AI ‘scientists’ promise to accelerate research — how do they work?

Nature Podcast

May 20, 2026•28 min

--:--

Listen in podcast apps:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Download

Listen to this episode in Metacast mobile app

Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episode description

In this episode:

00:46 Meet the AI scientists designed to accelerate research

Research article: Ghareeb et al.

Research article: Gottweis et al.

Nature: Teams of AI agents boost speed of research

Editorial: Why AI cannot do good science without humans

Nature: Do you hate or love AI? Take Nature’s poll

13:25 Research Highlights

Nature: Dried to survive: desiccated tardigrades tolerate high heat

Nature: Pristine Antarctic ice records the Solar System’s travels

15:35 Using LiDAR to look around corners

Research article: Somasundaram et al.

Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android