Nature Podcast Nature

Next week, we’ll be wrapping up Coronapod in its current form. Please fill out our short survey to let us know your thoughts on the show.


In this episode:


02:15 Simulating pandemics
Researchers have run numerous military-style simulations to predict the consequences of fictitious viral outbreaks. We discuss how these simulations work, what recommendations come out of them and if any of these warnings have been heeded.


24:08 One good thing
Our hosts pick out things that have made them smile in the last week, including audience feedback, the official end of the Ebola outbreak in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and an enormous t-shirt collection.


News: World’s second-deadliest Ebola outbreak ends in Democratic Republic of the Congo


28:50 The latest coronavirus research papers
Benjamin Thompson takes a look through some of the key coronavirus papers of the last few weeks.


News: Coronavirus research updates
Cell: A SARS-CoV-2 Infection Model in Mice Demonstrates Protection by Neutralizing Antibodies
Cell: Generation of a Broadly Useful Model for COVID-19 Pathogenesis, Vaccination, and Treatment
Clincal Infectious Diseases: The natural history and transmission potential of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection
Nature: Suppression of a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in the Italian municipality of Vo’
medRxiv: Test sensitivity is secondary to frequency and turnaround time for COVID-19 surveillance


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On this week’s podcast, how the molecular structure of tooth enamel may impact decay, and a mysterious planetary core from a half-formed gas giant.


In this episode:


00:46 Unravelling tooth enamel
Researchers have been looking into the structure and composition of enamel in an effort to better understand tooth decay. Research Article: DeRocher et al.


07:02 Research Highlights
An adhesive patch to help heal heart-attacks, and a new technique to inspect the structure of 2D ‘wonder materials’. Research Highlight: A healing patch holds tight to a beating heart; Research Highlight: A snapshot shows off super-material only two atoms thick


09:21 Unusual planet
In the region close to stars known as the ‘hot Neptune desert’ planets of Neptune’s size are rarely found, but this week scientists have uncovered one and are trying to untangle its mysteries. Research Article: Armstrong et al.


14:52 Briefing Chat
We take a look at some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time we talk about the pitfalls of using CRISPR in human embryos, and renaming of moon craters inadvertently named after Nazi scientists. Nature News: CRISPR gene editing in human embryos wreaks chromosomal mayhem; Prospect Magazine: Astronomers unknowingly dedicated moon craters to Nazis. Will the next historical reckoning be at cosmic level?


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In a few weeks, we’ll be wrapping up Coronapod in its current form. Please fill out our short survey to let us know your thoughts on the show.


In this episode:


03:13 What have we learnt?
We take a look back over the past six months of the pandemic, and discuss how far the world has come. It’s been a period of turmoil and science has faced an unprecedented challenge. What lessons can be learned from the epidemic so far to continue the fight in the months to come?


Financial Times: Coronavirus tracked: the latest figures as countries start to reopen
Wellcome Open Research: What settings have been linked to SARS-CoV-2 transmission clusters?


12:55 Unanswered questions
After months of intensive research, much is known about the new coronavirus – but many important questions remain unanswered. We look at the knowledge gaps researchers are trying to fill.


Nature Medicine: Real-time tracking of self-reported symptoms to predict potential COVID-19


20:36 How has lockdown affected fieldwork?
The inability to travel during lockdown has seriously hampered many researchers’ ability to gather fieldwork data. We hear from three whose work has been affected, and what this means for their projects.


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On this week’s podcast, life lessons from poker, and keeping things civil during peer review.


In this episode:


00:44 Deciding to play poker
When writer Maria Konnikova wanted to better understand the human decision making process, she took a rather unusual step: becoming a professional poker player. We delve into her journey and find out how poker could help people make better decisions. Books and Arts: What the world needs now: lessons from a poker player


09:12 Research Highlights
A sweaty synthetic skin that can exude useful compounds, and Mars’s green atmosphere. Research Highlight: An artificial skin oozes ‘sweat’ through tiny pores; Research Highlight: The red planet has a green glow


11:21 Developing dialogues
The peer-review process is an integral part of scientific discourse, however, sometimes interactions between authors and reviews can be less than civil. How do we tread the fine line between critique and rudeness? Editorial: Peer review should be an honest, but collegial, conversation


18:47 Briefing Chat
We take a look at some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time we talk about research into racism, and a possible hint of dark matter. Nature News: What the data say about police brutality and racial bias — and which reforms might work; Nature News: Mathematicians urge colleagues to boycott police work in wake of killings; Quanta: Dark Matter Experiment Finds Unexplained Signal


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Hope rises as the first potentially life-saving treatment emerges from drug trials.
 
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This week, researchers make diamonds tough, and evidence of incest in a 5,000 year old tomb.


In this episode:


00:51 Tough versus hard
Diamonds are famed for their hardness, but they are not so resistant to fracture. Now, researchers have toughened up diamonds, which could open up new industrial applications. Research Article: Yue et al.


06:07 Research Highlights
A spacecraft helps physicists work out the lifespan of a neutron, and the icy hideaway of an endangered whale. Research Highlight: The vanishing-neutron mystery might be cracked by a robot in outer space; Research Highlight: A secluded icy fortress shelters rare whales


08:33 Ancient inbreeding
Analysis of the genomes of humans buried in an ancient Irish tomb has uncovered many surprises, including evidence of incest amongst the elite. Research Article: Cassidy et al.; News and Views: Incest uncovered at the elite prehistoric Newgrange monument in Ireland


21:13 #ShutdownSTEM
Nature reporter Nidhi Subbaraman joins us to talk about the #ShutdownSTEM movement, and anti-black racism in academia. Editorial: Note from the editors: Nature joins #ShutDownSTEM; News: Grieving and frustrated: Black scientists call out racism in the wake of police killings; News: Thousands of scientists worldwide to go on strike for Black lives; News: How #BlackInTheIvory put a spotlight on racism in academia


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