Editorials in 2015

‘Ecomodernist Manifesto’ reframes sustainable development, but the goal remains the same.

Moore's law is approaching physical limits: truly novel physics will be needed to extend it.

Researchers need help in making the statistical power of animal experiments clear.

Science-based evidence and enlightened diplomacy have brought within reach a historic opportunity for nuclear détente with Iran. It must be seized.

A study in Nature adds a dramatic twist to the backstory of a neighbour we thought we knew.

The European Union faces a fresh battle over next-generation plant-breeding techniques.

A review of the United Kingdom’s progress towards ‘gold’ open-access research is instructive — for funders, publishers and scientists both at home and abroad.

A passive device that augments calf muscles improves on natural selection’s best effort.

The world must follow Brazil’s lead and do more to protect and restore forests.

A policy change that could discourage UK government scientists from talking to the media is a backwards step. All researchers need to speak up to put science on the political agenda.

The next few years will see NASA missions probe the innermost secrets of gas giants.

The UK research assessment should inspire everybody to reward excellent societal impacts.

Critics of the European Human Brain Project were justified, says an independent report on the project. Both its governance and its scientific direction need to be adjusted.

The latest episode of the Nature Audiofile podcast looks at how music inspires science.

The public’s distorted attitude towards mental-health conditions hampers their treatment.

As the world warms and technology improves, researchers and institutions should look at their carbon footprints and question whether they really need to travel to academic conferences.

As the first true science journal marks 350 years, we must defend scholarly pursuits.

Stratigraphers have yet to decide whether the Anthropocene is a new unit of geological time.

Political interference in the selection process for the headquarters of the Square Kilometre Array should not go unchallenged.