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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Hundreds of scientists have responded to a survey asking about harassment and abuse during the pandemic. The results paint a picture which is as concerning as it is shocking. In this episode of Coronapod we discuss the kinds of abuse scientists are facing, try to pick apart where it is comes from and ask what can be done about it?
News Feature: ‘I hope you die’: how the COVID pandemic unleashed attacks on scientists
Careers feature: Real-life stories of online harassment — and how scientists got through it
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The neurons behind acupuncture’s effect on inflammation, and how antibiotics affect gut bacteria.
In this episode:
00:54 The neuronal basis for acupuncture’s effect on inflammation
In mice, electroacupuncture has been shown to reduce inflammation, but only when certain points on the body are stimulated. Why this is has puzzled scientists, but now, researchers have identified the specific neurons that are involved. They hope that this knowledge could be used in future to help treat certain inflammatory-related diseases.
Research article: Liu et al.
News and Views: Electroacupuncture activates neurons to switch off inflammation
07:28 Research Highlights
The Aztec origins of an obsidian ‘spirit mirror’, and the damage done by a Soviet plutonium complex.
Research Highlight: A ‘spirit mirror’ used in Elizabeth I’s court had Aztec roots
Research Highlight: Cold-war spy pictures reveal a Soviet nuclear ‘cloud generator’
10:18 Assessing antibiotics’ collateral damage.
Antibiotics are known to cause damage to the communities of bacteria that live in our guts. To better understand why this happens, a team has mapped the effects that different antibiotics have on individual gut-bacteria species, which may offer new insights into preventing this collateral damage.
Research article: Maier et al.
17:32 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the latest species to be declared extinct in the US, and a potential planet that orbits three stars.
New York Times: Protected Too Late: U.S. Officials Report More Than 20 Extinctions
New York Times: This May Be the First Planet Found Orbiting 3 Stars at Once
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New data suggests that inexpensive, high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters can effectively scrub SARS-CoV-2 particles from the air in hospital COVID wards. The result validates previous studies carried out in controlled conditions. Currently, HEPA filters are not routinely used in hospital settings, but researchers suggest they could could help mitigate the risk of tramission of airborne viruses.
In addition a new study has demonstrated the effectiveness of mask wearing, with surgical masks proving more effective than those made of cloth. The trial, which involved 350,000 participants in Bangladesh, is the latest in a long line of studies demonstrating mask efficacy - but this is the first randomised control trial of its kind. We ask if this gold-standard trial will prove to be the final word on the effectiveness of masks.
News: Real-world data show that filters clean COVID-causing virus from air
News: Face masks for COVID pass their largest test yet
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AI weather forecasters, mapping the human brain and the 2021 science Nobel prizes.
In this episode:
00:52 Improving the accuracy of weather forecasts with AI
Short-term rain predictions are a significant challenge for meteorologists. Now, a team of researchers have come up with an artificial-intelligence based system that weather forecasters preferred to other prediction methods.
Research article: Ravuri et al.
08:02 Research Highlights
The vaping robot that could help explain why some e-cigarettes damage lungs, and the sea-slugs that steal chloroplasts to boost egg production.
Research Highlight: This robot vapes for science
Research Highlight: Solar-powered slugs have a bright reproductive future
10:29 A map of the motor cortex
A group of researchers are undertaking an enormous task: to make a cellular atlas of the entire brain. This week, they publish a suite of papers that has accomplished this feat for one part of the brain — the motor cortex.
Research Article: BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network
News and Views: A census of cell types in the brain’s motor cortex
Editorial: Neuroscientists make strides towards deciphering the human brain
17:58 Nobel News
Flora Graham from the Nature Briefing joins us to talk about the winners of this year’s science Nobels.
News: Medicine Nobel goes to scientists who discovered biology of senses
News: Climate modellers and theorist of complex systems share physics Nobel
News: ‘Elegant’ catalysts that tell left from right scoop chemistry Nobel
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Starting up in science: behind the scenes
In this bonus episode, the four Nature reporters behind Starting up in science discuss how the project came about, what it was like to follow two scientists for three years, and what the series has achieved.
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Episode 4
Ali interviews for a critical grant. While she is waiting for the result, the pandemic throws their labs into chaos. Then comes a personal crisis.
Read a written version of Starting up in science
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Episode 3
As newly-minted principal investigators, Ali and Dan have grand plans for their research – but science is slow, especially when other demands loom large: hiring staff, mentoring and teaching students and, of course, the race to secure funding.
Read a written version of Starting up in science
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Episode 2
Ali and Dan have landed positions as the heads of their very own labs. But how did they get to the starting line? Every scientist’s journey is different, and in this episode we hear Ali and Dan’s, which covers years, thousands of miles, and some very difficult decisions.
Read a written version of Starting up in science
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Every year, thousands of scientists struggle to launch their own labs. For three years, a reporting team from Nature documented the lives of married couple Alison Twelvetrees and Daniel Bose as they worked to get their fledgling research groups off the ground.
Frustrations over funding, a global pandemic, and a personal trauma have made this journey anything but simple for Ali and Dan. Listen to their story in Starting up in science.
Episode 1
What does it take to start up in science? Meet two biologists fighting the odds to build their careers and break new ground. But their first priority is getting grants – without them, their labs might not stay afloat.
Read a written version of Starting up in science
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Australian scientists are developing new technologies to help protect coral from climate change.
Earlier this year, a team of researchers used a mist-machine to artificially brighten clouds in order to block sunlight above Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The project is the world’s first field trial of marine cloud brightening and is among a number of techniques and technologies being developed to save the country’s reefs from the worst effects of climate change.
This is an audio version of our feature: Can artificially altered clouds save the Great Barrier Reef?
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