Best Springer Nature Limited Podcasts (2024)

1
Colossal 'jets' shooting from a black hole defy physicists' theories 34:13

3h ago34:13

34:13

In this episode: 00:45 The biggest black hole jets ever seen Astronomers have spotted a pair of enormous jets emanating from a supermassive black hole with a combined length of 23 million light years — the biggest ever discovered. Jets are formed when matter is ionized and flung out of a black hole, creating enormous and powerful structures in spac…

1
Ancient DNA debunks Rapa Nui ‘ecological suicide’ theory 41:41

7d ago41:41

41:41

In this episode: 00:45 What ancient DNA has revealed about Rapa Nui’s past Ancient DNA analysis has further demonstrated that the people of Rapa Nui did not cause their own population collapse, further refuting a controversial but popular claim. Rapa Nui, also known as Easter island, is famous for its giant Moai statues and the contested idea that …

1
The baseless stat that could be harming Indigenous conservation efforts 14:29

7d ago14:29

14:29

The often repeated claim that "80% of the world's biodiversity is found in the territories of Indigenous Peoples" appears widely in policy documents and reports, yet appears to have sprung out of nowhere. According to a group of researchers, including those from Indigenous groups, this baseless statistic could be undermining the conservation effort…

1
Long-sought 'nuclear clocks' are one tick closer 31:24

9d ago31:24

31:24

In this episode: 00:45 Why a 'nuclear clock' is now within researchers’ reach Researchers have made a big step towards the creation of the long theorized nuclear clock, by getting the most accurate measurement of the frequency of light required to push thorium nuclei into a higher energy state. Such a timekeeper would differ from the best current c…

1
Audio long read: So you got a null result. Will anyone publish it? 17:44

23d ago17:44

17:44

The 'file-drawer problem', where findings with null or negative results gather dust and are left unpublished, is well known in science. There has been an overriding perception that studies with positive or significant findings are more important, but this bias can have real-world implications, skewing perceptions of drug efficacies, for example. Mu…

1
Covert racism in AI chatbots, precise Stone Age engineering, and the science of paper cuts 20:40

23d ago20:40

20:40

In this episode: 00:31 Chatbots makes racist judgements on the basis of dialect Research has shown that large language models, including those that power chatbots such as ChatGPT, make racist judgements on the basis of users’ dialect. If asked to describe a person, many AI systems responded with racist stereotypes when presented with text written i…

1
Can ageing be stopped? A biologist explains 30:43

1M ago30:43

30:43

For millennia, humanity has obsessed about halting ageing and, ultimately, preventing death. Yet while advances in medicine and public-health have seen human life-expectancy more than double, our maximum lifespan stubbornly remains around 120 years. On the latest episode of Nature hits the books, Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan joins us to discus…

1
AI can't learn new things forever — an algorithm can fix that 19:50

24d ago19:50

19:50

00:46 Old AIs can’t learn new tricks An algorithm that reactivates dormant ‘neurons’ in deep learning based AIs could help them overcome their inability to learn new things and make future systems more flexible, research has shown. AIs based on deep learning struggle to learn how to tackle new tasks indefinitely, making them less adaptable to new s…

1
The mystery of Stonehenge's central stone unearthed 22:49

1M ago22:49

22:49

00:48 The mystery of Stonehenge’s Altar Stone Stonehenge’s central stone came from Northern Scotland, more than 600 miles away from the monument, according to a new analysis of its geochemistry. It is commonly accepted that many of the rocks that make up the iconic neolithic monument came from Wales, 150 miles from the site. Previously, it had been…

1
ChatGPT has a language problem — but science can fix it 36:50

1M ago36:50

36:50

AIs built on Large Language Models have wowed by producing particularly fluent text. However, their ability to do this is limited in many languages. As the data and resources used to train a model in a specific language drops, so does the performance of the model, meaning that for some languages the AIs are effectively useless. Researchers are awar…

