Nature Podcast

With money pouring in and an unprecedented level of public attention and excitement, scientists are publishing a steady stream of papers on ways to measure how rapidly a person’s body is declining.However, there are mixed feelings of enthusiasm and apprehension among researchers about efforts to develop tests that measure the impact of ageing on the body, as they are often interpreted and presented without a full reckoning of the uncertainties that plague them.This is an audio version of our Feature: How quickly are you ageing? What molecular ‘clocks’ can tell you about your health

In this episode:00:46 Newly discovered molecule shows potent antibiotic activityResearchers have identified a new molecule with antibiotic activity against a range of disease-causing bacteria, including those resistant to existing drugs. The new molecule — isolated from soil samples taken from a laboratory technician’s garden — is called lariocidin due to its lasso-shaped structure. The team say that in addition to its potent antibiotic activity, the molecule also shows low toxicity towards human cells, making it a promising molecule in the fight against drug-resistant infections.Research Article: Jangra et al.09:36 Research HighlightsA reduction in ships' sulfur emissions linked to a steep drop in thunderclouds, and the epic sea-voyage that let iguanas reach Fiji.Research Highlight: Ship-pollution cuts have an electrifying effect: less lightning at seaResearch Highlight: Iguanas reached Fiji by floating 8,000 kilometres across the sea13:54 Assessing the nuances of humans’ biodiversity impactsA huge study analysing data from thousands of research articles has shown that the human impacts on biodiversity are large but are in some cases context dependent. The new study reveals that at larger scales, communities of living things are becoming more similar due to human influence, but at the smaller scale they are becoming more different. "These are generally unwanted effects on biodiversity," says study author Florian Altermatt, "this is one more very strong argument that stopping and reducing these pressures to halt and reverse biodiversity declines is needed."Research article: Keck et al.21:45 Briefing ChatHow a proposed green-energy facility in Chile could increase light pollution at one of the world’s most powerful telescopes, and how a calving Antarctic iceberg revealed an unseen aquatic ecosystem.Nature: Light pollution threatens fleet of world-class telescopes in Atacama DesertScientific American: Stunning Antarctic Sea Creatures Discovered after Iceberg Breaks AwaySubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

00:46 Microsatellite makes messaging secureA tiny satellite has enabled quantum-encrypted information to be sent between China and South Africa, the farthest distance yet achieved for quantum communication. Using a laser-based system, a team in the city of Hefei was able to beam a ‘secret key’ encoded in quantum states of photons, to their colleagues over 12,000 km away. This key allowed scrambled messages to be decrypted — including one containing a picture of the Great Wall of China. The team’s system is drastically smaller and cheaper that previous attempts, and they think it represents a big step towards the creation of a global network of secure, quantum communication.Research Article: Li et al.News: Mini-satellite paves the way for quantum messaging anywhere on Earth09:53 Research HighlightsHow storms known as ‘atmospheric rivers’ could replenish Greenland’s ice, and a prosthetic hand that can distinguish objects by touch almost as well as a human.Research Highlight: Mega-storm dumps 11 billion tonnes of snow ― and builds up a melting ice sheetResearch Highlight: Robotic fingers can tell objects apart by touch12:27 An AI that gives other AIs helpful feedbackResearchers have created an AI system called TextGrad which can provide written feedback on another AI’s performance. This feedback is interpretable by humans, which could help researchers tweak the incredibly complicated, and sometimes inscrutable models that underpin modern AIs. “Previously optimising machine learning algorithms requires quite a lot of human engineering,” says James Zou, one of the team behind this work, “but with TextGrad, now the AI is able to self-improve to a large extent.”Research Article: Yuksekgonul et al.20:55 How the Trump administration’s cuts are affecting scienceThe first two months of Donald Trump’s presidency has seen swingeing cuts to US federal funding for research, particularly to research associated with DEI. We hear the latest on these cuts and their impact from reporter Max Kozlov.Nature: ‘My career is over’: Columbia University scientists hit hard by Trump team’s cutsNature: How the NIH dominates the world’s health research — in chartsNature: ‘Scientists will not be silenced’: thousands protest Trump research cutsNature: Exclusive: NIH to terminate hundreds of active research grantsSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

