Nature Index |
Featured
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Editorial |
Gender equality: the route to a better world
Health outcomes, ending poverty and greening the environment are boosted when power is shared between the genders.
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Editorial |
Hypocrisy is threatening the future of the world’s oceans
A few powerful nations are undermining progress towards global ocean sustainability. Scientists can help hold them to account.
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Correspondence |
Shark culling at a World Heritage site
- Philippe Borsa
- , Martine Cornaille
- & Bertrand Richer de Forges
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Editorial |
The science is clear: sustainable development and climate action are inseparable
Sustainability cannot be achieved without climate action, and vice versa. What’s needed is a fight on both fronts.
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Comment |
Carbon offsets aren’t helping the planet — four ways to fix them
Pricing credits according to how much carbon is removed, for how long and how reliably, would direct funding to the most effective climate solutions.
- Philip W. Boyd
- , Lennart Bach
- & Christian Turney
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World View |
The causes of wildfires are clear. How they burn through communities is not
Events in Hawaii show how much we have to learn about wildfire spread — but simple research steps can help to build resilience.
- Hussam Mahmoud
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News |
US extends science pact with China: what it means for research
The move is a stop-gap measure, and scientists warn that lack of a full renewal could damage research collaborations.
- Natasha Gilbert
- & Gemma Conroy
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News |
These veteran female activists are fighting a pivotal climate case with science
Research on the effects of climate change on health will be key in high-profile lawsuits being heard by Europe’s human-rights court.
- Layal Liverpool
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News |
Australia grapples with how to investigate scientific misconduct
The nation currently allows institutes to investigate cases in-house — but calls to change this are mounting.
- Dyani Lewis
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Editorial |
Tackle ever-growing consumption to safeguard sustainability gains
The world is consuming more efficiently, but still using more stuff. More-concerted efforts to change both consumer and producer behaviour are needed.
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Correspondence |
Digital tech: some way to go for IPCC-style governance
- Sean T. Norton
- & Jacob N. Shapiro
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Editorial |
Want a sustainable future? Then look to the world’s cities
In a rapidly urbanizing world, what happens in cities matters — and sustainability success stories show what can be achieved when researchers and policymakers work together.
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World View |
Allow patents on AI-generated inventions — for the good of science
The current global mishmash of rules on whether innovations made using artificial intelligence are patentable impedes AI-rich fields such as drug discovery.
- Ryan Abbott
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Comment |
Want to speed up scientific progress? First understand how science policy works
Researchers and policymakers often exist in different worlds and speak different languages. Here are three ways to bridge the divide.
- Matt Clancy
- , Dan Correa
- & Heidi Williams
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Editorial |
Reducing inequality benefits everyone — so why isn’t it happening?
Those urging world leaders to take action on inequality should study why earlier efforts did not translate to changes in policy.
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Editorial |
Beyond greenwashing: how to make business and finance genuinely sustainable
Researchers have a big role in unlocking funds for sustainability and ensuring that companies’ pledges are credible.
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Comment |
How to reduce Africa’s undue exposure to climate risks
Africa is disproportionately exposed to catastrophic climate, hydrological and meteorological risks. Well-funded weather monitoring, nowcasting and early-warning systems must become a priority.
- Asaf Tzachor
- , Catherine E. Richards
- & Amadou T. Gaye
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News |
How is Brazil’s President Lula doing on climate? Experts rate his performance
Deforestation has dropped, but researchers who spoke to Nature say that he needs to take a stronger stance on fossil fuels.
- Meghie Rodrigues
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Nature Index |
Mapping China’s shifting research collaboration
Changing patterns are emerging among the country’s international partnerships.
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Nature Index |
Chinese students stay local as favour falls with study abroad
Fewer opt to move overseas for study owing to factors such as the pandemic and geopolitical tensions.
- Rachel Nuwer
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Nature Index |
Will China stay centre-stage for international research collaboration?
As global research emerges from the fog of the pandemic, new influential networks are being formed.
- Xin Xu
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Nature Index |
What China’s leading position in natural sciences means for global research
Its rise to the top has been long forecast, but what next for Chinese science in the post-pandemic era?
- Chris Woolston
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Editorial |
GDP at 70: why genuinely sustainable development means settling a debate at the heart of economics
Researchers advocating reform of the world’s main measure of growth have an opportunity to participate in the process that sets the rules.
