In this episode:

Researchers 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.

Research Article: Sun et al.

How ancient DNA analysis revealed that unusually bound medieval books are covered in sealskin, and top quarks and their antimatter counterparts are detected after nuclear smash-ups at the Large Hadron Collider.

Research Highlight: Mystery of medieval manuscripts revealed by ancient DNA

Research Highlight: Top quarks spotted at mega-detector could reveal clues to early Universe

Analysis from Nature reveals the 25 highest-cited papers published this century and explores why they are breaking records. We hear about the field that got the highest number of papers on the list, and whether any feature in the all-time top citation list.

News Feature: Exclusive: the most-cited papers of the twenty-first century

News Feature: These are the most-cited research papers of all time

News Feature: Science’s golden oldies: the decades-old research papers still heavily cited today

Re-analysis of a cosmic collision shows evidence of a planet spiralling into its host star, and how shrugging off lighting strikes gives tonka bean trees an evolutionary edge.

Science: Astronomers spot a planetary ‘suicide’

Live Science: Tropical tree in Panama has evolved to kill its 'enemies' with lightning

Vote for How whales sing without drowning, an anatomical mystery solved

Vote for What’s in a name: Should offensive species names be changed? The organisms that honour dictators, racists and criminals

Vote for Cancer-busting vaccines are coming: here's how they work

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

Researchers have sequenced the complete genomes of six ape species, helping uncover the evolutionary history of our closest relatives and offering insights into what makes humans human. The genomes of chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, Bornean orangutan, Sumatran orangutan and siamang have been sequenced end-to-end, filling in gaps that have long eluded researchers.

Research Article: Yoo et al.

News and Views: Complete ape genomes offer a close-up view of human evolution

News: What makes us human? Milestone ape genomes promise clues

How sunflower stars are evading a mysterious epidemic, and how solar panels made of moon dust could power lunar bases.

Research Highlight: Revealed: where rare and giant starfish hide from an enigmatic killer

Research Highlight: Solar cells made of Moon dust could power up a lunar base

After decades of research, physicists have demonstrated that, in principle, an alternative kind of particle accelerator can work just as well as more conventional designs. Many particle accelerators that power huge experiments like the Large Hadron Collider at CERN are radio-frequency accelerators, but they are large and limited in how strong their magnetic fields can be. The new work shows that accelerators that instead use plasma to accelerate particles could be a viable alternative and could be built at much smaller scales.

Research article: Winkler et al.

A drug that makes blood poisonous to mosquitoes, and how an AI worked out how to solve key challenges in Minecraft by ‘imagining’ solutions.

Science Alert: Drug For Rare Disease Turns Human Blood Into Mosquito Poison

Nature: AI masters Minecraft: DeepMind program finds diamonds without being taught

Vote for How whales sing without drowning, an anatomical mystery solved

Vote for What's in a name: Should offensive species names be changed? The organisms that honour dictators, racists and criminals

Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

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

Science writer and New York Times columnist Carl Zimmer's latest book Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life we Breathe dives into the invisible maelstrom of microbial life swirling in the air around us — examining how it helped shape our world, and the implications that breathing it in can have on human health. Carl joined us to discuss historical efforts to show that diseases could spread large distances through the air, the staunch resistance to this idea, and what the rivalry between these two groups meant for public health.

Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe Carl Zimmer Dutton (2025)

Music supplied by SPD/Triple Scoop Music/Getty Images

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