Biomaterials podcasts

Benjamin Thompson and Shamini Bundell discuss two scientific stories from the Nature Briefing. The first concerns a technique for detecting lead that may help researchers read damaged Roman scrolls from Herculaneum without unrolling the fragile, charred material. The second examines a biodegradable, paper-inspired edible battery and its potential use in medical devices inside the body. The publisher’s episode page and official podcast feed both identify this 25 September 2026 episode; the discussion lasts 11 minutes 32 seconds.

This episode examines whether manufacturing pharmaceuticals and biomedical materials in microgravity can become practical, with Julia Vaz and Michael Greshko. Kevin McLean speaks with Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen about narwhals collecting oceanographic measurements that reveal Atlantic warming in East Greenland fjords. In the book segment, Angela Saini interviews Priyambada Jayakumar about her biography of agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan. The publisher provides a full transcript and external audio.

Hosted by Sarah Crespi, Angela Saini