Nature Podcast

Podcast Extra: Evidence of a ‘transmissible’ Alzheimer’s protein

New research suggests that a key protein involved in the neurodegenerative disease can be transferred between brains.

06 December 2018: Heart xenotransplants and phage fighting

This week, improving heart xenotransplants, and soil bacteria versus phages.

22 November 2018: An ion-drive aeroplane, and DNA rearrangement.

This week, a solid-state plane engine with no moving parts, and ‘mosaicism’ in brain cells.

08 November 2018: Designer cells, and a Breakthrough researcher

This week, building a cell from the bottom up, and a Breakthough Prize winner

18 October 2018: Cannabis horticulture and the Sun's place in history

This week, how science can help Canadian cannabis growers and a potted history of the Sun.

04 October 2018: Latent HIV, bird personalities and the Hyabusa2 mission

This week, targeting latent HIV, the breeding behaviour of bold birds, and an update on a near-Earth asteroid mission.

20 September 2018: Negative emissions and swarms under strain

This week, the ethics of sucking carbon-dioxide out of the atmosphere and bee swarms under strain.

6 September 2018: Space junk, and a physicist’s perspective on life

This week, keeping an eye on space junk, and how a physicist changed our understanding of life.

Backchat August 2018: Audio reporting, audience feedback, and Brexit

In this month’s roundtable, audio vs print reporting, returning to Brexit, and finding out about our audience.

16 August 2018: Bumblebees, opioids, and ocean weather

This week, more worries for bees, modelling the opioid crisis, and rough weather for seas.

02 August 2018: Zebra finch colour perception, terraforming Mars, and attributing extreme weather

This week, how a bird sees colour, potential problems with terraforming Mars, and linking extreme weather to our changing climate.

19 July 2018: DNA scaffolds, climate-altering microbes, and a robot chemist

This week, tougher DNA nanostructures, climate-altering permafrost microbes, and using a robot to discover chemical reactions.

05 July 2018: A DNA computer, the koala genome, and the invisibility of LGBTQ+ researchers

This week, investigating the koala genome, the issues facing LGBTQ+ researchers, and a DNA-based neural network.

27 June 2018: Air pollution, sick plants, and stress

This week, the relationship between air pollution and infant death in Africa, stressed brains, and diagnosing sick plants from afar.

14 June 2018: Baobab tree death, zebrafish stem cells, and ice in Antarctica

This week, the mysterious death of African baobab trees, Antarctica’s past, present, and future, and how zebrafish protect their stem cells.

31 May 2018: Boosting diversity in physics, and life after an asteroid impact

This week, boosting diversity in physics graduate programs, and life’s recovery after a massive asteroid impact.

17 May 2018: Probing the proton, research misconduct, and making sense of mystery genes

This week, peering inside the proton, identifying the pitfalls of research misconduct, and identifying what bacterial genes of unknown function actually do.

03 May 2018: Building early embryos, the fear response in mice, and ancient rhino remains

This week, constructing early embryos, how mice react to danger, and what an ancient butchered rhino is telling us about hominin migration.

Backchat April 2018: Sexual harassment, social media, and celebrity scientists

In this month’s roundtable, we discuss celebrity scientists, sexual harassment in research, and the science behind a social media scandal.

12 April 2018: The power of remote sensing, and watching a neutron star glitch

This week, looking for glitchy signals from neutron stars, and using remote sensing in research.

29 March 2018: AI in chemistry, and liquid droplets in living cells.

This week, testing a neural network's chemistry skills, and what the physics of droplets is teaching us about the biology of cells.

15 March 2018: Geoengineering Antarctica and increasing NMR’s resolution.

This week, geoengineering glaciers to prevent sea level rise, and using diamonds to improve NMR’s resolution.

1 March 2018: Brain waves and a fingerprint from the early Universe

This week, the landscape of childhood cancers, physicists find a fingerprint from the early Universe, and brain waves cause a splash.

22 February 2018: A focus on adolescence

This week, a teenage special: defining adolescence; high school researchers; and the science of teen risk taking.

08 February 2018: Tough timber, magpie intelligence, and invasive crayfish

This week, crayfish clones in Madagascar, the social smarts of magpies, and building tougher wood.