Nature Podcast

Coronapod: the latest on COVID and sporting events

24 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Early in 2021 the United Kingdom, along with several other countries, allowed mass gatherings as part of a series of controlled studies aimed at bette...

How the US is rebooting gun violence research

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Funding for gun violence research in the US returns after a 20-year federal hiatus, and the glass sponges that can manipulate ocean currents.In this e...

Coronapod: Does England's COVID strategy risk breeding deadly variants?

16 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The UK government has announced that virtually all COVID restrictions will be removed in England on Monday 18th July. This will do away with social di...

How deadly heat waves expose historic racism

14 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why heat waves disproportionately impact minorities in US cities, and the researcher that critiqued his whole career on Twitter.In this episode:00:45 ...

Coronapod: Will COVID become a disease of the young?

09 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For much of the pandemic, the greatest burden of disease has been felt by older generations. But now, for the first time, vaccine roll outs are starti...

Food shocks and how to avoid them

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Addressing the problem of sudden food scarcity in US cities, and the up-and-coming field of computational social science.In this episode:00:45 Food...

Coronapod: the biomarker that could change COVID vaccines

02 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Since the beginning oft he pandemic, researchers have searched for a biomarker which indicates immune protection from COVID-19 known as a correlate of...

The scientist whose hybrid rice helped feed billions

30 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A historian reflects on the life of Chinese crop scientist Yuan Longping, and the possible influence of geothermal energy production on earthquake aft...

Audio long-read: How COVID exposed flaws in evidence-based medicine

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A deluge of trials has stress-tested the systems that produce evidence.Around the world, researchers have raced to test therapies to treat COVID-19. T...

Coronapod: should you have a COVID vaccine when breastfeeding?

25 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Early vaccine trials did not include pregnant or breastfeeding people which left some people asking whether COVID vaccines are safe and effective for ...

Quantum compass might help birds 'see' magnetic fields

23 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers isolate the protein thought to allow birds to sense magnetic fields, and astronomers pinpoint the stars that could view Earth as an exopla...

CureVac disappoints in COVID vaccine trial

18 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After a slew of wildly successful vaccine trials, this week marked a more underwhelming result. The third mRNA vaccine to complete phase three trials,...

Communities, COVID and credit: the state of science collaborations

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The pros and pitfalls of collaboration, with insights from researchers and beyond.This week, Nature has a special issue on collaborations, looking at ...

Coronapod: Counting the cost of long COVID

11 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The global burden of COVID-19 has predominantly been measured using metrics like case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths. But the long term health i...

Google AI beats humans at designing computer chips

09 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An AI that designs computer chips in hours, and zooming in on DNA’s complex 3D structures.In this episode:00:46 An AI computer microchip designerWor...

Coronapod: Uncertainty and the COVID 'lab-leak' theory

04 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been allegations that SARS-CoV-2 could have originated in a Chinese lab. A phase one WHO investigation...

On the origin of numbers

02 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The cross-discipline effort to work our how ancient humans learned to count.In this episode:00:45 Number originsAround the world, archaeologists, ling...

New hope for vaccine against a devastating livestock disease

26 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A vaccine candidate for a neglected tropical disease, and calls to extend the 14-day limit on embryo research.In this episode:00:46 A vaccine candi...

Audio long-read: How harmful are microplastics?

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists are trying to figure out whether these pervasive plastic specks are dangerous.Wherever they look – from the bottom of oceans to the top o...

The 'zombie' fires that keep burning under snow-covered forests

19 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Smouldering fires lay dormant before bursting back into flame in spring.In this episode:00:56 The mysterious overwintering forest firesResearchers ...

Coronapod: The variant blamed for India's catastrophic second wave

14 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past few weeks, India has been experiencing a devastating second wave of COVID-19, recording hundreds of thousands of new cases a day.Evidenc...

The brain implant that turns thoughts into text

12 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A new neural interface lets people type with their mind, and a crafting journey into materials science.In this episode:00:45 A brain interface to type...

Coronapod: Waiving vaccine patents and coronavirus genome data disputes

07 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In surprise news this week, the US government announced its support for waiving patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines, in an effort to boost suppli...

Oldest African burial site uncovers Stone Age relationship with death

05 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The earliest evidence of deliberate human burial in Africa, and a metal-free rechargeable battery.Listen to our mini-series ‘Stick to the Science’...

