Episodes

  • Last month, a magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, killing an estimated 50,000 people. Two decades ago, researchers suggested that an earthquake in this area was likely, but exactly where and when it would strike were unknown.


    This shows both the promise — and limitations — of the science of earthquake forecasting. Years of research suggest that it may be impossible to predict exactly when an earthquake will occur. As a result, many in the field have now shifted to identifying high risk fault segments to help policymakers take steps to avoid death and destruction.


    This is an audio version of our Feature: What Turkey’s earthquake tells us about the science of seismic forecasting


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  • 00:48 Tiny syringes for drug delivery

    A team of researchers have repurposed tiny syringe-like structures produced by some bacteria to deliver molecules directly into human cells. They hope that this method could be used to overcome a big challenge in modern medicine, namely ensuring that therapeutics are delivered into the precise cells that need to be treated.


    Research article: Kreitz et al.

    News and Views: Mix-and-match tools for protein injection into cells

    07:05 Research Highlights

    A diamond-like material could protect spacecraft from intense radiation, and how gene editing could help in the treatment of a rare genetic condition.


    Research Highlight: A gem of a material could provide a shield for spacecraft

    Research Highlight: Gene editing holds promise for babies with deadly immune disease


    09:30 Chronic pain

    Chronic pain affects millions of people worldwide and it can be debilitating. Research into the condition has come a long way in the past few years, but this knowledge hasn’t necessarily resulted in better outcomes for those with chronic pain. Nature’s Lucy Odling-Smee has written a Feature article on the topic, and she joined us to discuss why this disparity exists, and about her own experiences of chronic pain.


    News Feature: Chronic pain: the long road to discovery

    Resources for chronic pain: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/chronic-pain; https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/pain/ways-to-manage-chronic-pain/


    If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please reach out. You can find help through a suicide-prevention line: see https://findahelpline.com for information.


    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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  • 00:46 A new test to get autonomous vehicles on the road

    Truly autonomous vehicles, ones that don't require a driver to be present and are driven by AI, aren't yet safe for public use. Part of the reason for this is it has been difficult to train them to deal with rare dangerous situations. Now researchers are unveiling a new approach to present lots of these infrequent events to the AI very rapidly, speeding up the training and testing process.


    Research Article: Feng et al.

    News and Views: Hazards help autonomous cars to drive safely

    Video: The driving test for driverless cars


    08:23 Research Highlights

    How bird-flu is adapting to mammals, and the effect of negative headlines.

    Research Highlight: Bird-flu virus makes itself at home in Canada’s foxes and skunks

    Research Highlight: It’s bad! Awful! Negative headlines draw more readers


    10:43 Why bat research is taking off

    Bats are known to tolerate a lot of viruses that are deadly to humans without much issue. With the ongoing pandemic, this has driven researchers to dive more into the world of bats in the hopes of applying bats' tolerance to humans. Reporter Smriti Mallapaty has been writing about this renewed interest and she joined us to tell us more.


    News Feature: Bats live with dozens of nasty viruses — can studying them help stop pandemics?


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  • 00:47 An edited genetic code that prevents viral infection

    Researchers have engineered bacteria with synthetic genomes to be immune to viral infection. The team streamlined the bacteria’s genetic code, and re-engineered the protein-producing machinery to insert the wrong amino acid if used by a virus, effectively making the bacteria ‘speak’ a different language to any invaders. It’s hoped that this technique could be used to reduce unwanted sharing of genes from modified organisms.


    Research article: Nyerges et al.

    News & Views: Synthetic bacterial genome upgraded for viral defence and biocontainment


    07:42 Research Highlights

    Estimating the methane output of an enormous wetland ecosystem, and how honeybees improve their dance moves with a little help from their elders.


