In this episode:
00:46 A virtual chemical library uncovers potential antidepressants
Certain psychedelic drugs are of interest to researchers due to their promising antidepressant effects. To help speed up the discovery of molecules with useful properties, researchers have built a virtual library of 75 million compounds related to these drugs. This approach yielded two molecules that showed antidepressant properties in mice, but without the hallucinogenic activity of psychedelic drugs.
Research article: Kaplan et al.
Research Briefing: Bespoke library docking for 5-HT2A receptor agonists with antidepressant activity
08:25 Research Highlights
Research suggests that ancient artificial island settlements were hubs of activity for society’s elite, and astronomers spot possibly the most luminous star ever observed.
Research Highlight: Ancient DNA suggests that artificial islands were party spots for the elite
Research Highlight: Scientists face down ‘Godzilla’, the most luminous star known
10:42 Nobel News
Flora Graham from the Nature Briefing joins us to talk about the winners of this year’s Nobel Prizes.
Nature News: Geneticist who unmasked lives of ancient humans wins medicine Nobel
Nature News: ‘Spooky’ quantum-entanglement experiments win physics Nobel
Nature News: Chemists who invented revolutionary 'click' reactions win Nobel
Enter Nature’s ‘Scientist at Work’ photo competition, full details here
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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Starting up in science: behind the scenes
Starting up in science: Episode 4
Starting up in science: Episode 3
Starting up in science: Episode 2
Starting up in science: Episode 1
Audio long-read: Can artificially altered clouds save the Great Barrier Reef?
Coronapod: solving the COVID vaccine manufacturing problem
The floating sensors inspired by seeds
How to help feed the world with 'Blue Foods'
The billion years missing from Earth’s history
Dead trees play an under-appreciated role in climate change
Audio long-read: why sports concussions are worse for women
Coronapod: How Delta is changing the game
What’s the isiZulu for dinosaur? How science neglected African languages
Coronapod: COVID boosters amidst global vaccine inequity
The brain cells that help animals navigate in 3D
Coronapod: Ivermectin, what the science says
Flood risk rises as people surge into vulnerable regions
Has the world’s oldest known animal been discovered?
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