Nature Index Supplements

With huge budgets, world-class facilities and a long history of scientific excellence, the leading five countries in the Nature Index (US, China, Germany, UK and Japan) also rely on global collaborations to address global challenges.

Their goals may be different, and so may the paths they are taking to reach them, but the universities aged 50 and under featured in this Nature Index supplement are proof that youth need not be a barrier to strong research performance.

Key to Canada’s strength as a leading science nation is its high-quality research, informed by its vast natural resources. But the country is losing ground in areas where it held an early lead.

COVID-19 has brought new urgency to the study of infectious disease. This Nature Index supplement shines a light on some of the research, and the people and institutions behind it, that aims to reduce the staggering human and economic cost of communicable disease.

Many of the world’s leading science cities are active in research related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Researchers are rethinking the nature and potential of matter. From new metal mixes that form more efficient catalysts to bio-inspired super-black products, their work is driving advances in manufacturing, drug discovery and product design.

China's successes in space, quantum technologies and cutting-edge chemistry underline its superpower status in research. As political tensions affect collaborations, we see signs of a slowdown in the country's remarkable growth in research output.

Sustainability, climate change and biomedical science are key areas for future research prowess in Asia Pacific. While the pandemic has disrupted collaborations in far-flung nations, it's highlighted opportunities for joint initiatives in South and southeast Asia.

As investments and revenues soar year-on-year and nations vie for leadership in the field of artificial intelligence, research output continues its steep, upward trajectory. But there are significant ethical and technical challenges to overcome.

Germany's position as a research giant is defined by its strong and steady science funding and long-term investment in basic research.

Nature Index Science cities showcases the top 100 cities in the Nature Index and the stories of success behind the top 5, examining their strengths, challenges and paths ahead.

A concerted government push to make South Korea an innovation leader, backed by strong investment and systemic reform, has brought rapid and long-lasting results.

This supplement features stories of success and challenges in the hard-fought and expensive race to increase survival rates. But it’s not all good news - improved treatments may still be out of reach in the countries where 70% of global cancer deaths occur.

The materials that will give rise to the industries of the future are taking shape in laboratories around the world, but how many of them will get to market?

This supplement explores the effects of political instability and escalating trade tensions on US-China and UK-EU research collaborations, and highlights the most successful 'big science' players in high-energy physics, genomics and oncology.

This supplement highlights the world’s leading young universities (aged 50 and under) in the natural sciences in the Nature Index, and explores the research and the strategies behind their success.

The biomedical sciences have helped global average life expectancy rise by 20 years since 1960.

Japan is looking to other countries in its efforts to arrest the alarming decline in its high-quality scientific research.

China’s rise is the story of the century in science.

Nature Index 2018 Science Cities profiles five science cities that are leaders in their regions. But each is contending with problems of equity and engagement that need to be addressed to keep them strong.

Creative minds drive the scientific enterprise. In recognition of their leading role, Nature Index 2018 Rising Stars profiles up-and-coming researchers in the natural sciences.

The US remains by far the largest producer of high quality Earth and environmental sciences research, but China’s output has grown rapidly since 2012 to take over second place from the United Kingdom.

Nature Index 2018 Japan reveals that some of Japan’s smallest institutions are among the most efficient in the production of high quality scientific research, though the decline in Japan’s high quality scientific research output continues. The supplement examines reform efforts in light of the country’s aim to become a “super-smart” society.

Nature Index Science Inc. 2017 investigates the changing role of corporate institutions in the world of science and the costs and benefits to high-quality research of these evolving arrangements.

Nature Index 2017 United States reveals that the country’s output of high-quality research in the natural sciences has declined over the past five years, following on from long-term declines in federal funding for research and development. At the current pace, China could overtake the US as the top contributor to the Nature Index within a decade.

Nature Index 2017 Science Cities explores the high-quality research being produced by 10 cities in the natural sciences. We chose them for their strong scientific credentials, metropolitan flair and global connections.

Saudi Arabia is already the scientific leader of the Arab world, but it is not standing still. Through investment in research and education — and a new focus on maximizing the commercial value of its academic prowess — the country is beating a path to reducing its reliance on oil.

Nature Index 2017 Innovation examines the connection between high-quality research and the commercialization of new products and services. In particular, it highlights the use of references to academic literature in patents to show concrete links between discovery and its economic potential.

Nature Index 2017 China looks beyond the country’s impressive performance in key metrics and examines how it holds up in other factors that contribute to a functioning research ecosystem, such as collaboration, willingness to make data and research open, science communication and sound science policy.

Nature Index 2017 Japan reveals that although the country is still among the upper echelons of global research, its output has continued to slide. This issue examines Japan’s efforts to arrest the decline and return to form as an innovative nation

Nature Index 2016 Collaborations highlights some of the most fruitful collaborations, such as those resulting from the bonds between China and the United States.

Nature Index 2016 Australia and New Zealand highlights these countries’ quality natural science research. The supplement focuses on the cities and institutions that contribute the lion’s share, and examines the factors that drive their success.

Nature Index 2016 Rising Stars identifies the ascendant performers in the world of science, using the power of the Nature Index, which tracks the high-quality research of more than 8,000 global institutions.

In 2015 Saudi Arabia had the largest growth of its region in the production of high-quality research tracked by the Nature Index, propelling the country into a leading position.

Nature Index 2016 Japan shows that the country’s output of high impact research has declined in recent years, in line with a similar fall in science spending. On the positive side, many institutions have built and strengthened partnerships with domestic and international collaborators.

The 2015 Nature Index supplement dedicated to China reveals that the country’s output of high-quality science continues to grow — a trend that shows no signs of slowing.

Nature Index 2015 Collaborations subscribes to the view that scientific collaborations play an increasingly important role in driving world-leading research.

The Nature Index 2014 China supplement examines a snapshot of results from the Nature Index, comparing the cities and institutions within the country that contributed to some of the highest quality research during the previous calendar year.

The Nature Index 2014 Global supplement provides a snapshot of results from the new Nature Index, comparing the countries and institutions around the world that contributed to some of the highest quality research during the previous calendar year.