Nature Podcast

In the early 1990s, a team of astrophysicists saw signs of life on a planet in our galaxy. Astronomy experts tell the story, and discuss how we can tell if there is life beyond the Earth. Originally aired 16/10/2013.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, refugee mental health, better neural nets, and changing attitudes to female genital cutting.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Science gets glitzy in October each year as the Nobel Prizes are awarded. Find out who took home the prizes for Medicine or Physiology, Physics and Chemistry.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, a limit to lifespan, AI's black box problem, and ageing stem cells.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The challenges of getting into science, getting a decent salary once you’re in, and getting funding through philanthropy.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, the chemistry of life’s origins, two million years of temperatures, and studying the heaviest elements.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Futures is Nature's weekly science fiction slot. Miranda Keeling reads you our favourite from September, ’Try Catch Throw’ by Andrew Neil Gray.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, a sea of viruses, defining social class, the human journey out of Africa and human remains found on Antikythera shipwreck.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When a German geologist first suggested that continents move, people dismissed it as a wild idea. In this podcast, we hear how a 'wild idea' became plate tectonics, the unifying theory of earth sciences.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, the ideal office environment, synthesising speech, and embryo epigenetics.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, solving ethical dilemmas Star Trek style, farming festivals boost yield, and three scientists on their sci-fi inspirations.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, famous hominin Lucy may have died when she fell from a tree, and an antibody-based drug shows promise in Alzheimer’s  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Futures is Nature's weekly science fiction slot. Kerri Smith reads you her favourite from August, 'Interdimensional trade benefits' by Brian Trent.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A nearby Earth-like planet, preprint servers proliferate, and the scientific legacy that Obama leaves behind.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, an Earth-like planet on our doorstep, dietary restriction combats ageing syndrome, and drugs for neglected diseases.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Six out of ten of the world's best-selling drugs are based on molecules called monoclonal antibodies. But their high impact comes with a low profile. This is a story of how basic science quietly became blockbuster medicine. Originally aired 14/08/13.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, how fins became limbs, a giant gene database cracks clinical cases, and making better opioids.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, the migration route of the first Americans, the bandwidth crisis, clever conductors, and the next CRISPR.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, parenting tips from science, quenching a question about thirst, and a programmable quantum computer.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Scientists were put to good use during the Second World War. John Westcott's secret project was to design radars. His work not only helped the war effort – it also led to new branches of science. Originally aired 19/07/2013.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.