1
Where weird plants thrive: aridity spurs diversity of traits 26:09

1M ago26:09

26:09

00:48 Plant trait diversity in drylands A study reveals that, unexpectedly, plants display a greater diversity of traits in drier environments. Trait diversity is a measure of an organism's performance in an environment and can include things like the size of a plant or its photosynthetic rate. Whilst there are good data on this kind of diversity i…

1
How light-based computers could cut AI’s energy needs 32:37

1M ago32:37

32:37

00:45 Increasing the energy efficiency of light-based computers Computer components based on specialised LEDs could reduce the energy consumption of power hungry AI systems, according to new research. AI chips with components that compute using light can run more efficiently than those using digital electronics, but these light-based systems typica…

1
Audio long read: Hope, despair and CRISPR — the race to save one woman’s life 23:04

2M ago23:04

23:04

In India, a group of researchers raced to develop a CRISPR-based genome editing therapy to save the life of a young woman with a rare neurodegenerative disease. Despite a valiant effort, the pace of research was ultimately too slow to save her life. While many are convinced that these therapies could offer hope to those with overlooked genetic cond…

1
Rapid sepsis test identifies bacteria that spark life-threatening infection 34:57

2M ago34:57

34:57

00:48 A rapid way to identify serious bacterial infections A newly-developed method that can rapidly identify the type of bacteria causing a blood-infection, and the correct antibiotics to treat it, could save clinicians time, and patient lives. Blood infections are serious, and can lead to the life-threatening condition sepsis, but conventional di…

1
The plastic that biodegrades in your home compost 28:21

2M ago28:21

28:21

01:04 A gel to safely transport proteins A gel that encases proteins could be a new way to safely transport medicines without requiring them to be kept cold, according to new research. To test it, the team behind the work posted themselves a protein suspended in this gel, showing that it was perfectly preserved and retained its activity, despite be…

1
Breastfeeding should break down mothers' bones — here's why it doesn't 27:21

2M ago27:21

27:21

00:45 In situ editing of the gut microbiome Researchers have developed a method to directly edit the genes of specific bacteria in the guts of live mice, something that has previously been difficult to accomplish due to the complexity of this environment. The tool was able to edit over 90% of an E. coli strain colonising mice guts, with other work …

1
These frog 'saunas’ could help endangered species fight off a deadly fungus 36:31

3M ago36:31

36:31

00:47 Searching for dark matter in black holes Researchers have been scanning the skies looking for black holes that formed at the very beginning of the Universe — one place where elusive and mysterious dark matter is thought to be located. If these black holes did contain dark matter, they would be especially massive and so researchers would be ab…

1
Audio long read: How NASA astronauts are training to walk on the Moon in 2026 15:04

3M ago15:04

15:04

In 2026, NASA aims to send humans back to the Moon's surface, as part of the Artemis III mission. In preparation, astronauts have been performing moonwalking simulations to ensure that they are able to make the most of their precious time on the lunar surface. In one dress rehearsal, a pair of astronauts took part in a training exercise in an Arizo…

1
Why ‘open source’ AIs could be anything but, the derailment risks of long freight trains, and breeding better wheat 17:31

3M ago17:31

17:31

00:31 How open are ‘open source’ AI systems? Many of the large language models powering AI systems are described as ‘open source’ but critics say this is a misnomer, with restricted access to code and training data preventing researchers from probing how these systems work. While the definition of open source in AI models is yet to be agreed, advoc…

1
How do fish know where a sound comes from? Scientists have an answer 31:42

3M ago31:42

31:42

00:46 How light touches are sensed during sex 150 years after they were discovered, researchers have identified how specific nerve-cell structures on the penis and clitoris are activated. While these structures, called Krause corpuscles, are similar to touch-activated corpuscles found on people’s fingers and hands, there was little known about how …

