Editorials in 2021

Before letting go of the year 2021 completely, we highlight a very few of the important events it contained, both global and personal, scientific and otherwise.

Peer review has many aspects where bias is inevitable. Acknowledging this is the first step to managing it.

Anthropogenic climate change is often portrayed as a consequence of industrialization powered by fossil fuel consumption. However, agriculture also plays a role in this complex system of causes and effects.

Over this summer the world’s elite athletes have been competing at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Perhaps it is time to celebrate the athletic abilities of plants.

During the past year, global prices of major crops have continued to soar, and the proportion of undernourished people has increased globally. The food security situation is not optimistic.

Maintaining a global food supply in the face of climate change will require the development of new crops that can thrive at higher temperatures. And that means using water more efficiently.

The end of the COVID-19 pandemic is still a long way away. However, it is already a good time to reflect on how we have tried to maintain a vibrant research community.

With public understanding and academic enthusiasm for plant science dwindling, now is the time to take the fascination for plants to the people.

After the tumultuous weeks and months surrounding the 2020 United States presidential election, the President’s choice for a key post in his administration gives a broad outline of how land-use policy and politics could change going forward.

The rapid development of plant biotechnologies is profoundly shaping crop breeding and catalysing the next revolution in agriculture.

The year 2020 was dominated by COVID-19 and the multiple unforeseen challenges it created. As we enter a second year of the pandemic those difficulties continue, but so too does the resilience of the research community.

January is traditionally a time for looking back over years past and making plans for the year to come. For Nature Plants, this means a first transformative step towards open access.