In the latest episode of Nature hits the books, physicist Athene Donald joins us to discuss her book Not just for the boys, why we need more women in science. We discuss how science has historically excluded women, the barriers to entry and retention that remain prevalent, and what could be done to improve the situation for female scientists today.Not Just for the Boys: Why We Need More Women in Science, Athene Donald, Oxford University Press (2023)Music supplied by Airae/Epidemic Sound/Getty images. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neuroscientists are creating more naturalistic experiments that they hope will provide a more nuanced understanding of animal — and human — behaviour.These set-ups differ from the classic laboratory experiments that have been used for decades, and may help in the understanding of behaviours such as escaping a predator or finding scarce food. By studying these natural actions, scientists are hoping to glean lessons about the brain and behaviour that are more holistic and more relevant to everyday activity than ever before.This is an audio version of our Feature: Lab mice go wild: making experiments more natural in order to decode the brain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:How tweaking social media algorithms affects polarizationSocieties are becoming increasingly polarized, with people reportedly shunning those with differing political views. Social media is often thought to be exacerbating these divides, by creating echo chambers and filtering out dissimilar views. Many hoped that tweaking the algorithms that drive these platforms could reduce polarization. But, a group of studies show that such changes have little to no affect on polarization, implying that solutions to this issue are trickier than previously thought.Research Article: Nyhan et al.News and Views: Influence of Facebook algorithms on political polarization testedNews: Tweaking Facebook feeds is no easy fix for polarizationSubscribe 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:00:46 How to see in the dark like it’s daytimeThere are many methods for better night-vision, but often these rely on enhancing light, which may not be present, or using devices which can interfere with one another. One alternative solution is to use heat, but such infrared sensors struggle to distinguish between different objects. To overcome this, researchers have now combined such sensors with machine learning algorithms to make a system that grants day-like night-vision. They hope it will be useful in technologies such as self-driving cars.Research article: Bao et al.News and Views: Heat-assisted imaging enables day-like visibility at night09:27 Research HighlightsBenjamin Franklin’s anti-counterfeiting money printing techniques, and how much snow is on top of Mount Everest really?Research Highlight: Ben Franklin: founding father of anti-counterfeiting techniquesResearch Highlight: How much snow is on Mount Everest? Scientists climbed it to find out11:47 Briefing ChatWe discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the cost to scientists of English not being their native language, and the mysterious link between COVID-19 and type 1 diabetes.Nature News: The true cost of science’s language barrier for non-native English speakersNature News: As COVID-19 cases rose, so did diabetes — no one knows whySubscribe 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:00:45 A sustainable solution for schistosomiasis controlSchistosomiasis is a serious parasitic disease that affects millions of people, who become infected when they come into contact with contaminated water. To prevent the spread and reinfection of this disease, researchers trialled an environmental intervention that removed plants from lakes in Senegal. These plants act as food for freshwater snails – intermediate hosts for the disease. Results showed that this reduced disease levels, and that the plants could be composted to increase agricultural yields, suggesting this approach could be used to improve health and the economy.Research article: Rohr et al.News and Views: A sustainable way to control the parasitic disease schistosomiasis12:03 Research HighlightsHow artificial intelligence can predict the art that people will find memorable, and the protein-based, shock-absorbing gel that can stop projectiles in their tracks.Research Highlight: Memorable artworks are easy to predictResearch Highlight: Supersonic ‘bullets’ are softly captured by a protein gel14:52 Briefing ChatWe discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, an update on Chandrayaan-3, India’s latest attempt to land a craft on the Moon - and birds that use anti-bird spikes to build nests.Nature News: India's Moon lander successfully launches — but biggest challenge lies aheadThe Guardian: Crows and magpies using anti-bird spikes to build nests, researchers findSubscribe 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:00:23 Using ChatGPT to generate a research paper from scratchA pair of scientists have produced a research paper in less than an hour with the help of the generative artificial intelligence (AI) ChatGPT. The aim of this exercise was to explore the technology’s ability to act as a research ‘co-pilot’ and spark debate about its use. While AI tools like ChatGPT have the potential to speed up research, it is still unclear what role they should play in research.Nature News: Scientists used ChatGPT to generate an entire paper from scratch — but is it any good?06:28 Last week saw the world’s hottest day on record – twiceOn Monday last week the average worldwide temperature reached 17.01 °C, beating a record set in 2016. Then, on Tuesday that record was broken again, as average temperatures hit 17.18 °C. Further record-breaking days may follow this year as a result of climate change, and the arrival of the El Niño weather phenomenon, which is expected to strengthen in the coming months.Bloomberg: Earth Keeps Breaking Temperature Records Due to Global WarmingNature News: El Niño is here — how bad will it be?10:03 Anti-ageing protein boosts monkey memoriesInjecting monkeys with the naturally occurring protein klotho can improve their cognition. Previous work had shown that elevated levels of the enzyme could improve cognitive functions in mice, now researchers have shown that injecting klotho into old rhesus macaques caused them to perform better in memory-related tasks. While the mechanism behind this effect is unclear, it’s hoped that the finding could ultimately lead