In this episode:
01:28 Inflammation’s role in memoryHow memories are stored is an ongoing question in neuroscience. Now researchers have found an inflammatory pathway that responds to DNA damage in neurons has a key role in the persistence of memories. How this pathway helps memories persist is unclear, but the researchers suggest that how the DNA damage is repaired may play a role. As inflammation in the brain is often associated with disease, the team were surprised by this finding, which they hope will help uncover ways to better preserve our memories, especially in the face of neurodegenerative disorders.
Research Article: Jovasevic et al.
News and Views: Innate immunity in neurons makes memories persist
The effect of wind turbines on property values, and how waste wood can be used to 3D print new wooden objects.
Research Highlight: A view of wind turbines drives down home values — but only briefly
Research Highlight: Squeeze, freeze, bake: how to make 3D-printed wood that mimics the real thing
Due to variations in the speed of Earth’s rotation, the length of a day is rarely exactly 24 hours. By calculating the strength of the different factors affecting this, a researcher has shown that while Earth’s rotation is overall speeding up, this effect is being tempered by the melting of the polar ice caps. As global time kept by atomic clocks occasionally has to be altered to match Earth’s rotation, human-induced climate change may delay plans to add a negative leap-second to ensure the two align.
Research article: Agnew
News and Views: Melting ice solves leap-second problem — for now
An AI for antibody development, and the plans for the upcoming Simons observatory.
Nature News: ‘A landmark moment’: scientists use AI to design antibodies from scratch
Nature News: ‘Best view ever’: observatory will map Big Bang’s afterglow in new detail
Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Subscribe to Nature Briefing: AI and robotics
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
COVID, 2020 and a year of lost research
Coronapod: Google-backed database could help answer big COVID questions
The quark of the matter: what's really inside a proton?
Audio long-read: Thundercloud Project tackles a gamma-ray mystery
Coronapod: our future with an ever-present coronavirus
A mammoth discovery: oldest DNA on record from million-year-old teeth
Coronapod: Is mixing COVID vaccines a good idea?
Human Genome Project - Nature’s editor-in-chief reflects 20 years on
Coronapod: Variants – what you need to know
Mysterious einsteinium spills its secrets
Coronapod: Fixing the world’s pandemic alarm
Audio long-read: Push, pull and squeeze – the hidden forces that shape life
How a spinal device could relieve a neglected effect of cord injury
Hiring discrimination laid bare by mountain of data
Coronapod: The rise of RNA vaccines
The mysterious extinction of the dire wolf
Audio long-read: Controlling COVID with science - Iceland's story
Our podcast highlights of 2020
Coronapod: The big COVID research papers of 2020
Could you prevent a pandemic? A very 2020 video game
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free