Nature Podcast

With the world looking likely to blow past the temperature targets laid out in the 2015 Paris climate agreement, a growing number of voices are saying that carbon removal technologies will be necessary if humanity is to achieve its long-term climate goals. If these approaches succeed, they could help nations and corporations to meet their climate commitments — and help the world to halt global warming.However, questions remain about the financial viability of these technologies, and whether they can live up to the hype.This is an audio version of our Feature: Three ways to cool Earth by pulling carbon from the sky

00:33 Was a boom in papers driven by AI?A spike in papers formulaically analysing a public data set has sparked worries that AI is being used to generate low quality and potentially misleading analyses.Nature: AI linked to explosion of low-quality biomedical research papers08:07 Lenses that give humans infrared visionResearchers in China have created contact lenses that can allow humans to see infrared light, which could help with search and rescue missions, sending secret messages and even surgery.Nature: These contact lenses give people infrared vision — even with their eyes shut14:17 Does the Earth's core have a leak?Geologists have uncovered the strongest evidence yet that Earth's core is leaking. Rocks from Hawaii were found to contain isotopes of a rare element, which suggests the material originally came from the core. More work will need to be done to rule out other explanations.Nature: Is Earth’s core leaking? Volcanic rocks provide strongest evidence yetSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

00:45 Treating mosquitoes for malariaResearchers have developed two compounds that can kill malaria-causing parasites within mosquitoes, an approach they hope could help reduce transmission of the disease. The team showed that these compounds can be embedded into the plastics used to make bed nets, providing an alternative to insecticide-based malaria-control measures, which are losing efficacy in the face of increased resistance.Research article: Probst et al.10:42 Research HighlightsThe sunlight-powered device that can harvest drinkable water from desert air, and evidence that the world’s richest people are disproportionately responsible for climate impacts.Research Highlight: Atacama sunshine helps to pull water from thin airResearch Highlight: The world’s richest people have an outsized role in climate extremes13:02 The genetics that can lead to pregnancy lossResearchers have found specific genetic mutations that can lead to pregnancy loss. It’s known that errors, such as the duplication of chromosomes, can lead to nonviable pregnancies but less has been known about non-chromosomal genetic errors. The new work identifies DNA sequence changes that can lead to a non-viable pregnancy. This may offer clinicians the ability to screen embryos for these changes to help avoid pregnancy loss.Research article: Arnadottir et al.22:24 Briefing ChatBespoke CRISPR-based therapy treats baby boy with devastating genetic disease, and the ‘anti-spice’ compounds that can lower chillies’ heat.Nature: World’s first personalized CRISPR therapy given to baby with genetic diseaseNew Scientist: Chemists discover 'anti-spice' that could make chilli peppers less hotSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

00:46 An antimatter delivery van takes its first road tripResearchers have developed a portable antimatter containment device and tested it by putting it in a truck and driving it around CERN. Their system could represent a big step forward in efforts to take particles made at CERN’s ‘antimatter factory’ and transport them to other labs, something currently impossible due to antimatter being destroyed upon contact with matter. The team showed the feasibility of their approach by using the system to safely transport particles of matter and are now looking to adapt it to ferry antimatter particles.Research article: Leonhardt et al.11:45 Research HighlightsHow a tradition of female diving on a South Korean island might have shaped the genomes of the island’s population, and a poison-dart frog that curiously seems to be monogamous.Research Highlight: How Korea’s female divers have adapted to cold plungesResearch Highlight: A ‘hidden gem’ of the Amazon is a frog with odd habits13:46 The mathematics of a near-miss between black holesPhysicists have tackled a longstanding problem in physics — understanding how two black holes gravitationally interact as they fly past each other — which could help with future detections of the gravitational waves that would be created by these events. Rather than repeatedly running expensive computer simulations to approximate the answer to this problem, a team of theorists have come up with a mathematical formula to describe a black hole fly-by, which can be run in a matter of seconds. Their results could be used to identify the tell-tale signatures of these events when they actually occur.Research article: Driesse et al.22:10 Briefing ChatHow physicists turned lead into gold, for a microsecond and at tremendous cost, and the genetics of the skunk cabbage’s foul odour.Nature: Physicists turn lead into gold — for a fraction of a secondVideo: Scientists turn lead into goldNature: How skunk cabbages and other smelly plants brew their foul odourSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

In this Podcast Extra, we examine recent developments US National Science Foundation, which has seen significant numbers of research grants terminated. In addition, there have been freezes on funding for new grants and any additional money to existing ones. We also discuss US President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026, which calls for disproportionately large cuts to federal science funding.News: Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing onesNews: Trump proposes unprecedented budget cuts to US scienceNews: Are the Trump team’s actions affecting your research? How to contact Nature

