Featured
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Editorial |
Why is India dropping evolution and the periodic table from school science?
India’s curriculum body needs to explain why it has removed foundational topics from school textbooks.
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Where I Work |
Serving science and the Church as the Pope’s astronomer
Around 100 active scientists have collaborated with the Vatican Observatory, says Brother Guy Consolmagno, its director.
- Chris Woolston
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Matters Arising |
Treatment of missing data determined conclusions regarding moralizing gods
- Bret Beheim
- , Quentin D. Atkinson
- & Aiyana K. Willard
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Outlook |
Religion is not a barrier to family planning
Shareen Joshi explains that faith-based organizations around the world are working with governments and secular institutions to promote birth control.
- Shareen Joshi
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Editorial |
Protect India’s universities
The government and state authorities must step in and stop violent attacks on academic campuses.
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Books & Arts |
Science and the rise of nationalism in India
Srinath Perur on a study of how a political movement is co-opting science, myth and pseudoscience.
- Srinath Perur
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Letter |
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Complex societies precede moralizing gods throughout world history
Belief in moralizing gods followed the expansion of human societies and may have been preceded by doctrinal rituals that contributed to the initial rise of social complexity.
- Harvey Whitehouse
- , Pieter François
- & Peter Turchin
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Books & Arts |
Sex, religion and a towering treatise on anatomy
Andreas Vesalius’s illustrations of the human body baffled some early readers, as their marginalia reveal. Dániel Margócsy, Mark Somos and Stephen N. Joffe explain.
- Dániel Margócsy
- , Mark Somos
- & Stephen N. Joffe
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Books & Arts |
A physicist probes the metaphysical
Anil Ananthaswamy examines Alan Lightman’s reflections on the tensions between empiricism and experience.
- Anil Ananthaswamy
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Feature |
Behaviour: A lookout for luck
Scientists are as sceptical as they come — but many still engage in personal rituals or use totems in the lab and field.
- Kendall Powell
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News |
Indian scientists urged to speak out about pseudoscience
Cancelled astrology workshop prompts calls for researchers to be vigilant about stamping out unscientific beliefs.
- T.V Padma
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Books & Arts |
Physics: A cosmos in the lab
Andreas Albrecht ponders a study of the physicists who grapple with the origins of the Universe.
- Andreas Albrecht
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News |
Meet the scientists affected by Trump’s immigration ban
Order barring citizens of seven countries from entering the United States has left many confused and afraid.
- Lauren Morello
- & Sara Reardon
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Correspondence |
Religion and science: boost sustainability
- Emilio Chuvieco
- , Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo
- & Josef Settele
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World View |
Religion and science can have a true dialogue
A popular assumption that there is a conflict between the Church and the research world should be dispelled, says Kathryn Pritchard.
- Kathryn Pritchard
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News |
Putin appoints church historian as science minister
No reason is given for the surprise move.
- Quirin Schiermeier
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News |
Intricate animal and flower tattoos found on Egyptian mummy
Scholars excited by depiction of actual objects on the body of a 3,000-year-old woman.
- Traci Watson
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News |
Trump’s immigration stance stokes fears for science
Rhetoric in US presidential campaign concerns researchers — particularly Muslims.
- Heidi Ledford
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Muse |
How human sacrifice propped up the social order
Understanding the role of state-sanctioned killing does more than illuminate the social evolution of “pre-modern” cultures.
- Philip Ball
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News & Views |
Hand of the gods in human civilization
Cross-cultural experiments find that belief in moralistic, knowledgeable and punishing gods promotes cooperation with strangers, supporting a role for religion in the expansion of human societies. See Letter p.327
- Dominic D. P. Johnson
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World View |
Constructive engagement is the key to climate action
This year, scientists should resolve to follow the lead of Pope Francis and seek an inclusive approach to climate change, says Daniel Sarewitz.
- Daniel Sarewitz
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News |
German researchers pledge help in refugee crisis
Social scientists launch integration studies and warn of need to counter rising xenophobia.
- Quirin Schiermeier
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News |
Pope Francis pushes US Congress on poverty and climate
Pontiff calls for global-warming leadership before a body that has been reluctant to act.
- Jeff Tollefson
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News Explainer |
Can Islamic scholars change thinking on climate change?
Declaration calls on Muslims to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Davide Castelvecchi
- , Quirin Schiermeier
- & Richard Hodson
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World View |
Faith and science can find common ground
Pope Francis has found a meeting place for those with extreme religious and environmentalist stances, says David M. Lodge.
- David M. Lodge
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News |
US Congress moves to block human-embryo editing
Spending bill would also require religious experts to review recommendations for reproductive technique.
- Sara Reardon
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Editorial |
Hope from the Pope
The Vatican has produced a timely and valuable warning on the threat of climate change that will reach a wide audience.
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News |
Why the Pope's letter on climate change matters
Nature selects the most interesting passages from the latest Vatican encyclical.
- Quirin Schiermeier
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News |
Pope Francis pushes for action to limit climate change
The Pope warns of “grave consequences” from unchecked warming.
- Edwin Cartlidge
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News |
Historic Vatican meeting urges action on climate change
Religious leaders and scientists prepare declaration that global warming must be addressed to protect humanity.
- Edwin Cartlidge
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News |
Vatican convenes major climate-change meeting
Religious leaders and scientists gather to discuss moral implications of global warming as Pope drafts key letter.
- Edwin Cartlidge
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World View |
Why I teach evolution to Muslim students
Encouraging students to challenge ideas is crucial to fostering a generation of Muslim scientists who are free thinkers, says Rana Dajani.
- Rana Dajani
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Obituary |
Charles H. Townes (1915–2015)
Laser co-inventor, astrophysicist and US presidential adviser.
- Robert Boyd
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World View |
Focus on political Islamic groups to boost science
For science to realize its potential in the Muslim world, attitudes need to change at a societal level, not just an individual one, says Dyna Rochmyaningsih.
- Dyna Rochmyaningsih
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News |
Saudi university backs slow road to modernization
Researchers at top science institute say education will have more effect than vocal opposition.
- Declan Butler
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News Q&A |
Looking for the roots of terrorism
Anthropologist Scott Atran has done extensive field interviews with would-be and convicted terrorists.
- Sara Reardon
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Editorial |
Science and satire
The terrorist attacks in Paris were an assault on the fundamental values of free and democratic societies. Researchers, and humorists, must combat obscurantism everywhere.
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World View |
Jordan’s stem-cell law can guide the Middle East
A ban on private companies using stem cells from human embryos provides a policy framework for other Arab and Islamic countries, says Rana Dajani.
- Rana Dajani
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News |
Down's syndrome discovery dispute resurfaces in France
Debate flares over who discovered extra chromosome that causes the disease.
- Barbara Casassus
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Correspondence |
Science luminaries are often religious
- Robert White
- , George Ellis
- & Denis Alexander
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Editorial |
Beyond headscarf symbolism
Turkey’s scientists show they no longer want to expend their energy on political confrontation, but political volatility is threatening their efforts to work in peace.
India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks — experts are baffled
Turning point: Climate guardian