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This Week

Science: Tonga Volcanic Eruption, Roaming Genes Of Reindeers, Pterosaurs

Scientists scramble to understand the devastating Tongan volcano eruption, and modelling how societal changes might alter carbon emissions.

In this episode:

00:46 Understanding the Tongan eruption

On the 15th of January, a volcano in the South Pacific Ocean erupted, sending ash into the upper atmosphere, and unleashing a devastating tsunami that destroyed homes on Tonga’s nearby islands. Now scientists are trying to work out exactly what happened during the eruption — and what it means for future volcanic risks.

News Feature: Why the Tongan eruption will go down in the history of volcanology

08:49 Research Highlights

The genes associated with reindeers’ roaming behaviour, and how fossilised puke has thrown up new insights into pterosaurs’ stomachs.

Research Highlight: A reindeer’s yearning to travel can be read in its genes

Research Highlight: Petrified puke shows that ancient winged reptiles purged

11:29 Modelling societal changes to carbon emissions

A team of researchers have modelled what humans might do in the face of climate change, and looked at how societal, political and technological changes could alter future emissions.

Research article: Moore et al.

18:12 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, China alters its guidelines for gene-edited crops, and how Guinea worm infections have been driven down from millions of cases a year to just 14.

Nature News: China’s approval of gene-edited crops energizes researchers

Nature News: Just 14 cases: Guinea worm disease nears eradication

Science: RNA Test Detects Pre-Eclampsia, Machine Vision, Recycling Urine

RNA in blood reveals signs of pre-eclampsia before symptoms occur, and the issue of urine in our sewage and what can be done about it.

In this episode:

00:46 Predicting pre-eclampsia

Cell-free RNA circulates in the blood and can give clues as to what is going on in the body. This can be used to detect disease before symptoms occur. Now researchers have analysed cell-free RNA in pregnant people and have found it can give early warning signs of a serious, and sometimes fatal, disorder of pregnancy — pre-eclampsia.

Research Article: Moufarrej et al.

07:19 Research Highlights

Upgrading machine vision by modelling it on human eyes, and stacked skeletons which could show attempts at repair after European tomb raiders.

Research Highlight: Retina-like sensors give machines better vision

Research Highlight: ‘Spines on posts’ hint at ancient devotion to the dead

09:55 The problems of pee

Sewage and the way it is managed can cause serious problems, for example contaminants in waste can lead to harmful algal blooms. One of the major causes of this is urine, and so some researchers have been promoting a deceptively simple solution — separate out the urine.

News Feature: The urine revolution: how recycling pee could help to save the world

Book Review: Toilets – what will it take to fix them?

16:40 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, how China has planned to make this year’s Winter Olympics carbon neutral, and how a new radio telescope in Namibia will help us understand black holes.

Nature News: China’s Winter Olympics are carbon-neutral — how?

Nature News: 

Science: Water Flow And Quantum Friction, Super Soap Bubbles, Hippos

How quantum friction explains water’s strange flows in carbon nanotubes, and the latest from the Nature Briefing.

In this episode:

00:53 A theory for water’s baffling behaviour in carbon nanotubes

At large scales, water flows faster through a wider pipe than a narrower one. However, in tiny carbon nanotubes flow-rate is flipped, with water moving faster through the narrowest channels. This week, researchers have come up with a new explanation for this phenomenon: quantum friction. If validated, it could allow material designers to fine-tune flows through tiny channels, which could be useful in processes such as water purification.

Research Article: Kavokine et al.

06:43 Research Highlights

Creating soap bubbles that last 200,000 times longer, and hippos’ habit of aggressively spraying dung when they hear a stranger.

Research Highlight: No bursting for these record-breaking bubbles

Research Highlight: Hippos know strangers’ voices — and make a filthy reply

09:08 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, a global study reveals how antibiotic-resistant infections have led to millions of deaths, and a genetic mutation that plays a big role in a dog’s size.

Nature News: The staggering death toll of drug-resistant bacteria

Nature News: Big dog, little dog: mutation explains range of canine sizes

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