A numerical perspective on Nature authors.

Finland's cold climate, plus its perceived isolation, make recruiting hard work for Jussi Taipale — a principal investigator in the molecular and cancer biology programme at the University of Helsinki. Nevertheless, he has built a talented team in his growth-control lab. Taipale says the excitement of the science is a pull, but so too is the freedom he offers team members to pursue their own goals. Taipale doesn't believe in micro-managing the lab's daily activities. Rather, he looks for people who can work independently and creatively within the group's broad research plan.

His strategy seems to be paying off. Two of his postdocs, Mikael Björklund and Minna Taipale, have led the lab's efforts in automated data analysis, allowing them to identify the genes controlling cell division and cell size (see page 1009).

395 is the number of doctoral degrees awarded by the University of Helsinki in 2004.

8 is the number of postdocs and students working in Taipale's team.

6 is the number of papers published by Nature over the past year with contributing authors working in Finland.

8,550 is the total number of citations made, at the time of writing, to Taipale's three previous Nature publications.