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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Since the beginning oft he pandemic, researchers have searched for a biomarker which indicates immune protection from COVID-19 known as a correlate of protection. Now, the team developing the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have published the first results of their so-called 'breakthrough study' which indicated puts forwards thresholds of neutralising antibodies that they suggest correlate with protection. The hope is that, should these results be confirmed, such biomarkers could speed up the development of new vaccines, and provide better ways to monitor the efficacy of tweaked vaccine aimed at fighting variants.
News: Scientists identify long-sought marker for COVID vaccine success
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A historian reflects on the life of Chinese crop scientist Yuan Longping, and the possible influence of geothermal energy production on earthquake aftershocks.
In this episode:
00:46 Remembering Yuan Longping
Yuan Longping, one of China’s most famous scientists, died in May at the age of 90. Known as the ‘father of hybrid rice’, we reflect on his life and the impact of his research, which helped feed billions of people.
Obituary: Yuan Longping (1930–2021)
09:55 Research Highlights
The ancient and incredibly well-preserved beetle found in dinosaur poo, and a 5,000 year old, less transmissible strain of plague bacteria.
Research Highlight: A piece of Triassic poo yields a beautifully preserved beetle
Research Highlight: A hunter-gather’s bones yield the oldest known strain of plague
12:14 Geothermal power and earthquake aftershocks
In 2019, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake rippled through California, except – according to some researchers – at the site of a geothermal power plant. Now, a paper in Nature tries to understand why.
Research paper: Im et al.
16:47 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the new skull fossils that might expand the human family tree, and a new estimate of the age of an ancient ‘living fossil’.
Nature News: Mysterious skull fossils expand human family tree — but questions remain
Science: This ‘living fossil’ could reach 100 years old
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A deluge of trials has stress-tested the systems that produce evidence.
Around the world, researchers have raced to test therapies to treat COVID-19. The speed and urgency of this task has revealed both the weaknesses in the collection and use of research-based evidence, and how well-run trials have helped save lives.
This is an audio version of our feature: How COVID broke the evidence pipeline
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Early vaccine trials did not include pregnant or breastfeeding people which left some people asking whether COVID vaccines are safe and effective for those who are breastfeeding. The latest data suggests that they are and in this episode of Coronapod we dig into the questions scientists have been asking. Could the vaccine make it into breastmilk? Can COVID antibodies be transferred to a breastfeeding child? And if so, how?
News Feature: COVID vaccines and breastfeeding: what the data say
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Researchers isolate the protein thought to allow birds to sense magnetic fields, and astronomers pinpoint the stars that could view Earth as an exoplanet.
In this episode:
00:45 Homing in on the molecule that helps birds find their way.
How migratory birds sense magnetic fields is a long standing mystery in sensory biology. Now researchers have isolated a molecule, found within the eyes of these birds, which might act as a compass using quantum mechanics.
Research paper: Xu et al.
07:28 Research Highlights
How spending time on land boosts the brainpower of amphibious fish, and the neural pathway of sneezing has been revealed.
Research Highlight: Amphibious fish get smart — by working out on land
Research Highlight: How the brain makes us go ‘Achoo!’
09:52 Exoplanet Earth
Astronomers have catalogued almost 2,000 stars from which the Earth could be detected passing in front of the Sun. The team suggest that these stars would be good targets to search for planets that could harbour life.
Research Article: Kaltenegger & Faherty
18:46 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the unexpected science kicked up by the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, and how science is embracing the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Nature News: Mars helicopter kicks up ‘cool’ dust clouds — and unexpected science
Nature News: How scientists are embracing NFTs
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After a slew of wildly successful vaccine trials, this week marked a more underwhelming result. The third mRNA vaccine to complete phase three trials, developed by CureVac, is just 47% effective at staving off disease according to preliminary data. This is a stark contrast with previous mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer BioNtec which returned around twice that efficacy in their trials. In this episode of Coronapod, we ask why the CureVac vaccine has faltered, and what this might mean for the future of the pandemic and mRNA vaccine development.
