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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Nature's Take: How the war in Ukraine is impacting science
Audio long read: What scientists have learnt from COVID lockdowns
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Complex synthetic cells bring scientists closer to artificial cellular life
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Audio long read: Hybrid brains – the ethics of transplanting human neurons into animals
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Do protons have intrinsic charm? New evidence suggests yes
Nature's Take: what's next for the preprint revolution
Why low temperatures could help starve tumours of fuel
Massive Facebook study reveals a key to social mobility
Coronapod: the open-science plan to unseat big Pharma and tackle vaccine inequity
How humans adapted to digest lactose — after thousands of years of milk drinking
How researchers have pinpointed the origin of 'warm-blooded' mammals
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