Nature Podcast

This week, a new advance in silicon based quantum computing and experiences of how to recover when disaster strikes. In this episode: 00:45 Quantum logic A fast and accurate two-qubit logic gate has been designed in silicon.  Research article:  Simmons et al. 07:52 Research Highlights Teaching a computer to solve a Rubik’s cube and immigration in Chichén Itzá.  Research Highlight:&n...

This week, an extended chat about all things lunar with Alex Witze. Instead of a regular edition of the  Nature Podcast , this week we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of humans walking on the Moon. Nick Howe catches up with planetary science reporter, Alex Witze. They discuss the latest US plans to land people on the moon by 2024, the history of the Apollo missions, and what’s next for th...

This week, using an algorithm to find properties in materials science, and the global consequences of sand-mining. In this episode: 00:47 Predicting properties A word-association algorithm is reading millions of abstracts to discover new properties of materials.  Research article:  Tshitoyan et al. ;  News and Views:  Text mining facilitates materials discovery 08:28 Research H...

This year, Nature celebrates its 150th birthday. To mark this anniversary we’re rebroadcasting episodes from our PastCast series, highlighting key moments in the history of science. According to the fables of early explorers, the gorilla was a terrible, man-eating monster. It was also thought to be man’s closest relative in the animal kingdom. Naturally, scientists and the public alike wanted to s...

This week, how going barefoot affects what your feet can feel, and uncovering history with ancient proteins. In this episode: 00:44 A sole sensation A study of people who do and don't wear shoes looks into whether calluses make feet less sensitive. Research article: Holowka et al. ; News and Views: Your sensitive sole 08:50 Research Highlights Magma moving quickly, and twice-transforming 4D materi...

This week, what makes birds invasive, and a robotic fish powered by a blood-like battery. In this episode: 00:44 How do alien bird species establish themselves? Researchers have been looking at how bird species settle in non-native locations.  Research article:  Redding et al. 08:22 Research Highlights Crafting the perfect crêpe, and anti-fungal wasp eggs.  Research Highlight: ...

This week, a record-breaking magnetic field, and aerosols’ potential effects on the atmosphere. In this episode: 00:45 Making massive magnets Researchers have created the world’s strongest direct current magnetic field.  Research article:  S. Hahn et al. 08:38 Research Highlights Macaques’ musicality and human consumption of microplastics.  Research Article:  Divergence in the...

This week, how gut microbes might be affecting drugs, and a new theory on the beginning of plate tectonics. In this episode: 00:45 Microbes metabolising drugs Researchers are investigating whether the gut microbiota can alter the activity of medicinal drugs. Research article: Zimmermann et al.   06:40 Research Highlights Elephants counting with smell, and audio activity monitoring. Research H...

This year, Nature celebrates its 150th birthday. To mark this anniversary we’re rebroadcasting episodes from our PastCast series, highlighting key moments in the history of science. The discovery of the ozone hole in the mid-1980s was a shock. Scientists suspected that man-made gases called CFCs were damaging the ozone layer, but they didn’t expect to see such a dramatic decline. Nor did they expe...

This week, looking back at cold fusion, a ranking of gender balance in universities, and measuring the impact of wildfires. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, how climate change has affected plankton, the future of European science, and evidence of an ancient fungus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, rewriting the script of life, and a trip to the far side of the Moon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, body mass increases around the world, and river connections in decline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and translating brain patterns into speech. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year, Nature celebrates its 150th birthday. To mark this anniversary we’re rebroadcasting episodes from our PastCast series, highlighting key moments in the history of science. Over 60 years ago, James Watson and Francis Crick published their famous paper proposing a structure for DNA. Everyone knows that story – but fewer people know that there were actually three papers about DNA in that i...

This week we’ve got an extended News Chat between presenter Benjamin Thompson and Nature 's European Bureau Chief Nisha Gaind. They discuss a new way to identify tiny earthquakes, new insights into the heritability of height, and how political tensions between the US and China are affecting scientists and research. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, restoring function in dead pig brains, spring science books, and the structure of lightning. If you have any questions about the partly-revived brains study, then the reporters at Nature are keen to answer them. You can submit them at the bottom of the article, here: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01216-4   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, researchers released the first image of a black hole at the centre of the M87 galaxy. In this special News Chat, Nature reporter Davide Castelvecchi, who was at a press conference in Brussels where the image was announced, tells Benjamin Thompson about the image and what scientists are saying about it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, a new mouse model for heart failure and characterising energy fluctuations in empty space. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, why MDMA could make social interactions more rewarding, and how your skin keeps itself youthful. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this month’s roundtable, our reporters discuss calls to pause heritable genome-editing research, and how science journalism has changed in the past 20 years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, how humans are affecting Kilimanjaro's ecosystems, differences in pain based on biological sex, and refrigerating with crystals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, a plan to spray antibiotics onto orange trees, and is it time to retire statistical significance? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year, Nature celebrates its 150th birthday. To mark this anniversary we’re rebroadcasting episodes from our  Pastcast  series, bringing to life key moments in the history of science. As the First World War draws to an end, astronomer Arthur Eddington sets out on a challenging mission: to prove Einstein’s new theory of general relativity by measuring a total eclipse. The experiment b...

Instead of a regular edition of the Nature Podcast , this week we’ve got an extended News Chat between Benjamin Thompson and Amy Maxmen. They discuss the ongoing Ebola outbreak in DRC, an injectable treatment for HIV, and how the proposed US 2020 budget could affect science. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.