Comment

An analysis in 50 countries shows large gaps between education policy and practice, which contributes to illiteracy among millions of students. Although much attention has been dedicated to policymaking, minimal attention is paid to policy implementation. To improve learning, we should pay as much attention to the latter as the former.

Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) have the potential to revolutionize treatment for individuals with severe disabilities. As these technologies transition from the laboratory to real-world applications, they pose unique ethical challenges that necessitate careful consideration.

Authors of COVID-19 papers produced during the pandemic were overwhelmingly not subject matter experts. Such a massive inflow of scholars from different expertise areas is both an asset and a potential problem. Domain-informed scientific collaboration is the key to preparing for future crises.

To prevent eating disorders in the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community, we must enact safeguards for sexual and gender minority individuals to live in their bodies authentically, address stigma against and within the LGBTQ+ community, and fund research to develop a better understanding of the unique drivers of eating disorder behaviours and to tailor prevention efforts.

Climate-resilient development provides a framework to address the interlinked challenges of climate change, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. We discuss how these global goals can be translated to the local scale so that local governments, businesses, communities and citizens can help to implement them.

On the centenary of the first human EEG recording, more than 500 experts reflect on the impact that this discovery has had on our understanding of the brain and behaviour. We document their priorities and call for collective action focusing on validity, democratization and responsibility to realize the potential of EEG in science and society over the next 100 years.

Science communication often assumes a ‘deficit’ in knowledge on behalf of the recipient, but this deficit-based approach is inequitable and ineffective. We must train all STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students in inclusive science communication, which uses collaboration with diverse people to address misinformation and solve socioscientific issues.

Mentorship from experienced peers critically improves individual career development and satisfaction in academia, but we have little information on how researchers are supported. We identify and recommend strategies for faculty members, departments, institutions and funders to ensure sustained excellence in academic mentorship.

Behavioural scientists want to see more consideration of context — so why are they not using tools derived from ecology, the science of all life in context? We invite behavioural scientists to align the science of human behaviour with that of behavioural ecology.

Causal inference is needed to understand whether conservation is working. There is a substantial role for behavioural science, as interventions often depend on behaviour change. A focus on design over data, embracing mixed methods and support from funders will help to provide the evidence needed to reverse biodiversity loss.

The combination of general anaesthesia and neuroimaging holds unique potential for catalysing integrative and translational discovery about human brains and consciousness. By spanning molecular, cognitive and clinical neuroscience, anaesthesia provides a bridge from molecules to mind across species.

Researchers have a wide variety of choices when it comes to careers. Often, post-PhD, we leave academic research for industry. But it is also possible to transition back, when done carefully. In this how-to, I outline how to transition between industry and academic research and vice versa.

We all care about effect sizes. Yet, traditional ways of evaluating them (P < 0.05 and generic benchmarks) are failing us. We propose two paths forward: setting better, contextualized benchmarks or — more radically — letting go of benchmarks altogether. Both paths point to adjusted expectations, more detailed reporting and slow science.

Large language models can generate sophisticated text or code with little input from a user, which has the potential to impoverish our own writing and thinking skills. We need to understand the effect of this technology on our cognition and to decide whether this is what we want.

Given the increasing sophistication of virtual reality systems in providing immersive nature experiences, there is the potential for analogous health benefits to those that arise from real nature experiences. We call for research to better understand the human–nature–technology interaction to overcome potential pitfalls of the technology and design tailored virtual experiences that can deliver health outcomes and wellbeing across society.

Effectively engaging with large language models is becoming increasingly vital as they proliferate across research landscapes. This Comment presents a practical guide for understanding their capabilities and limitations, along with strategies for crafting well-structured queries, to extract maximum utility from these artificial intelligence tools.

Being able to deliver a persuasive and informative talk is an essential skill for academics, whether speaking to students, experts, grant funders or the public. Yet formal training on how to structure and deliver an effective talk is rare. In this Comment, we give practical tips to help academics to give great talks to a range of different audiences.

Much well-designed and preregistered research is conducted but never published. The reasons for these studies ending up in the ‘file drawer’ are varied. Making this research public would help us all to do better science.

Belonging is an essential part of human identity. But with belonging comes ‘otherness’ — the tendency to label ‘others’ on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, ability or some other dimension. To advance science, we need to recognize how otherness affects research and implement interventions to overcome the biases that it creates.

The importance of reproducible scientific practices is widely acknowledged. However, limited resources and lack of external incentives have hindered their adoption. Here, we explore ways to promote reproducible science in practice.