<p><em>Nature:&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03807-w" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Asteroids, antibiotics and ants: a year of remarkable science</em></a></p><br><p><strong>In this episode:</strong></p><br><p><br></p><h2>1:58 Evidence of ancient brine on an asteroid</h2><p>Samples taken from the asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft suggest the parent body it originated from is likely to have contained salty, subsurface water. This finding provides insights into the chemistry of the early Solar System, and suggests that brines might have been an important place where pre-biotic molecules were formed.</p><p><em>News &amp; Views:&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00084-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Asteroid Bennu contains salts from ancient brine</em></a></p><p><em>Nature Podcast:&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00267-0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Asteroid Bennu contains building blocks of life</em></a></p><br><p><br></p><h2>08:01 How gene expression doesn't always reflect a cell's function</h2><p>Cells are often grouped into categories according to the RNA molecules they produce. However a study of zebrafish (<em>Danio rerio</em>) brains revealed that cells can be functionally diverse even if they appear molecularly similar. This finding adds more nuance to how a cell's ‘type’ is ultimately defined.</p><p><em>News &amp; Views:&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00088-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Does a cell’s gene expression always reflect its function?</em></a></p><br><p><br></p><h2>12:01 The disproportionate mortality risks of extreme rainfall</h2><p>An assessment of death rates in India’s coastal megacity of Mumbai revealed that the impact of extreme rainfall events will be highest for women, young children and residents of informal settlements. This situation is likely to become more pronounced as a result of climate change.</p><p><em>News &amp; Views:&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03453-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Extreme rainfall poses the biggest risk to Mumbai’s most vulnerable people</em></a></p><br><p><br></p><h2>14:46 An AI-designed underwater glue</h2><p>Inspired by animals like barnacles and aided by machine learning, researchers have developed a super-sticky compound that works as an underwater adhesive. To demonstrate its properties, researchers applied it to a rubber duck, which stuck firmly to a rock on a beach despite being battered by the sea.</p><p><em>News &amp; Views:&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02252-z" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>AI learns from nature to design super-adhesive gels that work underwater</em></a></p><p><em>Nature Podcast:&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02500-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Underwater glue shows its sticking power in rubber duck test</em></a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>