In this episode:
Schistosomiasis 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 schistosomiasis
How 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 predict
Research Highlight: Supersonic ‘bullets’ are softly captured by a protein gel
We 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 ahead
The Guardian: Crows and magpies using anti-bird spikes to build nests, researchers find
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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Audio long read: Why loneliness is bad for your health
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Audio long read: Why are so many young people getting cancer? What the data say
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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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