Nature Podcast

Analysis suggests number of protected areas is hugely underestimated but biodiversity is still in peril — plus, a huge study looking at the health effects of brown fat.
00:45 The world may have more conservation areas than previously thought
Research Article: O’Neill et al.

08:38 Research Highlights
Nature: The Solar System could die one billion times earlier than thought
Nature: Chimp and gorilla brains resist weight loss with age — unlike human brains

11:19 Giant study expands list of brown fat’s health benefits
Research Article: Gómez-Banoy et al.
Nature: Overlooked 'brown' body fat linked to wide range of health benefits

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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

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 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.