Audio long read: What scientists have learnt from COVID lockdowns
Conclusions suggest that countries that acted swiftly to bring in strict measures did best at preserving lives and their economies, but analysing the competing costs and benefits of lockdowns has been tough, as this work often comes down not to scientific calculations, but value judgements.This is an audio version of our Feature: What scientists have learnt from COVID lockdowns Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. (Source: Nature Podcast)
Source: Nature Podcast - September 30, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
A trove of ancient fish fossils helps trace the origin of jaws
In this episode:00:45 Piecing together the early history of jawed vertebratesA wealth of fossils discovered in southern China shed new light onto the diversity of jawed and jawless fish during the Silurian period, over 400 million years ago. Nature editor Henry Gee explains the finds and what they mean for the history of jawed vertebrates like us.Research article: Zhu et al.Research article: Gai et al.Research article: Andreev et al.Research article: Andreev et al.News and Views: Fossils reveal the deep roots of jawed vertebrates09:09 Research HighlightsMice studies help explain why some people with a rare genetic conditio...
Source: Nature Podcast - September 28, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Huge dataset shows 80% of US professors come from just 20% of institutions
00:46 Inequalities in US faculty hiringIn the US, where a person gained their PhD can have an outsized influence on their future career. Now, using a decade worth of data, researchers have shown there are stark inequalities in the hiring process, with 80% of US faculty trained at just 20% of institutions.Research article: Wapman et al.09:01 Research HighlightsHow wildlife can influence chocolate production, and the large planets captured by huge stars.Research Highlight: A chocoholic’s best friends are the birds and the batsResearch Highlight: Giant stars turn to theft to snag jumbo planets11:42 Briefing ChatWe discuss s...
Source: Nature Podcast - September 21, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Complex synthetic cells bring scientists closer to artificial cellular life
00:46 Synthetic cells made from bacterial bitsFor years researchers have been interested in creating artificial cells, as they could be useful for manufacturing compounds and understanding how life works. Now a new method shows how this can be accomplished using polymer droplets that integrate components of burst bacteria. The synthesised cells are able to perform translation and transcription and have several features that resemble real cells, like a proto-nucleus and a cytoskeleton.Research article: Xu et al.News and Views: Life brought to artificial cells09:33 Research HighlightsA mysterious ancient creature identified ...
Source: Nature Podcast - September 14, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Missing foot reveals world ’s oldest amputation
00:46 Evidence of ancient surgeryA skeleton with an amputated foot discovered in Borneo has been dated to 31,000 years ago, suggesting that complex surgery might be much older than previously thought. The person whose foot was removed survived the procedure, which the researchers behind the find say shows the ‘surgeon’ must have had detailed knowledge of anatomy, and likely had access to antiseptic compounds.Research article: Maloney et al.News and Views: A surgical dawn 31,000 years ago in Borneo10:12 Research HighlightsMummified reptiles hint at severe drought 250 million years ago, and mapping avalanche risk in remo...
Source: Nature Podcast - September 7, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Audio long read: Hybrid brains – the ethics of transplanting human neurons into animals
The development of brain chimaeras – made up of human and animal neurons – is an area of research that has hugely expanded in the past five years. Proponents say that these systems are yielding important insights into health and disease, but others say the chimeras represent an ethical grey zone, because of the potential to blur the line between humans and other animals, or to recapitulate human-like cognition in an animal.This is an audio version of our Feature: Hybrid brains: the ethics of transplanting human neurons into animals Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more ...
Source: Nature Podcast - August 26, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
How to make water that's full of holes
In this episode:00:45 How adding pores helps water carry gasAlthough water is an excellent solvent, it’s limited in its ability to dissolve gasses. To overcome this a team have developed ‘porous water’ containing tiny cages that can hold large numbers of gas molecules. The team suggest that this technology could have multiple medical applications, including in the development of artificial blood.Research article: Erdosy et al.News and Views: Suspended pores boost gas solubility in water11:35 Research HighlightsSynthetic ‘nerves’ help mice to walk, and planets orbiting a star that’s due to go supernova.Research ...
