In this episode:

00:46 Evidence of ancient brine reveals Bennu’s watery past

Analysis of samples taken from the asteroid Bennu reveal the presence of organic compounds important for life, and that its parent asteroid likely contained salty, subsurface water. Collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, these rocks and dust particles give insights into the chemistry of the early Solar System, and suggest that brines may have been an important place where pre-biotic molecules were formed. As brines are found throughout the Solar System, this finding raises questions about whether similar molecules will be found in places like Jupiter’s moon Europa.

Research Article: McCoy et al.

Research Article: Glavin et al.

News: Asteroid fragments upend theory of how life on Earth bloomed

14:22 Research Highlights

How seaweed farms could capture carbon, and why chimps follow each other to the bathroom.

Research Highlight: Seaweed farms dish up climate benefits

Research Highlight: All together now: chimps engage in contagious peeing

16:31 How maize may have supported a civilization

Researchers have found evidence of intensive maize agriculture that could help explain how a mysterious South American society produced enough food to fuel a labour-force big enough to build enormous earth structures. It appears that the Casarabe people, who lived in the Amazon Basin around 500-1400 AD, restructured the landscape to create water conserving infrastructure that allowed for year-round production of maize. While this work provides new insights into how the Casarabe may have established a complex monument-building culture, these people vanished around 600 years ago, and many questions remain about their lives.

Research Article: Lombardo et al.

25:52 DeepSeek R1 wows scientists

A new AI model from a Chinese company, DeepSeek, rivals the abilities of OpenAI’s o1 — a state-of-the art ‘reasoning’ model — at a fraction of the cost. The release of DeepSeek has thrilled researchers, asked questions about American AI dominance in the area, and spooked stock markets. We discuss why this large language model has sent shockwaves around the world and what it means for the future of AI.

News: China’s cheap, open AI model DeepSeek thrills scientists

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Asteroid Bennu contains building blocks of life

Nature Podcast