News: CureVac COVID vaccine let-down spotlights mRNA design challenges
News Feature: How COVID unlocked the power of RNA vaccines
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The pros and pitfalls of collaboration, with insights from researchers and beyond.
This week, Nature has a special issue on collaborations, looking at the benefits to science and society that working together can bring. In this collaboration-themed edition of the podcast, we’re joined by Nature’s David Payne to discuss the issue, and the state of research collaborations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this episode:
02:49 How are research collaborations changing?
To answer the biggest questions, research teams are coming together in larger numbers than ever before. But the scientific enterprise hasn’t been set up to support or reward team efforts. We look at how funding systems and methods for giving research-credit need to adapt, to match the reality of modern science.
Feature: How the COVID pandemic is changing global science collaborations
Careers Feature: The authorship rows that sour scientific collaborations
Careers Feature: ‘We need to talk’: ways to prevent collaborations breaking down
16:45 Community-research collaborations
In order to do research that can help communities, scientists need to develop relationships with community members. Creating these bonds can be fraught with difficulty, so we examine how to make them work using the example of Flint, Michigan in the US.
Comment: Community–academic partnerships helped Flint through its water crisis
Nature Video: China and the UK: Making an international collaboration work
Take Nature’s 2021 International Salary and Job Satisfaction Survey
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The global burden of COVID-19 has predominantly been measured using metrics like case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths. But the long term health impacts are more difficult to capture. In this episode of Coronapod we discuss one way that public health experts are trying to get to grips with the problem using metrics such as disability adjusted life years (DALYs) and quality adjusted life years (QALYs).
As new data suggests that COVID could leave millions with lasting disability or ill-health, we ask how changing the lens through which we asses the impacts of COVID could change public health policies, the perception of risk and even the behaviour of individuals.
News Feature: The four most urgent questions about long COVID
Comment: Count the cost of disability caused by COVID-19
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An AI that designs computer chips in hours, and zooming in on DNA’s complex 3D structures.
In this episode:
00:46 An AI computer microchip designer
Working out where to place the billions of components that a modern computer chip needs can take human designers months and, despite decades of research, has defied automation. This week, however, a team from Google report a new machine learning algorithm that does the job in a fraction of the time, and is already helping design their next generation of AI processors.
Research Article: Mirhoseini et al.
News and Views: AI system outperforms humans in designing floorplans for microchips
Editorial: Google is using AI to speed up microchip design — a welcome advance that must be handled with care
07:00 Research Highlights
The blood proteins that may help assess cardiovascular fitness, and how the rock-hard teeth of a mollusc could inspire stronger 3D-printed materials.
Research Highlight: How fit can you get? These blood proteins hold a clue
Research Highlight: The surprise hidden in the teeth of the ‘wandering meatloaf’
09:47 Zooming in on the 3D structure of DNA
In order to switch genes on, DNA often needs to twist up into complex 3D shapes, bringing distant parts of a genome together. Understanding precisely which sections come into contact has been difficult, but now a new technique is helping to reveal them at an individual base-pair level.
Research paper: Hua et al.
15:22 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the missing sections from the human genome sequence that have now been filled, and NASA announces two missions to Venus.
Stat: Researchers claim they have sequenced the entirety of the human genome — including the missing parts
National Geographic: NASA will head to Venus for first time in roughly 30 years
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Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been allegations that SARS-CoV-2 could have originated in a Chinese lab. A phase one WHO investigation concluded that a 'lab-leak' was "extremely unlikely" and yet, the theory has seen a resurgence in recent weeks with several scientists wading into the debate.
In this episode of Coronapod, we delve into what scientists have been saying and ask how and why the 'lab-leak' hypothesis has gained so much traction. We ask if the way we communicate complex and nuanced science could be fuelling division, and what the fallout could be for international collaboration on ending the pandemic.
News: Divisive COVID ‘lab leak’ debate prompts dire warnings from researchers
Science: Investigate the origins of COVID-19
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