Featured
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Research Highlight |
A global sand crisis looms — here’s how to dodge it
The right strategies could help to reduce sand mining and the associated environmental destruction.
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News |
Biden bids again to boost science spending — but faces long odds
The US president wants huge increases for clean energy and public health, but a divided Congress might not go along with the plan.
- Jeff Tollefson
- , Max Kozlov
- & Alexandra Witze
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Research Briefing |
Imaging Yellowstone’s plumbing system from the sky
Despite decades of research, the plumbing system that links deep thermal fluids to the well-known surface features of Yellowstone National Park remains mostly unexplored. The first views of this system are revealed through the gathering of airborne geophysical data, which are used to generate electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility models.
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News Round-Up |
Omicron’s rise, severe COVID and Antarctic ice minimum
The latest science news, in brief.
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Article |
Geophysical imaging of the Yellowstone hydrothermal plumbing system
High-resolution images derived from airborne geophysical data reveal critical aspects of the Yellowstone hydrothermal system, which can be used to assess geochemical models of the evolution of thermal fluids worldwide.
- Carol A. Finn
- , Paul A. Bedrosian
- & Jade Crosbie
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Spotlight |
Four research teams powering China’s net-zero energy goal
Energy researchers are helping to pivot the country to carbon-neutral power by 2060, using both large and small-scale projects.
- Sarah O’Meara
- & Yvaine Ye
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Comment |
Cement and steel — nine steps to net zero
It is possible — and crucial — to green the building blocks of the modern world.
- Paul Fennell
- , Justin Driver
- & Steven J. Davis
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Article |
Subaqueous foraging among carnivorous dinosaurs
In extinct species including non-avian dinosaurs, bone density is shown to be a reliable indicator of aquatic behavioural adaptations, which emerged in spinosaurids during the Early Cretaceous.
- Matteo Fabbri
- , Guillermo Navalón
- & Nizar Ibrahim
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World View |
Broken bread — avert global wheat crisis caused by invasion of Ukraine
Russia’s war highlights the fragility of the global food supply — sustained investment is needed to feed the world in a changing climate.
- Alison Bentley
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Research Highlight |
Astronomy’s carbon footprint is sky-high
Among the most intensive sources are the Hubble Space Telescope and, on Earth, the Very Large Telescope.
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Research Highlight |
The sulfurous dust that helped to do in the dinosaurs
An asteroid strike kicked sulfur-infused dust so high that it contributed to catastrophic cooling 66 million years ago.
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Research Highlight |
The Arctic has lost a huge volume of sea ice in just a few years
Much of the loss is due to thinning of ice that lasts through the summer.
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Matters Arising |
On the role of atmospheric model transport uncertainty in estimating the Chinese land carbon sink
- Andrew E. Schuh
- , Brendan Byrne
- & Brad Weir
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Editorial |
Are there limits to economic growth? It’s time to call time on a 50-year argument
Researchers must try to resolve a dispute on the best way to use and care for Earth’s resources.
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Matters Arising |
Reply to: The size of the land carbon sink in China
- Jing Wang
- , Liang Feng
- & ChaoZong Xia
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Matters Arising |
Reply to: On the role of atmospheric model transport uncertainty in estimating the Chinese land carbon sink
- Jing Wang
- , Liang Feng
- & ChaoZong Xia
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Research Briefing |
Net carbon uptake has kept pace with increasing fossil-fuel emissions
Roughly half of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions remain in the atmosphere, but whether this airborne fraction is changing has been unclear, partly because the emissions from deforestation are uncertain. We used proxy data on deforestation emissions over the past six decades to show that the airborne fraction has decreased.
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Perspective |
The land-to-ocean loops of the global carbon cycle
An assessment of the land-to-ocean cycling of carbon through inland waters, estuaries, tidal wetlands and continental shelf waters provides a perspective on the global carbon cycle and identifies key knowledge gaps.
- Pierre Regnier
- , Laure Resplandy
- & Philippe Ciais
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Matters Arising |
The size of the land carbon sink in China
- Yilong Wang
- , Xuhui Wang
- & Josep G. Canadell
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Article |
Limited increases in savanna carbon stocks over decades of fire suppression
A direct estimate is provided of the whole-ecosystem carbon response to fire suppression in a mesic African savanna, showing limited increase in carbon storage despite a large increase in tree cover.
- Yong Zhou
- , Jenia Singh
- & A. Carla Staver
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News & Views |
Savannahs store carbon despite frequent fires
An analysis of carbon stored in the plants and soil of an African savannah suggests that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations — and thus global warming — might be less affected by frequent fires than we thought.
- Niall P. Hanan
- & Anthony M. Swemmer
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Article |
RETRACTED ARTICLE: New land-use-change emissions indicate a declining CO2 airborne fraction
By generating a land use and land cover change emissions dataset using visibility data from two key deforestation regions, analysis of the data suggests a decrease in the CO2 airborne fraction since 1959.
- Margreet J. E. van Marle
- , Dave van Wees
- & Guido. R. van der Werf
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News |
AI reads Greek, COVID’s catastrophe — the week in infographics
Nature highlights three key graphics from the week in science and research.
