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The Nature Podcast team select some of their favourite stories from the past 12 months.In this episode:00:32 Following the Viking footprint across EuropeIn September, we heard about the researchers mapping ancient genomes to better understand who the Vikings were, and where they went.Nature Podcast: 16 September 2020Research Article: Margaryan et al.08:09 Mars hopesIn July, the UAE launched its first mission to Mars. We spoke to the mission leads to learn about the aims of the project, and how they developed the mission in under six years.Nature Podcast: 08 July 2020News Feature: How a small Arab nation built a Mars mission from scratch in six yearsNews Feature: Countdown to Mars: three daring missions take aim at the red planet17:42 Disaster in San QuentinIn July, we reported on a massive COVID-19 outbreak in San Quentin. In Coronapod, we dug into how they got there. Also in the episode, we investigated whether lockdowns could have any lasting impact on young minds.Coronapod: 10 July 2020News: California's San Quentin prison declined free coronavirus tests and urgent advice — now it has a massive outbreak25:23 Communicating complex dataIn April, we found out about some of the methods that communications experts and behavioural scientists recommend to keep the public informed about risks and evidence – something that remains key for governments and other organisations during the pandemic.Coronapod: 17 April 202037:19 ‘Stick to the science’: when science gets politicalIn November, we published our miniseries “Stick to the science” which aimed to find out why a journal of science needs to cover politics. In the series we explored the history, philosophy and reality of science’s complicated relationship with politics.‘Stick to the science’: when science gets political  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.