Nature Podcast

Springer Nature Limited

The 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 journalists and editors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Behind the scenes of Nature News and Views in 2024

    20 DEC

    Behind the scenes of Nature News and Views in 2024

    02:54 The death star moon and a win for the little guysThe shifting orbit of one of Saturn’s moons indicates that the satellite has a subsurface ocean, contradicting theories that its interior is entirely solid. The finding calls for a fresh take on what constitutes an ocean moon. Nature Podcast: 14 February 2024 News and Views: Mimas’s surprise ocean prompts an update of the rule book for moons 07:05 Could red mud make green steel?Millions of tonnes of ‘red mud’, a hazardous waste of aluminium production, are generated annually. A potentially sustainable process for treating this mud shows that it could become a source of iron for making steel. Nature Podcast: 24 Jan 2024 News and Views: Iron extracted from hazardous waste of aluminium production 12:09 A hierarchy of failureA design principle for buildings incorporates components that can control the propagation of failure by isolating parts of the structure as they fail — offering a way to prevent a partial collapse snowballing into complete destruction. Nature podcast: 15 May 2024 Nature video: Controlled failure: The building designed to limit catastrophe News and Views: Strategic links save buildings from total collapse 17:57 Programable enzyme for genpme editingRNA-guided recombinase enzymes have been discovered that herald a new chapter for genome editing — enabling the insertion, inversion or deletion of long DNA sequences at user-specified genome positions. News and Views: Programmable RNA-guided enzymes for next-generation genome editing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    25 min
  2. Should offensive species names be changed? The organisms that honour dictators, racists and criminals

    16 DEC

    Should offensive species names be changed? The organisms that honour dictators, racists and criminals

    Categorizing things is central to science. And there are dozens of systems scientists have created to name everything from the trenches on the sea bed to the stars in the sky. But names have consequences — unintended or otherwise. In our new series What’s in a name we’ll explore naming in science and how names impact the world — whether that’s how the names of storms impact public safety, how the names of diseases impact patient care, or even how the names of scientific concepts can drive the direction of research itself. In this first episode we’re looking at species names. The modern system of species naming began in the 1700s and has played a vital role in standardizing academic communication, ensuring that scientists are on the same page when they talk about an organism. However, this system is not without its issues. For example, there has been much debate around whether species with names considered offensive — such as those named after historical racists — should be changed, and what rule changes need to be made to allow this to happen. We speak to researchers about the history of this naming system, how it’s applied and how it might evolve in the face of growing pressures. Sources For a full list of sources, please visit https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-04200-9 Music credits Premiumaudio/Pond5 Alon Marcus/Pond5 Groove Committee/Pond5 Opcono/Pond5 Erik Mcnerny/Pond5 Earless Pierre/Pond5 Richard Smithson/Triple Scoop Music/Getty Images ​​​​​​​Douglas Romayne/Triple Scoop Music/Getty Images Sound effects via Pond5 Thick-billed Longspur/​​​​​​​Andrew Spencer via ​​​​​​​CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    53 min
  3. 11 DEC

    Targeted mRNA therapy tackles deadly pregnancy condition in mice

    00:45 A potential treatment for pre-eclampsiaResearchers have shown in mice experiments that an mRNA-based therapy can reverse the underlying causes of pre-eclampsia, a deadly complication of pregnancy for which treatment options are limited. Inspired by the success of mRNA vaccines, the team behind the work designed a method to deliver the genomic instructions for a blood-vessel growth factor directly into mouse placentas. This stimulated the production of extra blood vessels reducing the very high-blood pressure associated with the condition. Pre-eclampsia causes 15% of maternal deaths and 25% of foetal and newborn deaths worldwide and although the work is early and human trials will be required, the team hope that this work demonstrates the potential of using this approach to treat pre-eclampsia. Research Article: Swingle et al. 11:00 Research HighlightsStacks of, mass-produced bowls suggest that people founded, but then abandoned an ancient Mesopotamian civilization, and analysis of Venus’s gases suggests that the planet was always dry. Research Highlight: Ancient stacks of dishes tell tale of society’s dissolution Research Highlight: Has Venus ever had an ocean? Its volcanoes hint at an answer 13:29 Programmable cellular switchesA team of scientists have created cellular switches on the surface of cells, allowing them to control their behaviour. Creating these switches has been a long-term goal for synthetic biologists — especially a group of proteins called G-protein-coupled receptors that already control many cellular processes. However, engineering these proteins has been challenging, as modifications can ruin their function. Instead, the team added another molecular component that blocked the receptors activity, but could be removed in response to specific signals. This allowed the researchers to activate these receptors on command, potentially opening up a myriad of new ways to control cell behaviour, such as controlling when neurons fire. Research Article: Kalogriopoulos et al. 19:35 Google reaches a milestone in quantum computingA team at Google has shown it is possible to create a quantum computer that becomes more accurate as it scales up, a goal researchers have been trying to achieve for decades. Quantum computing could potentially open up applications beyond the capabilities of classical computers, but these systems are error-prone, making it difficult to scale them up without introducing errors into calculations. The team showed that by increasing the quality of all the components in a quantum computer they could create a system with fewer errors, and that this trend of improvement continued as the system became larger. This breakthrough could mean that quantum computers are getting very close to realising the useful applications that their proponents have long promised. Nature: ‘A truly remarkable breakthrough’: Google’s new quantum chip achieves accuracy milestone Subscribe 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.

    29 min
  4. 4 DEC

    Why breast cancer treatments might work best just after your period

    00:48 Chemotherapy efficacy varies with the menstrual cycleBreast cancer cells are more susceptible to chemotherapy at certain points in the menstrual cycle, new data in Nature suggests. Researchers studied the equivalent hormonal cycle in mice and found that during the oestrous phase, where progesterone levels are low, tumours are more susceptible to chemotherapy. The same effect was shown in humans in a small retrospective study. The team caution that a larger clinical trial would need to be conducted, but hope that this work could open up an, easy to implement, way to boost the effect of chemotherapy. Research Article: Bornes et al. News and Views: What is the best time of the month to treat breast cancer? 09:22 Research HighlightsHow coffee changes your gut microbiota, and the first amber deposits found in Antarctica hint at an ancient rainforest. Research Highlight: Do you drink coffee? Ask your gut Research Highlight: Antarctica’s first known amber whispers of a vanished rainforest 11:47 Is human-level artificial intelligence close?The latest AI system released by OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, is better able to break down problems into smaller chunks, making it closer to a human way of solving problems than other systems. This has reignited discussions about the likelihood of AIs achieving human-level intelligence. Although previously the realm of science fiction, researchers are now taking the idea of ‘artificial general intelligence’, or AGI, more seriously. Although this technology has the potential to help tackle humanity's biggest challenges, there are concerns about the safety of such technology if it were to become autonomous. News Feature: How close is AI to human-level intelligence? 21:43 Briefing ChatHow making a bank of centenarians’ stem cells could help unlock the secrets of healthy ageing, and what some 1.5 million year old footprints reveal about how ancient hominin species may have interacted. Nature: What’s the secret to living to 100? Centenarian stem cells could offer clues Nature: These two ancient human relatives crossed paths 1.5 million years ago Subscribe 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.

    30 min
    4.3
    out of 5
    162 Ratings

    About

    The 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 journalists and editors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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