Nature Podcast

In this episode we discuss a recent Nature exclusive investigating an international constellation of sham academies and societies that have successfully misled some of the world’s leading scientists and universities.
Nature: Exclusive: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchers

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In this episode:

00:45 The Nobel Prizes 2026
Nature: Medicine Nobel awarded for brain ‘switch’ that controls neurons with light
Nature: ‘What took them so long?’ This year’s medicine Nobel winner is overdue
Nature: Nobel physics prize awarded for detection of cosmic neutrinos
Nature: Astronomy’s ‘adrenaline junkies’: Nobel prize captures the thrill of neutrino physics
Nature: Chemistry Nobel for solving mystery of how ‘handed’ organic molecules can emerge

11:53 Research Highlights
Nature: Youthful fans of YouTube sports videos stick to the sofa
Nature: A black hole’s jets have a halo effect

14:11 The ancient human gut microbiome
Research Article: Carter et al.
News and Views: Gut microbes that trace ancient human journeys

Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we speak with Hernan Diaz whose most recent novel Ply blends a vision of a dystopian future with questions about selfhood and asks whether advanced physics could be used to unravel the fabric of spacetime itself.

Ply Hernan Diaz Picador (2026)

Music supplied by SPD/Triple Scoop Music/Getty Images
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High-speed footage of takeoffs reveal that the butterfly markings mislead the eye, making them harder to catch.

00:45 Butterflies in flight create confusing motion cues that baffle birds
Research Article: Hancock et al.

14:09 Research Highlights
Research Article: Menezes and Podos
Research Highlight: Huge hoard of metal bars hints at vast Iron Age trade

Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode

00:23 How detecting lead could help researchers read damaged Roman scrolls
Nature: Watch scientists decipher burned scrolls without unrolling them

06:42 A biodegradeable, paper-inspired battery
Nature: Edible batteries power medical devices in the body

Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the Nature Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music or your favourite podcast app. An RSS feed for the Nature Podcast is available too.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.