this transfer limited this effect, and hopes that this mechanism could offer a new avenue for boosting the immune system's response to cancer.Research Article: Ikeda et al.News & Views: Mitochondrial swap from cancer to immune cells thwarts anti-tumour defences21:12 Science and the Gaza conflictNoah Baker and Ehsan Masood turn to the war in Gaza, and discuss what comes next for science as a ceasefire comes into force.Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:46 Designing new antivenoms to treat snakebitesResearchers have shown that machine learning can quickly design antivenoms that are effective against lethal snake-toxins, which they hope will help tackle a serious public health issue. Thousands of people die as a result of snakebites each year, but treatment options are limited, expensive and often difficult to access in the resource-poor settings where most bites occur. The computer-aided approach allowed researchers to design two proteins that provided near total protection against individual snake toxins in mouse experiments. While limited in scope, the team behind the work believe these results demonstrate the promise of the approach in designing effective and cheaper treatments for use in humans.Research Article: Vázquez Torres et al.11:28 Research HighlightsHow male wasp spiders use hairs on their legs to sniff out mates, and how noradrenaline drives waves of cleansing fluid through the brain.Research Highlight: ​​​​​​​Male spiders smell with their legsResearch Highlight: ​​​​​​​How the brain cleans itself during deep sleep13:53 Earth breaches 1.5 °C climate limit for the first timeNews broke last week that in 2024, Earth's average temperature climbed to more than 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels for the first time. Although this is only a single year so far, we discuss what breaking this significant threshold means for the 2015 Paris climate agreement and what climate scientists understand about the speed that Earth is heating up. Nature: ​​​​​​​Earth breaches 1.5 °C climate limit for the first time: what does it mean?23:39 Briefing ChatNASA delays deciding its strategy for collecting and returning Mars rocks to Earth, and why papers on a handful of bacterial species dominate the scientific literature.Nature: ​​​​​​​NASA still has no plan for how to bring precious Mars rocks to EarthNature: ​​​​​​​These are the 20 most-studied bacteria — the majority have been ignoredSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Nature Podcast, we catch up on some science stories from the holiday period by diving into the Nature Briefing.00:53 The retraction of a controversial COVID study that promoted unproven treatmentA much-critiqued study demonstrating the now-disproven idea that hydroxychloroquine can treat COVID-19 has been retracted — more than four-and-a-half years after it was published.Nature: Controversial COVID study that promoted unproven treatment retracted after four-year saga09:10 The skin's unexpected immune systemResearchers have discovered that healthy skin — once thought to be a passive barrier — can actually produce antibodies that fight off infections. It's hoped that the finding could one day lead to the development of needle-free vaccines that can be applied to the skin.Nature: The skin's ‘surprise' power: it has its very own immune system13:02 Researchers fear Europa's icy crust may be much thicker than thoughtNew estimates, based on data collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft, suggest that the ice on the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa may be significantly thicker than previously thought. If these estimates prove accurate it could reduce the chances of Europa being habitable for extraterrestrial life.Science: Surprisingly thick ice on Jupiter's moon Europa complicates hunt for life20:11 Modelling the running prowess of our ancient relatives3D computer simulations of Australopithecus afarensis — an ancient hominin that lived more than three million years ago — reveals that while our relatives could run on two legs, they likely did so at a far slower pace than modern humans.Nature: Humans evolved for distance running — but ancestor ‘Lucy' didn't go far or fastSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, reporter Miryam Naddaf joins us to talk about the big science events to look out for in 2025. We'll hear about: the latest Moon missions, 30 years of the United Nations' COP climate summits, the return of Donald Trump, and more.Nature: Science in 2025: the events to watch for in the coming year Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marc Abrahams created the Ig Nobel prizes in 1991, after years of collecting examples of weird research that he included in the Journal of Irreproducible Results. The aim of these satirical awards is to honour achievements that “make people laugh, then think”.While the initial response from the scientific community was mixed, last year the prize received more than 9,000 nominations. Several researchers who have won an ‘Ig' say that it has improved their careers by helping them to reach wider audiences, and spend more time engaging with the public about their work.This is an audio version of our Feature: How a silly science prize changed my career Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:36 How melting ice is affecting global timekeepingNature Podcast: 27 March 2024Research article: Agnew09:19 Sex and gender discussions don't need to be toxicPodcast extra: 01 May 2024Collection: Sex and gender in science18:10 Research HighlightsResearch Highlight: How to train your crocodileResearch Highlight: Ancient fish dined on bats — or died trying21:09 ChatGPT has a language problem — but science can fix itPodcast extra: 09 August 202426:59 A simple solution to tackle a deadly frog diseaseNature Podcast: 03 July 2024Research Article: Waddle et al.News and Views: Mini saunas save endangered frogs from fungal disease39:57 Briefing ChatNature News: Your brain on shrooms — how psilocybin resets neural networksNature News: NASA cancels $450-million mission to drill for ice on the Moon — surprising researchers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

02:54 The death star moon and a win for the little guysThe shifting orbit of one of Saturn's moons indicates that the satellite has a subsurface ocean, contradicting theories that its interior is entirely solid. The finding calls for a fresh take on what constitutes an ocean moon.Nature Podcast: 14 February 2024News and Views: Mimas's surprise ocean prompts an update of the rule book for moons07:05 Could red mud make green steel?Millions of tonnes of ‘red mud', a hazardous waste of aluminium production, are generated annually. A potentially sustainable process for treating this mud shows that it could become a source of iron for making steel.Nature Podcast: 24 Jan 2024News and Views: Iron extracted from hazardous waste of aluminium production12:09 A hierarchy of failureA design principle for buildings incorporates components that can control the propagation of failure by isolating parts of the structure as they fail — offering a way to prevent a partial collapse snowballing into complete destruction.Nature podcast: 15 May 2024Nature video: Controlled failure: The building designed to limit catastropheNews and Views: Strategic links save buildings from total collapse17:57 Programable enzyme for genpme editingRNA-guided recombinase enzymes have been discovered that herald a new chapter for genome editing — enabling the insertion, inversion or deletion of long DNA sequences at user-specified genome positions.News and Views: Programmable RNA-guided enzymes for next-generation genome editing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

01:11 “Ozempic you're able”In the first of our annual festive songs celebrating the science of the past year, we pay homage to Ozempic, or Semaglutide, that's able to tackle obesity, diabetes and potentially a whole lot more.05:20 A very scientific quizWe gather an all-star cast and see how well they can remember some of the big science stories from 2024 in our annual festive quiz.21:31 “CAR T Cells”In the second of our festive songs, we look at CAR-T cells. These engineered immune cells have shown great promise at tackling cancer, but these treatments are not without their drawbacks.25:43 Nature's 10Every year, Nature's 10 highlights some of the people who have helped shape science over the past 12 months. We hear about a few of the people who made the 2024 list, including an economist who now needs to run a country, a Russian science-sleuth, a researcher who's been sounding the alarm on Mpox, and a PhD student who won a salary bump for researchers in Canada.News Feature: Nature's 10Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Categorizing things is central to science. And there are dozens of systems scientists have created to name everything from the trenches on the sea bed to the stars in the sky.But names have consequences — unintended or otherwise. In our new series What's in a name we'll explore naming in science and how names impact the world — whether that's how the names of storms impact public safety, how the names of diseases impact patient care, or even how the names of scientific concepts can drive the direction of research itself.In this first episode we're looking at species names. The modern system of species naming began in the 1700s and has played a vital role in standardizing academic communication, ensuring that scientists are on the same page when they talk about an organism. However, this system is not without its issues. For example, there has been much debate around whether species with names considered offensive — such as those named after historical racists — should be changed, and what rule