Nature Podcast

This week, a record-breaking magnetic field, and aerosols’ potential effects on the atmosphere.In this episode:00:45 Making massive magnetsResearchers have created the world’s strongest direct current magnetic field. Research article: S. Hahn et al.08:38 Research HighlightsMacaques’ musicality and human consumption of microplastics. Research Article: Divergence in the functional organization of human and macaque auditory cortex revealed by fMRI responses to harmonic tones; Research Highlight: What a bottled-water habit means for intake of ‘microplastics’10:55 Aerosols’ impacts on the climateThere’s a still a lot to learn about how aerosols affect the climate. Comment: Soot, sulfate, dust and the climate — three ways through the fog17:03 News ChatThe launch of an X-ray space telescope, and a Russian researcher’s plans to CRISPR-edit human embryos. News:Space telescope to chart first map of the Universe in high-energy X-rays; News: Russian biologist plans more CRISPR-edited babies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, how gut microbes might be affecting drugs, and a new theory on the beginning of plate tectonics.In this episode:00:45 Microbes metabolising drugsResearchers are investigating whether the gut microbiota can alter the activity of medicinal drugs.Research article: Zimmermann et al. 06:40 Research HighlightsElephants counting with smell, and audio activity monitoring.Research Highlight: Elephants have a nose for portion sizeResearch Highlight: Deep learning monitors human activity based on sound alone08:57 The origin of plate tectonics?A new theory suggests that sediment may have lubricated the Earth’s tectonic plates, allowing them to move.Research article: Sobolev and BrownNews and Views: Earth’s evolution explored 14:14 News ChatScientists protest in Hungary, and a trial of a new post-review process to test reproducibility.News: Hungarians protest against proposed government takeover of scienceNews: Reproducibility trial publishes two conclusions for one paper Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year, Nature celebrates its 150th birthday. To mark this anniversary we’re rebroadcasting episodes from our PastCast series, highlighting key moments in the history of science.The discovery of the ozone hole in the mid-1980s was a shock. Scientists suspected that man-made gases called CFCs were damaging the ozone layer, but they didn’t expect to see such a dramatic decline. Nor did they expect the discovery to be made by a small group of British scientists in Antarctica. In this podcast, we hear from the ‘little voice’ in the background whose persistence led to the reporting of the reduced ozone in Nature in May 1985. But how did it become known as the ‘ozone hole’? And what lessons are there for climate change scientists today? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, looking back at cold fusion, a ranking of gender balance in universities, and measuring the impact of wildfires. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, how climate change has affected plankton, the future of European science, and evidence of an ancient fungus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, rewriting the script of life, and a trip to the far side of the Moon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, body mass increases around the world, and river connections in decline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and translating brain patterns into speech. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year, Nature celebrates its 150th birthday. To mark this anniversary we’re rebroadcasting episodes from our PastCast series, highlighting key moments in the history of science.Over 60 years ago, James Watson and Francis Crick published their famous paper proposing a structure for DNA. Everyone knows that story – but fewer people know that there were actually three papers about DNA in that issue of Nature. In this podcast, first broadcast in April 2013, we uncover the evidence that brought Watson and Crick to their conclusion, discuss how the papers were received at the time, and hear from one scientist who was actually there: co-author of one of the DNA papers, the late Raymond Gosling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’ve got an extended News Chat between presenter Benjamin Thompson and Nature's European Bureau Chief Nisha Gaind. They discuss a new way to identify tiny earthquakes, new insights into the heritability of height, and how political tensions between the US and China are affecting scientists and research. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.