Editorials in 2015

The replacement of mitochondria does not signal ethical problems.

The ugly truth is that the plastic microbeads found in many skin scrubs and other personal-care products are a serious pollutant of the marine environment. They should be phased out rapidly.

Interdisciplinary science must break down barriers between fields to build common ground.

All involved in animal research must ensure that rules for ethical experiments are observed.

Relationships between industry and researchers can be hard to define, but universities and other institutions must do more to scrutinize the work of their scientists for conflicts of interest.

There can be more to a question than appears at first sight.

It is not how much people have, it is how much we know they have that stokes inequality.

The plight of a record number of refugees is something the West cannot ignore. Humanitarian values should be upheld, and people fleeing war and persecution must be offered protection. 

Drought highlights the state’s lack of an ecological strategy.

The US Precision Medicine Initiative needs to tread carefully when revealing health and genetic data to participants.

A politically charged advisory committee meeting may have tipped the scales in favour of a mildly effective female libido drug.

A tribute to scholars of extraordinary courage.

People who fund or manage many research projects could do it better with mindful analysis.

From the oceans to the soil, technology is changing the part that amateurs can play in research. But this greater involvement raises concerns that must be addressed.

Randomized controlled trials are providing evidence about interventions in health, education and international development, but they are only part of a suite of useful tools.

The success of an Ebola vaccine trial shows that clinical trials can be done under the difficult field conditions of an epidemic — if there is enough political and regulatory will.

‘Gene drive’ techniques have the potential to alter whole populations. Regulators must catch up.

After years of talk, the palm-oil industry is looking into adopting environmental standards. Such rules must be strong, and need to be implemented.

The communication of risk in disease outbreaks is too often neglected; that must change.

Government labs should be subject to the same transparent oversight as academic facilities.