As of January 2022, the WHO reports that 5.5 million people have lost their lives to the pandemic. However, many research groups suggests that this number is likely to be a significant underestimate, although it is hard to be certain as counting mortality across the world is an exceptionally difficult task. In this episode of Coronapod we ask why, and delve into the range of approaches scientists are taking to try to get to the bottom of the sticky problem - from excess death counts, to machine learning and even satellite imagery.News Feature: The pandemic’s true death toll: millions more than official countsSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Challenging the dogma of gene evolution, and how chiral nanoparticles could give vaccines a boost. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As our environments change, so too do the sounds they make — and this change in soundscape can effect us in a whole host of ways, from our wellbeing to the way we think about conservation. In this Podcast Extra we hear from one researcher, Simon Butler, who is combining citizen science data with technology to recreate soundscapes lost to the past. Butler hopes to better understand how soundscapes change in response to changes in the environment, and use this to look forward to the soundscapes of the future.Nature Communications: Bird population declines and species turnover are changing the acoustic properties of spring soundscapesSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Nature Podcast, we catch up on the biggest science stories from the holiday period by diving into the Nature Briefing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Nature reporter Davide Castelvecchi joins us to talk about the big science events to look out for in 2022. We'll hear about vaccines, multiple Moon missions, the push to save biodiversity, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cutting-edge microscopy techniques are letting researchers visualize biological molecules within cells, rather than studying them in isolation. This approach is providing new insights into how these structures interact in this complex environment.This is an audio version of our feature: The secret lives of cells — as never seen before Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Nature Podcast team select some of their favourite stories from the past 12 months. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Games, seasonal science songs, and Nature’s 10.01:12 "Oh powered flight"In the first of our festive songs, We pay tribute to NASA's Ingenuity craft - which took the first powered flight on another planet earlier this year. Lyrics by Noah Baker and performed by The Simon Langton School choir, directed by Emily Renshaw-Kidd.Scroll to the bottom of the page for the lyrics.Video: Flying a helicopter on Mars: NASA's IngenuityNews: Lift off! First flight on Mars launches new way to explore worlds07:40 Communicating complex science with common wordsIn this year’s festive challenge, our competitors try to describe some of the biggest science stories of the year, using only the 1,000 most commonly used words in the English language. Find out how they get on…Test your skills communicating complex science with simple words with the Up-Goer Five Text Editor18:04 Alphafold oh AlphafoldOur second song brings some Hanukkah magic to Deep Mind's protein solving algorithm Alphafold. Lyrics by Kerri Smith and Noah Baker, arranged and performed by Phil Self.Scroll to the bottom of the page for the lyrics.News: ‘It will change everything’: DeepMind’s AI makes gigantic leap in solving protein structures21:01 Nature’s 10Every year, Nature’s 10 highlights some of the people who played key roles in science. We hear about a few of the people who made the 2021 list.News Feature: Nature's 10 — Ten people who helped shape science in 2021Oh Powered flightO fateful night!The stars are brightly shiningit is the night to look far beyond the Earth!Long was the way to get to the red planet,‘til he appear'd and the world felt his worth.The thrills and hope as he warmed up his motors.Delays cause stress until the glorious morn!Rise! To the skies.Above the Martian surface.Oh powered flight.Hearts are full, as history’s made.Oh joy, it flies!Mars-copter, for the first time.Led by a team, adept in aeronautics,they rethought all of their theories of flight.So led by da-ta, they crafted all the rotors,to create lift though the atmosphere was light.Viscosity is what would make is happen,but Reynold’s number drove the craft’s design.Rise! To the skies.Above the Martian surface.Oh powered flight.Hearts are full, as history’s made.Oh joy, it flies!Mars-copter, for the first time.Truly it showed, our exploration’s boundless,with caves and canyon’s now all within our grasp.Ingenuity will pave the way for others,to pair with rovers, or solo payload tasks.Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,Let all within us praise this great success.Rise! To the skies.Above the Martian surface.Oh powered flight.Hearts are full, as history’s made.Oh joy, it flies!Mars-copter, for the first time.Alphafold oh AlphafoldOh, Alphafold oh... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Several weeks after the Omicron variant was first identified, it has quickly spread across the world. Early data are showing clear signals that the latest variant of concern is able to evade immunity and spread at a rate faster than any other variant to date. But many questions remain unanswered about the severity of infection, the protection afforded by natural and vaccine-derived immunity, and the impact Omicron could have on the global pandemic response. In this episode, we delve into the very latest studies to take stock of where we are so far and, in a Coronapod first, take on questions sent in by Coronapod listeners.News: How bad is Omicron? What scientists know so farNews: Omicron likely to weaken COVID vaccine protectionNews: Omicron-variant border bans ignore the evidence, say scientistsNews Feature: Beyond Omicron: what’s next for COVID’s viral evolutionSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An explanation for giant ice structures on Pluto, and dismantling the mestizo myth in Latin American genetics.In this episode:00:46 The frozen root of Pluto’s polygonal patternsIn 2015, NASA’s New Horizons probe sent back some intriguing images of Pluto. Huge polygonal patterns could be seen on the surface of a nitrogen-ice ice filled basin known as Sputnik Planitia. This week, a team put forward a new theory to explain these perplexing patterns.Research article: Morison et al.06:15 Research HighlightsHow Pamplona’s bull-running defies the dynamics of crowd motion, and self-healing microbial bio-bricks.Research Highlight: Running of the bulls tramples the laws of crowd dynamicsResearch Highlight: It’s alive! Bio-bricks can signal to others of their kind09:06 How the mixed-race ‘mestizo’ myth has fostered discriminationThe term 'mestizo' emerged during the colonial period in Latin America to describe a blend of ethnicities – especially between Indigenous peoples and the Spanish colonizers. But this label is a social construct not a well-defined scientific category. Now researchers are challenging the mestizo myth, which they say is harmful and has a troubling influence on science.Feature: How the mixed-race mestizo myth warped science in Latin America17:22 Briefing ChatWe discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, how interrupted sleep could be a route to creativity, and the development of vaccines to target respiratory syncytial virus.New Scientist: Interrupting sleep after a few minutes can boost creativityNature News: The race to make vaccines for a dangerous respiratory virusSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.