Nature Podcast

In this episode:00:46 Mysterious methane emission from a cool brown dwarfThe James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is revealing the makeup of brown dwarfs — strange space objects that blur the line between a planet and a star. And it appears that methane in the atmosphere of one of these objects, named W1935, is emitting infrared radiation. Where the energy comes from is a mystery however, researchers hypothesise that the glow could be caused by an aurora in the object’s atmosphere, perhaps driven by an as-yet unseen moon.Research Article: Faherty et al.10:44 Research HighlightsThe discovery that bitter taste receptors may date back 450 million years, and the first planet outside the Solar System to boast a rainbow-like phenomenon called a ‘glory’.Research Highlight: Bitter taste receptors are even older than scientists thoughtResearch Highlight: An exoplanet is wrapped in glory13:07 How working memory worksWorking memory is a fundamental process that allows us to temporarily store important information, such as

In this episode:00:46 Mapping ‘ghost roads’ in tropical forestsAcross the world, huge numbers of illegal roads have been cut into forests. However, due to their illicit nature, the exact numbers of these roads and their impacts on ecosystems is poorly understood. To address this, researchers have undertaken a huge mapping exercise across the tropical Asia-Pacific region. Their findings reveal over a million kilometers of roads that don’t appear on official maps, and that their construction is a key driver for deforestation.Research Article: Engert et al.10:44 Research HighlightsHow climate change fuelled a record-breaking hailstorm in Spain, and an unusual technique helps researchers detect a tiny starquake.Research Highlight: Baseball-sized hail in Spain began with a heatwave at seaResearch Highlight: Smallest known starquakes are detected with a subtle shift of colour13:02 Briefing ChatA clinical trial to test whether ‘mini livers’ can grow in a person’s lymph node, and the proteins that may determine left-

Around the world, rates of cancers that typically affect older adults are increasing in those under 50 years old. Models based on global data predict that the number of early-onset cancer cases like these will increase by around 30% between 2019 and 2030.The most likely contributors — such as rising rates of obesity and early-cancer screening — do not fully account for the increase. To try and understand the reasons behind this trend, many researchers are searching for answers buried in studies that tracked the lives and health of children born half a century ago.This is an audio version of our Feature Why are so many young people getting cancer? What the data say Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:00:35 Pregnancy advances your ‘biological’ age — but giving birth turns it backGrowing a baby leads to changes in the distribution of certain chemical markers on a pregnant person’s DNA, but new research suggests that after giving birth, these changes can revert to an earlier state.Nature News: Pregnancy advances your ‘biological’ age — but giving birth turns it back08:07 Bird gestures to say 'after you'A Japanese tit (Parus minor) will flutter its wings to invite their mate to enter the nest first. Use of these sorts of gestures, more complex than simply pointing at an object of interest, were thought to be limited to great apes, suggesting that there are more non-vocal forms of communication to be found in the animal kingdom.Scientific American: Wild Birds Gesture ‘After You’ to Insist Their Mate Go First13:34 The carbon cost of home-grown vegResearch have estimated that the carbon footprint of home-grown food and community gardens is six-times greater than conventional, commercial farms. Th

In this episode:01:28 Inflammation’s role in memoryHow memories are stored is an ongoing question in neuroscience. Now researchers have found an inflammatory pathway that responds to DNA damage in neurons has a key role in the persistence of memories. How this pathway helps memories persist is unclear, but the researchers suggest that how the DNA damage is repaired may play a role. As inflammation in the brain is often associated with disease, the team were surprised by this finding, which they hope will help uncover ways to better preserve our memories, especially in the face of neurodegenerative disorders.Research Article: Jovasevic et al.News and Views: Innate immunity in neurons makes memories persist08:40 Research HighlightsThe effect of wind turbines on property values, and how waste wood can be used to 3D print new wooden objects.Research Highlight: A view of wind turbines drives down home values — but only brieflyResearch Highlight: Squeeze, freeze, bake: how to make 3D-printed wood that mimics the re

This podcast has been corrected: in a previous version at 5:55 we stated that that the team's 200mm devices currently contain only a couple of magnetic tunnelling junctions, in fact they studied 500-1000 devices in this work.00:48 How mysterious skyrmions could power next-generation computersSkyrmions are tiny whirlpools of magnetic spin that some researchers believe have useful properties that could unlock new kinds of computing. However getting skyrmions to perform useful computational tasks has been tricky. Now researchers have developed a method to create and manipulate skyrmions in a way that is compatible with existing computing technology, allowing them to read and write data at a fraction of the energy cost of conventional systems. The team think this shows that skyrmions could be a viable part of the next generation of computers.Research Article: Chen et al.News and Views: Magnetic whirlpools offer improved data storage07:51 Research HighlightsHow robotically-enhanced, live jellyfish could make ocean

