Nature Podcast15 Des 2021

Pluto's strange ice patterns explained by new theory

An explanation for giant ice structures on Pluto, and dismantling the mestizo myth in Latin American genetics.

In this episode:

00:46 The frozen root of Pluto’s polygonal patterns

In 2015, NASA’s New Horizons probe sent back some intriguing images of Pluto. Huge polygonal patterns could be seen on the surface of a nitrogen-ice ice filled basin known as Sputnik Planitia. This week, a team put forward a new theory to explain these perplexing patterns.

Research article: Morison et al.

06:15 Research Highlights

How Pamplona’s bull-running defies the dynamics of crowd motion, and self-healing microbial bio-bricks.

Research Highlight: Running of the bulls tramples the laws of crowd dynamics

Research Highlight: It’s alive! Bio-bricks can signal to others of their kind

09:06 How the mixed-race ‘mestizo’ myth has fostered discrimination

The term 'mestizo' emerged during the colonial period in Latin America to describe a blend of ethnicities – especially between Indigenous peoples and the Spanish colonizers. But this label is a social construct not a well-defined scientific category. Now researchers are challenging the mestizo myth, which they say is harmful and has a troubling influence on science.

Feature: How the mixed-race mestizo myth warped science in Latin America

17:22 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, how interrupted sleep could be a route to creativity, and the development of vaccines to target respiratory syncytial virus.

New Scientist: Interrupting sleep after a few minutes can boost creativity

Nature News: The race to make vaccines for a dangerous respiratory virus

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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