Source: Nature Podcast - August 24, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Do protons have intrinsic charm? New evidence suggests yes
00:47 Evidence of a proton’s charmFor decades, scientists have debated whether protons have ‘intrinsic charm’, meaning they contain elementary particles known as charm quarks. Now, using machine learning to comb through huge amounts of experimental data, a team have shown evidence that the charm quark can be found within a proton, which may have important ramifications in the search for new physics.Research article: The NNPDF CollaborationNews and Views: Evidence at last that the proton has intrinsic charm11:26 Research HighlightsHow sea sponges ‘sneeze’ to clean their filters, and why bonobos’ infantile behavi...
Source: Nature Podcast - August 17, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Nature's Take: what's next for the preprint revolution
In this first episode of Nature's Take, we get four of Nature's staff around microphones to get their expert take on preprints. These pre-peer-review open access articles have spiked in number over recent years and have cemented themselves as an integral part of scientific publishing. But this has not been without its issues.In this discussion we cover a lot of ground. Amongst other things, we ask whether preprints could help democratise science or contribute to a loss of trust in scientists. We pick apart the relationship between preprints and peer-reviewed journals and tackle some common misconceptions. We ask how prepri...
Source: Nature Podcast - August 15, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Why low temperatures could help starve tumours of fuel
Cold exposure in mice activates brown fat to deny tumours glucose, and the future of extreme heatwaves. 00:45 How cold temperatures could starve tumoursA team of researchers have found that exposing mice to the cold could starve tumour cells of the blood glucose they need to thrive. They showed that the cold temperatures deprived the tumours of fuel by activating brown fat – a tissue that burns through glucose to keep body temperature up. The team also showed preliminary evidence of the effect occurring in one person with cancer, but say that more research is needed before this method can be considered for clinical use.R...
Source: Nature Podcast - August 10, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Massive Facebook study reveals a key to social mobility
00:47 The economic benefits of social connectionsBy looking at data gathered from billions of Facebook friendships, researchers have shown that having more connections with people from higher income groups could increase future incomes by 20%. They also show how such connections can be formed, and how schools and other institutions could help to improve peoples’ opportunities in the future.Research Article: Chetty et al.Research Article: Chetty et al.News and Views: The social connections that shape economic prospectsLink to the data11:06 Research HighlightsHow balloons could help measure quakes on Venus, and the parasit...
Source: Nature Podcast - August 3, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Coronapod: the open-science plan to unseat big Pharma and tackle vaccine inequity
Inequity has been a central feature of the COVID19 pandemic. From health outcomes to access to vaccines, COVID has pushed long-standing disparities out of the shadows and into the public eye and many of these problems are global. In this episode of Coronapod we dig into a radical new collaboration of 15 countries - led by the UN, and modelled on open-science. The project, called the mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub, aims to create independent vaccine hubs that could supply the global south, and take on the giants of the pharmaceutical industry in the process. But the road ahead is long - the challenges are co...
Source: Nature Podcast - July 29, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
How humans adapted to digest lactose — after thousands of years of milk drinking
We present its grim findingsNature News: Supercharged biotech rice yields 40% more grainSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. (Source: Nature Podcast)
Source: Nature Podcast - July 27, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
How researchers have pinpointed the origin of 'warm-blooded' mammals
00:46 When did mammals start to regulate their temperature?The evolution of ‘warm bloodedness’ allowed mammals to live in a more diverse range of habitats, but working out when this occurred has been difficult. To try and pin down a date, researchers have studied the fossilised remains of ancient mammals' inner ears, which suggest that this key evolutionary leap appeared around 230 million years ago.Research Article: Araujo et al.News and Views: Evolution of thermoregulation as told by ear07:14 Research HighlightsA new surgical glue that’s both strong and easy to remove, and southern fin whales return to Antarctica a...
Source: Nature Podcast - July 20, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Ancient mud reveals the longest record of climate from the tropics
00:46 A long-term record of climate in the tropicsTo understand the history of the Earth’s climate, researchers often rely on things like ice cores, which contain layered frozen insights of thousands of years of history. However, in the tropics long-term records like these have been absent. Now researchers have uncovered a sediment core in Peru which reveals around 700,000 years of climatic history.Research Article: Rodbell et al.News and Views: Sediment study finds the pulse of tropical glaciers09:40 Research HighlightsThe biological ‘helmets’ that protect shrimp from themselves, and why the colour of wine bottles m...
Source: Nature Podcast - July 13, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
