Nature Podcast

In this episode:00:49 The search for animals’ magnetic sense sufferers a potential setbackExactly how animals sense Earth’s magnetic field has long eluded researchers. To understand it, many have turned to the fly model Drosophila melanogaster, long thought to be able to detect magnetic fields. However, a recent Nature paper has raised questions about this ability, a finding that could have repercussions for scientists’ efforts to understand the mechanism behind magnetic sensing, one of the biggest questions in sensory biology.Research article: Bassetto et al.News & Views: Replication study casts doubt on magnetic sensing in flies10:53 Research HighlightsThe world’s first filter feeder, and human-caused climate change in the Bronze Age.Research Highlight: This ancient reptile wanted to be a whaleResearch Highlight: Bronze Age deforestation changed Europe’s climate13:03 An iconic observatory shuts downThis week the famed Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico shut down. The facility’s main telescope collapsed