Nature Podcast

00:46 Evidence of the earliest fire Baked soil, ancient tools, and materials that could be used to start fires show that Neanderthals were making fire in the UK 400,000 years ago — the earliest evidence of this skill...

00:46 How satellite mega-constellations could ruin space-based astronomy The ability of space-based telescopes to image the distant Universe could be in peril, according to new research investigating the impacts of...

CRISPR-based gene editing has revolutionized modern biology, but these tools are unable to access the DNA that resides inside mitochondria. Researchers are eager to access and edit this DNA to understand more about the...

00:46 Martian ‘micro-lightning’ The sounds of ‘micro-lightning’ have been recorded by NASA’s Perseverance rover, ending a long search for the phenomenon on Mars. A lack of suitable equipment has made it difficult to...

00:45 A molecule that delivers insulin through the skin Researchers have developed a skin-permeable polymer that can deliver insulin into the body, which they say could one day offer an alternative to injections for...

Yoshua Bengio, considered by many to be one of the godfathers of AI, has long been at the forefront of machine-learning research. However, his opinions on the technology have shifted in recent years — he joins us to...

00:45 A coronal mass ejection from a distant star Researchers have detected what they say is the strongest evidence yet of a coronal mass ejection (CME) coming from a star other than our Sun. CMEs are massive bursts of...

00:45 The debate around Nanotyrannus A hotly debated species of dinosaur, assumed by many to be a juvenile T. rex, is actually a separate species, according to new research. Nanotyrannus was a dinosaur anatomically...

00:47 How bowhead whales live so long Researchers have uncovered a protein that enhances DNA repair and may explain how bowhead whales can live more than 200 years. The protein, cold-induced RNA-binding protein, was...

Advice on how to get good sleep is everywhere, with the market for sleep aids worth more than US$100 billion annually. However, scientists warn that online hacks and pricey tools aren’t always effective, and suggest...

00:48 How hunger, hormones and aggression interact in mouse brains Researchers have uncovered the neural mechanisms that underlie an aggressive behaviour in mice prompted by hunger and hormonal state. Virgin female mice...

00:46 A multi-variant avian flu vaccine that could enhance pandemic preparedness A vaccine capable of protecting against multiple strains of avian influenza virus might be a step closer, according to new research. The...

00:48 The stereotypes hidden in Internet images Stereotyped assumptions about women’s ages and their perceived job suitability are enhanced by Internet imagery, according to new research. A study of hundreds of...

00:50 How ancient viruses drive modern human development Research suggests that ancient viral-DNA embedded in the human genome is playing a key role in early embryo development. Around 8% of our genome consists of...

In April, Robert F. Kennedy Jr held a press conference about rising diagnoses of autism, and said he would soon be announcing a study to find the responsible agent. Although Kennedy said that environmental factors are...

00:48 New insights into tick-borne encephalitis Researchers have identified a key protein that helps tick-borne encephalitis virus enter the brain. In rare cases an infection can lead to serious neurological symptoms...

Science journalist Lizzie Wade’s first book, Apocalypse: A Transformative Exploration of Humanity's Resilience Through Cataclysmic Events explores some of the cataclysmic events that humans have faced through history...

00:50 The AI tool that predicts disease risk Researchers have developed an AI tool that can calculate a person’s risk of developing over 1,000 different diseases, sometimes years in advance. The system, called...

In 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) facilities in the US directly detected ripples in space-time, known as gravitational waves. These waves were produced by the final spiral of two...

00:45 Attributing extreme heat events to major energy producers Major energy producers increased the likelihood and intensity of heatwaves, according to research published in Nature. Using data from an international...

In 2016, Brian Wansink wrote a blog post that prompted scientific sleuths to investigate his work. They found evidence of data manipulation, and, after several news articles and two investigations by his institution, he...

Raising mosquitoes to tackle disease might sound like an odd concept, but that’s what a facility in Brazil is aiming to do. Millions of mosquitoes are produced there every week, but these insects carry harmless...

00:45 The ant queen that can produce two different species Researchers have made an unusual observation that appears at odds with biology: an ant, known as the Iberian Harvester Ant can produce offspring of two...

The search for signs of consciousness has expanded, thanks to advanced neuroimaging techniques. These tools allow researchers to detect consciousness in unresponsive humans, and now researchers are looking to develop...

00:48 How the 18th-Century 'Great Fear’ spread across rural France In the late 1700s, rural France was beset with rapidly spreading rumours of aristocratic plots to suppress revolutionary ideas. But how, and why, these...