In this episode:
Oxygen 28 is an isotope of oxygen with 20 neutrons and eight protons. This strange isotope has long been sought after by physicists, as its proposed unusual properties would allow them to put their theories of how atomic nuclei work to the test. Now, after decades of experiments physicists believe they have observed oxygen 28. The observations are at odds with theory predictions, so they imply that there’s a lot more physicists don’t know about the forces that hold atomic nuclei together.
Research article: Kondo et al.
News and Views: Heaviest oxygen isotope is found to be unbound
How venus fly traps can protect themselves from wildfires, and a ball-point pen that can ‘write’ LEDs.
Research Highlight: Venus flytraps shut their traps when flames approach
Research Highlight: A rainbow of LEDs adorns objects at the stroke of a pen
AIs have been beating humans at games for years, but in these cases the AI has always trained in exactly the same conditions in which it competes. In chess for example, the board can be simulated exactly. Now though, researchers have demonstrated an AI that can beat humans in a place where simulation can only take you so far, the real world. The Swift AI system is able to race drones against champion-level humans, and beat them most of the time. The researchers hope this research can help improve the efficiency of drones in general.
Research article: Kaufmann et al.
News and Views: Drone-racing champions outpaced by AI
Video: AI finally beats humans at a real-life sport - drone racing
This time, the Indian Space Research Organization’s successful moon landing, and the low level of support offered to researchers whose first language isn’t English by journals.
Nature News: India lands on the Moon! Scientists celebrate as Chandrayaan-3 touches down
Nature News: Scientists who don’t speak fluent English get little help from journals, study finds
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A new way to cool computer chips — from within
Revealed: A clearer view of how general anaesthetics actually work
The challenge of reproducing results from ten-year-old code
3D-printing some of the world's lightest materials
The chemical that turns locusts from Jekyll into Hyde
Audio long-read: Pluto’s dark side is overflowing with secrets
Why skin grows bigger as you stretch it
When did people arrive in the Americas? New evidence stokes debate
Graphene’s magic angle reveals a new twist
Coronapod: Massive coronavirus outbreak strikes iconic Californian prison after it rejected expert aid
The six-year-old space agency with hopes for Mars
Coronapod: Lessons from pandemic ‘war-game’ simulations
What the atomic structure of enamel tells us about tooth decay
Coronapod: The state of the pandemic, six months in
How playing poker can help you make decisions
Coronapod: Dexamethasone, the cheap steroid that could cut coronavirus deaths
Incest in the elite of Neolithic Ireland
Long Read Podcast: Enigmatic neutron stars may soon give up their secrets
Coronapod: The Surgisphere scandal that rocked coronavirus drug research
The quantum space lab
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