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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Copyright: © Springer Nature Limited
The cross-discipline effort to work our how ancient humans learned to count.
In this episode:
00:45 Number origins
Around the world, archaeologists, linguists and a host of other researchers are trying to answer some big questions – when, and how, did humans learn to count? We speak to some of the scientists at the forefront of this effort.
News Feature: How did Neanderthals and other ancient humans learn to count?
07:47 Research Highlights
How sea anemones influence clownfish stripes, and how skin-to-skin contact can improve survival rates for high-risk newborns.
Research Highlight: How the clownfish gets its stripes
Research Highlight: Nestling skin-to-skin right after birth saves fragile babies’ lives
09:48 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, an upper limit for human ageing, and could tardigrades survive a collision with the moon?
Scientific American: Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests
Science: Hardy water bears survive bullet impacts—up to a point
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A vaccine candidate for a neglected tropical disease, and calls to extend the 14-day limit on embryo research.
In this episode:
00:46 A vaccine candidate for an important livestock disease
African animal trypanosomiasis is a parasitic disease that kills millions of cattle each year, affecting livelihoods and causing significant economic costs in many sub-Saharan countries. Developing a vaccine against the disease has proved difficult as the parasite has a wealth of tricks to evade the immune system. This week however, a team of researchers have created a vaccine candidate that shows early promise in mice.
Research Article: Autheman et al.
08:27 Research Highlights
A tapeworm infection helps worker ants live longer (at a cost), and how humanity’s shift to farming influenced plant-life in pre-industrial times.
Research Highlight: Tapeworm infestation gives lowly ants long life
Research Highlight: Our radical changes to Earth’s greenery began long ago — with farms, not factories
11:21 New guidelines for stem cell research
For the first time since 2016, the International Society for Stem Cell Research has updated its guidelines for biomedical research involving human embryos. We discuss the rapid advances in the field over the past five years, and how the new guidelines have had to change to keep pace with them.
News: 14-day limit on growing human embryos in lab dropped by advisory body
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Scientists are trying to figure out whether these pervasive plastic specks are dangerous.
Wherever they look – from the bottom of oceans to the top of mountains – researchers are uncovering tiny specks of plastic, known as microplastics.
Scientists are trying to understand the potential impacts of ingesting these pervasive plastics but early results are ambiguous, as some experiments might not reflect the diversity of microplastics that exist in the real world.
This is an audio version of our feature: Microplastics are everywhere — but are they harmful?
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Smouldering fires lay dormant before bursting back into flame in spring.
In this episode:
00:56 The mysterious overwintering forest fires
Researchers have shown that fires can smoulder under snow in frozen northern forests before flaring up the following spring. Understanding how these so-called ‘zombie’ fires start and spread is vital in the fight against climate change.
Research Article: Scholten et al.
07:39 Research Highlights
Aesthetic bias means pretty plants receive the most research attention, and ancient tooth gunk reveals the evolution of the mouth microbiome.
Research Highlight: Flashy plants draw outsize share of scientists’ attention
Research Highlight: Microbes in Neanderthals’ mouths reveal their carb-laden diet
10:04 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, Voyager 1 detects a faint interstellar ‘hum’, and a trove of Neanderthal bones found in an Italian cave.
Reuters: Faraway NASA probe detects the eerie hum of interstellar space
The Guardian: Remains of nine Neanderthals found in cave south of Rome
Video: Hawaii’s surprise volcanic eruption: Lessons from Kilauea 2018
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Over the past few weeks, India has been experiencing a devastating second wave of COVID-19, recording hundreds of thousands of new cases a day.
Evidence is growing that a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus known as B.1.617, first detected in India in October, may be driving this wave.
On this week’s Coronapod we talk about the race to learn more about B.1.617, with early results suggesting it may be more transmissible and could cause more severe disease.
News: Coronavirus variants are spreading in India — what scientists know so far
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A new neural interface lets people type with their mind, and a crafting journey into materials science.
