In this episode:
In 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.
Dolphins 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 calves
Research Highlight: What happens when you microwave that plastic bowl?
Gravitational 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 unkown 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 time
Nature News: Giant gravitational waves: why scientists are so excited
We 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 testing
The Guardian: ‘Mind-boggling’ palm that flowers and fruits underground thrills scientists
Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
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Talking about sex and gender doesn't need to be toxic
Dad's microbiome can affect offsprings' health — in mice
Audio long read: Why loneliness is bad for your health
How gliding marsupials got their 'wings'
Living on Mars would probably suck — here's why
Keys, wallet, phone: the neuroscience behind working memory
The 'ghost roads' driving tropical deforestation
Audio long read: Why are so many young people getting cancer? What the data say
Pregnancy's effect on 'biological' age, polite birds, and the carbon cost of home-grown veg
How climate change is affecting global timekeeping
AI hears hidden X factor in zebra finch love songs
Killer whales have menopause. Now scientists think they know why
These tiny fish combine electric pulses to probe the environment
Could this one-time ‘epigenetic’ treatment control cholesterol?
Audio long read: Chimpanzees are dying from our colds — these scientists are trying to save them
How whales sing without drowning, an anatomical mystery solved
Why are we nice? Altruism's origins are put to the test
Smoking changes your immune system, even years after quitting
Why we need to rethink how we talk about cancer
Cancer's power harnessed — lymphoma mutations supercharge T cells
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