Nature Podcast
Nature Podcast
Feb 17, 2021
A mammoth discovery: oldest DNA on record from million-year-old teeth
Play • 31 min

Researchers sequence the oldest DNA ever recovered, and the people bringing art and science together.


In this episode:

00:46 Million-year-old mammoth DNA

This week, researchers have smashed a long-standing record by sequencing a genome that's over a million years old. They achieved this feat by extracting DNA from permafrost-preserved mammoth teeth, using it to build-up a more detailed family tree for these ancient animals.


Research Article: van der Valk et al.

News: Million-year-old mammoth genomes shatter record for oldest ancient DNA

News and Views: Million-year-old DNA provides a glimpse of mammoth evolution


10:00 Research Highlights

A spacecraft catches a rare glimpse of a rock smashing into Jupiter, and the perilous state of sawfish populations.


Research Highlight: Robotic eyes spy the flash of a meteor on Jupiter

Research Highlight: Humans push a hulking fish with a chainsaw nose towards oblivion


12:18 Putting art into science (and science into art)

Art and science are sometimes considered disparate, but when brought together the results can be greater than the sum of their parts. This week we hear from an artist and a scientist on the benefits they found when crossing the divide.


Career Feature: How to shape a productive scientist–artist collaboration

Career Feature: How the arts can help you to craft a successful research career

Where I work: ‘All my art is curiosity-driven’: the garden studio where art and physics collide


Some resources for bringing arts and science together:

https://okre.org

https://lifeology.io/


21:43 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, a neanderthal gene makes brain-like organoids bumpy, and uncovering the original location of Stonehenge’s stone circle.


News:


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