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
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#ShutDownSTEM and the Nature Podcast
Coronapod: The heavy toll on people of colour
Lab-made skin grows its own hair
Coronapod: The divisive hydroxychloroquine study that's triggering mass confusion
Super-efficient catalyst boosts hopes for hydrogen fuel
Coronapod: Hope and caution greet vaccine trial result, and Trump vs the WHO
A synthetic eye that 'sees' like a human
Coronapod: The misinformation pandemic, and science funding fears
The super-sleuth who spots trouble in science papers, and the puzzle of urban smog
Coronapod: The dangers of ignoring outbreaks in homeless shelters, plus coronavirus and drug abuse
07 May 2020: Galileo and the science deniers, and physicists probe the mysterious pion
Coronapod: What use are contact tracing apps? And new hopes for coronavirus drug remdesivir
30 April 2020: A sniff test for consciousness, and how to cut antibiotics use — with vaccines
Coronapod: The race to expand antibody testing
23 April 2020: Denisovan DNA in modern Europeans, and the birth of an unusual celestial object
Coronapod: Troubling news
Coronapod: An untapped resource
09 April 2020: A plastic-recycling enzyme, and supercooled molecules
Coronapod: Ramping up responses
02 April 2020: Dating an ancient hominid skull, and an ancient Antarctic rainforest
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