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
In this episode:
00:44 An increase in survival rates
The COVID-19 mortality rate is falling around the world. We discuss the reasons behind this – the role of new drugs, the treatment strategies the have been learned, or re-learned, and the ever-present worry that these hard won victories could be undone by rising infection rates.
News Feature: Why do COVID death rates seem to be falling?
10:53 More vaccine good news
This week, Moderna released preliminary results for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the third positive indication from a string of vaccine announcements. Although the full data are yet to be published, do these results give us more reasons to feel hopeful?
News: COVID vaccine excitement builds as Moderna reports third positive result
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Scientists have grave concerns over ethical and societal impacts of facial-recognition technology. In this surveillance special, we dig into the details.
In this episode:
03:24 Standing up against ‘smart cities’
Cities across the globe are installing thousands of surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition technology. Although marketed as a way to reduce crime, researchers worry that these systems are ripe for exploitation and are calling for strict regulations on their deployment.
Feature: Resisting the rise of facial recognition
17:44 The ethics of researching facial recognition technology
Despite concerns surrounding consent and use, researchers are still working on facial recognition technology. Can this sort of work be justified? We hear some of the debates going on in academia about this field of research.
Feature: The ethical questions that haunt facial-recognition research
25:02 What do researchers actually think?
Nature surveyed 480 researchers who have published papers on facial recognition, AI and computer science. The results revealed that many researchers think there’s a problem.
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New fossil finds and new techniques reveal evidence that early animals were more complex than previously thought.
The Cambrian explosion, around 541 million years ago, has long been regarded as a pivotal point in evolutionary history, as this is when the ancient ancestors of most of today’s animals made their first appearances in the fossil record.
Before this was a period known as the Ediacaran – a time when the world was believed to be populated by strange, simple organisms. But now, modern molecular research techniques, and some newly discovered fossils, are providing evidence that some of these organisms were actually animals, including ones with sophisticated features like legs and guts.
This is an audio version of our feature: These bizarre ancient species are rewriting animal evolution
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Researchers try to unpick the complex relationship between sensory pollutants and bird reproduction, and how to combat organised crime in fisheries.
In this episode:
00:46 Sensory pollution and bird reproduction
Light- and noise-pollution have been shown to affect the behaviour of birds. However, it’s been difficult to work out whether these behavioural changes have led to bird species thriving or declining. Now, researchers have assembled a massive dataset that can begin to give some answers. Research article: Senzaki et al.
10:17 Coronapod
Interim results from a phase III trial show compelling evidence that a coronavirus vaccine candidate can prevent COVID-19. However, amid the optimism there remain questions to be answered – we discuss these, and what the results might mean for other vaccines in development. News: What Pfizer’s landmark COVID vaccine results mean for the pandemic
23:29 Research Highlights
A tiny bat breaks a migration record, and researchers engineer a mouse’s sense of place. Research Highlight: The record-setting flight of a bat that weighs less than a toothbrush; Research Article: Robinson et al.
25:39 Organised crime in fisheries
When you think of fishing, organised crime probably isn’t the first thing that springs to mind. However, billions of dollars every year from the fishing industry are lost to criminal enterprises. We discuss some of the impacts and what can be done about it. Research Article: Witbooi et al.
32:13 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, a time-capsule discovered on the Irish coast provides a damning indictment of Arctic warming, and some human remains challenge the idea of ‘man-the-hunter’. The Guardian: Arctic time capsule from 2018 washes up in Ireland as polar ice melts; Science: Woman the hunter: Ancient Andean remains challenge old ideas of who speared big game
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Astronomers pin down the likely origins of mysterious fast radio bursts, and the latest on what the US election means for science.
In this episode:
00:46 The origins of mysterious fast radio bursts
The detection of a brief but enormously-powerful radio burst originating from within the Milky Way could help researchers answer one of astronomy’s biggest mysteries.
Research article: Bochenek et al.; News: Astronomers spot first fast radio burst in the Milky Way
07:59 Coronapod
At the start of the pandemic, there were fears that schools could become hotspots for infections. We discuss the evidence suggesting that this is unlikely to be the case, and the rates of infection in children of different ages.
News: Why schools probably aren’t COVID hotspots
18:34 Research Highlights
Octopuses taste with touch, and a tool to watch dangerously-reactive metals grow.
Research Highlight: How octopuses taste with their arms — all eight of them; Research Highlight: How to make violently reactive metals and watch them grow
21:28 An update on the US election
Although the winner of this year’s US election is unclear, we discuss the current situation and what it might mean for science.
News: Scientists aghast as hopes for landslide Biden election victory vanish
28:58 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, ancient genomes reveal the migration of man’s best friend, and a new polio vaccine looks set to receive emergency approval.
News: Ancient dog DNA reveals 11,000 years of canine evolution; News: New polio vaccine poised to get emergency WHO approval
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Science and politics are not easy bedfellows - "Stick to the science" is a three part series which aims to find out why.
In the third and final episode we try to get to the bottom of how journalists, communicators and policymakers influence how science is perceived. We discuss the danger of politicization and ask the question - can science be part of the political narrative without compromising its values?
Tell us what you think of this series: https://go.nature.com/2HzXVLc
This episode was produced by Nick Howe, with editing from Noah Baker and Benjamin Thompson. It featured: Deborah Blum, Bruce Lewenstein, Dan Sarewitz, Hannah Schmid-Petri, Shobita Parthasarathy, and Beth Simone Noveck.
Further Reading
Politicization of mask wearing
Comparing Norway and Sweden in their coronavirus combating actions
Beth Simone Noveck argues for more open and transparent governance
Solving Public Problems, by Beth Simone Noveck
The Received Wisdom Podcast, with Shobita Parthasarathy
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Science and politics are not easy bedfellows - "Stick to the science" is a three part series which aims to find out why.
