Share
Nature Podcast
Feeling the heat: fossil-fuel producers linked to dozens of heatwaves
Major energy producers increased the likelihood and intensity of heatwaves, according to research published in Nature. Using data from an international disaster database, a team developed a methodology to investigate how much anthropogenic climate change had influenced heatwaves. They conclude that many of these events would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change, and that nearly a quarter of the heatwaves recorded from 2000 to 2023 can be directly linked to the greenhouse-gas emissions from individual energy giants.
Research Article: Juvé et al.
News and Views Forum: Heatwaves linked to emissions of individual fossil-fuel and cement producers
News: Dozens of heatwaves linked to carbon emissions from specific companies
How shifting coastal tides may have spurred the rise of the world’s oldest civilization — plus, the liquid crystal lenses that can refocus in a flash.
Research Highlight: Changing tides ushered in the world’s first civilization
Research Highlight: Liquid-crystal specs refocus with the push of a button
Science in the United States is facing an increasing crisis, in the face of swinging cuts and President Donald Trump’s ongoing attack on anything with a connection to diversity, equity and inclusion. In the face of this crisis, many researchers are fighting back — we hear about some of their efforts, and what they think about their chances of success.
News Feature: Scientists take on Trump: the researchers fighting back
How CRISPR-edited pancreas cells could offer new hope for those with type 1 diabetes, and what brain scans reveal about how we process colour.
Nature: Hope for diabetes: CRISPR-edited cells pump out insulin in a person — and evade immune detection
Nature: My blue is your blue: different people’s brains process colours in the same way
More episodes
View all episodes
Red-light therapy is all the rage — does it work?
21:56|In this episode:00:42 Is red-light therapy all hype?Disclaimer: The opinions and assertions expressed herein by Juanita Anders are those of the speaker and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences or the Department of War.Nature: The surprising science behind red-light therapy — and how it really works10:52 Research HighlightsNature: Trafficked pangolins can be traced to their source by DNA — even to a specific forestNature: A wispy wrapper for a chilly, Pluto-like world13:11 The complex story of global obesity ratesResearch article: NCD Risk Factor CollaborationSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.Audio long read: The air is full of DNA — here’s what scientists are using it for
19:06|Although scientists have long been able to gather DNA from water and soil, it's only recently that they've started to see the air as a source of genetic information.Airborne DNA is already being used to monitor individual species, but researchers hope its abundance could have multiple uses, including judging the success of conservation efforts or attacks with biological weapons.However, there remains much to understand, such as how far DNA travels in the air, and the ethics involved in the potential identification of a person's genetic information.This is an audio version of our Feature: The air is full of DNA — here’s what scientists are using it for
Briefing Chat: Can't focus? It's not your attention span, it's your notifications
10:53|00:31 The science of attention spansNature Feature: Are attention spans really shrinking? What the science says04:54 Data centres in space?Nature News Explainer: AI data hubs in space: when will they take flight?Nature Comment: Space diplomacy: bridging the operating gaps between myriad missionsSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.Anaesthetized brains can still process podcasts
15:00|In this episode:00:42 Probing the unconscious brain’s processing abilityResearch Article: Katlowitz et al.Nature: Even the unconscious brain can learn — and predict what you’ll say next12:32 Research HighlightsNature: An electrifying test to find a good coffeeNature: Forest pests hit trees hard as temperatures rise
Briefing Chat: Stressed mitochondria spawn new 'organelles' in cells
12:55|In this episode:00:27 How a parasite unveiled a mitochondrial secretNature: Mitochondria can spawn new ‘organelles’ — hinting at how modern cells evolved06:13 The extinct cephalopods that could have been enormousNature: Did kraken-like octopuses rule Cretaceous seas? Massive jaw fossils offer cluesSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.Immunity gets a boost from a surprising place — breakfast
20:36|In this episode:00:45 How eating can boost the immune systemResearch Article: Kumar et al.08:28 Research HighlightsNature: Cosmic-ray detection heralds era of mega-observatories for neutrinosNature: Little ants groom big ones in a desert spa10:53 The pressing need to plan for future nuclear disastersWorld View: Forty years after Chornobyl, more nuclear disasters are inevitable — plan for themSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Inside the evidence revolution — how decision-making became data driven
26:23|In this episode of Nature hits the books, we speak with Nature's Helen Pearson whose book Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works looks at the history of using evidence, rather than opinion, in decision making.The book traces the course of the movement in various disciplines, such as the rise of evidence-based medicine in the 90s, looking at the rebels who led the charge, the barriers they faced, and why the use of evidence is crucial at a time when misinformation is rife.Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works Helen Pearson Princeton University Press (in the press)Music supplied by SPD/Triple Scoop Music/Getty ImagesMeet Ace, the table-tennis robot that can beat elite players
26:10|In this episode:00:45 The table-tennis robot that can mix it with the prosResearch Article: Dürr et al.News and Views: Robot can beat elite players at table tennisVideo: This robot can beat you at table tennis14:13 Research HighlightsNature: Venus’s impenetrable haze could be made of cosmic dustNature: Graves reveal plague’s inequitable toll16:21 Why physicists can’t agree on the strength of Big GNature: How big is Big G? Mystery deepens after ten-year effort to measure gravity’s strengthResearch Article: Schlamminger 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: Penguins pick up PFAS pollution
15:01|In this episode:00:30 The penguins measuring environmental PFASScience: Penguins become marine detectives, thanks to pollutant-detecting anklets05:14 Treating autoimmune diseases with CAR-TNature: One woman, three autoimmune diseases: CAR-T therapy vanquishes ultra-rare disease trio10:34 Why an anglerfish’s lure might have two usesScience: Why do anglerfish have glowing lures? It might be sexSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.