00:46 How fishing activity altered the migration pattern of HerringSelective fishing of older herring has resulted in a large shift in the migration pattern of these fish, according to new research. For years, herring have visited sites on the south coast of Norway to spawn, but in 2020 a rapid shift was seen, with the fish instead visiting areas hundreds of kilometres to the north. Researchers have concluded that too many older fish have been removed from these waters, preventing the knowledge of the best spawning grounds being passed to younger, less experienced fish. This finding shows how human activity can affect animal migration, which could have serious consequences for the delicately balanced ecosystems built around them.Research article: Slotte et al.10:37 Research HighlightsArchaeologists have identified tools that the ancient Maya may have used for tattooing, and the self-assembling stable structures that may help ‘forever chemicals’ persist in nature.Research Highlight: Tattoo-making tools used by ancient Maya revealedResearch Highlight: ‘Forever’ molecules bunch themselves into cell-like structures13:02 How might AI companions affect users’ mental health?AI companions — apps where humans build relationships with computers — are hugely popular, with millions of people around the world using them. But despite increased social and political attention, research investigating how these systems can affect users has been lacking. We find out about the latest research in this space.News Feature: Supportive? Addictive? Abusive? How AI companions affect our mental health24:52 Briefing ChatA technique that lets researchers directly edits proteins within living cells, and how a fibre-rich, low-fat diet could help replenish populations of gut microbes ravaged by antibiotics.Nature: Powerful protein editors offer new ways of probing living cellsNature: How to fix a gut microbiome ravaged by antibioticsSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

In this episode:00:46 What will be left of US science after Trump 2.0?100 days into his term, President Donald Trump and his administration have already caused the biggest shakeup in modern scientific history, slashing funding, bringing large swathes of US research to a standstill and halting many clinical trials. But many fear these actions are just the beginning. We look at what the long-term impacts of these decisions might be for science in the United States and the world.Nature: Will US science survive Trump 2.0?13:42 Research HighlightsA distant planet that orbits two stars, at a right angle, and how fringe-lipped bats’ hearing helps them find palatable amphibians.Research Highlight: ‘Tatooine’-like planet orbits two stars ― but at a weird angleResearch Highlight: For these bats, eavesdropping is a valuable learnt skill16:07 Briefing ChatThe first skeletal evidence from bones that Roman gladiators fought lions, and scientists finally pinpoint the genes responsible for three of the pea traits studied by Gregor Mendel.BBC News: Bites on gladiator bones prove combat with lionNature: Century-old genetics mystery of Mendel’s peas finally solvedSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

Research shows that, over the past two decades, rates of mental illness have been increasing in adolescents in many countries. While some scientists point to soaring use of smartphones and social media as a key driver for this trend, others say the evidence does not show a large effect of these technologies on teenagers’ psychological health.At the heart of the dispute is a large, complex and often conflicting body of research that different researchers interpret in different ways. This has left parents unsure what to do.This is an audio version of our Feature: Do smartphones and social media really harm teens’ mental health?

00:27 Five people see ‘olo’, a brand-new colourUsing a laser system to activate specific eye cells, a team has allowed five study participants to perceive a vibrant blue-greenish hue well outside the natural range of colours seen by humans. Although the setup required to accomplish this feat is currently complicated, this finding could provide more understanding about how the brain perceives colour and could one day help boost the vision of people with colour blindness.Nature News: Brand-new colour created by tricking human eyes with laser08:30 US regulator greenlights pig-liver transplant trialThe US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first trial to test whether genetically modified pig livers can be used safely to treat people with organ failure. In the initial phase of the trial, four people with severe liver failure will be temporarily connected to an external pig liver that will filter their blood. Participants will then be monitored for a year for safety and changes in liver function. The organs have been genetically modified to make them more compatible with humans.Nature News: Pig livers for people: US regulator greenlights first safety trial14:08: A chunk of lab-grown chickenUsing a designer ‘circulatory system’, a team of researchers have created what they think is the largest piece of meat grown in the laboratory yet. One of the challenges to producing larger pieces of lab-grown meat has been providing cells with sufficient oxygen and nutrients, something the team’s new setup helps overcome. They used it to grow a chunk of chicken muscle about the size of a nugget, but multiple challenges remain before meat produced in this way could make it to market.Nature News: Winner, winner, lab-made dinner! Team grows nugget-sized chicken chunkSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.