00:46 2D metals made using sapphire pressTaking inspiration from industrial forging, researchers have demonstrated a way to squeeze molten metals into atomically-thin layers, creating relatively large flakes of 2D metals. Using a hydraulic press containing two sapphire anvils, a team was able to create sub-nanometer thick sheets of different metals — these sheets had diameters exceeding 0.1 mm, orders of magnitude larger than other methods have achieved. 2D metals have been theorized to possess several useful properties not seen in their larger, 3D counterparts, but have been difficult to make at scale, something this method may help overcome.Research Article: Zhao et al.News and Views: Metals squeezed to thickness of just two atoms09:36 Research HighlightsThe discovery of ancient puppets on remains of a large pyramid offers a glimpse into rituals in Mesoamerica, and how the presence of a certain pattern of sleep brainwaves might help predict which people will recover from an unresponsive state.Research Highlight: Ancient puppets that smile or scowl hint at shared ritualsResearch Highlight: Who’s likely to wake up from a coma? Brainwaves provide a clue12:17 The virology lessons learnt from the COVID pandemicSARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, has become one of the most closely examined viruses on the planet. In the five years since the pandemic, over 150,000 articles have been written about it, and 17 million genome sequences have been generated. We discuss the lessons virologists have learnt from this intense study of a single organism, and how these might help the world prepare for future pandemics.News Feature: Four ways COVID changed virology: lessons from the most sequenced virus of all time23:36 Briefing ChatHow an AI alert-system could help researchers train their telescopes on a neutron star collision, and how expiration dates on plastic food-waste helped biologists age birds’ nests.Nature: How AI could let us watch epic star collisions in real timeScience: Plastic waste in bird nests can act like a tiny time capsuleSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

00:46 Ancient humans made bone tools 1.5 million years agoA 1.5-million-year-old cache of animal-bone tools reveals that ancient humans systematically crafted with this material much earlier than previously thought. Researchers uncovered 27 bone artefacts in Tanzania honed into sharp tools almost 40 cm long. This discovery pushes back the dedicated manufacture of bone tools by around a million years and could have helped these early humans develop new kinds of technology. “This raises a lot of interesting questions,” says study author Ignacio de la Torre.Research Article: de la Torre et al.09:11 Research HighlightsCane toads’ remarkable homing abilities, and evidence that the block of rock that makes up southern Tibet originated in what is now Australia.Research Highlight: Take me home, country toadsResearch Highlight: Lhasa′s rocks reveal an Australian birthplace11:45 A trove of antibacterial molecules hidden in human proteinsTo help protect against infection, cells in the body will selectively cut proteins to produce molecules known as antimicrobial peptides, according to new research. A team has found that many potential peptides appear to be locked up within proteins — to get them out, cells shift the activity of a waste-disposal system called the proteasome, known for its role in protein degradation and recycling. In tests, one of these peptides showed efficacy at protecting mice from infection, indicating that these molecules could one day have therapeutic potential.Research Article: Goldberg et al.News and Views: Protein waste turned into antibiotics as a defence strategy of human cells21:08 Briefing ChatAn update on two missions heading to the Moon to look for water, and why fears that a crucial ocean-current system will collapse in the face of climate change may be incorrect.Nature: Meet the ice-hunting robots headed for the Moon right nowNature: Iconic ocean-current system is safe from climate collapse ― for nowSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

Over the past two decades, research has emerged showing that opportunities for risky play are crucial for children's healthy physical, mental and emotional development. However, because play is inherently free-form it has been difficult to study. Now, scientists are using innovative approaches, including virtual reality, to probe the benefits of risky play, and how best to promote it.This is an audio version of our Feature: Why kids need to take more risks — science reveals the benefits of wild, free play

