Featured
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World View |
Monsoons are changing in India — here’s how to climate-proof the economy
Global warming is shifting rainfall patterns across South Asia, and each area will be affected differently — local approaches are needed to track and respond to these changes.
- Shravan Prabhu
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News Explainer |
Protests over Israel–Hamas war have torn US universities apart: what’s next?
Nature talks to researchers studying the protests about a high-stakes congressional hearing this week and accusations of antisemitism on campus.
- Jeff Tollefson
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Nature Careers Podcast |
Infrastructure projects need to demonstrate a return on investment
Terms such as sustainability and inclusivity loom large in big infrastructure projects. But impact and value for money need measuring too, says Sinan Küfeoğlu.
- Dom Byrne
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Editorial |
A DARPA-like agency could boost EU innovation — but cannot come at the expense of existing schemes
If Europe wants to create a high-risk, high-reward research body, it needs grass-roots backing.
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News |
Dozens of Brazilian universities hit by strikes over academic wages
Some professors and staff members have been on strike for as long as four weeks as they seek better conditions at their institutions.
- Jeff Tollefson
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News |
Argentina’s pioneering nuclear research threatened by huge budget cuts
President Javier Milei is making moves to partially privatize the sector, but in the meantime, projects have paused.
- Martín De Ambrosio
- & Fermín Koop
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World View |
How to meet Africa’s grand challenges with African know-how
Simple measures to strengthen the interface between science, policy and society in African nations could help the continent leapfrog others in sustainable innovation and development.
- Alfred R. Bizoza
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News |
Controversial virus-hunting scientist skewered at US COVID-origins hearing
Lawmakers interrogated Peter Daszak over his ties to China and whether his organization, EcoHealth Alliance, has been a good steward of taxpayer dollars.
- Mariana Lenharo
- & Lauren Wolf
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World View |
Why doing social science research is difficult in India today
With an election under way, the future of Indian science is on the ballot. Encouraging research and critical thinking should be a priority for the new government.
- Yamini Aiyar
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News |
This social sciences hub galvanized India’s dynamic growth. Can it survive?
The Centre for Policy Research has lost its chief executive, most of its staff and is running out of cash.
- Michele Catanzaro
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World View |
AI-fuelled election campaigns are here — where are the rules?
Political candidates are increasingly using AI-generated ‘softfakes’ to boost their campaigns. This raises deep ethical concerns.
- Rumman Chowdhury
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News |
Iran frees scientists who studied big cats in surprise move
Six-year ordeal for researchers studying Asiatic cheetah and Persian leopard ends in prisoner amnesty.
- Michele Catanzaro
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Editorial |
The EU’s ominous emphasis on ‘open strategic autonomy’ in research
A reboot of the flagship Horizon Europe fund risks prioritizing a mindset geared towards security over open, future-facing research collaboration.
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Nature Index |
Larger or longer grants unlikely to push senior scientists towards high-risk, high-reward work
A survey of US professors suggests that broad changes to grant schemes might be needed to incentivize new approaches to research.
- Dalmeet Singh Chawla
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News |
China–US climate collaboration concerns as Xie and Kerry step down
The friendship between the two men survived hostile moments between their countries.
- Smriti Mallapaty
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News |
Biden seeks to boost science funding — but his budget faces an ominous future
The US president proposes a 2025 budget even as negotiations continue over federal funding for 2024.
- Jeff Tollefson
- , Max Kozlov
- & Alexandra Witze
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Book Review |
Act now to prevent a ‘gold rush’ in outer space
As private firms aim for the Moon and beyond, a book calls for an urgent relook at the legal compact that governs space exploration.
- Timiebi Aganaba
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News |
‘Despair’: Argentinian researchers protest as president begins dismantling science
Javier Milei’s actions after taking office have research institutions facing shutdown.
- Martín De Ambrosio
- & Fermín Koop
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News |
Trump versus Biden: what the rematch could mean for three key science issues
Depending on the winner of November’s election, researchers anticipate two completely different paths ahead for the environment, public health and more.
- Jeff Tollefson
- , Natasha Gilbert
- & Mariana Lenharo
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Editorial |
Science can drive development and unity in Africa — as it does in the US and Europe
A plan to establish Africa’s first continent-wide science fund should not be delayed any longer.
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World View |
How to boost your research: take a sabbatical in policy
Academic researchers have a unique opportunity to benefit society — and their research — by spending time in government.
- Jordan Dworkin
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Editorial |
It’s time for countries to honour their million-dollar biodiversity pledges
Promises to safeguard biodiversity need to be translated into money in the bank.
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News |
US and China likely to delay renewal of key science pact again
Relations have changed between the two nations, so negotiators are hashing out new terms in the 45-year-old agreement.
- Natasha Gilbert
- & Smriti Mallapaty
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Editorial |
Cyberattacks on knowledge institutions are increasing: what can be done?
