In this episode:
Schistosomiasis is a serious parasitic disease that affects millions of people, who become infected when they come into contact with contaminated water. To prevent the spread and reinfection of this disease, researchers trialled an environmental intervention that removed plants from lakes in Senegal. These plants act as food for freshwater snails – intermediate hosts for the disease. Results showed that this reduced disease levels, and that the plants could be composted to increase agricultural yields, suggesting this approach could be used to improve health and the economy.
Research article: Rohr et al.
News and Views: A sustainable way to control the parasitic disease schistosomiasis
How artificial intelligence can predict the art that people will find memorable, and the protein-based, shock-absorbing gel that can stop projectiles in their tracks.
Research Highlight: Memorable artworks are easy to predict
Research Highlight: Supersonic ‘bullets’ are softly captured by a protein gel
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, an update on Chandrayaan-3, India’s latest attempt to land a craft on the Moon - and birds that use anti-bird spikes to build nests.
Nature News: India's Moon lander successfully launches — but biggest challenge lies ahead
The Guardian: Crows and magpies using anti-bird spikes to build nests, researchers find
Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
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Audio long read: Lab mice go wild — making experiments more natural in order to decode the brain
Facebook ‘echo chamber’ has little impact on polarized views, according to study
AI-enhanced night-vision lets users see in the dark
ChatGPT can write a paper in an hour — but there are downsides
Even a 'minimal cell' can grow stronger, thanks to evolution
Audio long read: ‘Almost magical’ — chemists can now move single atoms in and out of a molecule’s core
Do octopuses dream? Neural activity resembles human sleep stages
Why bladder cancer cells that shed their Y chromosome become more aggressive
What IBM's result means for quantum computing
A brain circuit for infanticide, in mice
AI identifies gene interactions to speed up search for treatment targets
Audio long read: Can giant surveys of scientists fight misinformation on COVID, climate change and more?
‘Tree islands’ give oil-palm plantation a biodiversity boost
JWST shows an ancient galaxy in stunning spectroscopic detail
Nature's Take: Can Registered Reports help tackle publication bias?
‘Pangenome’ aims to capture the breadth of human diversity
Menopause and women’s health: why science needs to catch up
Audio long read: Conquering Alzheimer’s — a look at the therapies of the future
How Rosalind Franklin’s story was rewritten
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