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News |
China’s first Moon rocks ignite research bonanza
Samples collected by Chang’e-5 are revealing exciting insights into the Moon’s evolution.
- Smriti Mallapaty
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Comment |
Africa: sequence 100,000 species to safeguard biodiversity
Build a major genomics resource on the continent to help breeders and conservationists.
- ThankGod Echezona Ebenezer
- , Anne W. T. Muigai
- & Appolinaire Djikeng
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News |
Antarctic sea ice hits lowest minimum on record
Natural variability is probably the cause, although global warming could have a role.
- Tosin Thompson
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World View |
The geopolitics of fossil fuels and renewables reshape the world
To navigate the long road to net zero, energy researchers must grapple with the lessons of history.
- Helen Thompson
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Nature Index |
Japan strives to improve its global standing in science
A nation’s ambitious scientific goals are bringing in the best from around the world.
- David McNeill
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Matters Arising |
Aquaculture will continue to depend more on land than sea
- Wenbo Zhang
- , Ben Belton
- & Max Troell
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Article |
Weak cubic CaSiO3 perovskite in the Earth’s mantle
At temperatures and pressures typical of the Earth’s lower mantle, cubic CaSiO3 perovskite is found to have lower strength and viscosity compared to bridgmanite and ferropericlase, providing clues to its role in subduction regions.
- J. Immoor
- , L. Miyagi
- & H. Marquardt
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Article |
Discovery of a Ni2+-dependent guanidine hydrolase in bacteria
A bacterial enzyme is characterized and demonstrated to have Ni2+-dependent activity and high specificity for free guanidine enabling the bacteria to use guanidine as the sole nitrogen source for growth.
- D. Funck
- , M. Sinn
- & J. S. Hartig
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Article |
Methane formation driven by reactive oxygen species across all living organisms
Methane formation by a ROS-mediated process is linked to metabolic activity and is identified as a conserved feature across living systems.
- Leonard Ernst
- , Benedikt Steinfeld
- & Frank Keppler
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Research Highlight |
Wispy clouds are born of dust in the wind
Dust from deserts and plains drives the formation of cirrus clouds, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere.
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News |
Omicron’s advantage, particle accelerators — the week in infographics
Nature highlights three key graphics from the week in science and research.
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Editorial |
Landmark treaty on plastic pollution must put scientific evidence front and centre
United Nations resolution on greening plastics is a positive step. As negotiations begin, they must be evidence-based.
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Research Highlight |
The world’s rivers exhale a massive amount of carbon
Nearly 6,000 measurements from rivers big and small allow scientists to estimate carbon emissions from Earth’s waterways.
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Research Highlight |
Madagascar’s biggest mine achieves striking conservation success
Efforts to protect at-risk forests are projected to make up for the forest lost to an enormous mine.
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Comment |
Rewilding Argentina: lessons for the 2030 biodiversity targets
A foundation that turns private land into national parks is reintroducing native species to restore ecosystems and build ecotourism.
- Emiliano Donadio
- , Sebastian Di Martino
- & Sofía Heinonen
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News Explainer |
This US Supreme Court decision could derail Biden’s climate plan
Controversial lawsuit has put the US government’s ability to slash carbon emissions on the line.
- Jeff Tollefson
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Comment |
G20’s US$14-trillion economic stimulus reneges on emissions pledges
Analysis of pandemic economic recovery packages from the 20 largest economies reveals that governments are not spending on emissions cuts despite promises to ‘build back better’.
- Jonas M. Nahm
- , Scot M. Miller
- & Johannes Urpelainen
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News Round-Up |
COVID reinfections, sneezing hamsters and huge methane emissions
The latest science news, in brief.
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Nature Podcast |
COVID stimulus spending failed to deliver on climate promises
G20 COVID stimulus packages fail to deliver on emissions, how knowing something about a stranger could alter your behaviour, and scientists condemn the invasion of Ukraine.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Nick Petrić Howe
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Article |
A wet heterogeneous mantle creates a habitable world in the Hadean
A hydrated, heterogeneous mantle resulting from magma ocean solidification is shown to be key to the rapid formation of Earth’s habitable surface environment during the Hadean era.
- Yoshinori Miyazaki
- & Jun Korenaga
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Research Highlight |
Huge comet is biggest of its kind
Gargantuan object is roughly 140 kilometres across — making it by far the largest comet from the farthest reaches of the Solar System.
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News |
Moon crashes, distant radio bursts — the week in infographics
Nature highlights three key graphics from the week in science and research.
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News |
Ukraine conflict jeopardizes launch of Europe’s first Mars rover
Sanctions mean joint Russian–European ExoMars mission is likely to be postponed for a third time.
- Elizabeth Gibney
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News |
Climate change is hitting the planet faster than scientists originally thought
Latest IPCC climate report warns that rising greenhouse-gas emissions could soon outstrip the ability of many communities to adapt.
- Jeff Tollefson
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World View |
Climate change won’t wait for future innovation — we need action now
Governments must focus on solutions that are already working, even when they aren’t glamorous or supported by powerful lobbyists.
- Marie Claire Brisbois