changes need to be made to allow this to happen.We speak to researchers about the history of this naming system, how it's applied and how it might evolve in the face of growing pressures.SourcesFor a full list of sources, please visit https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-04200-9Music creditsPremiumaudio/Pond5Alon Marcus/Pond5Groove Committee/Pond5Opcono/Pond5Erik Mcnerny/Pond5Earless Pierre/Pond5Richard Smithson/Triple Scoop Music/Getty Images​​​​​​​Douglas Romayne/Triple Scoop Music/Getty ImagesSound effects via Pond5Thick-billed Longspur/​​​​​​​Andrew Spencer via ​​​​​​​CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:45 A potential treatment for pre-eclampsiaResearchers have shown in mice experiments that an mRNA-based therapy can reverse the underlying causes of pre-eclampsia, a deadly complication of pregnancy for which treatment options are limited. Inspired by the success of mRNA vaccines, the team behind the work designed a method to deliver the genomic instructions for a blood-vessel growth factor directly into mouse placentas. This stimulated the production of extra blood vessels reducing the very high-blood pressure associated with the condition. Pre-eclampsia causes 15% of maternal deaths and 25% of foetal and newborn deaths worldwide and although the work is early and human trials will be required, the team hope that this work demonstrates the potential of using this approach to treat pre-eclampsia.Research Article: Swingle et al.11:00 Research HighlightsStacks of, mass-produced bowls suggest that people founded, but then abandoned an ancient Mesopotamian civilization, and analysis of Venus's gases suggests that the planet was always dry.Research Highlight: Ancient stacks of dishes tell tale of society's dissolutionResearch Highlight: Has Venus ever had an ocean? Its volcanoes hint at an answer13:29 Programmable cellular switchesA team of scientists have created cellular switches on the surface of cells, allowing them to control their behaviour. Creating these switches has been a long-term goal for synthetic biologists — especially a group of proteins called G-protein-coupled receptors that already control many cellular processes. However, engineering these proteins has been challenging, as modifications can ruin their function. Instead, the team added another molecular component that blocked the receptors activity, but could be removed in response to specific signals. This allowed the researchers to activate these receptors on command, potentially opening up a myriad of new ways to control cell behaviour, such as controlling when neurons fire.Research Article: Kalogriopoulos et al.19:35 Google reaches a milestone in quantum computingA team at Google has shown it is possible to create a quantum computer that becomes more accurate as it scales up, a goal researchers have been trying to achieve for decades. Quantum computing could potentially open up applications beyond the capabilities of classical computers, but these systems are error-prone, making it difficult to scale them up without introducing errors into calculations. The team showed that by increasing the quality of all the components in a quantum computer they could create a system with fewer errors, and that this trend of improvement continued as the system became larger. This breakthrough could mean that quantum computers are getting very close to realising the useful applications that their proponents have long promised.Nature: ‘A truly remarkable breakthrough': Google's new quantum chip achieves accuracy milestoneSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zoologist Arik Kershenbaum has spent his career studying animals and how they communicate in the wild. In his book Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication, Arik takes a deep dive into the various forms of communication, from wolf howls to gibbon songs, to look at how different species get their points across, why they do it the way they do, and what insights they provide into our own use of language.Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication Arik Kershenbaum Penguin (2024)Music supplied by SPD/Triple Scoop Music/Getty ImagesWolf howl via NPS & MSU Acoustic Atlas/Jennifer JerrettSlowed down dolphin whistle via Arik KershenbaumHyrax song via Arik KershenbaumPileated gibbon song via Rushenb CC BY-SA 4.0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:48 Chemotherapy efficacy varies with the menstrual cycleBreast cancer cells are more susceptible to chemotherapy at certain points in the menstrual cycle, new data in Nature suggests. Researchers studied the equivalent hormonal cycle in mice and found that during the oestrous phase, where progesterone levels are low, tumours are more susceptible to chemotherapy. The same effect was shown in humans in a small retrospective study. The team caution that a larger clinical trial would need to be