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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Nature staff 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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00:45 The discovery of a moon-like object in a distant star system

Research article: Hoy et al.

10:34 Research Highlights

Nature: Moving floors keep buildings from swaying with the wind

Nature: Wearable sensors on the face are invisible to the eye

13:07 A discovery of a new type of rare transmissible-cancer

Research article: Curd et al.

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In this episode:

00:24 A sweet discovery near the Milky Way’s centre

Nature: First ‘true sugar’ molecule found in space — offering hints to life’s origins

05:05 Mathematical texts give insights into Maya mathematical prowess

Nature: Mathematics formula found on Maya wall rivals insights of ancient masters

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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00:45 The secret scent behind a naked mole-rat's rule

Research article: Khallaf et al.

08:34 Research Highlights

Nature: Pair of ‘super-puff’ planets are lighter than candyfloss

Nature: Alpine crossing took a heavy toll on Hannibal’s elephants and troops

10:59 The psychology behind a brand-new board game: the behaviour of beginners

Research article: Collins et al.

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In this episode:

00:29 Dolly the sheep’s 30-year legacy

Metro: Dolly the sheep at 30: The clone that changed science (and celebrity petdom)

Nature: From cloning to gene-editing: the enduring legacy of Dolly the sheep

05:20 The ocean floor caught in the act of splitting at the seams

Nature: Ocean floor witnessed splitting apart for the first time — releasing lava

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:

00:45 A neutron detector could sniff out a secret space nuke

Research article: Danagoulian

11:52 Research Highlights

Nature: Volcanic magma sculpts eerie domes on the sea floor

Nature: Clues to the sloth’s sloth found in its genome

14:18 How indigenous knowledge in the Amazon could disappear

Research article: Cámara-Leret et al.

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In this episode, we speak with science journalist Rowan Hooper, whose book Togetherness: Symbiosis and the Hidden Story of Life's Greatest Collaborations takes a deep-dive into the world of co-operation between organisms.

In the book, he argues that collaboration in nature has often been overlooked in favour of competition, and that organisms working together have played a vital role in making the world the way it is.

Togetherness: Symbiosis and the Hidden Story of Life's Greatest Collaborations Rowan Hooper Fern Press (2026)

Music supplied by SPD/Triple Scoop Music/Getty Images

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Peptides — short chains of amino acids — have become huge online. The popularity of these molecules has skyrocketed and they are now the latest cure-all trend on social media.

But what does the science say about their effectiveness? Animal research suggests that that some of these experimental peptides hold promise, but evidence they work in people is lacking.

This is an audio version of our Feature: Is the peptide craze backed by science? The promise behind the hype

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Nature staff discuss how apes share a rhythm of laughter, and how AI use may degrade skills in medicine and computer science.

00:32 Early evidence suggests that AI use causes skills to atrophy

Nature: Is AI ruining our skills? Early results are in — and they’re not good

06:42 Humans and chimps share a laugh

Nature: Oo oo, ha ha: why humans and great apes giggle alike when tickled

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In this episode:

00:46 How sensitive information can be gleaned from medical AIs

Research article: Knolle et al.

Correction: The story about medical AI-data privacy incorrectly stated that the number of individuals at high risk of a membership inference attack increases as training-dataset size grows. It should have stated that the increase in risk occurs when the AI model increases in capacity and size.

11:31 Research Highlights

Nature: A long-lived butterfly’s secret to graceful ageing

Nature: It slices! It dices! Sashimi-Bot handles seafood with ease

13:57 Across the Universe, galaxies clump together more than physicists thought they should

Research article: Labini & Galoppo

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.