Stay ConnectedThe Nature Podcast brings you the best stories from the world of science each week. We cover everything from astronomy to zoology, highlighting the most exciting research from each issue of the Nature journal. We meet the scientists behind the results and provide in-depth analysis from Nature‘s award-winning journalists.
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Many researchers have been critical of the biases that the publication process can introduce into science. For example, they argue that a focus on publishing interesting or significant results can give a false impression of what broader research is finding about a particular field.
To tackle this, some scientists have championed the publication of Registered Reports. These articles split the peer review process in two, first critically assessing the methodology of a research study before data is collected, and again when the results are found. The idea being to encourage robust research regardless of the outcome.
In this episode of Nature's Take we discuss Nature's recent adoption of the format, the pros and cons of Registered Reports, and what more needs to be done to tackle publication bias.
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The first draft of the human genome ushered in a new era of genetics research. Since its publication, researchers have constructed ever more accurate ‘reference genomes’ – baselines against which others are compared. But these are based on the DNA of a small number of people, and don’t represent the genetic variation known to exist across human populations. To address this, a consortium of researchers have published the first draft of a ‘pangenome’, which combines the genomes of 47 genetically diverse individuals. This draft provides a more complete picture of the human genome, and is the starting point for a project that aims to include sequences from 350 individuals.
Research article: Liao et al.
Research article: Vollger et al.
Research article: Guarracino et al.
News and Views Forum: Human pangenome supports analysis of complex genomic regions
A wearable sensor that lets users see infrared light, and how a vulture’s culture can influence its dining habits.
Research Highlight: Wearable sensor gives a glimpse of ‘invisible’ light
Research Highlight: What drives a scavenger’s diet? Vulture culture
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, a new phosphate-storing organelle found in fruit fly cells, and how extracted DNA revealed who held a deer-tooth pendant 20,000 years ago.
Nature News: New cellular ‘organelle’ discovered inside fruit-fly intestines
Nature News: Prehistoric pendant’s DNA reveals the person who held it
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Nature’s Kerri Smith and Heidi Ledford join us to discuss two Features published in Nature looking at topics surrounding women’s health. The first looks at efforts to understand how menopause affects brain health, while the second takes a deep-dive into research funding and shows how conditions affecting women more than men receive less money.
Feature: How menopause reshapes the brain
Feature: Women’s health research lacks funding – these charts show how
The herb that could be a new source of cannabinoid compounds, and the vibrating crystal that confirms Schrödinger’s cat.
Research Highlight: Old and new cannabis compounds are found in an African herb
Research Highlight: Schrödinger’s cat is verified by a vibrating crystal
Stars have a finite lifespan, and for many their fate is to expand as they reach the end of their lives. It’s long been speculated that these growing stars will consume any planets in their way, but this process has never been seen directly. Now though, a chance observation led to a team catching a dying star in the act of eating a Jupiter-like planet in the distant Milky Way.
Research article: De et al.
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, a clearer image of the supermassive black hole M87*, and how elephant seals catch some shut-eye while diving.
Nature News: Black-hole image reveals details of turmoil around the abyss
New York Times: Elephant Seals Take Power Naps During Deep Ocean Dives
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Last year, researchers announced that the Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab lowered the amount of amyloid protein plaques associated with the disease in the brains of participants in a clinical trial, and slowed their cognitive decline.
Now, researchers are looking to drug combinations, vaccines and gene therapy to tackle different stages of the disease, as they forge the next generation of treatments for the condition.
This is an audio version of our Feature: Conquering Alzheimer’s: a look at the therapies of the future
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When it comes to the structure of DNA, everyone thinks they know Rosalind Franklin’s role in its discovery. The story goes that her crucial data was taken by James Watson without her knowledge, helping him and Francis Crick solve the structure. However, new evidence has revealed that this wasn’t really the case. Rosalind Franklin was not a ‘wronged heroine’, she was an equal contributor to the discovery.
Comment: What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
How the growth of tiny iodine-engined satellites could damage the ozone layer, and how a pill-like detector that could measure radiotherapy dosages.
Research Highlight: How CubeSats could harm the ozone layer
Research Highlight: An easy-to-swallow pill monitors X-ray dosage
It’s recognized that multisensory experiences can create strong memories and that later-on, a single sensory experience can trigger memories of the whole event, like a specific smell conjuring a visual memory. But the neural mechanisms behind this are not well understood. Now, a team has shown that rich sensory experiences can create a direct neural circuit between the memory regions of fruit fly brains. This circuit increases memory strength in the flies, and helps explain how sense and memories are interlinked.
Research article: Okray et al.
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, how video calls could help parrots feel less isolated, and a new method for recycling wind turbine blades.