conducted, but hope that this work could open up an, easy to implement, way to boost the effect of chemotherapy.Research Article: Bornes et al.News and Views: What is the best time of the month to treat breast cancer?09:22 Research HighlightsHow coffee changes your gut microbiota, and the first amber deposits found in Antarctica hint at an ancient rainforest.Research Highlight: Do you drink coffee? Ask your gutResearch Highlight: Antarctica's first known amber whispers of a vanished rainforest11:47 Is human-level artificial intelligence close?The latest AI system released by OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, is better able to break down problems into smaller chunks, making it closer to a human way of solving problems than other systems. This has reignited discussions about the likelihood of AIs achieving human-level intelligence. Although previously the realm of science fiction, researchers are now taking the idea of ‘artificial general intelligence', or AGI, more seriously. Although this technology has the potential to help tackle humanity's biggest challenges, there are concerns about the safety of such technology if it were to become autonomous.News Feature: How close is AI to human-level intelligence?21:43 Briefing ChatHow making a bank of centenarians' stem cells could help unlock the secrets of healthy ageing, and what some 1.5 million year old footprints reveal about how ancient hominin species may have interacted.Nature: What's the secret to living to 100? Centenarian stem cells could offer cluesNature: These two ancient human relatives crossed paths 1.5 million years agoSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI tools that help researchers design new proteins have resulted in a boom in designer molecules. However, these proteins are being churned out faster than they can be made and tested in labs.To overcome this, multiple protein-design competitions have popped up, with the aim of sifting out the functional from the fantastical. But while contests have helped drive key scientific advances in the past, it's unclear how to identify which problems to tackle and how best to select winners objectively.This is an audio version of our Feature: AI has dreamt up a blizzard of new proteins. Do any of them actually work? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:50 Fossilised faeces give news insights into dinosaurs' diets and riseA huge collection of fossilised digestive contents has provided clues as to how dinosaurs grew to become the dominant animals on the planet. Why these animals rose to dominance has been unclear, with one theory proposing that a chance event wiped out other species, whereas another suggests that dinosaurs had adaptations that better allowed them to thrive. By analysing over 500 vomit and faeces fossils, researchers have better identified what dinosaurs ate, and their interactions with other animals. The new work suggests both of these theories are correct, with dinosaurs benefiting from one or the other at different points in time. The researchers believe this work demonstrates how useful fossilised food contents are for understanding these ancient creatures.Research Article: Qvarnström et al.News and Views: Wastes of time — faeces and vomit track how dinosaurs rose to prominenceNews: Fossilized poo and vomit shows how dinosaurs rose to rule Earth10:05 Research HighlightsBacteria found on an asteroid actually came from Earth, and why play helps chimps to cooperate.Research Highlight: Bacteria found on a space rock turn out to be Earth-grownResearch Highlight: Chimps tickle and wrestle in play to pave the way for teamwork12:46 A commensal fungus found in mouse gutsBy testing mice across the United States, researchers have identified a fungus that is well adapted to living in the gastrointestinal tracts of mice, an important step in modelling the role these microorganisms play in the body. Fungi are known to be a constituent of the gut microbiome, but very little is known about what they do. Now, a team has identified that the fungus Kazachstania pintolopesii is likely a long-term resident of mice guts, which they hope will allow them to study how these microbes interact with the immune system, and the role they play in host defence and allergies.Research Article: Liao et al.21:57 The key takeaways from COP29The United Nations annual climate change conference, COP29, finished last week. Largely the discussions revolved around climate finance — the idea that wealthier countries who have benefitted most from past carbon emissions should pay to help poorer, vulnerable countries adapt to the effects of climate change. Although a last minute agreement was hammered out at the conference, not everyone was happy with the text and promised actions. We discuss this and the other key outcomes of COP29.Nature: Is the COP29 climate deal a historic breakthrough or letdown? Researchers reactSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:45 A squid-inspired device for needle-free drug deliveryInspired by squids' ability to shoot ink, a team of researchers have developed swallowable devices that can deliver tiny jets of drugs directly into the gut lining, circumventing the need for needles. Previous studies have shown that most people prefer to take medication in pill form, rather than as an injection, but many drugs are degraded as they pass through the digestive system. The team's new swallowable devices overcome this issue, and deliver drugs directly to where they need to be. So far, this approach has shown efficacy in animal models, but more work needs to be done to ensure their safety in humans.Research Article: Arrick et al.10:50 Research HighlightsThe largest ‘terror bird' fossil ever found, and a simple solution to help prevent premature births.Research Highlight: Huge carnivorous ‘terror bird' rivalled the giant panda in sizeResearch Highlight: Reducing pregnancy risk could be as easy as chewing gum12:52 A milder way to break down ‘forever chemicals'.Two papers describe how light-activated catalysts could be used to break down toxic ‘forever chemicals', hinting at a new way to clean up pollution caused by these persistent compounds. Forever chemicals contain multiple carbon-fluorine bonds that give them useful physical properties, but these bonds are some of the strongest in organic chemistry, making these compounds energetically difficult to break down. The new, light-based methods demonstrate low-energy ways to sever these bonds, a milestone that could make forever chemicals less permanent.Research Article: Zhang et al.Research Article: Liu et al.News and Views: Catalysts degrade forever chemicals with visible light21:04 Briefing ChatAnalysis of far-side soil highlights the Moon's turbulent past, and how CRISPR can help make sweeter tomatoes.Nature: First rocks returned from Moon's far side reveal ancient volcanic activityCNN: Findings from the first lunar far side samples raise new questions about the moon's historyNature: CRISPR builds a big tomato that's actually sweetSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

00:46 The role of skull bone marrow in ageingDuring ageing, bone marrow in the skull becomes an increasingly important site of blood-cell production. This is in stark contrast to most bones where the ability of marrow to make blood and immune cells declines. Studies in mice and humans showed that ageing results in skull bone-marrow expanding, and in mice this marrow was more resistant to inflammation and other hallmarks of ageing. The team behind the work hope by understanding this process better it may be possible to help organs become more resistant to ageing.Research Article: Koh et al.08:56 Research HighlightsElderly big brown bats show remarkable resistance to age-related hearing loss, and why search-engine algorithms may not be the main driver steering people towards misinformation.Research Highlight: No hearing aids needed: bats' ears stay keen well into old ageResearch Highlight: Don't blame search engines for sending users to unreliable sites11:38 How to make lead a useful material to date the Solar SystemResearchers have overcome a major hurdle preventing the radioactive isotope lead-205 from being used as a ‘clock' to date the age of the Solar System. 205Pb is made in some stars and thanks to its half life of around 17 million years has been proposed as a potential way to date ancient astronomical processes. However, exactly how much 205Pb can escape a star were unclear, limiting its dating potential. Now, researchers have mimicked the conditions seen in stars to pin down how much 205Pb can escape into space, paving the way for its use as a clock.Research Article: Leckenby et al.19:51 Briefing ChatHow millions of Android smartphones were used to map the Earth's ionosphere, and the ethical implications of a virologist who treated her own cancer.Nature: Google uses millions of smartphones to map the ionosphereNature: This scientist treated her own cancer with viruses she grew in the labSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Samantha Harvey's Booker Prize shortlisted novel Orbital is set inside an International Space Station-like vessel circling 250 miles above Earth. It looks at a day-in-the-life of the crew, investigating the contrasts they experience during the 16 orbits they make around the planet, crossing continents, oceans and the line separating night and day.On the latest episode of Nature hits the books, Samantha joins us to discuss why the ISS is a rich setting for fiction, the challenges of putting yourself in the shoes of an astronaut, and how distance can give new perspectives on global issues like climate change.Orbital Samantha Harvey Vintage (2024)Music supplied by Airae/Epidemic Sound Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.