00:47 A ‘smart’ way to quickly detect cardiac arrestGoogle researchers have developed an AI for a smartwatch that will call for help if its wearer is having a cardiac arrest. Trained, in part, on data gained when patients had their hearts deliberately stopped during a medical procedure, the team’s machine learning algorithm can automatically detect the telltale signs of cardiac arrest. The team think this system could save lives, although more testing is required. "Our hope is that as these capabilities expand it provides a new way to keep people safer,” says Jake Sunshine, one of the researchers behind the study.Research Article: Shah et al.09:15 Research HighlightsEvidence that a low dose of yellow fever vaccine might be enough to provide lasting immunity, and the odd umbrella-shaped tree fossil that suggests that early plants may have been more complex than previously thought.Research Article: Kimathi et al.Research Article: Gastaldo et al.11:10 Briefing ChatMicrosoft’s new AI that helps create video game ‘worlds’, and why dogs blink more when other dogs do the same.Nature: Microsoft builds AI that creates ‘impressive’ video-game worldsScience: Dogs, like people, may use blinking to bondSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

01:14 A simple switch to reduce racist ratingsA study of almost 70,000 ratings showed that racial discrimination could be eliminated from an online platform by switching from a five-star rating system to a thumbs up or down. The platform connected customers to workers who performed home repair jobs, and prior to the shift people categorised by the study authors as ‘non-white’ had lower ratings and got paid less than their white counterparts. Through follow up studies the authors also showed that the five-star system allowed people to impart their personal opinions, whereas a thumbs up or down just focused them on whether a job was good or bad. The team hopes this could be an easy-to-implement shift to tackle racial discrimination.Research Article: Botelho et al.News and Views: Racial bias eliminated when ratings switch from five stars to thumbs up or down11:24 Research HighlightsExperimental evidence that cockatoos like flavouring their food, and the harsh climate of sixteenth century Transylvania.Research Highlight: Gourmet cockatoos like to fancy up their foodResearch Highlight: Transylvanian diaries reveal centuries-old climate extremes14:05 An analysis of retraction hotspotsA Nature investigation has revealed where the most retractions come from, with hospitals in China and institutions in India and Pakistan topping the list. Retractions are a normal part of science and may be a sign of necessary scrutiny, but they can also signal misconduct and use of paper mills. Features Editor Richard Van Noorden joins us to discuss what this means for science and tackling sloppy research.Nature: Exclusive: These universities have the most retracted scientific articles22:43 Briefing ChatLayoffs in the US’s Environmental Protection Agency, reactions to the DEI purge at NASA, and what RFK Jr.’s role as secretary of Health and Human Services could mean for health research.Nature: ‘Targeted and belittled’: scientists at US environmental agency speak out as layoffs beginNature: NASA embraced diversity. Trump’s DEI purge is hitting space scientists hardNature: Vaccine sceptic RFK Jr is now a powerful force in US science: what will he do?Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

In this episode:00:45 An elusive, cosmic neutrino with a record-breaking energyAn enormous array of detectors, deep under the Mediterranean Sea, has captured evidence of the highest-energy neutrino particle ever recorded, although researchers aren’t sure exactly where in the cosmos it originated. Calculations revealed this particle had over 30 times the energy of previously detected neutrinos. The team hopes that further study and future detections will help reveal the secrets of high-energy phenomena like supernovae.Research Article: The KM3NeT Collaboration11:34 Research HighlightsHow bonobos adjust their communication to account for what other individuals know, and the discovery of a huge collection of beads adorning the attire of the powerful Copper Age women in Spain.Research Highlight: Bonobos know when you’re in the know ― and when you’re notResearch Highlight: Record-setting trove of buried beads speaks to power of ancient women14:15 US judge puts NIH grant cuts on holdA judge has blocked a policy that would have slashed billions of dollars of funding for US research institutions, which come as part of President Donald Trump’s controversial crackdown on government spending. We discuss the reasoning behind the proposed cuts and the impacts they may have if enacted. We also look at the effects that President Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and funding are having across the US.Nature: ‘Devastating’ cuts to NIH grants by Trump’s team put on hold by US judgeNature: Have Trump’s anti-DEI orders hit private funders? HHMI halts inclusive science programmeNature: Scientists globally are racing to save vital health databases taken down amid Trump chaos25:50 Briefing ChatWhy the latest odds on asteroid 2024 YR4’s chance of impacting Earth are so hard to calculate, and how the latest version of DeepMind's AlphaGeometry AI has reached the gold-medal level in geometry.New York Times: Why the Odds of an Asteroid Striking Earth in 2032 Keep Going Up (and Down)Nature: DeepMind AI crushes tough maths problems on par with top human solversSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.