The Guardian: Parrots taught to video call each other become less lonely, finds research
Nature Video: How to recycle a wind turbine in a test tube
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Plastic waste is an enormous problem, with much of it being incinerated or ending up in landfill. One way to give plastics another life is to break them down into their individual components using heat, but this method yields low amounts of usable product. Now, a team demonstrates a proof-of-concept method of heating that wicks the plastic like a candle through a layer of carbon material. They show that this method is more efficient and could be an additional way of breaking down waste plastics.
Research article: Dong et al.
Physicists model the best way to soar on a playground swing, and how wearing ‘perfume’ helps male orchid bees find a mate.
Research Highlight: Physicists’ advice on how to swing high at the playground
Research Highlight: Better than Chanel: perfumed male bees draw more mates
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the runaway supermassive black hole that’s racing through the cosmos, and the bizarre genomes of yellow crazy ants.
Scientific American: Astronomers Spy a Giant Runaway Black Hole’s Starry Wake
Nature News: Crazy ants’ strange genomes are a biological first
Vote for How the Black Death got its start in the ‘Best Individual Episode: Science & Education’ category.
Vote for Racism in Health: the harms of biased medicine in the ‘Limited-Series & Specials: Health, Science & Education’ category.
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In the latest episode of Nature hits the books, psychologist Sander van der Linden joins us to discuss his new book Foolproof, which focuses on misinformation and what can be done to prevent people being duped, particularly by the falsehoods found online.
We discuss how misinformation messages are crafted, why they can be hard to shake once someone is exposed, and how Star Wars: Episode 3 helped in the fight against them…
Foolproof, Sander van der Linden, Fourth Estate (2023)
Music supplied by Airae/Epidemic Sound/Getty images.
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Researchers have shown that the suckers of octopuses are covered with specialised receptors that allow them to taste by touching things. Similar receptors are also found in squid, but there are differences that mirror differences in the animals’ hunting behaviours; while octopuses feel for their prey, squid pull things towards themselves before deciding whether or not to eat it.
Research article: Kang et al.
Research article: Allard et al.
Nature video: How octopuses taste with their arms
How climate change has been linked to a devastating avalanche in the Italian Alps, and evidence of hallucinogenic drug use in prehistoric Europe.
Research Highlight: A glacier’s catastrophic collapse is linked to global warming
Research Highlight: Hair buried in a cave shows hallucinogen use in ancient Europe
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, what climate scientists can learn from medieval descriptions of lunar eclipses; how to retrieve rock samples from the surface of Mars; and the ongoing debate about whether T. rex had lips.
Nature News: Medieval accounts of eclipses shine light on massive volcanic eruptions
Nature News: Mars rocks await a ride to Earth — can NASA deliver?
Nature News: Facelift for T. rex: analysis suggests teeth were covered by thin lips
Vote for How the Black Death got its start in the ‘Best Individual Episode: Science & Education’ category.
Vote for Racism in Health: the harms of biased medicine in the ‘Limited-Series & Specials: Health, Science & Education’ category.
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Supermassive black holes are found at the centre of galaxies across the universe. But observations of galaxies with more than one – caused by the merging of two galaxies – have been rare. Now, researchers have combined data from a number of telescopes and satellites, to reveal a pair of supermassive blackholes farther from Earth than any pair detected previously. They hope this will offer insights into how galaxies form.
Research article: Chen et al.
News and Views: Distant supermassive black holes spotted in galaxy merger
Why appetite can increase after dieting, and gliding mammals’ flight-associated genes.
Research Highlight: Can’t keep off lost weight? Blame your ‘hunger cells’
Research Highlight: How gliding mammals developed the flaps for ‘flight’
A team of researchers and clinicians report results of a clinical trial designed to test the ability of an AI to accurately interpret echocardiogram images – a technique frequently used to assess heart health. The results showed that the AI was as good at measuring a metric of cardiac function as a trained human, but was able to speed up the diagnosing process, suggesting this method could play a role in improving healthcare in future.
Research article: He et al.
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, we hear the ultrasonic sounds that stressed plants make, and discuss a 3D printed glass made from amino acids.
Nature News: Stressed plants ‘cry’ — and some animals can probably hear them
Nature News: 3D-printable glass is made from proteins and biodegrades
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Last month, a magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, killing an estimated 50,000 people. Two decades ago, researchers suggested that an earthquake in this area was likely, but exactly where and when it would strike were unknown.
This shows both the promise — and limitations — of the science of earthquake forecasting. Years of research suggest that it may be impossible to predict exactly when an earthquake will occur. As a result, many in the field have now shifted to identifying high risk fault segments to help policymakers take steps to avoid death and destruction.
This is an audio version of our Feature: What Turkey’s earthquake tells us about the science of seismic forecasting
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