Diversity: A Nature & Scientific American Special Issue

There is growing evidence that embracing diversity — in all its senses — is key to doing good science. But there is still work to be done to ensure that inclusivity is the default, not the exception.

Effective clinical studies must consider all ethnicities — exclusion can endanger populations, says Esteban G. Burchard.

Confront economic differences to strengthen global research, urge P. Wenzel Geissler and Ferdinand Okwaro.

The first step in studying mental-health interventions across cultures is to adjust procedures to participants' needs, says Mónica Ruiz-Casares.

Richard B. Freeman and Wei Huang reflect on a link between a team's ethnic mix and highly cited papers.

The sciences can be a sanctuary for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals, but biases may still discourage many from coming out.

Nathaniel Comfort wonders at the enduring trend of misrepresenting race.

Scientists with disabilities seek ways to level the playing field.

A neuroscientist reflects on his experience of studying the circuits that control neural activity while his own brain began slowly failing him.

Universities seek to recreate the success of one institution's mentorship programme for minorities in science.

A standard test for admission to graduate school misses potential winners, say Casey Miller and Keivan Stassun.

Too many biomedical PhDs and too few minorities are a demographic dilemma for the NIH.

Social prejudices and stereotyping are pervasive and often operate unconsciously. In this Review, David M. Amodio considers the neural basis of prejudice and stereotyping and discusses the processes through which such biases may form, can influence behaviour and are regulated.

Chemistry needs new female role models and a less macho culture to appeal more to the next generation of young women, says Carol V. Robinson.

The editors of this publication need to improve how we reflect women’s contributions to science. For this, we must inject an extra loop into our thinking.

The suggestion that women are not advancing in science because of innate inability is being taken seriously by some high-profile academics. Ben A. Barres explains what is wrong with the hypothesis.

Welcoming lab environments and networking organizations help lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender scientists to excel.

A wave of anti-gay laws and homophobia in Africa is hampering efforts to study and curb the spread of HIV.

Joan — formerly Jonathan — Roughgarden rejects established evolutionary ideas about gender roles and sexuality. Everyone wants to discuss the parallels with her personal experience. But the science speaks for itself, she tells Virginia Gewin.

Medical genomics has focused almost entirely on those of European descent. Other ethnic groups must be studied to ensure that more people benefit, say Carlos D. Bustamante, Esteban González Burchard and Francisco M. De La Vega.

US agency will assess whether grant reviewers are biased against minority applicants.

Bioethicist who fought for disability rights in reproductive technologies.