Coronapod special: The inequality at the heart of the pandemic

30 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For more than a century, public health researchers have demonstrated how poverty and discrimination drive disease and the coronavirus pandemic has onl...

What fruit flies could teach scientists about brain imaging

28 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ultra-precise measurements connect brain activity and energy use in individual fruit-fly neurons.Vote for our mini-series ‘Stick to the Science’: ...

Audio long-read: How drugmakers can be better prepared for the next pandemic

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Despite warnings, and a number of close calls, drugmakers failed to develop and stockpile drugs to fight a viral pandemic. Now, in the wake of SARS-Co...

Coronapod: Kids and COVID vaccines

23 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As COVID-19 vaccine roll-outs continue, attentions are turning to one group: children. While research suggests that children rarely develop severe for...

Meet the inflatable, origami-inspired structures

21 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The self-supporting structures that snap into place, and how a ban on fossil-fuel funding could entrench poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.In this episode...

Coronapod: could COVID vaccines cause blood clots? Here's what the science says

16 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Reports of rare and unusual blood clots have resulted in several vaccine roll outs being paused while scientists scramble to work out if the vaccines ...

The sanitation crisis making rural America ill

14 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The lack of adequate sanitation in parts of the rural US, and physicists reassess muons’ magnetism.In this episode:00:45 How failing sanitation infr...

Coronapod: A whistle-blower’s quest to take politics out of coronavirus surveillance

09 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rick Bright exposed former president Trump's political meddling in the US COVID response. Now he is championing a new privately funded initiative to t...

Audio long-read: Rise of the robo-writers

06 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In 2020, the artificial intelligence (AI) GPT-3 wowed the world with its ability to write fluent streams of text. Trained on billions of words from bo...

Coronapod: How to define rare COVID vaccine side effects

02 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

From a sore arm to anaphylaxis, a wide range of adverse events have been reported after people have received a COVID-19 vaccine. And yet it is unclear...

Antimatter cooled with lasers for the first time

31 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Laser-cooled antimatter opens up new physics experiments, and the staggering economic cost of invasive species.In this episode:00:44 Cooling antima...

Coronapod: the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID vaccine - what you need to know

26 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Since the beginning of the pandemic the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been plagued by confusion and controversy. The vaccine has been authorised in o...

Network of world's most accurate clocks paves way to redefine time

24 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A web of three optical atomic clocks show incredibly accurate measurements of time, and the trailblazing astronomer who found hints of dark matter.In ...

Coronapod: Why COVID antibody treatments may not be the answer

19 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the early days of the pandemic, researchers raced to identify the most potent antibodies produced by the immune system in response to SAR-COV-2 inf...

The AI that argues back

17 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A computer that can participate in live debates against human opponents.In this episode:00:43 AI DebaterAfter thousands of years of human practise,...

Coronapod: COVID and pregnancy - what do we know?

12 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been many open questions about how COVID-19 could impact pregnant people and their babies – confound...

The smallest measurement of gravity ever recorded

10 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Physicists examine the gravitational pull between two tiny masses, and how fossil lampreys could shake-up the field of vertebrate evolution.In this ep...

Coronapod: COVID's origins and the 'lab leak' theory

05 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Where did the SARS-CoV-2 virus come from? As a team of researchers from the WHO prepares to report on its investigation into the origins of the virus,...

COVID, 2020 and a year of lost research

03 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The pandemic's unequal toll on the research community, and a newly discovered mitochondria-like symbiosis.In this episode:00:48 The pandemic's unequal...

Coronapod: Google-backed database could help answer big COVID questions

26 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A repository with millions of data points will track immunity and variant spread.To answer the big questions in the pandemic, researchers need access ...

The quark of the matter: what's really inside a proton?

24 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The surprising structure of protons, and a method for growing small intestines for transplantation.In this episode:00:45 Probing the proton’s interi...

Audio long-read: Thundercloud Project tackles a gamma-ray mystery

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers in Japan are trying to understand why thunderstorms fire out bursts of powerful radiation.Gamma rays – the highest-energy electromagneti...

Coronapod: our future with an ever-present coronavirus

19 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What’s the endgame for the COVID-19 pandemic? Is a world without SARS-CoV-2 possible, or is the virus here to stay?A recent Nature survey suggests t...

A mammoth discovery: oldest DNA on record from million-year-old teeth

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers sequence the oldest DNA ever recovered, and the people bringing art and science together.In this episode:00:46 Million-year-old mammoth DN...

