In this episode:
00:49 What caused the Universe to become fully transparent?Around 13 billion years ago, the Universe was filled with a dense ‘fog’ of neutral hydrogen that blocked certain wavelengths of light. This fog was lifted when the hydrogen was hit by radiation in a process known as reionisation, but the source of this radiation has been debated. Now, researchers have used the JWST to peer deep into the Universe’s past and found that charged particles pouring out from dwarf galaxies appear to be the the main driver for reionization. This finding could help researchers understand how some of the structures we now see in the Universe were formed.
Research article: Atek et al.
Ancient inscriptions could be the earliest example of the language that became Basque, and how researchers etched a groove… onto soap film.
Research Highlight: Ancient bronze hand’s inscription points to origins of Basque language
Research Highlight: Laser pulses engrave an unlikely surface: soap films
To combat high cholesterol, many people take statins, but because these drugs have to be taken every day researchers have been searching for alternatives. Controlling cholesterol by editing the epigenome has shown promise in lab-grown cells, but its efficacy in animals was unclear. Now, researchers have shown the approach can work in mice, and have used it to silence a gene linked to high cholesterol for a year. The mice show markedly lowered cholesterol, a result the team hope could pave the way for epigenetic therapeutics for humans.
Research Article: Cappelluti et al.
Why don’t humans and other apes have a tail? It was assumed that a change must have happened in our genomes around 25 million years ago that resulted in the loss of this flexible appendage. Now researchers believe they have pinned down a good candidate for what caused this: an insertion into a particular gene known as TBXT. The team showed the key role this gene plays by engineering mice genomes to contain a similar change, leading to animals that were tail-less. This finding could help paint a picture of the important genetic mutations that led to the evolution of humans and other apes.
Nature News: How humans lost their tails — and why the discovery took 2.5 years to publish
Research Article: Xia et al.
News and Views: A mobile DNA sequence could explain tail loss in humans and apes
Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How 'metadevices' could make electronics faster
This mysterious space rock shouldn’t have a ring — but it does
How mummies were prepared: Ancient Egyptian pots spill secrets
Audio long read: The ‘breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
Amino acid slows nerve damage from diabetes, in mouse study
Laser 'lightning rod' diverts strikes high in the Alps
The science stories you missed over the past four weeks
Science in 2023: what to expect this year
The Nature Podcast’s highlights of 2022
The Nature Podcast Festive Spectacular 2022
COVID deaths: three times the official toll
Oldest DNA reveals two-million-year-old ecosystem
Gaia Vince on how climate change will shape where people live
Mysterious fluid from ant pupae helps feed colony
Audio long read: Science and the World Cup — how big data is transforming football
The satellite-free alternative to GPS
How a key Alzheimer's gene wreaks havoc in the brain
Audio long read: She was convicted of killing her four children. Could a gene mutation set her free?
Molecular cages sift 'heavy' water from near-identical H2O
Audio long read: The controversial embryo tests that promise a better baby
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free