Nature Podcast17 Apr 2024

Keys, wallet, phone: the neuroscience behind working memory

In this episode:

00:46 Mysterious methane emission from a cool brown dwarf

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is revealing the makeup of brown dwarfs — strange space objects that blur the line between a planet and a star. And it appears that methane in the atmosphere of one of these objects, named W1935, is emitting infrared radiation. Where the energy comes from is a mystery however, researchers hypothesise that the glow could be caused by an aurora in the object’s atmosphere, perhaps driven by an as-yet unseen moon.

Research Article: Faherty et al.

10:44 Research Highlights

The discovery that bitter taste receptors may date back 450 million years, and the first planet outside the Solar System to boast a rainbow-like phenomenon called a ‘glory’.

Research Highlight: Bitter taste receptors are even older than scientists thought

Research Highlight: An exoplanet is wrapped in glory

13:07 How working memory works

Working memory is a fundamental process that allows us to temporarily store important information, such as the name of a person we’ve just met. However distractions can easily interrupt this process, leading to these memories vanishing. By looking at the brain activity of people doing working-memory tasks, a team have now confirmed that working memory requires two brain regions: one to hold a memory as long as you focus on it; and another to control its maintenance by helping you to not get distracted.

Research article: Daume et al.

News and Views: Coupled neural activity controls working memory in humans

22:31 Briefing Chat

The bleaching event hitting coral around the world, and the first evidence of a nitrogen-fixing eukaryote.

New York Times: The Widest-Ever Global Coral Crisis Will Hit Within Weeks, Scientists Say

Nature News: Scientists discover first algae that can fix nitrogen — thanks to a tiny cell structure

Nature video: AI and robotics demystify the workings of a fly's wing

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