In this episode we're asking how politics shapes the life of a working scientist. Be it through funding agendas, cultural lobbies or personal bias, there's a myriad of ways in which politics can shape the game; influencing the direction and quality of research, But what does this mean for the objective ideals of science?
Tell us what you think of this series: https://go.nature.com/2HzXVLc
This episode was produced by Nick Howe, with editing from Noah Baker and Benjamin Thompson. it featured contributions from many people, including: Mayana Zatz, Shobita Parthasarathy, Michael Erard, Peg AtKisson, Susannah Gal, Allen Rostron, Mark Rosenberg, and Alice Bell.
Further Reading
Brazil’s budget cuts threaten more than 80,000 science scholarships
Move to reallocate funds from scientific institutions in São Paulo
Backlash to “Shrimps on a treadmill”
Explanation of the Dickey Amendment
After over 20 years the CDC can now fund gun violence research
Spirometer use “race-correction” software
Black researchers less likely to get funding from the National Institutes of Health in the US
Black researchers may get less funding from the National Institutes of Health due to topic choice
Black researchers fill fewer academic roles in the UK
Clinical trials use mostly white participants
The Received Wisdom Podcast, with Shobita Parthasarathy
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Science and politics are not easy bedfellows - "Stick to the science" is a three part series which aims to find out why.
In this episode we delve into the past, and uncover the complicated relationship between science, politics and power. Along the way, we come up against some pretty big questions: what is science? Should science be apolitical? And where does Nature fit in?
Tell us what you think of this series: https://go.nature.com/2HzXVLc
This episode was produced by Nick Howe, with editing from Noah Baker and Benjamin Thompson. it featured contributions from many researchers, including: Shobita Parthasarathy, Alice Bell, Dan Sarewitz, Anna Jay, Melinda Baldwin, Magdelena Skipper, Steven Shapin, David Edgerton, Deborah Blum, Bruce Lewenstein and Chiara Ambrosio. Quotes from social media were read by: Shamini Bundell, Flora Graham, Dan Fox, Edie Edmundson and Bredan Maher. And excerpts from Nature were read by Jen Musgreave.
Further Reading
History of Education in the UK
Nature editorial on covering politics
Making “Nature”, by Melinda Baldwin
David Edgerton’s writing on the history of science and politics in the Guardian
The received wisdom podcast with Shobita Parthasarathy
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The chances of mini-brains becoming sentient, and a UK government decision threatens gender diversity in academia.
In this episode:
00:59 The ethics of creating consciousness
Brain organoids, created by culturing stem cells in a petri dish, are a mainstay of neuroscience research. But as these mini-brains become more complex, is there the chance they could become conscious, and if so, how could we tell?
News Feature: Can lab-grown brains become conscious?
09:01 Coronapod
So called ‘herd immunity’ is claimed by some as a way to break the chain of infection and curtail the pandemic. However epidemiologists say that this course of action is ineffective and will lead to large numbers of infections and deaths.
News Explainer: The false promise of herd immunity for COVID-19
20:59 Research Highlights
Volcanic ash degrades ancient art in Pompeii, and the aerial ineptitude of two bat-like dinosaurs.
Research Highlight: The volcanic debris that buried Pompeii wreaks further destruction; Research Highlight: A dead end on the way to the sky
23:22 How cutting red-tape could harm gender diversity in UK academia
The Athena SWAN scheme, designed to boost gender-equality in UK academia, has proved effective, and has been exported to countries around the world. But now a decision by the UK government to cut bureaucracy could mean that institutions pay less heed to schemes like this and threaten future efforts to increase gender diversity in UK academia.
Editorial: Equality and diversity efforts do not ‘burden’ research — no matter what the UK government says
31:00 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, oncologists discover a potential new human organ, and how re-examined fossils have given new insights into the size of baby tyrannosaurs.
New York Times: Doctors May Have Found Secretive New Organs in the Center of Your Head; National Geographic: First tyrannosaur embryo fossils revealed
Other links
Vote for the podcast in this year's Lovie Awards! Your vote can help us win a People's Lovie. Two of our videos are also up an award,
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The structure of a beetle’s super-strong exoskeleton could open up new engineering applications, and efforts to address diversity and equality imbalances in academia.
In this episode:
01:17 Insights into an armoured insect
The diabolical ironclad beetle has an exoskeleton so strong, it can survive being run over by a car. Researchers have identified how the structure of the exoskeleton provides this strength, and show that mimicking it may lead to improved aerospace components.
Research Article: Rivera et al.; News and Views: Diabolical ironclad beetles inspire tougher joints for engineering applications
10:42 Coronapod
This week, the UK government announced plans to run a ‘human challenge trial’, where healthy volunteers are deliberately infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. We talk about the process, the ethical and procedural hurdles, and whether such an approach will provide any useful data.
News: Dozens to be deliberately infected with coronavirus in UK ‘human challenge’ trials
22:46 Research Highlights
A method to assess the age of RNA, and how southern elephant seals helped to identify supercooled seawater.
Research article: Rodriques et al.; Research article: Haumann et al.
25:20 Efforts to address equity in science
Julie Posselt has been investigating the efforts of academic institutions to assess ingrained imbalances in diversity and equality. We talk to her about these efforts and her new book on the subject.
Book review: How to get more women and people of colour into graduate school — and keep them there
31:43 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, back pay for female professors at Princeton, and a newly uncovered superpower for the tiny tardigrade.
CNN: Princeton will pay nearly $1M in back pay to female professors in sweeping discrimination settlement; Science: New species of water bear uses fluorescent ‘shield’ to survive lethal UV radiation
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