For months, ransomware attacks have debilitated research at the British Library in London and Berlin’s natural history museum. They show how vulnerable scientific and educational institutions are to this kind of crime.
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Book Review |
Science and government: can the power struggle ever end?
Similar goals but different strategies underlie tensions between science and the state, an in-depth analysis explains.
- Rhona Mijumbi
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News |
Israel is flooding Gaza’s tunnel network: scientists assess the risks
The plan to target Hamas involves filling parts of a 500-kilometre-long network of underground tunnels. Researchers warn this could affect Gaza’s water supplies.
- Josie Glausiusz
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News |
Crackdown on skin-colour bias by fingertip oxygen sensors is coming, hints FDA
Devices can overestimate blood oxygen levels in people with dark skin, affecting medical care.
- Max Kozlov
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News |
Brazil’s deforestation ‘police’ on strike — threatening climate goals
Environmental workers in the government have stopped field operations, and might halt work altogether.
- Meghie Rodrigues
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News |
Trump’s presidential push renews fears for US science
If he wins a second term, the former US president has promised to limit the authority of federal agencies and employees, including scientists.
- Jeff Tollefson
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News |
Leading US particle-physics lab faces uncertain future
Several organizations are vying for the contract to manage Fermilab, after it received failing grades from the US Department of Energy.
- Dan Garisto
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Correspondence |
New UK immigration rules threaten academic mobility
- Alexander C. Lees
- & Ben C. Sheldon
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World View |
How a surge in organized crime threatens the Amazon
The global community needs to break the web of transnational crime networks and corruption threatening one of the world’s largest carbon sinks.
- Bram Ebus
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Correspondence |
Is Brazil ready for gender equality in science?
- Fernanda Staniscuaski
- , Leticia de Oliveira
- & Charikleia Tzanakou
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News |
COP28 climate summit signals the end of fossil fuels — but is it enough?
As nations make historic pledge to ‘transition’ energy systems away from fossil fuels — some scientists are disappointed by the softened wording.
- Katharine Sanderson
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News Feature |
How Earth’s first global heat officer is tackling climate change
Eleni Myrivili is helping the world to prepare for the threats of climate change as the United Nations chief heat officer.
- Alexandra Witze
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Nature Index |
US agency launches experiments to find innovative ways to fund research
Caleb Watney explains how the National Science Foundation’s ‘science of science’ programme will find efficiencies and support ‘high-risk, high-reward’ studies.
- Dalmeet Singh Chawla
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Editorial |
Frugal innovation: why low cost doesn’t have to mean low impact
Science is starting to recognize the movement to create mass-market products using local knowledge and materials to improve lives around the world.
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News |
First cash pledged for countries devastated by climate change: COP28 starts with historic decision
Draft resolution on a ‘loss and damage fund’ has attracted more than $400 million, but climate-vulnerable countries say more cash is needed.
- Katharine Sanderson
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Nature Index |
Why is China’s high-quality research footprint becoming more introverted?
Data from the Nature Index suggest China-based authors are increasingly publishing without international colleagues.
- Brian Owens
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Editorial |
Global science is splintering into two — and this is becoming a problem
The United States and China are pursuing parallel scientific tracks. To solve crises on multiple fronts, the two roads need to become one.
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News |
‘My collaborations would see me jailed’: Australian researchers fear proposed new laws
Under the proposal, technology with potential military use would need authorization to be shared with non-Australian colleagues.
- Bianca Nogrady
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Nature Index |
Science in cities benefits rural communities, too
Shouting about the far-flung impact of city-based research can help counter attempts at urban–rural division.
- Simon Baker
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Correspondence |
China: personalized carbon accounting for consumers
- Li Zhang
- , Lan Tao
- & Fangyi Yang
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News Feature |
Is it too late to keep global warming below 1.5 °C? The challenge in 7 charts
Chances are rapidly disappearing to limit Earth’s temperature rise to the globally agreed mark, but researchers say there are some positive signs of progress.
- Jeff Tollefson
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News |
‘Extremely worrying’: Argentinian researchers reel after election of anti-science president
As part of his plan to address the country’s economic crisis, Javier Milei has promised to slash research funding and shut down key science agencies.
- Martín De Ambrosio
- & Fermín Koop
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News |
Progress on plastic pollution treaty too slow, scientists say
As national divisions widen over how to address the global waste crisis, researchers fight for more input into the process.
- Nicola Jones
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News |
Major US climate disasters occur every three weeks, report finds
Fifth National Climate Assessment says nowhere is safe from warming, but some communities are impacted harder than others.
- Jeff Tollefson
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News Explainer |
Why is Delhi’s air pollution so bad right now?
The post-monsoon season creates ideal conditions for air pollution to accumulate in the Indian megacity.
- Dyani Lewis