1
Hybrid working works: huge study reveals no drop in productivity 38:14

3M ago38:14

38:14

00:48 Short-haul spaceflight's effect on the human body. A comprehensive suite of biomedical data, collected during the first all-civilian spaceflight, is helping researchers unpick the effects that being in orbit has on the human body. Analysis of data collected from the crew of SpaceX’s Inspiration4 mission reveals that short duration spaceflight…

1
Twitter suspended 70,000 accounts after the Capitol riots and it curbed misinformation 27:54

4M ago27:54

27:54

In this episode: 00:46 Making a molecular Bose-Einstein condensate For the first time, researchers have coaxed molecules into a bizarre form of matter called a Bose-Einstein condensate, in which they all act in a single gigantic quantum state. While condensates have been made using atoms for decades, the complex interactions of molecules have preve…

1
How AI could improve robotics, the cockroach’s origins, and promethium spills its secrets 23:19

4M ago23:19

23:19

In this episode: 00:25 What the rise of AI language models means for robots Companies are melding artificial intelligence with robotics, in an effort to catapult both to new heights. They hope that by incorporating the algorithms that power chatbots it will give robots more common-sense knowledge and let them tackle a wide range of tasks. However, …

1
How mathematician Freeman Hrabowski opened doors for Black scientists 36:57

4M ago36:57

36:57

Growing up in Alabama in the 1960s, mathematician Freeman Hrabowski was moved to join the civil rights moment after hearing Martin Luther King Jr speak. Even as a child, he saw the desperate need to make change. He would go on to do just that — at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where he co-founded the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, one o…

1
Audio long read: How does ChatGPT ‘think’? Psychology and neuroscience crack open AI large language models 17:41

4M ago17:41

17:41

AIs are often described as 'black boxes' with researchers unable to to figure out how they 'think'. To better understand these often inscrutable systems, some scientists are borrowing from psychology and neuroscience to design tools to reverse-engineer them, which they hope will lead to the design of safer, more efficient AIs. This is an audio vers…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Springer Nature Limited Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

51
Nature Podcast

Springer Nature Limited

1
Colossal 'jets' shooting from a black hole defy physicists' theories 34:13

1
Ancient DNA debunks Rapa Nui ‘ecological suicide’ theory 41:41

1
The baseless stat that could be harming Indigenous conservation efforts 14:29

1
Long-sought 'nuclear clocks' are one tick closer 31:24

1
Audio long read: So you got a null result. Will anyone publish it? 17:44

1
Covert racism in AI chatbots, precise Stone Age engineering, and the science of paper cuts 20:40

1
Can ageing be stopped? A biologist explains 30:43

1
AI can't learn new things forever — an algorithm can fix that 19:50

1
The mystery of Stonehenge's central stone unearthed 22:49

1
ChatGPT has a language problem — but science can fix it 36:50

1
Where weird plants thrive: aridity spurs diversity of traits 26:09

1
How light-based computers could cut AI’s energy needs 32:37

1
Audio long read: Hope, despair and CRISPR — the race to save one woman’s life 23:04

1
Rapid sepsis test identifies bacteria that spark life-threatening infection 34:57

1
The plastic that biodegrades in your home compost 28:21

1
Breastfeeding should break down mothers' bones — here's why it doesn't 27:21

1
These frog 'saunas’ could help endangered species fight off a deadly fungus 36:31

1
Audio long read: How NASA astronauts are training to walk on the Moon in 2026 15:04

1
Why ‘open source’ AIs could be anything but, the derailment risks of long freight trains, and breeding better wheat 17:31

1
How do fish know where a sound comes from? Scientists have an answer 31:42

1
Hybrid working works: huge study reveals no drop in productivity 38:14

1
Twitter suspended 70,000 accounts after the Capitol riots and it curbed misinformation 27:54

1
How AI could improve robotics, the cockroach’s origins, and promethium spills its secrets 23:19

1
How mathematician Freeman Hrabowski opened doors for Black scientists 36:57

1
Audio long read: How does ChatGPT ‘think’? Psychology and neuroscience crack open AI large language models 17:41

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