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Correspondence |
Control side effects of the psychedelic renaissance
- Christoph Bublitz
- , Nicolas Langlitz
- & Dimitris Repantis
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Editorial |
Clean energy can fuel the future — and make the world healthier
Research challenges the myth that clean energy acts as a brake on global economic development.
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News Feature |
Rules to keep AI in check: nations carve different paths for tech regulation
A guide to how China, the EU and the US are reining in artificial intelligence.
- Matthew Hutson
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Correspondence |
Methane metrics: the political stakes
- Matthew N. Hayek
- , Jack Samuel
- & Shelby C. McClelland
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Editorial |
Water crisis: how local technologies can help solve a global problem
Climate change is making water stress worse for billions worldwide. Scaling up both new and traditional solutions must be a priority.
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World View |
Power companies must adapt to climate change now. Here’s how researchers can help
To protect millions from unnecessary power outages, utility companies need one thing above all: data.
- Juliet Homer
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News Feature |
Could the world go PFAS-free? Proposal to ban ‘forever chemicals’ fuels debate
A European agency is considering sweeping restrictions on fluorinated chemicals used in jet engines, electric cars, refrigeration systems, semiconductors and many consumer products.
- XiaoZhi Lim
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Nature Index |
Critics wary over plans to fast-track UK drug-approval model
The UK regulator’s proposal to piggyback on other countries’ decisions might lead to an over-reliance on their systems.
- Nic Fleming
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Editorial |
The United Kingdom needs to welcome international researchers to thrive
Scientific strength does not come from severing long-standing relationships or turning away talent from around the world.
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Comment |
Shade is an essential solution for hotter cities
One of the most effective ways to keep people cool is often neglected in urban planning. Cities must work to provide cover and reverse the ‘shade deserts’ common in low-income communities.
- V. Kelly Turner
- , Ariane Middel
- & Jennifer K. Vanos
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World View |
Saving tens of millions of children a year from the effects of lead poisoning is a surprisingly solvable problem
Funding to help nations eliminate lead paint and other sources of exposure would avert millions of deaths and one trillion dollars a year in income loss.
- Nafisatou Cissé
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World View |
I’ve witnessed the wonders of the deep sea. Mining could destroy them
Deep-sea mining could wreck more than just the ocean floor in ways we have no idea how to repair.
- Beth N. Orcutt
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Editorial |
The global fight for critical minerals is costly and damaging
Elements such as rare-earth metals are crucial for the clean-energy transition. Sustainability, equity and security are all at risk in the rush to break China’s dominance over their production.
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News |
Oil from the Amazon? Proposal to drill at river’s mouth worries researchers
Energy firm Petrobras says any leaked oil would not reach the Brazilian coast, but scientists are concerned about a vast reef nearby.
- Meghie Rodrigues
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News |
Can India’s new billion-dollar funding agency boost research?
India’s proposed National Research Foundation will shake up the scientific landscape to encourage a culture of research.
- Gemma Conroy
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Editorial |
How to educate the world: prioritize funding and data
Data gaps are hindering progress on the Sustainable Development Goal for education and lifelong learning. Modest funding will help to fill them.
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World View |
EU proposal on CRISPR-edited crops is welcome — but not enough
The door should be opened further: CRISPR has huge potential to boost food security in the face of pathogens and climate change.
- Devang Mehta
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Editorial |
Plastic waste is everywhere — and countries must be held accountable for reducing it
As UN negotiations on eliminating plastic pollution enter a crucial phase, researchers must play their part in designing adequate measurement, monitoring and compliance systems.
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Comment |
How to build a circular economy for rare-earth elements
Rare-earth elements that are crucial for clean-energy technologies are jealously fought over. Policies and programmes to encourage recycling and recovery could reduce tensions.
- Yong Geng
- , Joseph Sarkis
- & Raimund Bleischwitz
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World View |
The G20 should forge a pact to support nations’ shifts to a low-carbon future
Fossil fuels should be used sparingly, in the areas where they contribute most to human welfare.
- Navroz K. Dubash
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Correspondence |
Preparedness for drought is more than a climate-change fix
- Cecilia Tortajada
- & Felipe Arreguín