Nick J. Howe

1 week ago | nature.com | Nick J. Howe |Shamini Bundell

Download the Nature Podcast 07 May 2025In this episode:00:46 How fishing activity altered the migration pattern of HerringSelective fishing of older herring has resulted in a large shift in the migration pattern of these fish, according to new research. For years, herring have visited sites on the south coast of Norway to spawn, but in 2020 a rapid shift was seen, with the fish instead visiting areas hundreds of kilometres to the north.

4 weeks ago | nature.com | Benjamin Thompson |Nick J. Howe

Download the Nature Podcast 16 April 2025In this episode:00:46 A potato pangenomeResearchers have created a ‘pangenome’ containing the genomes of multiple potato types, something they believe can help make it easier to breed and sequence new varieties. The potato’s complicated genetics has made it difficult to sequence the plant’s genome, but improvements in technology have allowed the team to combine sequences, allowing then to look for subtle differences in between varieties.

1 month ago | nature.com | Shamini Bundell |Nick J. Howe

Download the Nature Podcast 19 March 2025In this episode:00:46 Microsatellite makes messaging secureA tiny satellite has enabled quantum-encrypted information to be sent between China and South Africa, the farthest distance yet achieved for quantum communication. Using a laser-based system, a team in the city of Hefei was able to beam a ‘secret key’ encoded in quantum states of photons, to their colleagues over 12,000 km away.

2 months ago | nature.com | Nick J. Howe |Shamini Bundell

Download the Nature Podcast 5 March 2025In this episode: 00:46 Ancient humans made bone tools 1.5 million years ago A 1.5-million-year-old cache of animal-bone tools reveals that ancient humans systematically crafted with this material much earlier than previously thought. Researchers uncovered 27 bone artefacts in Tanzania honed into sharp tools almost 40 cm long.

2 months ago | nature.com | Benjamin Thompson |Nick J. Howe

Download the Nature Podcast 26 February 2025In this episode:00:47 A ‘smart’ way to quickly detect cardiac arrestGoogle researchers have developed an AI for a smartwatch that will call for help if its wearer is having a cardiac arrest. Trained, in part, on data gained when patients had their hearts deliberately stopped during a medical procedure, the team’s machine-learning algorithm can automatically detect the telltale signs of cardiac arrest.