Nature Podcast

Asteroid Bennu contains building blocks of life


Listen Later

In this episode:



00:46 Evidence of ancient brine reveals Bennu’s watery past

Analysis of samples taken from the asteroid Bennu reveal the presence of organic compounds important for life, and that its parent asteroid likely contained salty, subsurface water. Collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, these rocks and dust particles give insights into the chemistry of the early Solar System, and suggest that brines may have been an important place where pre-biotic molecules were formed. As brines are found throughout the Solar System, this finding raises questions about whether similar molecules will be found in places like Jupiter’s moon Europa.


Research Article: McCoy et al.

Research Article: Glavin et al.

News: Asteroid fragments upend theory of how life on Earth bloomed



14:22 Research Highlights

How seaweed farms could capture carbon, and why chimps follow each other to the bathroom.


Research Highlight: Seaweed farms dish up climate benefits

Research Highlight: All together now: chimps engage in contagious peeing



16:31 How maize may have supported a civilization

Researchers have found evidence of intensive maize agriculture that could help explain how a mysterious South American society produced enough food to fuel a labour-force big enough to build enormous earth structures. It appears that the Casarabe people, who lived in the Amazon Basin around 500-1400 AD, restructured the landscape to create water conserving infrastructure that allowed for year-round production of maize. While this work provides new insights into how the Casarabe may have established a complex monument-building culture, these people vanished around 600 years ago, and many questions remain about their lives.


Research Article: Lombardo et al.

Research Article: Hermenegildo et al.


25:52 DeepSeek R1 wows scientists

A new AI model from a Chinese company, DeepSeek, rivals the abilities of OpenAI’s o1 — a state-of-the art ‘reasoning’ model — at a fraction of the cost. The release of DeepSeek has thrilled researchers, asked questions about American AI dominance in the area, and spooked stock markets. We discuss why this large language model has sent shockwaves around the world and what it means for the future of AI.


News: China’s cheap, open AI model DeepSeek thrills scientists


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Nature PodcastBy Springer Nature Limited

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

698 ratings


More shows like Nature Podcast

View all
Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,046 Listeners

Big Picture Science by Big Picture Science

Big Picture Science

943 Listeners

The Naked Scientists Podcast by The Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists Podcast

602 Listeners

Science Magazine Podcast by Science Magazine

Science Magazine Podcast

812 Listeners

Science Quickly by Scientific American

Science Quickly

610 Listeners

Science Weekly by The Guardian

Science Weekly

427 Listeners

Science Quickly by Scientific American

Science Quickly

1,367 Listeners

5 Live Science Podcast by BBC Radio 5 Live

5 Live Science Podcast

112 Listeners

Science In Action by BBC World Service

Science In Action

347 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

962 Listeners

Eye Podcast by Nature Publishing Group

Eye Podcast

0 Listeners

NPP BrainPod by Springer Nature

NPP BrainPod

15 Listeners

Pediatric Research Podcast by Nature Publishing Group

Pediatric Research Podcast

4 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

364 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

398 Listeners

Quanta Science Podcast by Quanta Magazine

Quanta Science Podcast

456 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

478 Listeners

New Scientist Podcasts by New Scientist

New Scientist Podcasts

105 Listeners