    Research Highlight: Methane from one of Earth’s largest wetland complexes is set to soar

    Research Highlight: Watch them waggle: bees dance better after lessons from elders


    10:02 How mini-MRI scanners could improve access to imaging

    Magnetic resonance imaging is a standard technique in clinical care. However many people, particularly those living in low- and middle-income countries have limited access to this technology. To address this, new types of smaller MRI scanners are being designed that are more affordable and practical for use in rural settings or small clinics. We hear from a researcher working on one of these systems about ways improve them and ensure they are available to all.


    Comment: Five steps to make MRI scanners more affordable to the world


    18:11 Briefing Chat

    We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, how researchers have developed embryos from two male mice and new claims of room-temperature superconductivity.


    News: The mice with two dads: scientists create eggs from male cells

    Quanta Magazine: Room-Temperature Superconductor Discovery Meets With Resistance


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  • 00:47 Wildfire smoke’s chemical composition enhances ozone depletion

    Smoke from the devastating Australian wildfires of 2019-2020 led to a reduction in ozone levels in the upper atmosphere, but it’s been unclear how. Now, a team proposes that smoke’s particulate matter can enhance the production of ozone depleting chemicals, matching satellite observations during the Australian fires. The results spark concerns that future wildfires, which are set to grow more frequent with ongoing climate change, will undo much of the progress towards restoration of the ozone layer.


    Research article: Solomon et al.

    News & Views: How wildfires deplete ozone in the stratosphere


    08:27 Research Highlights

    A global analysis of bats reveals the species most likely to be hunted by humans, and the stem cells that allow deer antlers to regrow.


    Research Highlight: Big bats fly towards extinction with hunters in pursuit

    Research Highlight: Mice grow ‘mini-antlers’ thanks to deers’ speedy stem cells


    10:53 Modelling food systems with ‘digital twins’

    Recent global crises have highlighted the fragility of the interconnected systems involved in getting food from farm to fork. However, siloed datasets have made it hard to predict what the exact impacts of these events will be. In a World View for Nature, researcher Zia Mehrabi argues that precise virtual models like those used in the aerospace industry should be developed for food systems. These so-called ‘digital twins’ could inform global food policy before emergencies unfold.


    World View: Sims-style ‘digital twin’ models can tell us if food systems will weather crises


    18:17 Briefing Chat

    We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, what the stray dogs of Chernobyl could reveal about the effects of chronic radiation exposure, and the debate surrounding the fate of Pablo Escobar’s ‘cocaine hippos’.


    News: What Chernobyl’s stray dogs could teach us about radiation

    News: Pablo Escobar’s ‘cocaine hippos’ spark conservation row


    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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  • 00:47 How a racing heart could trigger anxiety

    Anxiety can make the heart beat faster, but could the reverse be true as well? That question has been much debated, but hard to test. Now, a team has shown that artificially increasing a mouse’s heart rate can induce anxiety-like behaviours, and identified an area in the brain that appears to be a key mediator of this response. They hope that this knowledge could help to improve therapies for treating anxiety-related conditions in the future.


    Research article: Hsueh et al.

    News & Views: How an anxious heart talks to the brain


    08:32 Research Highlights

    The chance discovery of the smallest rock seen so far in the Solar System, and the first brain recording from a freely swimming octopus.


    Research Highlight: Asteroid photobombs JWST practice shots

    Research Highlight: How to measure the brain of an octopus

    10:57 How NASA’s DART mission beat expectiations

    In September 2022, NASA’s DART spacecraft smashed into a space rock known as Dimorphos, which orbits a near-Earth asteroid. The aim of the mission was to test whether asteroids could be redirected as a method to protect Earth against future impacts. This week, multiple papers have been published describing what researchers have learnt about the impact and its aftermath. Reporter Alex Witze joined us to round up the findings.


    News: Asteroid lost 1 million kilograms after collision with DART spacecraft

    Research article: Thomas et al.

    Research article: Daly et al.

    Research article: Li et al.

    Research article: Cheng et al.

    Research article: Graykowski et al.


