Nature Podcast19 Marras 2025

Insulin cream offers needle-free option for diabetes

00:45 A molecule that delivers insulin through the skin

Researchers have developed a skin-permeable polymer that can deliver insulin into the body, which they say could one day offer an alternative to injections for diabetes management. The skin’s structure presents a formidable barrier to the delivery of large drugs but in this work a team show that their polymer can penetrate though the different layers without causing damage. Insulin attached to this polymer was able to reduce blood glucose levels in animal models for diabetes at a comparable speed to injected insulin. While further research is required on the long-term safety of this strategy, the team hope it could offer a way to non-invasively deliver other large-molecule drugs into the body.

Research Article: Wei et al.

09:23 Research Highlights

How extreme drought may be humanity’s biggest challenge after a huge volcanic eruption — plus, turning a bacterium into a factory for a colour-changing pigment

Research Highlight: Volcano mega-eruptions lead to parched times

Research Highlight: Dye or die: bacterium forced to make pigment to stay alive

11:42 How language lights up the brain, whatever the tongue

The human brain responds in a similar way to both familiar and unfamiliar languages, but there are some key differences, according to new research — a finding that may explain why learning a language can be difficult. A study looking involving 34 people showed that listening to an unfamiliar language triggers similar neural activity to listening to their native tongue. The finding implies that human speech triggers a common reaction in the brain regardless of understanding. However, there were subtle differences when listening to a known language that may help explain how people actually understand words.

Research Article: Bhaya-Grossman et al.

Neuron: Zhang et al

Sounds used under CC BY 4.0

27:18 Briefing Chat

Signs that greenhouse-gas emissions may peak around 2030 — plus, evidence of dog breeding by ancient humans.

Nature: Global greenhouse-gas emissions are still rising: when will they peak?

Nature: How ancient humans bred and traded the first domestic dogs

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Newly-discovered whale graveyard dates back millions of years

In this episode:00:46 A giant, ancient whale necropolisResearch article: Peng et al.News & Views: A vast whale necropolis has been found08:52 Research HighlightsNature: Babies’ birth weight improves w...

10 Kesä 21min

Briefing chat: Spinosaurs with salt glands could have lived in marine environments

In this episode:00:23 Fossil evidence that spinosaurs had an aquatic lifestyleScience: Some spinosaurs cried salty tears to thrive in brackish waters04:57 The explosive immune cells that kill in minut...

5 Kesä 11min

Your phone can use tiny skin-colour changes to measure your heart rate

In this episode:00:57 How your smartphone’s camera could measure your heart rateResearch article: Liao et al.08:55 Research HighlightsNature: A star gone rogue tears through the GalaxyNature: Gold kee...

3 Kesä 18min

Briefing Chat: When to trust eyewitness memory – according to science

In this episode:00:21 When witnesses identify suspects from police line-ups, confidence mattersNature: Memory on trial: the new science of when to trust eyewitness testimony07:15 Registered Reports: h...

29 Touko 17min

Major Ebola outbreak is escalating: what happens next

On 17 May the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an ongoing Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. Centred on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, the out...

22 Touko 12min

AI ‘scientists’ promise to accelerate research — how do they work?

In this episode:00:46 Meet the AI scientists designed to accelerate researchResearch article: Ghareeb et al.Research article: Gottweis et al.Nature: Teams of AI agents boost speed of researchEditorial...

20 Touko 27min

Briefing Chat: Hantavirus — what this outbreak reveals about the disease

In this episode:00:34 What questions remain about the hantavirus outbreak?Nature: Hantavirus outbreak exposes uncertainty about how disease spreadsNature: There is no vaccine for deadly hantavirus: wh...

15 Touko 9min

Red-light therapy is all the rage — does it work?

In this episode:00:42 Is red-light therapy all hype?Disclaimer: The opinions and assertions expressed herein by Juanita Anders are those of the speaker and do not reflect the official policy or positi...

13 Touko 21min