Nature Podcast

This week, how going barefoot affects what your feet can feel, and uncovering history with ancient proteins.In this episode:00:44 A sole sensationA 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 sole08:50 Research HighlightsMagma moving quickly, and twice-transforming 4D materials. Research Highlight: Volcano’s magma hit top speed; Research Article: Wang et al. 11:09 Dating fossils with proteinsArchaeologists turn to proteins to answer questions DNA cannot. News Feature: Move over, DNA: ancient proteins are starting to reveal humanity’s history19:38 News ChatA special report from the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the ongoing Ebola crisis. News: The doctor who beat Ebola — and inspires other survivors to care for the sick; News: Meet the Ebola workers battling a virus in a war zone; News: World Health Organization resists declaring Ebola emergency — for third time Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 HighlightsCrafting the perfect crêpe, and anti-fungal wasp eggs. Research Highlight: Physicists tackle a delicate challenge: making the ideal crêpe; Research article: Strohm et al.10:09 Robot bloodMultipurpose battery fluid both moves and powers a robot fish. Research article: Aubin et al.; News: Robo-fish powered by battery ‘blood’16:30 News ChatResearchers reviewing misconduct investigations, and redefining pressure. News: What universities can learn from one of science’s biggest frauds Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, a record-breaking magnetic field, and aerosols’ potential effects on the atmosphere.In this episode:00:45 Making massive magnetsResearchers have created the world’s strongest direct current magnetic field. Research article: S. Hahn et al.08:38 Research HighlightsMacaques’ musicality and human consumption of microplastics. Research Article: Divergence in the functional organization of human and macaque auditory cortex revealed by fMRI responses to harmonic tones; Research Highlight: What a bottled-water habit means for intake of ‘microplastics’10:55 Aerosols’ impacts on the climateThere’s a still a lot to learn about how aerosols affect the climate. Comment: Soot, sulfate, dust and the climate — three ways through the fog17:03 News ChatThe launch of an X-ray space telescope, and a Russian researcher’s plans to CRISPR-edit human embryos. News:Space telescope to chart first map of the Universe in high-energy X-rays; News: Russian biologist plans more CRISPR-edited babies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 drugsResearchers are investigating whether the gut microbiota can alter the activity of medicinal drugs.Research article: Zimmermann et al. 06:40 Research HighlightsElephants counting with smell, and audio activity monitoring.Research Highlight: Elephants have a nose for portion sizeResearch Highlight: Deep learning monitors human activity based on sound alone08:57 The origin of plate tectonics?A new theory suggests that sediment may have lubricated the Earth’s tectonic plates, allowing them to move.Research article: Sobolev and BrownNews and Views: Earth’s evolution explored 14:14 News ChatScientists protest in Hungary, and a trial of a new post-review process to test reproducibility.News: Hungarians protest against proposed government takeover of scienceNews: Reproducibility trial publishes two conclusions for one paper 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.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 expect the discovery to be made by a small group of British scientists in Antarctica. In this podcast, we hear from the ‘little voice’ in the background whose persistence led to the reporting of the reduced ozone in Nature in May 1985. But how did it become known as the ‘ozone hole’? And what lessons are there for climate change scientists today? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 issue of Nature. In this podcast, first broadcast in April 2013, we uncover the evidence that brought Watson and Crick to their conclusion, discuss how the papers were received at the time, and hear from one scientist who was actually there: co-author of one of the DNA papers, the late Raymond Gosling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 became a defining example of how science should be done.This episode was first broadcast in March 2014. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

This week, wetlands' ability to store carbon, mobile health, and the story of Mileva Marić. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the parenting strategies of a tropical cuckoo, increasing the number of topological materials, and growing cannabinoids in yeast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, mapping every cell in a mouse embryo and the benefits of cataloguing all the viruses on Earth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the links between atherosclerosis and sleep-deprivation, and how team size affects research outputs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, virtual drug discovery, and a new addition to the CRISPR toolkit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the female chemists who helped build the periodic table, and harnessing the extra energy in Wi-Fi signals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the effects of recessions on public health, and simulating supermassive black holes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, investigating introns’ roles, and reanimating a fossil. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick Sireau’s sons have a rare genetic disease called alkaptonuria, which can lead to body tissues becoming brittle, causing life long health issues.In this Podcast Extra, Geoff Marsh speaks to Nick and to the physician Dr Lakshminarayan Ranganath about their search for a treatment for alkaptonuria. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, detecting intergalactic radio bursts, and seeing what’s in store for science in 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special round-up episode of the Nature Podcast, a few of our regular reporters choose their favourite podcast piece of 2018, and explain why they enjoyed making it.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Nature Podcast’s 2018 end of year special, including songs, books, our annual quiz, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New research suggests that a key protein involved in the neurodegenerative disease can be transferred between brains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, ‘performing’ experiments, and making mirrored molecules. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, improving heart xenotransplants, and soil bacteria versus phages. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, measuring gravity’s strength with clocks, and worries over wind farms’ wakes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, a solid-state plane engine with no moving parts, and ‘mosaicism’ in brain cells. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, evidence of a nearby exoplanet, and clinical trials in a social media world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, building a cell from the bottom up, and a Breakthough Prize winner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the role that mood forecasting technology may play in suicide prevention, and a 'crisis' in dark matter research. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, how science can help Canadian cannabis growers and a potted history of the Sun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, what life is like when you've just won a Nobel prize, and how a vestigial organ helps ants get organised. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, targeting latent HIV, the breeding behaviour of bold birds, and an update on a near-Earth asteroid mission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, an ultra-thin, wearable biosensor and a multi-shape, mechanical metamaterial. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the ethics of sucking carbon-dioxide out of the atmosphere and bee swarms under strain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the oldest drawing ever found, and the hidden energy costs of data. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, keeping an eye on space junk, and how a physicist changed our understanding of life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, an early mammal relative’s babies, and new attempts to pin down the strength of gravity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this month’s roundtable, audio vs print reporting, returning to Brexit, and finding out about our audience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.