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
Benjamin Thompson, Noah Baker and Elie Dolgin discuss RNA vaccines.
In this episode:
01:16 How RNA vaccines came to prominence
In less than a year, two RNA vaccines against COVID-19 were designed, tested and rolled out across the world. We discuss these vaccines’ pros and cons, how RNA technology lends itself to rapid vaccine development, and what this means for the fight against other diseases.
News feature: How COVID unlocked the power of RNA vaccines
09:20 The hurdles for trialling new COVID-19 vaccines
Multiple candidates for new COVID-19 vaccines are still being developed, which may offer advantages over the vaccines currently available. However, running placebo-controlled trials of these candidates is becoming increasingly difficult, so researchers are looking for different ways to evaluate them.
News: Search for better COVID vaccines confounded by existing rollouts
14:45 How long will COVID vaccines be effective?
There is much concern around the world about two faster-spreading variants of SARS-CoV-2. We get an update on whether these variants could render vaccines ineffective.
News: Could new COVID variants undermine vaccines? Labs scramble to find out
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DNA clues point to how dire wolves went extinct, and a round-up of the main impacts of Brexit on science.
In this episode:
00:45 Dire wolf DNA
Dire wolves were huge predators that commonly roamed across North America before disappearing around 13,000 years ago. Despite the existence of a large number of dire wolf fossils, questions remain about why this species went extinct and how they relate to other wolf species. Now, using DNA and protein analysis, researchers are getting a better understanding of what happened to these extinct predators.
Research Article: Perri et al.
11:43 Research Highlights
The secret to Pluto’s blue haze, and the neural circuitry underlying mice empathy.
Research Highlight: Ice bathes Pluto in a blue haze
Research Highlight: Brain maps show how empathetic mice feel each other's pain
13:31 Post-Brexit science
In December, a last minute trade-deal between the UK and EU clarified what the future relationship between the two regions would look like, after Brexit. We discuss the implications of this trade-deal for science funding, the movement of researchers, and data sharing.
News Explainer: What the landmark Brexit deal means for science
23:18 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, concerns about contaminating water on the moon, and the spy satellites that spied out environmental change.
Nature News: Will increasing traffic to the Moon contaminate its precious ice?
The New York Times: Inside the C.I.A., She Became a Spy for Planet Earth
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Lessons from Iceland, which utilised huge scientific resources to contain COVID-19.
When COVID reached the shores of Iceland back in March, the diminutive island brought it to heel with science. Here’s how they did it, and what they learnt.
This is an audio version of our feature: How Iceland hammered COVID with science
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The Nature Podcast team select some of their favourite stories from the past 12 months.
In this episode:
00:32 Following the Viking footprint across Europe
In September, we heard about the researchers mapping ancient genomes to better understand who the Vikings were, and where they went.
Nature Podcast: 16 September 2020
Research Article: Margaryan et al.
08:09 Mars hopes
In July, the UAE launched its first mission to Mars. We spoke to the mission leads to learn about the aims of the project, and how they developed the mission in under six years.
Nature Podcast: 08 July 2020
News Feature: How a small Arab nation built a Mars mission from scratch in six years
News Feature: Countdown to Mars: three daring missions take aim at the red planet
17:42 Disaster in San Quentin
In July, we reported on a massive COVID-19 outbreak in San Quentin. In Coronapod, we dug into how they got there. Also in the episode, we investigated whether lockdowns could have any lasting impact on young minds.
Coronapod: 10 July 2020
25:23 Communicating complex data
In April, we found out about some of the methods that communications experts and behavioural scientists recommend to keep the public informed about risks and evidence – something that remains key for governments and other organisations during the pandemic.
Coronapod: 17 April 2020
37:19 ‘Stick to the science’: when science gets political
In November, we published our miniseries “Stick to the science” which aimed to find out why a journal of science needs to cover politics. In the series we explored the history, philosophy and reality of science’s complicated relationship with politics.
‘Stick to the science’: when science gets political
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Benjamin Thompson, Noah Baker and Traci Watson discuss some of 2020's most significant coronavirus research papers.
