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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On this week’s podcast, life lessons from poker, and keeping things civil during peer review.
In this episode:
00:44 Deciding to play poker
When writer Maria Konnikova wanted to better understand the human decision making process, she took a rather unusual step: becoming a professional poker player. We delve into her journey and find out how poker could help people make better decisions. Books and Arts: What the world needs now: lessons from a poker player
09:12 Research Highlights
A sweaty synthetic skin that can exude useful compounds, and Mars’s green atmosphere. Research Highlight: An artificial skin oozes ‘sweat’ through tiny pores; Research Highlight: The red planet has a green glow
11:21 Developing dialogues
The peer-review process is an integral part of scientific discourse, however, sometimes interactions between authors and reviews can be less than civil. How do we tread the fine line between critique and rudeness? Editorial: Peer review should be an honest, but collegial, conversation
18:47 Briefing Chat
We take a look at some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time we talk about research into racism, and a possible hint of dark matter. Nature News: What the data say about police brutality and racial bias — and which reforms might work; Nature News: Mathematicians urge colleagues to boycott police work in wake of killings; Quanta: Dark Matter Experiment Finds Unexplained Signal
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In this episode:
00:37 Lessons from the Ebola outbreak
We get an update on the pandemic response in the African countries still reeling from the 2014 Ebola crisis. Resource strapped and under pressure – can the lessons learned from Ebola help keep the coronavirus under control?
15:32 Dexamethasone, a breakthrough drug?
A UK-based drugs trial suggests that a cheap steroid could cut deaths by a third among the sickest COVID patients. We discuss what this could mean for the pandemic.
News: Coronavirus breakthrough: dexamethasone is first drug shown to save lives
20:06 One good thing
Our hosts pick out things that have made them smile in the last week, including altruistic bone marrow donors, and skateboarding.
22:48 The numbers don’t lie
A huge amount of projections, graphs and data have been produced during the pandemic. But how accurate are numbers and can they be relied upon?
News: Why daily death tolls have become unusually important in understanding the coronavirus pandemic
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This week, researchers make diamonds tough, and evidence of incest in a 5,000 year old tomb.
In this episode:
00:51 Tough versus hard
Diamonds are famed for their hardness, but they are not so resistant to fracture. Now, researchers have toughened up diamonds, which could open up new industrial applications. Research Article: Yue et al.
06:07 Research Highlights
A spacecraft helps physicists work out the lifespan of a neutron, and the icy hideaway of an endangered whale. Research Highlight: The vanishing-neutron mystery might be cracked by a robot in outer space; Research Highlight: A secluded icy fortress shelters rare whales
08:33 Ancient inbreeding
Analysis of the genomes of humans buried in an ancient Irish tomb has uncovered many surprises, including evidence of incest amongst the elite. Research Article: Cassidy et al.; News and Views: Incest uncovered at the elite prehistoric Newgrange monument in Ireland
21:13 #ShutdownSTEM
Nature reporter Nidhi Subbaraman joins us to talk about the #ShutdownSTEM movement, and anti-black racism in academia. Editorial: Note from the editors: Nature joins #ShutDownSTEM; News: Grieving and frustrated: Black scientists call out racism in the wake of police killings; News: Thousands of scientists worldwide to go on strike for Black lives; News: How #BlackInTheIvory put a spotlight on racism in academia
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An instrument on the International Space Station is providing new insights into some of the Universe’s most baffling objects.
Neutron stars have puzzled scientists for decades. It’s known that these ultra-dense objects are born from the remnants of supernovae, yet what’s under their surface, and what processes that go on within them, remain a mystery.
Now, an instrument called the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer is providing new information to help answer these questions, ushering in a new era of research into these strange stars.
This is an audio version of our feature: The golden age of neutron-star physics has arrived
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In this episode:
00:52 Testing disparities
As testing capacities increase, it is clear that not everyone has equal access. But grassroots organisations are trying to correct this inequity. We hear about one researcher’s fight to get testing to those below the poverty line in California.
09:04 The hydroxychloroquine saga continues
As a high profile study in the Lancet is retracted, the first data from clinical trials is coming in and it is not encouraging. We discuss the murky future of hydroxychloroquine as a COVID drug.
News: High-profile coronavirus retractions raise concerns about data oversight
12:31 Will the Surgisphere scandal erode trust in science?
A questionable dataset from a mysterious company has forced high-profile retractions and thrown doubt over drug trials and public health policies. What will the fallout be and can researchers weather the storm?
23:23 Back in the lab
As lockdowns ease, researchers are starting to go back to the lab. But with various restrictions in place, what does science look like in the new normal?
News: Return to the lab: scientists face shiftwork, masks and distancing as coronavirus lockdowns ease
Careers: Coronavirus diaries: back to the lab again
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This week, the spaceborne lab that allows investigation of quantum states, and the debate surrounding how mountain height is maintained.
