Nature Podcast
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Briefing Chat: Dog years: could longevity science extend your pets' lives?
Naturestaff discuss the emerging field of pet longevity — plus, a researcher decides not to care about their student reviews. Are they wrong?
00:24 Could research help boost your dog’s lifespan?
Nature: Can science make your dog live longer? Longevity craze comes to pets
05:16 Is it wrong to not care about student reviews?
Nature: What students think about my teaching doesn’t matter. Am I wrong?
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This Arabian desert was once a lush paradise. Why did ancient humans avoid it?
Expedition revealed that water wasn’t enough for human settlement — plus, proposals to block sunlight get serious.
00:49 A failed desert expedition to find human tools reveals what humans needed to thrive
Research Article: Dellmour et al.
12:33 Research Highlights
Nature: Sleep declines in rural communities after electricity arrives
Nature: AI doctors’ orders come with a sky-high bill
15:14 Could satellites help cool the Earth?
Nature: Could a giant sunshade in space 'solve global warming'? Scientists are taking the idea seriously
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Briefing Chat: How physicists successfully trapped the electron's antimatter equivalent
In this episode:
00:21 New experiment looking for mismatch between matter and antimatter
Nature: A single antimatter particle in a cage opens door to ‘revolutionary’ physics
08:32 JAXA's mission to Phobos
Aerospace America: JAXA’s MMX mission will include the first wheeled rover to drive in ultra-low gravity
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Scientists put a salt marsh in a giant wave-machine: here's what they learned
In this episode:
00:46 How salt marshes could protect coastal regions from super-storms
Research Article: Willemsen et al.
10:56 Research Highlights
Nature: Orangutan mothers arrange play dates for their babies
Nature: Lead-tainted teeth reveal medieval mines’ unequal toll
13:30 Putting a face to the Denisovans
Research Article: Xing et al.
Nature: This is what the mysterious Denisovans looked like
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Audio long read: How to stay smart in the age of AI — the science of critical thinking
Critical thinking is a skill that is under threat from the AI revolution in large language models. But all is not lost. Specialists in education and cognition have long been studying critical thinking, and some have useful tips on how to stay cognitively sharp in the age of AI.
This is an audio version of our Feature: How to stay smart in the age of AI: the science of critical thinking
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Briefing Chat: An invisible tattoo that appears under UV light – and then disappears
In this episode:
00:15 An appearing, disappearing tattoo ink
Nature: Watch this invisible tattoo appear under UV light
04:13 How the epigenome could help explain why big dogs age faster
Nature: Big dogs age faster than little ones — rogue ‘jumping genes’ might be to blame
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The world is closer to a major conservation target than scientists thought
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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Briefing Chat: Top researchers are being misled by sham academic societies
In this episode we discuss a recent Natureexclusive 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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Nobel Prizes 2026: ‘ghost’ particles, mirror molecules and light switches in the brain
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
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‘Learning about physics changed my life’: author Hernan Diaz on his new novel Ply
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.
PlyHernan Diaz Picador(2026)
Music supplied by SPD/Triple Scoop Music/Getty Images
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These optical illusions are why butterflies are so hard to catch
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
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Briefing Chat: Why scientists made papyrus scrolls, then burnt them
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
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.
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Bank accounts reveal the fingerprints of abusive financial control
00:45 Investigating the day-to-day impacts of Financial Abuse
Nature: Trendl et al.
Support organizations
US: National Domestic Violence Helpline
12:14 Research Highlights
Nature: Mercury is shrinking with age — faster than thought
Nature: Cognitive resilience helps to predict Alzheimer’s dementia
14:55 How opposing forces in the Earth's core alter how the planet spins
Nature: Gravitational tug-of-war inside Earth is changing the length of our days
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.
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Briefing Chat: Evidence mounts for hidden chambers beyond Tutankhamun's tomb
In this episode:
00:22 Could secret rooms lie beyond Tutankhamun's tomb?
