In this episode:
When it comes to the structure of DNA, everyone thinks they know Rosalind Franklin’s role in its discovery. The story goes that her crucial data was taken by James Watson without her knowledge, helping him and Francis Crick solve the structure. However, new evidence has revealed that this wasn’t really the case. Rosalind Franklin was not a ‘wronged heroine’, she was an equal contributor to the discovery.
Nature Podcast: 25 April 2023
Comment: What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
To prevent the loss of wildlife, forest restoration is key, but monitoring how well biodiversity actually recovers is incredibly difficult. Now though, a team has collected recordings of animal sounds to determine the extent of the recovery. However, while using these sounds to identify species is an effective way to monitor, it’s also labour intensive. To overcome this, they trained an AI to listen to the sounds, and found that although it was less able to identify species, its findings still correlated well with wildlife recovery, suggesting that it could be a cost-effective and automated way to monitor biodiversity.
Nature Podcast: 25 October 2023
Research article: Müller et al.
The first brain recording from a freely swimming octopus, and how a Seinfeld episode helped scientists to distinguish the brain regions involved in understanding and appreciating humour.
Research Highlight: How to measure the brain of an octopus
Research Highlight: One brain area helps you to enjoy a joke — but another helps you to get it
It’s recognized that multisensory experiences can create strong memories and that later-on, a single sensory experience can trigger memories of the whole event, like a specific smell conjuring a visual memory. But the neural mechanisms behind this are not well understood. Now, a team has shown that rich sensory experiences can create direct neural circuit between the memory regions involved with different senses. This circuit increases memory strength in the flies, and helps explain how sense and memories are interlinked.
Nature Podcast: 25 April 2023
Research article: Okray et al.
How elephant seals catch some shut-eye while diving.
New York Times: Elephant Seals Take Power Naps During Deep Ocean Dives
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Fruit flies' ability to sense magnetic fields thrown into doubt
Racism in health: the roots of the US Black maternal mortality crisis
How welcome are refugees in Europe? A giant study has some answers
How to get more women in science, with Athene Donald
Audio long read: Lab mice go wild — making experiments more natural in order to decode the brain
Facebook ‘echo chamber’ has little impact on polarized views, according to study
AI-enhanced night-vision lets users see in the dark
Disrupting snail food-chain curbs parasitic disease in Senegal
ChatGPT can write a paper in an hour — but there are downsides
Even a 'minimal cell' can grow stronger, thanks to evolution
Audio long read: ‘Almost magical’ — chemists can now move single atoms in and out of a molecule’s core
Do octopuses dream? Neural activity resembles human sleep stages
Why bladder cancer cells that shed their Y chromosome become more aggressive
What IBM's result means for quantum computing
A brain circuit for infanticide, in mice
AI identifies gene interactions to speed up search for treatment targets
Audio long read: Can giant surveys of scientists fight misinformation on COVID, climate change and more?
‘Tree islands’ give oil-palm plantation a biodiversity boost
JWST shows an ancient galaxy in stunning spectroscopic detail
Nature's Take: Can Registered Reports help tackle publication bias?
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