Shutdown Stem
On the tenth of June, Nature joined #ShutdownStem #strike4blacklives.
Podcast: #ShutDownSTEM and the Nature Podcast
Editorial: Systemic racism: science must listen, learn and change
News: Thousands of scientists worldwide to go on strike for Black lives
In this episode:
01:18 Space lab
Scientists have built a lab on the international space station, allowing them to remotely investigate quantum phenomena in microgravity. Research Article: Aveline et al.; News and Views: Quantum matter orbits Earth
08:37 Research Highlights
Trackable ‘barcode’ bacteria, and physicists simulate near light speed cycling. Research Highlight: ‘Barcode’ microbes could help to trace goods — from lettuce to loafers; Research Highlight: What Einstein’s theory means for a cyclist moving at almost light speed
10:48 Maintaining mountain height
For a long time many researchers have thought that mainly erosion controls the height of mountains, but new research suggests that tectonic forces play a bigger role. Research Article: Dielforder et al.; News and Views: Mountain height might be controlled by tectonic force, rather than erosion
16:12 Pick of the Briefing
We pick our highlights from the Nature Briefing, including how sleep deprivation kills, and a monumental Maya structure hidden in plain sight. Quanta Magazine: Why Sleep Deprivation Kills; National... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On the tenth of June, Nature will be joining #ShutdownStem #strike4blacklives. We will be educating ourselves and defining actions we can take to help eradicate anti-Black racism in academia and STEM . Please join us.
Editorial: Systemic racism: science must listen, learn and change
News: Thousands of scientists worldwide to go on strike for Black lives
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In this episode:
00:45 Black Lives Matter
The killing of George Floyd, a black man, by police in Minnesota has sent a shockwave of anger around the globe. As unrest continues, we discuss the protests in Washington DC and ask how scientists are reacting.
04:01 The outsized toll of covid-19 on people of colour
Reports from around the globe are showing that ethnic minorities are at much higher risk of infection and death from the coronavirus. But why might that be? And what can be done about it?
News: How to address the coronavirus’s outsized toll on people of colour
World View: How environmental racism is fuelling the coronavirus pandemic
16:27 Food for thought
Richard Van Noorden suggests some inspirational listening to learn and reflect in difficult times.
Podcast: George the poet
18:27 Lessons from past pandemics
The coronavirus pandemic is just the latest of hundreds throughout history. Nick Howe interviews author Frank M Snowden about how disease has shaped society.
Books and Arts: How pandemics shape social evolution
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This week, a new method to grow hairy skin in a dish, and new research takes aim at the RNA world hypothesis.
In this episode:
00:45 Hairy Skin
Researchers may have developed a way to make skin that can grow hair in the lab, paving the way for treatment of a variety of skin disorders, and perhaps even baldness. Research Article: Lee et al.; News and Views: Regenerative medicine could pave the way to treating baldness
08:56 Research Highlights
How mercury moved during the ‘Great Dying’, and the link between mobile phones and gender equality. Research Highlight: Giant eruptions belched toxic metal during the ‘Great Dying’; Research Article: Rotondi et al.
11:21 Does DNA predate life?
The RNA world hypothesis posits that RNA formed spontaneously leading eventually to life. Now new research suggests that RNA and DNA formed together, before life. Research Article: Xu et al.; News and Views: How DNA and RNA subunits might have formed to make the first genetic alphabet
19:25 Pick of the Briefing
We pick our highlights from the Nature Briefing, including the recent SpaceX launch, and the earliest fossil of a land animal. CBC: Scientists find oldest fossil of a land animal; Nature News: SpaceX to launch astronauts — and a new era of private human spaceflight
Other links
Video:We test a home antibody kit for tracking Covid-19 transmission
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00:59 Chloroquine on rocky ground
President Trump's preferred coronavirus treatment is the focus of a new study suggesting it could cause more harm than good, but not everybody agrees. We discuss the fallout as trials around the world are paused and countries diverge over policy advice.
News: India expands use of controversial coronavirus drug amid safety concerns
News: Safety fears over hyped drug hydroxychloroquine spark global confusion
12:12 Are we rushing science?
Coronavirus papers are being published extremely quickly, while normally healthy scientific debate is being blown up in the world’s press. Is there a balancing act between timely research and accurate messaging?
18:49 One good thing
Our hosts pick out things that have made them smile in the last week, including hedgerow brews and a trip into the past using AI.
Recipe: Elderflower 'Champagne'
Video: Denis Shiryaev restores historic footage with AI
22:30 The latest coronavirus research papers
Noah Baker takes a look through some of the key coronavirus papers of the last few weeks.
News: Coronavirus research updates
medRxiv: Full genome viral sequences inform patterns of SARS-CoV-2 spread into and within Israel
Harvard Library: Reductions in commuting mobility predict geographic differences in SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in New York City
Science: DNA vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques
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