Nature:Exclusive: New evidence for hidden chambers beyond Tutankhamun’s tomb
05:55 A multifunctional brain–computer interface
Nature:‘Multifunctional’ brain implant translates speech and gestures in real time
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Transplanted human brain-tissue takes root in mice without a cortex
In this episode:
00:46 Human brain-organoids transplanted into mice missing their cortex
Nature:Human brain cells transplanted into mice in ‘most extensive’ integration ever
13:51 Research Highlights
Nature:Ruins of ancient Asian city show engineering prowess and organization
Nature:Distant sensors announced a fearsome tsunami’s birth
16:16 Paper2Agent: the AI tool that lets researchers talk to papers
Nature:AI tool turns any paper into an ‘agent’ that can collaborate and answer complex queries
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Briefing Chat: The Bunsen burner myth that turns out to be just hot air
Nature staff discuss an AI tool that can assess the impact of nine billion mutations — plus, how the Bunsen burner’s reputation for sterilization may be based on tradition alone.
00:21 Deepmind’s new tool helps scientists find the impact of mutations
Nature:DeepMind’s new genome ‘atlas’ charts effects of all nine billion human gene mutations
07:10 Bacteria can still contaminate plates near to active Bunsen burners
Nature:Bunsen burners’ reputation for sterilizing workplaces flames out
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Phone tutoring boosts math scores when schools are forced to close
In this episode:
00:46 How telephone teaching could boost education during school shutdowns
Nature:Pick up the phone! Phone calls with tutors keep kids learning when schools shut down
11:42 Research Highlights
Nature:Super-precise optical clocks in four nations tick in harmony
Nature:These greenhouse-gas sources have trotters and snouts
14:15 Why atlases might need an update
Nature:Hello Equal Earth: what the UN’s new world map will change
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Briefing Chat: How 1,000 pairs of buried underpants helped measure soil health
In this episode:
00:21 Our picks of this year’s Ig Nobel prizes
Nature:Buried underpants and a new definition of kissing win 2026 Ig Nobel prizes
07:47 Massive xenon experiment detects tantalizing hint of dark matter
Nature:Is this the first glimpse of dark matter? Data point excites physicists
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Audio long read: Could mending damaged DNA prolong life?
Scientists are amassing evidence that unrepaired or poorly repaired DNA damage underlies many of the hallmarks of ageing. This has led to research into whether boosting DNA repair can keep people healthy for longer.
This is an audio version of our Feature: Could mending damaged DNA prolong life?
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Briefing Chat: How Dolly Parton left her mark on science
In this episode:
00:18 Researchers celebrate Dolly Parton's contributions to science
Nature:Dolly Parton dies aged 80 — researchers celebrate her contributions to science
08:40 Phase III trial of melanoma vaccine shows promise
Nature:Moderna cancer vaccine stops melanoma returning: what’s next for personalized treatments?
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Highest-ever ocean temperatures recorded as El Niño intensifies
Why extreme temperatures are expected to weaken ocean carbon sinks — plus, how mitochondrial injections could treat vision loss.
00:46 The world’s oceans reach a record temperature
Nature:Ocean temperatures set to break all-time record: what’s next?
10:05 Research Highlights
Nature:Astronaut vest cuts radiation exposure in half
Nature:Earth-shaking thunder probes underground geology
12:54 How mitochondrial injections could treat vision loss
Nature:Patient’s own mitochondria injected into eyes in attempt to restore vision
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Briefing Chat: New narcolepsy drug could unlock host of novel brain therapies
Naturestaff discuss how an FDA-approved drug for narcolepsy could have promise beyond the condition, and the longest-lived human brain organoids yet.
00:28 The promise of a new narcolepsy drug
Nature:First-of-its-kind narcolepsy drug opens door to new therapies for the brain
05:53 Human brain organoids kept alive for over five years
Nature:Human organoids that mimic brain development grown for years in lab
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A black hole's spin could finally be measured by a high-speed star
Star orbiting close to Sagittarius A* could reveal its spin — plus, how exoskeletons might change the way humans move.