In the final Coronapod of 2020, we dive into the scientific literature to reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers have discovered so much about SARS-CoV-2 – information that has been vital for public health responses and the rapid development of effective vaccines. But we also look forward to 2021, and the critical questions that remain to be answered about the pandemic.
Papers discussed
A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019- New England Journal of Medicine, 24 January
Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China - The Lancet, 24 January
A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin - Nature, 3 February
A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China - Nature, 3 February
Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19 - Nature Medicine, 15 April
Spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the Icelandic Population - New England Journal of Medicine, 11 June
High SARS-CoV-2 Attack Rate Following Exposure at a Choir Practice — Skagit County, Washington, March 2020 - Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report, 15 August
Respiratory virus shedding in exhaled breath and efficacy of face masks - Nature Medicine, 3 April
Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1 - New England Journal of Medicine, 13 April
Projecting the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 through the postpandemic period - Science, 22 May
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A video game provides players with insights into pandemic responses, and our annual festive fun.
In this episode:
01:02 Balancing responses in a video game pandemic
In the strategy video-game Plague Inc: The Cure, players assume the role of an omnipotent global health agency trying to tackle outbreaks of increasingly nasty pathogens. We find out how the game was developed, and how it might help change public perception of pandemic responses.
Plague Inc: The Cure from Ndemic Creations
10:02 “We three Spacecraft travel to Mars”
The first of our festive songs, we head back to July this year, and the launch of three separate space missions to the red planet. Scroll to the transcript section at the bottom of the page for the lyrics.
12:54 Research Highlights
Giant pandas roll in piles of poo to keep warm, and how different bread-baking styles have led to distinct lineages of baker’s yeast.
Research Highlight: Why pandas like to roll in piles of poo
Research Highlight: Sourdough starters give rise to a new line of yeast
15:17 The Nature Podcast Audio Charades Competition: Lockdown edition
In this year’s festive competition, our reporters try to describe some of the biggest science stories, using only homemade sound effects. Results are mixed, at best...
24:15 Nature’s 10
We hear about some of the people who made it on to this year’s Nature’s 10 list this year.
Nature’s 10: ten people who helped shape science in 2020
32:20 All I want for Christmas is vaccines
In our final festive song, we celebrate a huge scientific achievement, and one that’s offering a little hope for 2021. Scroll to the transcript section at the bottom of the page for the lyrics.
Song lyrics:
"We three Spacecraft travel to Mars"
We three spacecraft travel to Mars
Bearing probes we traverse afar
Rockets firing
Launching, flying
One by one we depart
Oh-oh one from China
one the States
one the Arab Emirates…
Careful timing
Worlds aligning
launching on the perfect dates.
First is Hope from the UAE
I map weather, orbitally
My ambition
our first mission
Interplanetary
Oh-oh one from China
one the States
one the Arab Emirates…
Careful timing
Worlds aligning
launching on the perfect dates.
Next Tianwen-one will debut
I’ve a rover and orbiter too
Plus a lander
And I’ve planned a
Mission returning soon
Oh-oh one from China
one the States
one the Arab Emirates…
Careful...
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How water chemistry is shifting researchers' thoughts on where life might have arisen, and a new model to tackle climate change equitably and economically.
In this episode:
00:46 A shallow start to life on Earth?
It’s long been thought that life on Earth first appeared in the oceans. However, the chemical complexities involved in creating biopolymers in water has led some scientists to speculate that shallow pools on land were actually the most likely location for early life.
News Feature: How the first life on Earth survived its biggest threat — water
07:44 Coronapod
The COVID-19 pandemic has massively shifted the scientific landscape, changing research and funding priorities across the world. While this shift was necessary for the development of things like vaccines, there are concerns that the ‘covidization’ of research could have long-term impacts on other areas of research.
News: Scientists fear that ‘covidization’ is distorting research
20:45 Research Highlights
The Hayabusa2 mission successfully delivers a tiny cargo of asteroid material back to Earth, and a team in China claims to have made the first definitive demonstration of computational ‘quantum advantage’.
