In this episode:

00:47 An automated way to monitor wildlife recovery

To prevent the loss of wildlife, forest restoration is key, but monitoring how well biodiversity actually recovers is incredibly difficult. Now though, a team have collected recordings of animal sounds to determine the extent of the recovery. However, while using these sounds to identify species is an effective way to monitor, it’s also labour intensive. To overcome this, they trained an AI to listen to the sounds, and found that although it was less able to identify species, its findings still correlated well with wildlife recovery, suggesting that it could be a cost-effective and automated way to monitor biodiversity.

Research article: Müller et al.

12:30 Research Highlights

Researchers develop algae-based living materials that glow when squeezed, and a 50-million-year-old bat skull that suggests echolocation was an ancient skill.

Research Highlight: Give these ‘living composite’ objects a squeeze and watch them glow

Research Highlight: Fossilized skull shows that early bats had modern sonar

15:11 Briefing Chat

A brain imaging study reveals how high-fat foods exert their powerful pull, and how being asleep doesn’t necessarily cut you off from the outside world.

Nature News: Deep asleep? You can still follow simple commands, study finds

Nature News: Milkshake neuroscience: how the brain nudges us toward fatty foods

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Sounds of recovery: AI helps monitor wildlife during forest restoration

Nature Podcast