‘Stealth flippers’ helped this extinct mega-predator stalk its prey

Nature Podcast

In this episode:

00:48 The ancient mega-predator with a ‘stealth mode’

The extinct marine mega-predator Temnodontosaurus had specialised adaptations to stealthily hunt its prey, suggests an analysis of a fossil flipper. Although Temnodontosaurus was a member of a well-studied group of marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs, its lifestyle has been a mystery due to a lack of preserved soft tissue. Now, a team have studied the fossil remains of a fore-fin, revealing several anatomical details that likely reduced low-frequency noise as the animal swam. It’s thought that these adaptations helped Temnodontosaurus stalk other ichthyosaurs and squid-like creatures that made up its prey.

Research Article: Lindgren et al.

09:46 Research Highlights

Research shows that future space probes could navigate using two stars as reference points, and how objects are more memorable when people encounter them while feeling positive emotions.

Research Highlight: Lonely spacecraft can navigate the stars

Research Highlight: Memory gets a boost from positive emotion

12:11 ‘Leaky’ mitochondria could be the root cause of sleep

Cumulative damage to mitochondria during waking hours could be a key driver for the need to sleep, according to new research. In fruit fly experiments, a team showed that being awake caused damage to mitochondria found in a specific set of neurons. Once this damage reaches a threshold it kicks off a process that ultimately leads to sleep. Although it’s unclear if this process occurs in humans, the researchers think this need for sleep may be an ancient process that coincided with the evolution of organisms with power-hungry nervous systems.

Research Article: Sarnataro et al.

23:04 The secret messages used to trick peer-review AI

Researchers have been sneaking text into their papers designed to trick AI tools into giving them a positive peer-review report. Multiple instances of these prompts have been found, which are typically hidden using white text or an extremely small font invisible to humans. We discuss the rise in this practice and what is being done to tackle it.

Video: Could hidden AI prompts game peer review?

Nature: Scientists hide messages in papers to game AI peer review

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