Nature Podcast

Coaxing tiny colloid particles into a diamond structure, and manipulating cell death and homeostasis in neurodegenerative disease. In this episode: 00:45 Creating colloidal crystals For decades, researchers have attempted to create crystals with a diamond-like structure using tiny colloid particles. Now, a team thinks they’ve cracked it, which could open the door for new optical technologies. Rese...

Mapping the migration of the Vikings, and the world’s smallest ultrasound device. In this episode: 00:45 Following the Viking footprint across Europe To better understand who the Vikings were, and where they went, researchers have mapped genomes from hundreds of archaeological artifacts. Research Article: Margaryan et al. 08:00 Coronapod Phase III trials of a leading coronavirus vaccine were abrup...

Keeping electronics from overheating, and how to include minority populations in genetic analyses. In this episode: 00:46 Cool computers Keeping components cool is a major hurdle when it comes to increasing electronic power. This week, we find out about a new way to integrate tiny microfluidic channels directly into circuits, to help keep them cool. Research Article: van Erp et al. 06:57 Coronapod...

Engineering yeast to produce medicines, and the mechanism of anaesthetic action. In this episode: 00:44 Making medicine with yeast The tropane alkaloids are an important class of medicine, but they are produced agriculturally leaving them vulnerable to extreme weather and world events. Now, researchers have engineered yeast to produce these important molecules. Research Article: Srinivasan and Smo...

Protecting delicate quantum bits, and a competition to replicate findings from ancient computer code. In this episode: 01:04 Quantum computers vs ionizing radiation The quantum bits, or ‘qubits’, central to the operation of quantum computers are notoriously sensitive. Now, researchers have assessed the damaging effects that ionizing radiation can have on these qubits and what can be done about it....

A new way to produce aerogels opens up their use, and understanding how sulfur can change state between two liquids. In this episode: 01:05 Printing aerogels Aerogels are materials with impressive insulating properties, but they’re difficult to handle, due to their innate fragility. Now, researchers have shown a new way to 3D print the most common form of aerogel, opening up a range of potential n...

Triggering swarming behaviour in locusts, and new insights into how humans synchronize. In this episode: 01:56 Understanding swarming behaviour Swarms of migratory locusts regularly devastate crops across the world, but why these swarms form has been a mystery. Now, a team of researchers have identified a compound that causes solitary locusts to come together in their billions - a finding that cou...

In 2015, after a nine-and-a-half-year journey, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft raced past Pluto, beaming images of the dwarf planet back to Earth. Five years after the mission, researchers are poring over images of Pluto’s far-side, which was shrouded in shadow during New Horizon’s flypast. They hope that these images will help give a better understanding of how Pluto was born and even whether a hi...

Skin's unusual response to stretching is finally explained, and the latest in a huge effort to map DNA. In this episode: 01:06 Stretching skin For decades it’s been known that stretching skin causes more skin to grow, but the reasons why have been a mystery. Now, researchers have uncovered a mechanism to explain the phenomenon. Research Article: Aragona et al. ;  News and Views: Stretch exerc...

New evidence may push back the date on human arrival to the Americas, and an examination of science’s flaws. In this episode: 00:59 Ancient Americans Two papers suggest that humans were present in the Americas thousands of years before many people have thought. We examine the evidence.  Research Article:  Ardelean et al. ;  Research Article:  Becerra-Valdivia and Higham ; ...

Probing the superconducting properties of graphene and bacteria that can use manganese to grow. 01:15 Magic angle graphene If you sandwich two sheets of graphene together and twist one in just the right way, it can gain some superconducting properties. Now, physicists have added another material to this sandwich which stabilises that superconductivity, a result that may complicate physicists’ unde...

In this episode: 01:47 Disaster in San Quentin San Quentin prison is facing a massive outbreak, we dig into how they got there. The crisis has arisen despite warnings from experts, and offers of free tests, which were declined. We ask why? And what can be done now? News:  California's San Quentin prison declined free coronavirus tests and urgent advice — now it has a massive outbreak 29:51 On...

On this week’s podcast, an ambitious Mars mission from a young space agency, and how crumbling up rocks could help fight climate change. In this episode: 00:46 Mars hopes In a few weeks the UAE’s first mission to Mars is due to launch. We speak to the mission leads to learn about the aims of the project, and how they developed the mission in under six years.  News Feature:  How a small A...

Next week, we’ll be wrapping up Coronapod in its current form. Please fill out our short survey to let us know your thoughts on the show. In this episode: 02:15 Simulating pandemics Researchers have run numerous military-style simulations to predict the consequences of fictitious viral outbreaks. We discuss how these simulations work, what recommendations come out of them and if any of these warni...

On this week’s podcast, how the molecular structure of tooth enamel may impact decay, and a mysterious planetary core from a half-formed gas giant. In this episode: 00:46 Unravelling tooth enamel Researchers have been looking into the structure and composition of enamel in an effort to better understand tooth decay.  Research Article:  DeRocher et al. 07:02 Research Highlights An adhesiv...

In a few weeks, we’ll be wrapping up Coronapod in its current form. Please fill out our short survey to let us know your thoughts on the show. In this episode: 03:13 What have we learnt? We take a look back over the past six months of the pandemic, and discuss how far the world has come. It’s been a period of turmoil and science has faced an unprecedented challenge. What lessons can be learned fro...

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.  Boo...

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 thir...

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 phys...

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 Int...

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 f...

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 https://www.shutdownstem.com/ Editorial:  Systemic racism: science must listen, learn and change News:  Thousands of...

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. https://www.shutdownstem.com/ Editorial:  Systemic racism: science must listen, learn and change News:  Thousands of scientists worldwide to go on strike for Black lives Ho...

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 o...

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 med...