00:46 The star that could reveal a black hole’s spin
Research article:Dayem et al.
13:23 Research Highlights
Nature: Rattlesnakes’ own antivenom could protect humans too
Nature: Shipping on rivers packs a surprisingly large climate punch
15:40 Commercial exoskeletons are hitting the market — what now?
Nature: Will you be wearing an exoskeleton in ten years? The tech that could change how we move
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Briefing Chat: Anthropic rolls out new AI watermark — will it make a difference?
In this episode:
00:29 What does Anthropic’s new watermark mean for research?
Nature:Can Anthropic’s invisible watermarks curb ‘AI slop’? Researchers remain sceptical
10:57 Ticklishness is a distinct, specialized body sensation, research finds
Nature:Where are you ticklish? Researchers map the sensation across cultures
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The probiotic bacteria engineered to treat diabetes
Genetically modified bacteria lower high blood-sugar in animal trials — plus, how to safely watch a solar eclipse.
00:45 A living diabetes treatment
Research article:Guan et al.
08:03 Research Highlights
Nature:Pumas are drivers’ guardian angels
Nature:How a steady drip-drip can erode the hardest stone
10:29 What eclipses might reveal about the Sun’s corona
Nature:Solar eclipse offers rare chance to solve Sun’s magnetic-field mysteries
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Briefing Chat: Is DNA repair the secret to a long life? Whales and mole-rats offer tantalizing hints
Naturestaff discuss how animal studies are starting to uncover how DNA repair could prolong life, and how COVID-19 can reawaken dormant viruses.
00:25 Could reawakened viruses have a link to long-COVID?
Nature:COVID can wake up a slew of dormant viruses inside you
05:57 DNA damage can cause ageing, could boosting repair boost longevity?
Nature: Could mending damaged DNA prolong life?
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Junk plastic turns into high-value commodity with chemistry trick
Researchers untangle the chemistry behind turning PVC into high-grade motor lubricant — plus, how engineered yeast can help make a cancer drug.
00:45 The chemistry behind converting PVC into lubricant
Research article:Munyaneza et al.
09:15 Research Highlights
Nature: Engineered yeast that make cancer drugs could spare a rare flower
Nature: Sickle-cell disease linked to prematurely aged stem cells in mice
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Briefing Chat: Orcas smashed a sunfish to bits — researchers aren't sure why
In this episode:
00:24 The quest to count the Amazon's insects
Nature: Tiny patch of Amazon likely holds 40,000 insect species — many new to science
07:31 The orcas that exploded a sunfish
The Guardian:Orcas seen ramming prey so hard it explodes may be playing game
Tiktok:Orcas vs sunfish
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Earthworks spotted in the Amazon hint at huge ancient civilization
In this episode:
00:45 Ancient structures hidden beneath the Amazon’s canopy
Research article:Pärssinen et al.
09:15 Research Highlights
Nature:It’ll grow on you: live fungi formed into sustainable fashion
Physical Review Fluids:Gourmandie et al.
11:48 Tiny fossils represent the earliest-known squid ancestor
Research article:Song et al.
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Briefing Chat: Baby T. rex were killers from birth, suggest new fossils
Naturestaff discuss the young but deadly dinosaur kings, the prowess of ancient Egyptian princesses, and how London is becoming the world’s AI safety capital.
00:34 London is transforming into an AI-safety hub
Nature:A global capital for AI safety is emerging — and it’s not in Silicon Valley
05:52 Bones reveal that ancient Egyptian princesses weren’t pampered
Scientific American:Ancient Egyptian princesses were ‘powerful’ weapon users, new analysis suggests
9:30 T. rex was born ready to kill
Discover magazine:Fossil Evidence Indicates Baby T. rex Were Tiny, but Deadly
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