to new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases in humans.Nature News: Anti-ageing protein injection boosts monkeys’ memoriesSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the Nature Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast app. An RSS feed for the Nature Podcast is available too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:00:46 The effects of evolution on a minimal genomeIn 2016, researchers created a ‘minimal cell’ bacterium with a genome that only contains genes essential for the organism's survival. Any mutation in these genes could be fatal, so it was unclear whether there could be scope for evolution. But now, a team has grown this bacterium through 2,000 generations and shown that it does have the ability to evolve and can recover from some of the fitness costs associated with its streamlined genome.Research article: Moger-Reischer et al.09:21 Research HighlightsDolphins use ‘baby talk’ when talking to their offspring, and how microwaving plastic containers can release microplastic particles.Research Highlight: Dolphin mums whistle ‘baby talk’ with their calvesResearch Highlight: What happens when you microwave that plastic bowl?12:18 The first hints of giant gravitational wavesGravitational waves were first detected in 2015, when two black holes collided — sending ripples in space-time across the Universe. Last week, four separate research collaborations found signatures of a wholly different kind of gravitational wave, with unknown origins. Nature’s Davide Castelvecchi explains how these waves were detected, and what this could mean for researchers’ understanding of black holes and the history of the cosmos.Nature News: Monster gravitational waves spotted for first timeNature News: Giant gravitational waves: why scientists are so excited20:01 Briefing ChatWe discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, new vaccine to protect Tasmanian devils against a deadly contagious cancer, and the ‘paradoxical’ palm that flowers and fruits underground.Nature News: Tasmanian devil cancer vaccine approved for testingThe Guardian: ‘Mind-boggling’ palm that flowers and fruits underground thrills scientistsSubscribe 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 the past two years, there has been an explosion in the number of papers published relating to 'skeletal editing', a technique that allows chemists to precisely edit a molecule by deleting, adding or swapping single atoms in its core.Although many of these methods are early in development, researchers hope skeletal editing could revolutionize how organic chemists design molecules, dramatically speeding up the drug-discovery process.This is an audio version of our Feature: ‘Almost magical’: chemists can now move single atoms in and out of a molecule’s core Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:00:46 Inside the brains of sleeping octopusesResearchers have probed the brains of octopuses and confirmed previous reports suggesting that these invertebrates have a two-stage sleep cycle similar to that seen in many vertebrates. The team suggests this system may have evolved independently in the two groups, as there are millions of years of evolutionary history between them. However, despite its presumed importance, it is a mystery why this system exists at all.Research article: Pophale et al.Nature Video: Do octopuses dream? Brain recordings provide the first clues10:37 Research HighlightsA huge volcano eruption that caused the most extreme lightning ever recorded, and a paper-inspired fabric that can keep you warm and cool.Research Highlight: Underwater volcano triggered the most intense lightning ever recordedResearch Highlight: Fabric warms or cools the body at the flick of a switch13:03 A hormone associated with more effective weight lossCalorie-restricted diets often lead to rapid weight loss at first, but over time this can slow, or even reverse. This is due to the body adapting; slowing its metabolism to use energy more efficiently. Now though, researchers have identified a key hormone in mice that seems to prevent this slowdown, which could prove useful for people who wish to lose weight.Research article: Wang et al.20:02 Briefing ChatWe discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the robot raspberry that teaches fruit-picking machines how to harvest, and an exoplanet without an atmosphere.Nature Communications: Junge et al.Nature Video: A robotic raspberry teaches machines how to pick fruitNature News: Life in the cosmos: JWST hints at lower number of habitable planetsSubscribe 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:00:45 Why losing the Y chromosome makes bladder cancer more aggressiveLoss of the Y chromosome in bladder cancer cells is associated with increased severity of disease, but the reasons behind this have been unclear. Now researchers show that the loss of this chromosome helps tumour cells evade the immune system. However, this mechanism also makes the cells more vulnerable to certain chemotherapy treatments, and the researchers hope their findings could help improve outcomes for patients in the future.Research article: Abdel-Hafiz et al.07:30 Research HighlightsHow pollution particles ferry influenza virus deep into the lungs, and why artificial lights could dazzle glow worms into extinction.Research Highlight: Flu virus hitches a ride with haze particles deep into the lungResearch Highlight: Glow-worms’ ‘come-hither’ signals are lost in the glare of human lights10:10 Engineering synthetic cartilageThe cartilage in our joints is able to withstand and dissipate a lifetime of impacts, protecting our bones and muscles from damage. But the mechanical properties of cartilage have made it difficult to mimic, and developing synthetic cartilage to replace damaged tissue has proved challenging. Now a team has developed a protein-based material that shares some of cartilage’s characteristics, and shown its potential in helping heal damaged tissue.Research article: Fu et al.17:44 Briefing ChatWe discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, how early magnetic minerals might help explain why nature shows a preference for the ‘left handed’ or ‘right handed’ versions of certain molecules, and how human’s thirst for groundwater has made the North Pole drift.Science: ‘Breakthrough’ could explain why life molecules are left- or right-handedNature News: Rampant groundwater pumping has changed the tilt of Earth’s axisSubscribe 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.