Opinion

More than 10,500 industrial and academic scientists worldwide completed Nature's salary and satisfaction survey, published in this issue (see page 1104). Here, five career experts comment on the results of the poll. Differences in benefits, mentoring and contentment could have national and international ramifications, they conclude.

Since the invention of the science citation index in the 1960s, quantitative measuring of the performance of researchers has become ever more prevalent, controversial and influential. Six commentators tell Nature what changes might ensure that individuals are assessed more fairly.

Clinical trials routinely exclude expectant mothers. This is unethical and unscientific, and regulators must mandate change, says Françoise Baylis, in the second of three related pieces on gender bias in biomedicine.

As climate scientists battle climate sceptics, they should note that we have been here before, say Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway. History holds lessons for how researchers can get their message across.

Many researchers avoid using female animals. Stringent measures should consign this prejudice to the past, argue Irving Zucker and Annaliese Beery, in the third piece of three on gender bias in biomedicine.

Gender inequalities in biomedical research are undermining patient care. In the first of three related pieces, Alison M. Kim, Candace M. Tingen and Teresa K. Woodruff call on journals, funding agencies and researchers to give women parity with men, in studies and in the clinic.

The system that oversees global agriculture and food security needs an overhaul, says Joachim von Braun.

Plumes of dissolved gas could be used to determine how much oil has leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, says David Valentine — if the studies are done soon.

Nature asked eight synthetic-biology experts about the implications for science and society of the “synthetic cell” made by the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI). The institute's team assembled, modified and implanted a synthesized genome into a DNA-free bacterial shell to make a self-replicating Mycoplasma mycoides.

An advisory group and a network of international labs is needed to lay the groundwork for multilateral disarmament and forge links between nations, say Martin Rees, Ben Koppelman and Neil Davison.

Two years ago Raphael D. Sagarin and colleagues proposed that security systems should learn from nature. Now they've worked with defence professionals on putting that call into practice.

Klaus Stöhr of Novartis argues that pre-pandemic immunization with a cocktail of likely strains could be a cheap, practical and equitable way to protect people against influenza.

The climate community must work together to create a single, clean, comprehensive and open repository of detailed temperature data, say Peter A. Stott and Peter W. Thorne.

The tightening of the US science budgets could improve both teaching and research, argues Diane Auer Jones — by forcing academics and their institutions to play to their strengths.

Jonathan Shanklin, one of the team who discovered the thinning ozone layer over the Antarctic 25 years ago, reflects on lessons learned from a tale of luck, public perception and fast environmental change.

As tree habitats shift towards the poles in response to climate change, we must study the neglected, trailing edges of forests, warns Csaba Mátyás — they are economically and ecologically important.

Dorothy Hodgkin was born 100 years ago next month. Her biographer, Georgina Ferry, reflects on the factors that propelled the Nobel-prizewinning crystallographer to greatness.

Current national emissions targets can't limit global warming to 2 °C, calculate Joeri Rogelj, Malte Meinshausen and colleagues — they might even lock the world into exceeding 3 °C warming.

Twenty years on from the first pregnancies after preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Alan Handyside argues that informed prospective parents are largely good guides to the use of the thriving technology.

China and South Korea have invested heavily in environmental stimulus projects. Other G20 countries need to deliver on their sustainability promises to save both the planet and the economy, says Edward Barbier.