In this episode:00:45 Making a map of the human heartThe human heart consists of multiple, specialised structures that all work together to enable the organ to beat for a lifetime. But exactly which cells are present in each part of the heart has been difficult to ascertain. Now, a team has combined molecular techniques to create an atlas of the developing human heart at an individual cell level. Their atlas provides insights into how cell communities communicate and form different structures. They hope that this knowledge will ultimately help in the treatment of congenital heart conditions, often caused by irregular development of the heart.Research article: Farah et al. Nature video: Building a heart atlas08:37 Research HighlightsResidue in ceramic vases suggests that ancient Mesoamerican peoples consumed tobacco as a liquid, and a wireless way to charge quantum batteries.Research Highlight: Buried vases hint that ancient Americans might have drunk tobaccoResearch Highlight: A better way to charge a quantum

In this episode:00:48 Bumblebees can learn new tricks from each otherOne behaviour thought unique to humans is the ability to learn something from your predecessors that you couldn’t figure out on your own. However, researchers believe they have shown bumblebees are also capable of this ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ approach to learning. Bees that were taught how to complete a puzzle too difficult to solve on their own, were able to share this knowledge with other bees, raising the possibility that this thought-to-be human trait could be widespread amongst animals.Research article: Bridges et al.News and Views: Bees and chimpanzees learn from others what they cannot learn alone16:55 Research HighlightsWhy the Krakatau eruption made the skies green, and the dining habits of white dwarf stars.Research Highlight: Why sunsets were a weird colour after Krakatau blew its topResearch Highlight: This dying star bears a jagged metal scar19:28 The fish that collectively, electrically senseMany ocean-dwelling an

In this episode:00:49 What caused the Universe to become fully transparent?Around 13 billion years ago, the Universe was filled with a dense ‘fog’ of neutral hydrogen that blocked certain wavelengths of light. This fog was lifted when the hydrogen was hit by radiation in a process known as reionisation, but the source of this radiation has been debated. Now, researchers have used the JWST to peer deep into the Universe’s past and found that charged particles pouring out from dwarf galaxies appear to be the the main driver for reionization. This finding could help researchers understand how some of the structures we now see in the Universe were formed.Research article: Atek et al.08:46 Research HighlightsAncient inscriptions could be the earliest example of the language that became Basque, and how researchers etched a groove… onto soap film.Research Highlight: Ancient bronze hand’s inscription points to origins of Basque languageResearch Highlight: Laser pulses engrave an unlikely surface: soap films11:05 Cont

The phenomenon of animals catching diseases from humans, called reverse zoonoses, has had a severe impact on great ape populations, often representing a bigger threat than habitat loss or poaching.However, while many scientists and conservationists agree that human diseases pose one of the greatest risks to great apes today there are a few efforts under way to use a research-based approach to mitigate this problem.This is an audio version of our Feature Chimpanzees are dying from our colds — these scientists are trying to save them Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The deep haunting tones of the world's largest animals, baleen whales, are iconic - but how the songs are produced has long been a mystery. Whales evolved from land dwelling mammals which vocalize by passing air through a structure called the larynx - a structure which also helps keep food from entering the respiratory system. However toothed whales like dolphins do not use their larynx to make sound, instead they have evolved a specialized organ in their nose. Now a team of researchers have discovered the structure used by baleen whales - a modified version of the larynx. Whales like Humpbacks and Blue whales are able to create powerful vocalizations but their anatomy also limits the frequency of the sounds they can make and depth at which they can sing. This leaves them unable to escape anthropogenic noise pollution which occur in the same range.Article: Evolutionary novelties underlie sound production in baleen whalesSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of sci

In this episode:00:45 Why are humans so helpful?Humans are notable for their cooperation and display far more altruistic behaviour than other animals, but exactly why this behaviour evolved has been a puzzle. But in a new paper, the two leading theories have been put the test with a model and a real-life experiment. They find that actually neither theory on its own leads to cooperation but a combination is required for humans to help one another.Research article: Efferson et al.News and Views: Why reciprocity is common in humans but rare in other animals10:55 Research HighlightsThe discovery of an ancient stone wall hidden underwater, and the fun that apes have teasing one another.Research Highlight: Great ‘Stone Age’ wall discovered in Baltic SeaResearch Highlight: What a tease! Great apes pull hair and poke each other for fun13:14 The DVD makes a comebackOptical discs, like CDs and DVDs, are an attractive option for long-term data storage, but these discs are limited by their small capacity. Now though, a t

00:45 Smoking's long-term effects on immunityIt's well-known that smoking is bad for health and it has been linked to several autoimmune disorders, but the mechanisms are not fully understood. Now, researchers have investigated the immune responses of 1,000 people. Whilst some effects disappear after quitting, impacts on the T cell response lingers long after. The team hopes that this evidence could help better understand smoking's association with autoimmune diseases.Research article: Saint-André et al.News and Views: Smoking’s lasting effect on the immune system07:03 Research HighlightsWhy explosive fulminating gold produces purple smoke, and a curious act of altruism in a male northern elephant seal.Research Highlight: Why an ancient gold-based explosive makes purple smokeResearch Highlight: ‘Altruistic’ bull elephant seal lends a helping flipper09:28 Briefing ChatAn author-based method to track down fake papers, and the new ocean lurking under the surface of one of Saturn's moons.Natur