Coronapod: Is mixing COVID vaccines a good idea?

12 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The science behind how and when to give vaccines doses.As vaccines are rolled out, massive logistical challenges are leading scientists and policymake...

Human Genome Project - Nature’s editor-in-chief reflects 20 years on

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Looking back at the publication of the human genome, and how macrophages mend muscle.In this episode:00:45 The human genome sequence, 20 years onThis ...

Coronapod: Variants – what you need to know

05 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers are scrambling to understand the biology of new coronavirus variants and the impact they might have on vaccine efficacy.Around the worl...

Mysterious einsteinium spills its secrets

03 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Exploring the properties of a vanishingly-rare artificial element, and the AI that generates new mathematical conjectures.In this episode:01:04 Einste...

Coronapod: Fixing the world’s pandemic alarm

29 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A year ago the WHO’s coronavirus emergency alarm was largely ignored. Why?On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a ‘publ...

Audio long-read: Push, pull and squeeze – the hidden forces that shape life

28 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers are probing the subtle physical forces that sculpt cells and bodies.At every stage of life, from embryo to adulthood, physical forces tug ...

How a spinal device could relieve a neglected effect of cord injury

27 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A neuroprosthetic device restores blood-pressure control after spinal-cord injury, and identifying the neurons that help us understand others’ belie...

Hiring discrimination laid bare by mountain of data

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Analysis of hundreds of thousands of job searches shows that recruiters will discriminate based on ethnicity and gender, and the neural circuitry behi...

Coronapod: The rise of RNA vaccines

14 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Benjamin Thompson, Noah Baker and Elie Dolgin discuss RNA vaccines.In this episode: 01:16 How RNA vaccines came to prominenceIn less than a year,...

The mysterious extinction of the dire wolf

13 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

DNA clues point to how dire wolves went extinct, and a round-up of the main impacts of Brexit on science.In this episode:00:45 Dire wolf DNADire wolve...

Audio long-read: Controlling COVID with science - Iceland's story

30 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Lessons from Iceland, which utilised huge scientific resources to contain COVID-19.When COVID reached the shores of Iceland back in March, the diminut...

Our podcast highlights of 2020

23 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Nature Podcast team select some of their favourite stories from the past 12 months.In this episode:00:32 Following the Viking footprint across Eur...

Coronapod: The big COVID research papers of 2020

17 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Benjamin Thompson, Noah Baker and Traci Watson discuss some of 2020's most significant coronavirus research papers.In the final Coronapod of 2020, we ...

Could you prevent a pandemic? A very 2020 video game

16 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A video game provides players with insights into pandemic responses, and our annual festive fun.In this episode:01:02 Balancing responses in a video g...

Don’t think too deeply about the origin of life – it may have started in puddles

09 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How water chemistry is shifting researchers' thoughts on where life might have arisen, and a new model to tackle climate change equitably and economic...

Norway's prime minister reveals plans to protect the world's oceans

03 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Erna Solberg on fisheries, fossil fuels and the future of the oceans.This week, world leaders are announcing a series of pledges to protect and sustai...

Cellular ageing: turning back the clock restores vision in mice

02 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A trio of genes may be key to making cells young again, and ultra precise measurement of a fundamental physics constant.In this episode:00:47 Reversin...

Neutrinos give insights into the workings of the Sun’s core

25 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists have finally confirmed the existence of a CNO cycle fusion reaction in the Sun, and why women’s contraception research needs a reboot.In ...

Coronapod: What could falling COVID death rates mean for the pandemic?

19 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode:00:44 An increase in survival ratesThe COVID-19 mortality rate is falling around the world. We discuss the reasons behind this – the...

The troubling rise of facial recognition technology

18 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists have grave concerns over ethical and societal impacts of facial-recognition technology. In this surveillance special, we dig into the detai...

Audio long-read: The enigmatic organisms of the Ediacaran Period

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

New fossil finds and new techniques reveal evidence that early animals were more complex than previously thought.The Cambrian explosion, around 541 mi...

Revealed: the impact of noise and light pollution on birds

11 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers try to unpick the complex relationship between sensory pollutants and bird reproduction, and how to combat organised crime in fisheries.In...

A powerful radio burst from a magnetic star

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Astronomers pin down the likely origins of mysterious fast radio bursts, and the latest on what the US election means for science.In this episode:00:4...

Talking politics, talking science

30 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Science and politics are not easy bedfellows - "Stick to the science" is a three part series which aims to find out why.In the third and final episode...

