In this episode:
To understand when, and how, the Milky Way formed, researchers need to know when its stars were born. This week, a team of astronomers have precisely aged nearly a quarter of a million stars, revealing more about the sequence of events that took place as our galaxy formed.
Research article: Xiang and Rix
News and Views: A stellar clock reveals the assembly history of the Milky Way
Archaeologists reveal an ancient lake was actually a ritual pool, and how the Moon’s phase affects some birds' altitude.
Research Highlight: Ancient ‘harbour’ revealed to be part of fertility god’s lavish shrine
Research Highlight: These birds fly high when the full Moon hangs in the sky
Yellowstone National Park’s iconic geothermal geysers and volcanic landmarks are well studied, but very little was known about the ‘plumbing system’ that feeds these features. Now a team of researchers have mapped the underground hydrothermal system, showing the specific faults and pathways that supply the park.
Research article: Finn et al.
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, 0why an Australian university has been suspended from winning a research foundation’s fellowships, and the ongoing debate about the cause of ‘COVID toes’.
Nature: Funder bars university from grant programme over white-male award line-up
Nature: Are ‘COVID toes’ actually caused by the coronavirus?
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JWST shows an ancient galaxy in stunning spectroscopic detail
Nature's Take: Can Registered Reports help tackle publication bias?
‘Pangenome’ aims to capture the breadth of human diversity
Menopause and women’s health: why science needs to catch up
Audio long read: Conquering Alzheimer’s — a look at the therapies of the future
How Rosalind Franklin’s story was rewritten
A smarter way to melt down plastics?
How to battle misinformation with Sander van der Linden
Octopuses hunt by 'tasting' with their suckers
Giant black-hole pair from the early Universe gives clues to how galaxies form
Audio long read: What Turkey’s earthquake tells us about the science of seismic forecasting
Bacterial ‘syringes’ could inject drugs directly into human cells
How to make driverless cars safer — expose them to lots of dangerous drivers
How to build a virus-proof cell
How the Australian wildfires devastated the ozone layer
How an increased heart rate could induce anxiety in mice
Nature's Take: How Twitter's changes could affect science
Audio long read: How your first brush with COVID warps your immunity
A twisting microscope that could unlock the secrets of 2D materials
How 'metadevices' could make electronics faster
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