For over a century, cancer has been classified by areas of the body - lung cancer, breast cancer, skin cancer etc. And yet modern medical research is telling us that the molecular and genetic mechanisms behind cancers are not necessarily tied to parts of the body. Many drugs developed to treat metastatic cancers have the capacity to work across many different cancers, and that presents an opportunity for more tailored and efficient treatments. Oncologists are calling for a change in the way patients, clinicians and regulators think about naming cancers.In this podcast, senior comment editor Lucy Odling-Smee speaks with Fabrice André from Institute Gustave Roussy, to ask what he thinks needs to change.Comment: Forget lung, breast or prostate cancer: why tumour naming needs to changeSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:0:46 Borrowing tricks from cancer could help improve immunotherapyT cell based immunotherapies have revolutionised the treatment of certain types of cancer. However these therapies — which involved taking someone’s own T cells and reprogramming them to kill cancer cells — have struggled to treat solid tumours, which put up multiple defences. To overcome these, a team has taken mutations found in cancer cells that help them thrive and put them into therapeutic T cells. Their results show these powered-up cells are more efficient at targeting solid tumours, but don’t turn cancerous themselves.Research article: Garcia et al.11:39 Research HighlightsHow researchers solved a submerged-sprinkler problem named after Richard Feynman, and what climate change is doing to high-altitude environmental records in Switzerland.Research Highlight: The mystery of Feynman’s sprinkler is solved at lastResearch Highlight: A glacier’s ‘memory’ is fading because of climate change14:28 What might the car batteries of

Cervical cancer is both treatable and preventable, and the WHO has called for countries to come together to to eliminate the disease in the next century.However the disease still kills over 300,000 people each year, and levels of screening, treatment and vaccination need to be stepped up in order to achieve this goal.These challenges are particularly stark in low- and middle-income countries, where a lack of funding, staffing and infrastructure are obstacles. Vaccine hesitancy, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, is also a key problem.In this Podcast Extra, two experts share their thoughts on how best to overcome these obstacles, and make elimination of cervical cancer a reality.Comment: Cervical cancer kills 300,000 people a year — here’s how to speed up its eliminationSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:0:48 How hominins spread through EuropeAncient stone tools are often uncovered in Europe, but it can be difficult to identify who crafted them, as Neanderthals and Homo sapiens coexisted in the region for several thousand years. The makers of one type of tool found in northern Europe has long puzzled researchers, but now through genetic analysis of nearby skeletal fragments, it has been revealed that they were made by Homo sapiens. The age of these tools suggests that modern humans were more widespread and adaptable to living in colder climates than previously thought.Research article: Mylopotamitaki et al.News and Views: Stone tools in northern Europe made by Homo sapiens 45,000 years ago09:36 Research HighlightsHow a Colombian mountain range lost its root, and what Roman wine may have looked, smelled and tasted like.Research Highlight: A mysterious mountain range lacks roots but still stands tallResearch Highlight: The clever system that gave Roman wines an amber colour and nutty aroma15:21

Evidence so far suggests that the prevalence of long COVID in low- and middle-income countries could be similar to that of wealthier countries. For example, by some estimates, more than four million people in Brazil have long COVID.However, an absence of research on the condition in less-wealthy countries has left advocates hamstrung: few physicians acknowledge that long COVID exists. A lack of data is also hampering efforts to search for the mechanisms of the condition and tailor treatments.This is an audio version of our Feature Long COVID is a double curse in low-income nations — here’s why Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:0:46 Turning a toxic by-product into ironRed mud is a toxic by-product of aluminium manufacture, and millions of tonnes of it is produced each year. The majority ends up in landfills, pumped into vast lakes or stored in dried mounds, posing a serious environmental risk. This week, researchers demonstrate how red mud can be reused to make iron, a vital component in the production of steel. As their method uses hydrogen plasma rather than fossil fuels, they suggest it could be a way to reduce the carbon emissions associated with the steelmaking industry.Research article: Jovičević-Klug et al.News and Views: Iron extracted from hazardous waste of aluminium production09:36 Research HighlightsThe economics of next-generation geothermal power plants, and the folded-fabric robot that crawls like a snake.Research Highlight: Flexible geothermal power makes it easier to harness Earth’s inner heatResearch Highlight: Origami fabric robot slithers like a snake20:53 Briefing ChatA computational model that p

In this episode:0:55 The AI that deduces solutions to complex maths problemsResearchers at Google Deepmind have developed an AI that can solve International Mathematical Olympiad-level geometry problems, something previous AIs have struggled with. They provided the system with a huge number of random mathematical theorems and proofs, which it used to approximate general rules of geometry. The AI then applied these rules to solve the Olympiad problems and show its workings for humans to check. The researchers hope their system shows that it is possible for AIs to ‘learn’ basic principles from large amounts of data and use them to tackle complex logical challenges, which could prove useful in fields outside mathematics.Research article: Trinh et al.09:46 Research HighlightsA stiff and squishy ‘hydrospongel’ — part sponge, part hydrogel — that could find use in soft robotics, and how the spread of rice paddies in sub-Saharan Africa helps to drive up atmospheric methane levels.Research Highlight: Stiff gel as squ