A web of three optical atomic clocks show incredibly accurate measurements of time, and the trailblazing astronomer who found hints of dark matter.
In this episode:
00:44 Optical clock network
Optical atomic clocks have the potential to reach new levels of accuracy and redefine how scientists measure time. However, this would require a worldwide system of connected clocks. Now researchers have shown that a network of three optical clocks is possible and confirm high levels of accuracy.
Research Article: BACON collaboration
News and Views: Atomic clocks compared with astounding accuracy
08:55 Research Highlights
The possible downside of high-intensity workouts, and the robot with adaptable legs for rough terrain.
Research Highlight: Can people get too much exercise? Mitochondria hint that the answer is yes
Research Highlight: A motorized leg up: this robot changes its limb length to suit the terrain
11:26 Vera Rubin
Vera Rubin was an astronomer whose observations were among the first to show evidence of dark matter. At the time, female astronomers were a rarity, but Vera blazed the trial for future women in science.
Books Review: Vera Rubin, astronomer extraordinaire — a new biography
18:35 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, carbon cost of bottom trawling, and the fictional French researcher confounding metrics.
The Guardian: Bottom trawling releases as much carbon as air travel, landmark study finds
Science: Who is Camille Noûs, the fictitious French researcher with nearly 200 papers?
Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Video: The quantum world of diamonds
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Audio long read: How does ChatGPT ‘think’? Psychology and neuroscience crack open AI large language models
Fentanyl addiction: the brain pathways behind the opioid crisis
Lizard-inspired building design could save lives
Alphafold 3.0: the AI protein predictor gets an upgrade
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
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