Tongan volcano eruption leaves scientists with unanswered questions
Scientists scramble to understand the devastating Tongan volcano eruption, and modelling how societal changes might alter carbon emissions.In this episode:00:46 Understanding the Tongan eruptionOn the 15th of January, a volcano in the South Pacific Ocean erupted, sending ash into the upper atmosphere, and unleashing a devastating tsunami that destroyed homes on Tonga’s nearby islands. Now scientists are trying to work out exactly what happened during the eruption — and what it means for future volcanic risks.News Feature: Why the Tongan eruption will go down in the history of volcanology08:49 Research HighlightsThe gen...
Source: Nature Podcast - February 16, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts

Tongan volcano eruption leaves scientists with unanswered questions
Scientists scramble to understand the devastating Tongan volcano eruption, and modelling how societal changes might alter carbon emissions.In this episode:00:46 Understanding the Tongan eruptionOn the 15th of January, a volcano in the South Pacific Ocean erupted, sending ash into the upper atmosphere, and unleashing a devastating tsunami that destroyed homes on Tonga’s nearby islands. Now scientists are trying to work out exactly what happened during the eruption — and what it means for future volcanic risks.News Feature: Why the Tongan eruption will go down in the history of volcanology08:49 Research HighlightsThe gen...
Source: Nature Podcast - February 16, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts

Coronapod: How has COVID impacted mental health?
Studying mental health in populations is not a simple task, but as the pandemic has continued, mounting concerns have mobilised researchers.Now, researchers have used data from helplines in 20 countries to assess the impacts that COVID, as well as associated political and public health measures like financial assistance programs and lockdowns, have had on mental health. Contrary to expectations, loneliness and concerns about the impacts of the pandemic drove most of the callers, rather than imminent threats such as suicidal thoughts or abuse.News: Millions of helpline calls reveal how COVID affected mental healthOmicr...
Source: Nature Podcast - December 3, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts

Coronapod: How has COVID impacted mental health?
Studying mental health in populations is not a simple task, but as the pandemic has continued, mounting concerns have mobilised researchers.Now, researchers have used data from helplines in 20 countries to assess the impacts that COVID, as well as associated political and public health measures like financial assistance programs and lockdowns, have had on mental health. Contrary to expectations, loneliness and concerns about the impacts of the pandemic drove most of the callers, rather than imminent threats such as suicidal thoughts or abuse.News: Millions of helpline calls reveal how COVID affected mental healthOmicr...
Source: Nature Podcast - December 3, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts

Earliest human footprints in North America, dating violins with tree rings, and the social life of DNA
Contributing Correspondent Lizzie Wade joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss fossilized footprints left on a lake shore in North America sometime before the end of Last Glacial Maximum —possibly the earliest evidence for humans on the continent. Read the research. Next, Paolo Cherubini, a senior scientist in the dendrosciences research group at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, discusses using tree rings to date and authenticate 17th and 18th c entury violins worth millions of dollars. Finally, in this month’s installment of the series of book interviews on race and science, guest host A...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - September 29, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Science Tags: Scientific Community Source Type: podcasts

Earliest human footprints in North America, dating violins with tree rings, and the social life of DNA
Contributing Correspondent Lizzie Wade joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss fossilized footprints left on a lake shore in North America sometime before the end of Last Glacial Maximum—possibly the earliest evidence for humans on the continent. Read the research. Next, Paolo Cherubini, a senior scientist in the dendrosciences research group at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, discusses using tree rings to date and authenticate 17th and 18th century violins worth millions of dollars. Finally, in this month’s installment of the series of book interviews on race and science, gues...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - September 23, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts

Earliest human footprints in North America, dating violins with tree rings, and the social life of DNA
Contributing Correspondent Lizzie Wade joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss fossilized footprints left on a lake shore in North America sometime before the end of Last Glacial Maximum—possibly the earliest evidence for humans on the continent. Read the research. Next, Paolo Cherubini, a senior scientist in the dendrosciences research group at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, discusses using tree rings to date and authenticate 17th and 18th century violins worth millions of dollars. Finally, in this month’s installment of the series of book interviews on race and science, guest host A...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - September 23, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts