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  • Twitter has become indispensable to many scientists. It is a place to share findings, raise their profile, and is even used as a source of data in many studies.


    In recent months though, the site has been in turmoil after a swathe of policy changes in light of Elon Musk's takeover. Never a stranger to misinformation and abuse, these problems have reportedly gotten worse. Additionally, the ability to use Twitter as a source of data is in peril, and malfunctions are more commonplace.


    In this episode of Nature's Take we discuss how these changes are affecting the platform and the knock-on effects on science.


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  • Imprinting is a quirk of the immune system in which someone’s initial exposure to a virus biases their immune response when they meet the same virus again.


    Studies are showing how imprinting shapes people’s responses to SARS-CoV-2; those infected with earlier strains can mount weaker responses to a later Omicron infection.


    This phenomenon is dampening the hope that variant-tailored boosters will markedly reduce transmission of the virus, although researchers agree that variant-tailored boosters are worth getting because they still provide some immunity, and prevent serious illness.


    This is an audio version of our Feature: How your first brush with COVID warps your immunity


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  • 00:45 A new microscope to look for ‘magic’ angles

    To better visualise how electrons are ‘moving’ in materials, a team have developed the Quantum Twisting Microscope. This instrument puts two 2D layers of atoms into close contact, allowing them to interact, which can give useful information about their properties. The microscope can also rotate one of the layers, helping researchers look for so-called ‘magic angles’, where 2D materials like graphene can exhibit extraordinary properties.


    Research article: Inbar et al.

    News & Views: A twist in the bid to probe electrons in solids


    09:55 Research Highlights

    How an extinct insect larvae’s prodigiously long ‘neck’ may have helped it hunt, and surveying the levels at which coastal cities are converting water into land.


    Research Highlight: Extinct insects hunted like predatory giraffes

    Research Highlight: Cities worldwide claw vast amounts of land from the sea


    12:21 How Russia’s invasion has affected science in Ukraine

    This week marks the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We discuss how science has fared in Ukraine over the past 12 months, and how international collaborations are shaping the future of research in the country.


    News Feature: The fight to keep Ukrainian science alive through a year of war

    Editorial: Rebuilding Ukrainian science can’t wait — here’s how to start

    World View: Ukrainian science has survived against the odds — now let’s rebuild together


    19:52 Briefing Chat

    We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the US Food and Drug Administration’s requirements to increase diversity in clinical trials, and research suggesting that snakes are better listeners than previously thought.


    Nature News: FDA to require diversity plan for clinical trials

    Science Alert: Snakes Can Hear You Better Than You Think


    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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  • 00:47 A metadevice for faster electronics

    In the past, increasing the speeds of electronics required designing smaller components, but further reductions in size are being hampered by increasing resistance. To get around this, researchers have demonstrated a ‘metadevice’, which prevents resistance building up by concentrating the flow of signals into specific regions of the device. The hope is that this meta-method could be used to create even smaller electrical components in the future.


    Research article: Nikoo & Matioli

    06:27 Research Highlights

    How waiting times for services are higher for people in the US with low incomes, and how your brain hears an alarm while you’re asleep.


    Research Highlight: Who wastes more time waiting? Income plays a part

    Research Highlight: Noise shatters deep sleep thanks to dedicated brain circuit

    08:52 The research gaps in social media's impact on teen mental health

    In the last ten years, levels of social media use and reported levels of mental health issues among adolescents have both increased. There is much concern that these trends are linked, but hard evidence has been hard to come by. So how can scientists get a better understanding of what’s going on? In a Comment article for Nature, researchers argue that, rather than lumping ‘young people’ into one homogeneous group, future studies should consider where they are in terms of their development, as this could influence the potential impacts of social media use.


    Comment: How social media affects teen mental health: a missing link

    19:52 Briefing Chat

    We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, we discuss self-burying devices that can plant seeds in remote areas from the air, and scientists’ reactions to a talk by CRISPR-baby researcher He Jiankui.


