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Biden campaigned on the most ambitious climate platform ever put forth by a leading candidate for US president.Credit: Alex Wong/Getty
Can Biden achieve his climate promises?
US president-elect Joe Biden has the most aggressive climate agenda ever put forth by a leading US presidential candidate, but he faces strong opposition from some of the nation’s law-makers. Climate-policy experts say that although he faces a split Congress, Biden still has levers he can pull. He could, for instance, exert his authority over federal agencies to drive forward his agenda. He could also leverage his experience working with both parties in the Senate to push through legislation.
COVID-19 coronavirus update
Iceland’s science has been pivotal in understanding the COVID-19 pandemic.Credit: Jon E. Gustafsson
How Iceland hammered COVID with science
Iceland brought huge scientific heft to its attempts to contain and study the coronavirus. Spearheaded by deCODE, the local genetics company that tests much of its population, Iceland’s science has been credited with preventing deaths and allowing the country to keep its borders open. The well-oiled testing machine also made key early discoveries about COVID-19 infections: almost half of infected people are asymptomatic, children are much less likely to become sick than adults and the most common symptoms are muscle aches, headaches and a cough — not fever. And research continues: scientists plan to analyse the effect of viral loads, tease out the risk factors for a super-spreading event and understand the role of genetics in who gets sickest.
Lucky mistake for Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine
AstraZeneca says that the striking improvement in efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, UK, was discovered because of a mistake. Milder-than-expected side-effects led to the discovery that some trial participants were inadvertently given a lower first dose. Early data show that the vaccine is 90% effective in protecting those people against COVID, compared with 62% in people who got two full doses. A top priority for researchers is finding out why. “The reason we had the half dose is serendipity,” said AstraZeneca executive Mene Pangalos.
Read more: Why Oxford’s positive COVID vaccine results are puzzling scientists (Nature | 6 min read)
How to shift into COVID-19 research
Many early-career researchers, despite the shutdown and slow recovery at academic labs worldwide, have found their way to fruitful COVID-19 research from specialities outside virology or related disciplines. Several scientists describe how they made the switch, as well as the challenges and the rewards. They recommend intensive, strategic reading to fill knowledge gaps and honing a skill that might best be called strategic opportunism — the ability to map out a path from one’s own expertise and resources to an intersecting area of emerging research.
Features & opinion
Postdocs under pressure
Long hours and a lack of job security, combined with workplace bullying and discrimination, are forcing many postdocs to consider leaving science — despite scientific successes. “I published papers but I wasn’t happy,” says Adrian Cazares, a postdoctoral researcher in computational microbiology. “[Postdocs] are under so much pressure all the time. We take it to every part of our lives. It really started to affect my mental health.” Nature’s inaugural survey of postdoctoral researchers reveals that nearly one in four respondents said they had experienced discrimination or harassment during their current postdoctoral stint — most from their supervisor or principal investigator.
Contraceptives research needs a reboot
Whether because of side-effects, stigma, lack of access or other issues, currently available methods of contraception are not doing the job: around 40% of pregnancies globally are unintended. The field is ripe for innovation and the market is huge, writes global-health strategist Stephen Gerrard and four colleagues. They recommend ways to reinvigorate R&D and “move from methods that women tolerate to those that actually satisfy their needs”.
