Retinas revived after donor's death open door to new science
00:57 Reviving retinas to understand eyes
Research efforts to learn more about diseases of the human eye have been hampered as these organs degrade rapidly after death, and animal eyes are quite different to those from humans. To address this, a team have developed a new method to revive retinas taken from donors shortly after their death. They hope this will provide tissue for new studies looking into the workings of the human eye and nervous system.
Research article: Abbas et al.
08:05 Research Highlights
A technique that simplifies chocolate making yields fragrant flavours, and 3D imaging reveals some of the largest-known Native American cave art.
Research Highlight: How to make a fruitier, more floral chocolate
Research Highlight: Cramped chamber hides some of North America\u2019s biggest cave art
10:54 Did life emerge in an \u2018RNA world\u2019?
How did the earliest biochemical process evolve from Earth\u2019s primordial soup? One popular theory is that life began in an \u2018RNA world\u2019 from which proteins and DNA evolved. However, this week a new paper suggests that a world composed of RNA alone is unlikely, and that life is more likely to have begun with molecules that were part RNA and part protein.
Research article: M\xfcller et al.
News and Views: A possible path towards encoded protein synthesis on ancient Earth
17:52 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the \u2018polarised sunglasses\u2019 that helped astronomers identify an ultra-bright pulsar, and how a chemical in sunscreen becomes toxic to coral.
Nature: A \u2018galaxy\u2019 is unmasked as a pulsar \u2014 the brightest outside the Milky Way
Nature: A common sunscreen ingredient turns toxic in the sea \u2014 anemones suggest why
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.