A risky clinical trial design, and attacks on machine learning
Charles Piller, an investigative journalist for Science, talks with host Sarah Crespi about a risky trial of vitamin D in asthmatic children that has caused a lot of concern among ethicists. They also discuss how the vitamin D trial connects with a possibly dangerous push to compare new treatments with placebos instead of standard-of-care treatments in clinical trials. *Note of correction: At 9:10 in the Vitamin D trial segment, the host says it is unknown if bone fractures appeared  in placebo or treatment groups. In fact, while this information was not disclosed in a peer-reviewed publication, this is known through deta...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - August 12, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Science Tags: Scientific Community Source Type: podcasts

Oldest African burial site uncovers Stone Age relationship with death
The earliest evidence of deliberate human burial in Africa, and a metal-free rechargeable battery.Listen to our mini-series ‘Stick to the Science’: when science gets political and vote for the show in this year’s Webby Awards.In this episode:00:44 Human burial practices in Stone Age AfricaThe discovery of the burial site of a young child in a Kenyan cave dated to around 78 thousand years ago sheds new light on how Stone Age populations treated their dead.Research Article: Martinón-Torres et al.News and Views: A child’s grave is the earliest known burial site in Africa09:15 Research HighlightsHow warming seas led t...
Source: Nature Podcast - May 5, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts

Oldest African burial site uncovers Stone Age relationship with death
The earliest evidence of deliberate human burial in Africa, and a metal-free rechargeable battery.Listen to our mini-series ‘Stick to the Science’: when science gets political and vote for the show in this year’s Webby Awards.In this episode:00:44 Human burial practices in Stone Age AfricaThe discovery of the burial site of a young child in a Kenyan cave dated to around 78 thousand years ago sheds new light on how Stone Age populations treated their dead.Research Article: Martinón-Torres et al.News and Views: A child’s grave is the earliest known burial site in Africa09:15 Research HighlightsHow warming seas led t...
Source: Nature Podcast - May 5, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts

What fruit flies could teach scientists about brain imaging
Ultra-precise measurements connect brain activity and energy use in individual fruit-fly neurons.Vote for our mini-series ‘Stick to the Science’: when science gets political in this year’s Webby Awards.In this episode:00:45 How brain cells use energyA team of researchers have looked in individual fruit-fly neurons to better understand how energy use and information processing are linked – which may have important implications for future fMRI studies in humans.Research Article: Mann et al.07:04 Research HighlightsA tough but flexible material inspired by lobster underbellies, and research reveals that red meat co...
Source: Nature Podcast - April 28, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts

What fruit flies could teach scientists about brain imaging
Ultra-precise measurements connect brain activity and energy use in individual fruit-fly neurons.Vote for our mini-series ‘Stick to the Science’: when science gets political in this year’s Webby Awards.In this episode:00:45 How brain cells use energyA team of researchers have looked in individual fruit-fly neurons to better understand how energy use and information processing are linked – which may have important implications for future fMRI studies in humans.Research Article: Mann et al.07:04 Research HighlightsA tough but flexible material inspired by lobster underbellies, and research reveals that red meat co...
Source: Nature Podcast - April 28, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts

Coronapod: A whistle-blower ’s quest to take politics out of coronavirus surveillance
Rick Bright exposed former president Trump's political meddling in the US COVID response. Now he is championing a new privately funded initiative to track viral spread and combat new variants. We discuss the challenges of collecting data on a rapidly spreading virus, from transmission dynamics to genomic surveillance. We also ask why a veteran government scientist like Bright, the ex-director of the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, would take a new path in the private sector.News Q&A: Pandemic whistle-blower: we need a non-political way to track virusesNews: Why US coronavirus t...
Source: Nature Podcast - April 9, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts

Coronapod: A whistle-blower ’s quest to take politics out of coronavirus surveillance
Rick Bright exposed former president Trump's political meddling in the US COVID response. Now he is championing a new privately funded initiative to track viral spread and combat new variants. We discuss the challenges of collecting data on a rapidly spreading virus, from transmission dynamics to genomic surveillance. We also ask why a veteran government scientist like Bright, the ex-director of the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, would take a new path in the private sector.News Q&A: Pandemic whistle-blower: we need a non-political way to track virusesNews: Why US coronavirus t...
Source: Nature Podcast - April 9, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts