Nature PastCast, September 1963: Plate tectonics – the unifying theory of Earth sciences
Nature Podcast27 Sep 2019

Nature PastCast, September 1963: Plate tectonics – the unifying theory of Earth sciences

This year, Nature celebrates its 150th birthday. To mark this anniversary we’re rebroadcasting episodes from our PastCast series, highlighting key moments in the history of science.


Earthquakes, volcanoes, the formation of mountains; we understand all these phenomena in terms of plate tectonics (large-scale movements of the Earth’s crust). But when a German geologist first suggested that continents move, in the 1910s, people dismissed it as a wild idea. In this podcast, we hear how a ‘wild idea’ became the unifying theory of Earth sciences. In the 1960s, data showed that the sea floor was spreading, pushing continents apart. Fred Vine recalls the reaction when he published these findings in Nature.


This episode was first broadcast in September 2013.


From the archive


Magnetic Anomalies Over Oceanic Ridges, by Vine & Matthews

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(928)

Briefing Chat: Evidence mounts for hidden chambers beyond Tutankhamun's tomb

Briefing Chat: Evidence mounts for hidden chambers beyond Tutankhamun's tomb

In this episode:00:22 Could secret rooms lie beyond Tutankhamun's tomb?Nature: Exclusive: New evidence for hidden chambers beyond Tutankhamun’s tomb05:55 A multifunctional brain–computer interfaceNatu...

18 Sep 12min

Transplanted human brain-tissue takes root in mice without a cortex

Transplanted human brain-tissue takes root in mice without a cortex

In this episode:00:46 Human brain-organoids transplanted into mice missing their cortexNature: Human brain cells transplanted into mice in ‘most extensive’ integration ever13:51 Research HighlightsNat...

16 Sep 28min

Briefing Chat: The Bunsen burner myth that turns out to be just hot air

Briefing Chat: The Bunsen burner myth that turns out to be just hot air

Nature staff discuss an AI tool that can assess the impact of nine billion mutations — plus, how the Bunsen burner’s reputation for sterilization may be based on tradition alone.00:21 Deepmind’s new t...

11 Sep 15min

Phone tutoring boosts math scores when schools are forced to close

Phone tutoring boosts math scores when schools are forced to close

In this episode:00:46 How telephone teaching could boost education during school shutdownsNature: Pick up the phone! Phone calls with tutors keep kids learning when schools shut down11:42 Research Hig...

9 Sep 21min

Briefing Chat: How 1,000 pairs of buried underpants helped measure soil health

Briefing Chat: How 1,000 pairs of buried underpants helped measure soil health

In this episode:00:21 Our picks of this year’s Ig Nobel prizesNature: Buried underpants and a new definition of kissing win 2026 Ig Nobel prizes07:47 Massive xenon experiment detects tantalizing hint ...

4 Sep 12min

Audio long read: Could mending damaged DNA prolong life?

Audio long read: Could mending damaged DNA prolong life?

Scientists are amassing evidence that unrepaired or poorly repaired DNA damage underlies many of the hallmarks of ageing. This has led to research into whether boosting DNA repair can keep people heal...

2 Sep 18min

Briefing Chat: How Dolly Parton left her mark on science

Briefing Chat: How Dolly Parton left her mark on science

In this episode:00:18 Researchers celebrate Dolly Parton's contributions to scienceNature: Dolly Parton dies aged 80 — researchers celebrate her contributions to science08:40 Phase III trial of melano...

28 Aug 14min

Highest-ever ocean temperatures recorded as El Niño intensifies

Highest-ever ocean temperatures recorded as El Niño intensifies

Why extreme temperatures are expected to weaken ocean carbon sinks — plus, how mitochondrial injections could treat vision loss.00:46 The world’s oceans reach a record temperatureNature: Ocean tempera...

26 Aug 19min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
bt-dokumentar-2
aftenpodden-usa
popradet
forklart
stopp-verden
fotballpodden-2
det-store-bildet
nokon-ma-ga
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-gukild-johaug
hanna-de-heldige
rss-ness
saken
aftenbla-bla
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
unitedno
frokostshowet-pa-p5