Politics of the life scientific

29 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Science and politics are not easy bedfellows - "Stick to the science" is a three part series which aims to find out why.In this episode we're ask...

A brief history of politics and science

28 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Science and politics are not easy bedfellows - "Stick to the science" is a three part series which aims to find out why.In this episode we delve ...

Lab–grown brains and the debate over consciousness

28 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The chances of mini-brains becoming sentient, and a UK government decision threatens gender diversity in academia.In this episode:00:59 The ethics of ...

The science behind an 'uncrushable' beetle’s exoskeleton

21 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The structure of a beetle’s super-strong exoskeleton could open up new engineering applications, and efforts to address diversity and equality imbal...

Superconductivity gets heated

14 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode:00:44 Room-temperature superconductivityFor decades, scientists have been searching for a material that superconducts at room temperat...

Audio long-read: What animals really think

09 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers are aligning data on animal neuronal activity with behavioural information recorded on millisecond timescales, to uncover the signatures o...

Trump vs. Biden: what's at stake for science?

07 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A conversation about the US election and the possible fallout for science, and are maternal behaviours learned or innate?In this episode:00:46 US elec...

Greenland's ice will melt faster than any time in the past 12,000 years

30 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How current and future ice loss in Greenland compares to the past, and using graphene to make ultra-sensitive radiation detectors.In this episode:00:4...

After decades of trying, scientists coax plastic particles into a diamond-like structure

23 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Coaxing tiny colloid particles into a diamond structure, and manipulating cell death and homeostasis in neurodegenerative disease.In this episode:00:4...

Genes chart Vikings' spread across Europe

16 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mapping the migration of the Vikings, and the world’s smallest ultrasound device.In this episode:00:45 Following the Viking footprint across EuropeT...

A new way to cool computer chips — from within

09 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Keeping electronics from overheating, and how to include minority populations in genetic analyses.In this episode:00:46 Cool computersKeeping componen...

Revealed: A clearer view of how general anaesthetics actually work

02 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Engineering yeast to produce medicines, and the mechanism of anaesthetic action.In this episode:00:44 Making medicine with yeastThe tropane alkaloids ...

The challenge of reproducing results from ten-year-old code

26 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Protecting delicate quantum bits, and a competition to replicate findings from ancient computer code.In this episode:01:04 Quantum computers vs ionizi...

3D-printing some of the world's lightest materials

19 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 aer...

The chemical that turns locusts from Jekyll into Hyde

12 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Triggering swarming behaviour in locusts, and new insights into how humans synchronize.In this episode:01:56 Understanding swarming behaviourSwarms of...

Audio long-read: Pluto’s dark side is overflowing with secrets

07 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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.Fiv...

Why skin grows bigger as you stretch it

29 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 skinFor decade...

When did people arrive in the Americas? New evidence stokes debate

22 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 AmericansT...

Graphene’s magic angle reveals a new twist

15 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Probing the superconducting properties of graphene and bacteria that can use manganese to grow.01:15 Magic angle grapheneIf you sandwich two sheets of...

Coronapod: Massive coronavirus outbreak strikes iconic Californian prison after it rejected expert aid

10 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode:01:47 Disaster in San QuentinSan Quentin prison is facing a massive outbreak, we dig into how they got there. The crisis has arisen de...

The six-year-old space agency with hopes for Mars

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 epis...

Coronapod: Lessons from pandemic ‘war-game’ simulations

03 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 epi...

What the atomic structure of enamel tells us about tooth decay

01 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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.I...

Coronapod: The state of the pandemic, six months in

26 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 thi...

How playing poker can help you make decisions

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On this week’s podcast, life lessons from poker, and keeping things civil during peer review.In this episode:00:44 Deciding to play pokerWhen writer...

Coronapod: Dexamethasone, the cheap steroid that could cut coronavirus deaths

19 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode:00:37 Lessons from the Ebola outbreakWe get an update on the pandemic response in the African countries still reeling from the 2014 Eb...

Incest in the elite of Neolithic Ireland

17 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, researchers make diamonds tough, and evidence of incest in a 5,000 year old tomb.In this episode:00:51 Tough versus hardDiamonds are famed ...

Long Read Podcast: Enigmatic neutron stars may soon give up their secrets

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

An instrument on the International Space Station is providing new insights into some of the Universe’s most baffling objects.Neutron stars have puzz...