Nature Podcast
Nature journal research briefs; claims trace back to the papers
28:10Human brain organoids transplanted into mice grow four million human neurons
Mice genetically stripped of nearly their entire cortex, then given human brain organoids, grew roughly 4 million human neurons; their behaviour resembles neither normal mice nor cortex-less mice, but a third state.
12:25Replacing the Missing Orexin: Narcolepsy Gets a Drug That Treats the Cause, and Maybe a GLP-1 for the Brain
The FDA has approved the first orexin agonist, which replaces the orexin that type 1 narcolepsy patients lack instead of merely managing symptoms; it could become a ‘GLP-1 for the brain’. Separately, brain organoids have survived past five years for the first time, opening up research into late-onset brain disease.
19:37A Diabetes Drug That Switches Itself On With Blood Sugar: Live Bacteria Secreting GLP1 on Demand
Scientists have engineered E. coli to secrete GLP1 automatically when blood sugar runs high, improving glucose control in mice and in macaques; human trials are still a long way off, but the work opens up the prospect of a living drug that doses on demand.
13:52DNA repair is the secret to a long life: bowhead whale repair proteins are already in human trials
Research shows that in nearly half of hospitalised COVID-19 patients, dormant viruses in the body were reactivated, with higher inflammation and cell damage a year later; and what long-lived animals like the bowhead whale have in common is not tumour-suppressor genes but stronger DNA repair — drugs for it are already in human trials.
20:30Tens of thousands of earthworks lie under the Amazon; the ancient civilization may have held three million people
Using LiDAR to see through the rainforest, archaeologists found tens of thousands of earthworks in the southwestern Amazon, spanning more than 180,000 square kilometers, with a peak population that may have reached 3 million.
22:40Naked Mole-Rat Queens Rule via a $5 Molecule: Not Urine, a Skincare Ingredient
The reproductive-suppression signal in naked mole-rats has finally been found: queens alone produce isopropyl myristate. Add it to a colony that has lost its queen and peace holds; stop and the fight for the throne erupts. The same molecule also shows up in lactating women.