    Nature Video: This device corkscrews itself into the ground like a seed

    Nature News: Disgraced CRISPR-baby scientist’s ‘publicity stunt’ frustrates researchers


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  • 0:46 The mysterious ring in the distant Solar System

    Quaoar is a small, rocky object that lies beyond Neptune’s orbit. In an unexpected discovery, researchers have shown that this object has its own orbiting ring, similar to those seen encircling planets like Saturn. However, Quaoar’s ring shouldn’t exist, as it is at a distance far outside the theoretical limit at which rings are thought to be stable, and researchers are trying to figure out why.


    Research article: Morgado et al.

    News and Views: A planetary ring in a surprising place


    07:01 Research Highlights

    A repurposed skin-disease drug suppresses alcohol consumption in people with alcohol-use disorder, and how volcanic eruptions may have contributed to social unrest in ancient Egypt.


    Research Highlight: Pill for a skin disease also curbs excessive drinking

    Research Highlight: Volcanic quartet linked to bad times in ancient Egypt


    09:26 Air pollution

    Exposure to polluted air has been linked to millions of deaths each year. But while much is known about the sources and impacts of outdoor air pollution, significantly less is understood about the pollution that people are exposed to indoors, despite it causing a significant health burden. In a Comment article for Nature, a group of researchers argue for more research in order to inform future public health initiatives.


    Comment: Hidden harms of indoor air pollution — five steps to expose them


    19:52 Briefing Chat

    We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the discovery of a new type of ice, and how caffeine’s kick comes at a cost.


    Nature News: Scientists made a new kind of ice that might exist on distant moons

    The Conversation: Nope, coffee won’t give you extra energy. It’ll just borrow a bit that you’ll pay for later


    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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  • In this episode:

    00:47 Chemical analysis of ancient embalming materials

    Mummification was a significant part of ancient Egyptian culture but, despite decades of research, much is unknown about the substances and methods used during the process. Now a team have analysed the contents of ceramic vessels uncovered in an embalming workshop that dates back to around 600 BC. The results reveal that some substances assumed to be a single thing were actually mixtures, while some came from far outside Egypt, providing a clearer picture of ancient mummification practices.


    Research article: Rageot et al.

    News and Views: Recipes for ancient Egyptian mummification

    09:11 Research Highlights

    Modelling how fruit wrinkles as it ages, and a trove of ancient animal skulls suggest Neanderthals may have collected hunting trophies.


    Research Highlight: A chilli’s wrinkles and a cherry’s dimples explained

    Research Highlight: Neanderthals stashed dozens of animal skulls in a cave — but why?

    11:28 The race to refine CAR-T therapies

    CAR-T therapies are a type of cancer immunotherapy in which part of a person’s immune system – their T cells – are engineered to recognise and attack tumours. While these therapies have been shown to be effective at treating certain blood cancers, they are expensive and can have serious side effects. We hear about efforts to tackle these issues and even expand the range of diseases that CAR-T could be used to treat.


    News Feature: The race to supercharge cancer-fighting T cells

    19:36 Briefing Chat

    We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, why scientists need to agree on what time it is on the Moon, and the liquid-metal robots that can melt and re-form.


    Nature News: What time is it on the Moon?

    New Scientist: Metal robot can melt its way out of tight spaces to escape

    Nature Video: The race to make a variant-proof COVID vaccine


    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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  • A new generation of anti-obesity medications are displaying striking results: drastically diminishing weight, without the serious side effects of previous medications.


    These drugs have raised hopes the weight can be pharmacologically altered in a safe way, but some researchers are concerned about the drugs' high cost, and that these medications could feed into some societies' obsessions with thinness.


    This is an audio version of our Feature: The ‘breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers


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  • 00:45 The role of serine in diabetic neuropathy

    Nerve damage is a common complication of diabetes, and can even lead to limb amputation. Thus far, the only way for people to slow its onset is by managing their diet and lifestyle. Now though, research in mice shows how the amino acid serine may be key to this nerve damage, suggesting a potential role for the molecule in future therapeutics.


