New genome of ancient human; 95% of us have a dormant virus that causes disease; Formula E cars faster than F1; Bill Bryson joins the pod!

古人类新基因;我们中有95%的人携带一种潜伏的病毒,它能引发疾病;电动方程式赛车比一级方程式赛车更快;比尔·布莱森加入播客!

New Scientist Podcasts

2025-11-15

45 分钟
PDF

单集简介 ...

Episode 332 For only the second time, the genome of an ancient Denisovan has been sequenced - thanks to the discovery of a 200,000-year-old tooth found in a Siberian cave. This ancient member of the human family has long been a mystery, so this genome is being described as a bombshell moment, revealing an early stage of Denisovan history. We explore how this reshapes our understanding about the origins of our species. Some 95 per cent of us have a dormant virus, lurking in our bodies - waiting to strike when the moment’s right. Epstein-Barr virus causes glandular fever - also known as mono or kissing disease - but only in a small number of people. Though new evidence is showing that even dormant viruses may still cause long term health problems. Formula E electric race cars may have surpassed their fossil fuel counterparts. From greater efficiency to faster acceleration, this is a big turning point for the sport - but they don’t have the edge on F1 cars in all areas just yet. We find out where they’re winning and where they’re falling behind - and how this could translate to better electric road cars for us. And the legendary science writer Bill Bryson joins the team to discuss the process of revising his bestselling book A Short History of Nearly Everything. He explores some of the most fascinating (and surprising) facts he’s had to update in the 20 years since the book came out. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (01:45) Second Denisovan genome sequenced (11:15) We all have dormant viruses that are causing diseases (18:37) Are Formula E cars faster than F1? (27:17) Bill Bryson on revising his bestselling book Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet, with guests Bill Bryson and Alec Luhn. To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/ Check out the CoLab feature with DEEP at https://newscientist.com/deep  Shop our Black Friday sale at www.newscientist.com/sale Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
更多

单集文稿 ...

  • I'm Sameer Patel, Editor-in-Chief at Quanta Magazine.

  • Our mission at Quanta is to cover what we call basic or fundamental research in science and math.

  • That means the kind of work that's driven by curiosity and discovery and the search for knowledge.

  • We're interested in how and why everything around us works the way that it does.

  • On our brand new show, The Quanta Podcast, you'll meet the writers and editors behind the magazine,

  • and together we'll explore the biggest ideas and the tiniest details.

  • Join me for the quantum podcast, your weekly dispatch from the frontiers of science and math.

  • In what has been described as a bombshell finding,

  • this week we hear about the second genome sequence made for Denisovan.

  • Denisovans are those enigmatic early human relatives of ours.

  • We're going to find out what the new genome tells us about our relationship to them and the interbreeding that went on between us and them.

  • It's obvious that it's all so much more complicated.

  • They're kind of exciting.

  • Yeah.

  • Yes.

  • Also on the show this week,

  • Formula E electric cars are on the verge of outperforming Formula One petrol cars.

  • Formula E is saying that the next car, the generation five,

  • will probably be as fast or faster than Formula One.

  • But it depends how long the race is.