Nature Podcast29 Touko 2024

How AI could improve robotics, the cockroach’s origins, and promethium spills its secrets

In this episode:

00:25 What the rise of AI language models means for robots

Companies are melding artificial intelligence with robotics, in an effort to catapult both to new heights. They hope that by incorporating the algorithms that power chatbots it will give robots more common-sense knowledge and let them tackle a wide range of tasks. However, while impressive demonstrations of AI-powered robots exist, many researchers say there is a long road to actual deployment, and that safety and reliability need to be considered.

News Feature: The AI revolution is coming to robots: how will it change them?

16:09 How the cockroach became a ubiquitous pest

Genetic research suggests that although the German cockroach (Blattella germanica) spread around the world from a population in Europe, its origins were actually in South Asia. By comparing genomes from cockroaches collected around the globe, a team could identify when and where different populations might have been established. They show that the insect pest likely began to spread east from South Asia around 390 years ago with the rise of European colonialism and the emergence of international trading companies, before hitching a ride into Europe and then spreading across the globe.

Nature News: The origin of the cockroach: how a notorious pest conquered the world

20:26: Rare element inserted into chemical 'complex' for the first time

Promethium is one of the rarest and most mysterious elements in the periodic table. Now, some eight decades after its discovery, researchers have managed to bind this radioactive element to other molecules to make a chemical ‘complex’. This feat will allow chemists to learn more about the properties of promethium filling a long-standing gap in the textbooks.

Nature News: Element from the periodic table’s far reaches coaxed into elusive compound

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