    Research article: Handzlik et al.

    News and Views: Serine deficiency causes complications in diabetes


    06:47 Research Highlights

    DNA from chickens is spreading to their wild relatives, and a hidden magma chamber is revealed beneath an underwater volcano.


    Research Highlight: Chickens’ DNA is fouling the genomes of their wild relatives

    Research Highlight: Underwater volcano near Greece is a sleeping menace


    09:05 Briefing Chat

    We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time: how the Hubble Telescope is still helping scientists, and the multimillion-dollar trade of paper authorships.


    Nature News: Why the Hubble telescope is still in the game — even as JWST wows

    Nature News: Multimillion-dollar trade in paper authorships alarms publishers

    Nature Video: Drowning in seaweed: How to stop invasive Sargassum


    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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  • In this episode:

    00:45 Laser-guided lightning

    Scientists have shown that a specially designed laser can divert the course of lightning strikes in a real-world setting. The team fired the laser into the sky above a communications tower high in the Swiss Alps and altered the course of four strikes. In future they hope that this kind of system could be used to protect large infrastructure, such as airports.


    Research article: Houard et al.

    News: This rapid-fire laser diverts lightning strikes

    09:36 Research Highlights

    The crabs that lean on bacteria to detoxify sulfur from hydrothermal vents, and how a persons’ nasal microbes might exacerbate their hay fever.


    Research Highlight: Crabs endure a hellish setting — with help from friends

    Research Highlight: Plagued by hay fever? Blame your nasal microbes

    12:02 Briefing Chat

    We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time: how “hot mixing” has helped ancient Roman concrete stand the test of time, and the first vaccine for honeybees shows promise.


    Ars Technica: Ancient Roman concrete could self-heal thanks to “hot mixing” with quicklime

    New York Times: U.S.D.A. Approves First Vaccine for Honeybees


    Nature Video: 3D printing adds a twist with a novel nozzle


    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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  • In this episode of the Nature Podcast, we catch up on some science stories from the holiday period by diving into the Nature Briefing.


    We’ll hear: how Brazil’s President Lula has started to make good on his pro-environment promises; a new theory for why giant ichthyosaurs congregated in one place; how glass frogs hide their blood; about a new statue honouring Henrietta Lacks; and why T. rex might have cooed like a dove.


    Nature News: Will Brazil’s President Lula keep his climate promises?

    Science News: Mysterious ichthyosaur graveyard may have been a breeding ground

    The Atlantic: How Glass Frogs Weave the World’s Best Invisibility Cloak

    BBC News: Statue of Henrietta Lacks will replace Robert E Lee

    Books & Arts: The woman behind HeLa

    Editorial: Henrietta Lacks: science must right a historical wrong

    News: Wealthy funder pays reparations for use of HeLa cells

    BBC Futures: What did dinosaurs sound like?


    ​​​​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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  • In this episode, reporter Miryam Naddaf joins us to talk about the big science events to look out for in 2023. We'll hear about vaccines, multiple Moon missions and new therapeutics, to name but a few.


    News: the science events to look out for in 2023


    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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  • In this episode:

    00:53 How virtual meetings can limit creative ideas

    In April, we heard how a team investigated whether switching from face-to-face to virtual meetings came at a cost to creativity. They showed that people meeting virtually produced fewer creative ideas than those working face-to-face, and suggest that when it comes to idea generation maybe it’s time to turn the camera off.


    Nature Podcast: 27 April 2022

    Research article: Brucks & Levav

    Video: Why video calls are bad for brainstorming

    08:29 How the Black Death got its start

    The Black Death is estimated to have caused the deaths of up to 60% of the population of Europe. However, the origin of this wave of disease has remained unclear. In June, we heard from a team who used a combination of techniques to identify a potential starting point in modern-day Kyrgyzstan.


