What would you like to see happen in 2005? We asked a diverse array of researchers — see page 942 for the results. But we decided to indulge ourselves too, and to impudently propose New Year's resolutions for our readers. Our wishes range from optimistic hopes for your even more responsible social behaviour to the more self-interested yearning that our own professional goals (and your enjoyment of Nature) could be made easier to achieve.

Good informatics. Resolve to visit a real library to browse paper journals and books at least once in 2005. And to remind yourself and students that available knowledge on a subject is not restricted to search returns on Google.

Good communication. Resolve to be brave and share your scientific knowledge with the general public, but resist the temptation to say any more than you know. Invite a journalist to lunch to get to know each other's crafts and needs. Offer to speak about your work in front of a school class — even a kindergarten class can be very rewarding and it's important for the young to meet real scientists. And in any presentation, don't pack 50 Powerpoint slides into 10 minutes. Better still, avoid Powerpoint, and engage with people about what you do.

Good citizenship. Spend some of your free time contributing to a public good, such as the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative. Speak out where dogma undermines good scientific advice. And, where you have the chance, resolve to take steps to keep creationism, ‘intelligent design’ and superstition out of science classes.

Good authorship. Resolve to never submit a paper to Nature until its overall goals and achievements can be understood by, at least, a scientist from another discipline, or even a non-scientist in your family. Always proofread your papers before submitting them to any journal. And avoid phrases such as ‘Holy Grail’ and ‘Rosetta Stone’ unless you really mean it.

Good leadership. For those leading research groups, resolve to (continue to) treat your graduate students and postdocs like people, not data slaves, to promote their work actively, and to put their career interests ahead of your own. And ensure that they, like you, have a great New Year.