In this episode:
00:45 A brain interface to type out thoughts
Researchers have developed a brain-computer interface that is able to read brain signals from people thinking about handwriting, and translate them into on-screen text. The team hope this technology could be used to help people with paralysis to communicate quicker than before.
Research Article: Willett et al.
News and Views: Neural interface translates thoughts into type
Video: The BCI handwriting system in action
07:37 Research Highlights
Light-sensitive cells help headless worms ‘see’ with their bodies, and a wearable device that monitors itchiness.
Research Highlight: How headless worms see the light to steer
Research Highlight: How itchy are you? A new device knows precisely
10:26 The science of everyday materials
Materials scientist Anna Ploszajski joins us to talk about her new book Handmade, which details how her journey into craft helped shape her materials research.
Book review: From spoons to semiconductors — we are what we make
18:26 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the genomes of some viruses that contain a very unusual DNA nucleobase, and the smouldering nuclear reactions that remain in the wreckage of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Nature: Weird viral DNA spills secrets to biologists
Science: ‘It’s like the embers in a barbecue pit.’ Nuclear reactions are smoldering again at Chernobyl
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In surprise news this week, the US government announced its support for waiving patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines, in an effort to boost supplies around the world.As fewer than 1% of people living in low-income countries have received COVID-19 vaccines, it is hoped that this move is a major step towards addressing this inequity by allowing manufacturers to legally produce generic versions of vaccines. We discuss the next steps that need to be taken to make this a reality, and why there is opposition to the plan.
Also on the podcast, we look at another aspect of coronavirus inequity: the sharing of genomic data. Around the world, researchers are racing to upload SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences to repositories, to help in the fight against the pandemic. One popular data repository, GISAID, requires users to sign in and acknowledge those whose data they analyse. Although a growing faction of scientists from wealthy nations are calling for the removal of gatekeeping requirements, scientists in the global south are pushing back, arguing that this will deprive them of credit and chances to participate in big-data analyses.
News: In shock move, US backs waiving patents on COVID vaccines
News: Why some researchers oppose unrestricted sharing of coronavirus genome data
News: Scientists call for fully open sharing of coronavirus genome data
Science: Coronavirus sequence trove sparks frustration
New York Times: Pfizer Reaps Hundreds of Millions in Profits From Covid Vaccine
Washington Post: Poor countries may not be vaccinated until 2024. Here’s how to prevent that.
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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 Africa
The 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 Africa
09:15 Research Highlights
How warming seas led to a record low in Northwestern Pacific typhoons, and the Arctic bird that maintains a circadian rhythm despite 24 hour sunlight.
Research Highlight: Warming seas brought an eerie calm to a stormy region
Research Highlight: The world’s northernmost bird is a clock-watcher
11:35 A metal-free rechargeable battery
Lithium-ion batteries have revolutionised portable electronics, but there are significant issues surrounding their recyclability and the mining of the metals within them. To address these problems, a team of researchers have developed a metal-free rechargeable battery that breaks down to its component parts on demand.
Research Article: Nguyen et al.
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For more than a century, public health researchers have demonstrated how poverty and discrimination drive disease and the coronavirus pandemic has only reinforced this.
In a Coronapod special, Nature reporter Amy Maxmen takes us with her through eight months of reporting in the San Joaquin valley, a part of rural California where COVID's unequal toll has proven deadly.
News: Inequality's deadly toll
This piece was supported by grants from the Pulitzer Center and the MIT Knight Science Journalism fellowship.
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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 energy
A 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 Highlights
A tough but flexible material inspired by lobster underbellies, and research reveals that red meat consumption hasn't dropped since the 1960s.
Research Highlight: Material mimicking lobster belly cracks the code for toughness
Research Highlight: Meat lovers worldwide pay climate little heed
10:15 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, early results for a new malaria vaccine look positive, and researchers unearth the latest chapter in a long-running plant experiment.
Nature News: Malaria vaccine shows promise — now come tougher trials
BBC News: Malaria vaccine hailed as potential breakthrough
New York Times: One of the World’s Oldest Science Experiments Comes Up From the Dirt
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