<h2>00:48 New insights into tick-borne encephalitis</h2>Researchers have identified a key protein that helps tick-borne encephalitis virus enter the brain. In rare cases an infection can lead to serious neurological symptoms, but little was known about how the virus interacts with human cells. Now, a team show that a protein found on the outside of cells plays an important role in infection. In mouse experiments, they show that blocking the ability of the virus to bind to this protein protected the mice from disease. Currently no treatments exist, but the team hopes that this research will ultimately lead to a viable drug for this disease.Research Article:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09500-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mittler et al.</a><h2>08:47 Research Highlights</h2>The squirming robot that speeds up the insertion of an emergency breathing tube — plus, the 10,000-year-old remains that could be the oldest intentionally preserved mummiesResearch Highlight:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02991-z" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Soft robot steers itself down the human airway</a>Research Highlight:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02988-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Smoke-dried mummies pre-date Egypt’s embalmed bodies</a><h2>11:21 How might cancelled NIH grants affect the future of US science?</h2>To assess the potential impact of cuts to funding by the Trump administration,&nbsp;Nature&nbsp;trained a machine-learning bot to try and reproduce the NIH’s method of cancelling grants and applied it to science that was successfully funded around ten years ago. This thought experiment shows that highly impactful science and medical research might have been at risk had a similar process been followed a decade ago, revealing the potentially broad-reaching consequences of these actions today.Nature Index:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02748-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">What research might be lost after the NIH’s cuts? Nature trained a bot to find out</a>News:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00479-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Are the Trump team’s actions affecting your research? How to contact Nature</a><h2>20:54 Briefing Chat</h2>What researchers understand about chatbot-induced psychosis, and the AI designed viruses capable of killing&nbsp;E. coli&nbsp;bacteria.Nature:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03020-9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Can AI chatbots trigger psychosis? What the science says</a>Nature:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03055-y" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World’s first AI-designed viruses a step towards AI-generated life</a><a href="https://www.nature.com/briefing/signup" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.</a><hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

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