    Nature Podcast: 15 June 2022

    Research article: Spyrou et al.

    15:24 Research Highlights

    Hippos’ habit of aggressively spraying dung when they hear a stranger, and why being far from humans helps trees live a long life.

    18:36 Higgs boson turns ten

    Ten years ago, scientists announced that they’d found evidence of the existence of the Higgs boson, a fundamental particle first theorised to exist nearly sixty years earlier. We reminisced about what the discovery meant at the time, and what questions are left to be answered about this mysterious particle.


    Nature Podcast: 06 July 2022

    Nature News: Happy birthday, Higgs boson! What we do and don’t know about the particle

    28:28 The open-science plan to unseat big Pharma and tackle vaccine inequity

    In this episode of Coronapod we investigated a radical new collaboration between 15 countries — co-led by the WHO, and modelled on open-science — that aims to create independent vaccine hubs that could supply the global south. This project was supported by the Pulitzer Center.


    Coronapod: 29 July 2022

    News Feature: The radical plan for vaccine equity

    40:10 Missing foot reveals world’s oldest amputation

    In September, we heard about the discovery of a skeleton with an amputated foot, dated to 31,000 years ago. The person whose foot was removed survived the procedure, which the researchers behind the find say shows the ‘surgeon’ must have had detailed knowledge of anatomy.


    Nature Podcast: 07 September 2022

    Research article: Maloney et al.

    News and Views: Earliest known surgery was of a child in Borneo 31,000 years ago


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  • 01:07 “Artemis and Dart”

    In the first of our festive songs, we celebrate some of the big space missions from this year: Artemis which aims to get people back to the moon, and DART which could help defend the Earth from meteor strikes.

    03:51 Redacted Headline challenge

    In this year’s festive game, our competitors work together to try and figure out some Nature Podcast headlines where all the words have been removed. Find out how they get on…


    15:57 Research Highlights

    Research Highlight: Why does fat return after dieting? The microbiome might have a hand

    Research Highlight: Revealed: massive Maya structures built by vast labour forces


    18:31 Nature’s 10

    Every year, Nature’s 10 highlights some of the people who have shaped science. We hear about a few of the people who made the 2022 list.

    Nature’s 10


    30:40 “Fairytale of Omicron”

    In our final song this year, we imagine ourselves in a wintry lab thinking on genetic data from the Omicron variant of coronavirus…


    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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  • In this episode:

    00:47 Estimating pandemic-associated mortality

    This week, a team of researchers working with the World Health Organization have used statistical modelling to estimate the number of excess deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The work estimates that there were almost 15 million deaths either directly or indirectly attributed to the pandemic, almost three times higher than the official toll.


    Research article: Msemburi et al.

    News and Views: Global estimates of excess deaths from COVID-19

    Editorial: Missing data mean we’ll probably never know how many people died of COVID

    08:35 Research Highlights

    Why dinosaurs' tail clubs may actually have been used to battle rivals, and the ancient images that make up the earliest known narrative scene.


    Research Highlight: Dinosaurs bashed each other with built-in tail clubs

    Research Highlight: Prehistoric carvings are oldest known story sequence

    10:55 Understanding the lack of diversity in UK academia

    Stark figures show that the representation of scientists from minority ethnic groups dwindles at each stage of UK academia. To get a sense of the issue and what can be done to tackle it, we spoke to Mahrukh Shameem, a PhD student and an advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion.


    News Feature: How UK science is failing Black researchers — in nine stark charts

    19:43 Briefing Chat

    We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, how the text-generating AI OpenGPT could spell the end for student essays, and what the successful test of NASA’s Orion capsule means for the Artemis programme.


    Nature News: AI bot ChatGPT writes smart essays — should professors worry?

    Nature News: NASA’s Orion Moon capsule splashes down! Here’s what’s next


    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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