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Nature Podcast
A twisting microscope that could unlock the secrets of 2D materials
To better visualise how electrons are ‘moving’ in materials, a team have developed the Quantum Twisting Microscope. This instrument puts two 2D layers of atoms into close contact, allowing them to interact, which can give useful information about their properties. The microscope can also rotate one of the layers, helping researchers look for so-called ‘magic angles’, where 2D materials like graphene can exhibit extraordinary properties.
Research article: Inbar et al.
News & Views: A twist in the bid to probe electrons in solids
09:55 Research Highlights
How an extinct insect larvae’s prodigiously long ‘neck’ may have helped it hunt, and surveying the levels at which coastal cities are converting water into land.
Research Highlight: Extinct insects hunted like predatory giraffes
Research Highlight: Cities worldwide claw vast amounts of land from the sea
12:21 How Russia’s invasion has affected science in Ukraine
This week marks the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We discuss how science has fared in Ukraine over the past 12 months, and how international collaborations are shaping the future of research in the country.
News Feature: The fight to keep Ukrainian science alive through a year of war
Editorial: Rebuilding Ukrainian science can’t wait — here’s how to start
World View: Ukrainian science has survived against the odds — now let’s rebuild together
19:52 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the US Food and Drug Administration’s requirements to increase diversity in clinical trials, and research suggesting that snakes are better listeners than previously thought.
Nature News: FDA to require diversity plan for clinical trials
Science Alert: Snakes Can Hear You Better Than You Think
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DNA from hunter-gatherer teeth reveals secrets of ancient plague
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Briefing Chat: The epic journey of Stonehenge’s central stone
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21:38|In this episode:00:46 A giant, ancient whale necropolisResearch article: Peng et al.News & Views: A vast whale necropolis has been found08:52 Research HighlightsNature: Babies’ birth weight improves with help of payments to parentsNature: Earliest signs of vision recorded in ancient sea-floor tracks11:11 Turning plant material into chemical building-blocksResearch article: Mains et al.Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Briefing chat: Spinosaurs with salt glands could have lived in marine environments
11:25|In this episode:00:23 Fossil evidence that spinosaurs had an aquatic lifestyleScience: Some spinosaurs cried salty tears to thrive in brackish waters04:57 The explosive immune cells that kill in minutesNature: Bang! Exploding immune cells splatter potent toxins everywhereSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.Your phone can use tiny skin-colour changes to measure your heart rate
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Briefing Chat: When to trust eyewitness memory – according to science
17:14|In this episode:00:21 When witnesses identify suspects from police line-ups, confidence mattersNature: Memory on trial: the new science of when to trust eyewitness testimony07:15 Registered Reports: how this ‘double peer review’ process could benefit scientists and their resultsNature: Nature is expanding Registered Reports to all the fields in which we publishMajor Ebola outbreak is escalating: what happens next
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