In this episode:
01:28 Inflammation’s role in memoryHow memories are stored is an ongoing question in neuroscience. Now researchers have found an inflammatory pathway that responds to DNA damage in neurons has a key role in the persistence of memories. How this pathway helps memories persist is unclear, but the researchers suggest that how the DNA damage is repaired may play a role. As inflammation in the brain is often associated with disease, the team were surprised by this finding, which they hope will help uncover ways to better preserve our memories, especially in the face of neurodegenerative disorders.
Research Article: Jovasevic et al.
News and Views: Innate immunity in neurons makes memories persist
The effect of wind turbines on property values, and how waste wood can be used to 3D print new wooden objects.
Research Highlight: A view of wind turbines drives down home values — but only briefly
Research Highlight: Squeeze, freeze, bake: how to make 3D-printed wood that mimics the real thing
Due to variations in the speed of Earth’s rotation, the length of a day is rarely exactly 24 hours. By calculating the strength of the different factors affecting this, a researcher has shown that while Earth’s rotation is overall speeding up, this effect is being tempered by the melting of the polar ice caps. As global time kept by atomic clocks occasionally has to be altered to match Earth’s rotation, human-induced climate change may delay plans to add a negative leap-second to ensure the two align.
Research article: Agnew
News and Views: Melting ice solves leap-second problem — for now
An AI for antibody development, and the plans for the upcoming Simons observatory.
Nature News: ‘A landmark moment’: scientists use AI to design antibodies from scratch
Nature News: ‘Best view ever’: observatory will map Big Bang’s afterglow in new detail
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Coronapod: Will COVID become a disease of the young?
Food shocks and how to avoid them
Coronapod: the biomarker that could change COVID vaccines
The scientist whose hybrid rice helped feed billions
Audio long-read: How COVID exposed flaws in evidence-based medicine
Coronapod: should you have a COVID vaccine when breastfeeding?
Quantum compass might help birds 'see' magnetic fields
CureVac disappoints in COVID vaccine trial
Communities, COVID and credit: the state of science collaborations
Coronapod: Counting the cost of long COVID
Google AI beats humans at designing computer chips
Coronapod: Uncertainty and the COVID 'lab-leak' theory
On the origin of numbers
New hope for vaccine against a devastating livestock disease
Audio long-read: How harmful are microplastics?
The 'zombie' fires that keep burning under snow-covered forests
Coronapod: The variant blamed for India's catastrophic second wave
The brain implant that turns thoughts into text
Coronapod: Waiving vaccine patents and coronavirus genome data disputes
Oldest African burial site uncovers Stone Age relationship with death
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