Nature News: Physicists in China challenge Google’s ‘quantum advantage’
22:38 Calculating carbon
Limiting carbon emissions is essential to tackling climate change. However, working out how to do this in a way that is fair to nations worldwide is notoriously difficult. Now, researchers have developed a model that gives some surprising insights in how to equitably limit carbon.
Research Article: Bauer et al.
News and Views: Trade-offs for equitable climate policy assessed
29:08 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, bioluminescent Australian animals, and the collapse of the Arecibo telescope.
ABC News: Biofluorescent Australian mammals and marsupials take scientists by surprise in accidental discovery
Nature News: Gut-wrenching footage documents Arecibo telescope’s collapse
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Erna Solberg on fisheries, fossil fuels and the future of the oceans.
This week, world leaders are announcing a series of pledges to protect and sustainably use the world’s oceans. The pledges form the crowning achievement of the ‘High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy’ a multinational group formed back in 2018. The panel has sought to bring together research, published in a number of so-called ‘blue papers’ and special reports by scientists, policy- and legal-experts from around the world – all with the ear of 14 participating world leaders.
Erna Solberg, the prime minister of Norway, co-led the Panel. In this podcast, she speaks with Springer Nature’s editor-in-chief Philip Campbell about the panel’s work.
The ocean in humanity’s future: read all of Nature's content on the Ocean Panel
World View: Science can boost ocean health and human prosperity
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A trio of genes may be key to making cells young again, and ultra precise measurement of a fundamental physics constant.
In this episode:
00:47 Reversing ageing
Researchers claim to have identified a method to revert cells in mice eyes back to a younger state.
Research article: Lu et al.
News and Views: Sight restored by turning back the epigenetic clock
News: Reversal of biological clock restores vision in old mice
09:39 Coronapod
We discuss emergency-use approvals for COVID-19 vaccines. Approvals are coming in fast, which presents a dilemma for scientists - they’re critically needed, but what could it mean for research?
News: Why emergency COVID-vaccine approvals pose a dilemma for scientists
News: The UK has approved a COVID vaccine — here’s what scientists now want to know
27:04 Research Highlights
Ancient megalodon nurseries, and predicting mud volcanoes.
Research Highlight: Even Earth’s largest-ever sharks needed nurseries for their babies
Research Highlight: How mud volcanoes are born under the sea
29:38 Fine measurement of the fine-structure constant
The fine structure constant is a fundamental number that gives researchers an understanding of the laws of the universe. For years, scientists have been trying to get better measurements of it. This week, we see the most precise measurement yet.
Research Article: Morel et al.
News and Views: Fine-structure constant tests standard model
35:00 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, a holistic plan to tackle climate challenges, and the rarest pollinator of them all - a lizard.
Washington Post: An ancient people with a modern climate plan
The Guardian:
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Scientists have finally confirmed the existence of a CNO cycle fusion reaction in the Sun, and why women’s contraception research needs a reboot.
In this episode:
00:47 Detection of CNO neutrinos
Since the 1930s it has been theorised that stars have a specific fusion reaction known as the CNO cycle, but proof has been elusive. Now, a collaboration in Italy report detection of neutrinos that show that the CNO cycle exists.
Research article: The Borexino Collaboration
News and Views: Neutrino detection gets to the core of the Sun
08:48 Coronapod
We discuss the search for the animal origin of SARS-CoV-2, with researchers raiding their freezer draws to see if any animals carry similar viruses, and the latest vaccine results.
News: Coronaviruses closely related to the pandemic virus discovered in Japan and Cambodia
News: Why Oxford’s positive COVID vaccine results are puzzling scientists
19:32 Research Highlights
How sleep patterns relate to ageing, and a solar-powered steam sterilizer.
Research Highlight: For better health, don’t sleep your age
Research Highlight: Technology for sterilizing medical instruments goes solar
21:50 Getting women’s contraception research unstuck
Since the 1960s there has been little progress on research into women’s contraceptives. This week in Nature, researchers argue that this needs to change.
Comment: Reboot contraceptives research — it has been stuck for decades
29:35 Briefing Chat
We discuss a highlight from the Nature Briefing. This time, a tool to summarise papers.
Nature News: tl;dr: this AI sums up research papers in a sentence
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