Nature Podcast

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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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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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

00:45 Investigating the day-to-day impacts of Financial Abuse

Nature: Trendl et al.

Support organizations
UK: Surviving Economic Abuse
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

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.