Scientific community and society articles from across Nature Portfolio

There was a radical increase in record human life expectancy during the 20th century. A study by Olshansky et al., however, now suggests that similar progress in the 21st century is unlikely. Although further advances will be difficult to achieve, more optimistic alternative scenarios should also be considered that rely on historical evidence and experiences of vanguard groups at the subnational level.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) hosted a symposium on ‘AI and Immunology: Exploring Challenges and Opportunities’. The event considered how artificial intelligence (AI) can advance research on the multi-scale, adaptive immune system to improve human health, covering basic research and clinical use cases, data and AI model fundamentals.

Despite much anecdotal evidence, few studies show pervasive racial bias in promotion and tenure decisions. By analysing 1,571 real promotion and tenure cases across five US universities, Masters-Waage et al. find double standards negatively applied to scholars of colour, and especially women of colour, even after accounting for scholarly productivity.

This Perspective analyses the key elements of the long-term success of an irrigator-led conservation programme in the United States from engineering, social and policy angles and identifies transferable governance lessons for other agricultural regions.

In the twentieth century, human life expectancy rose dramatically. Based on the past three decades of observed mortality in the eight countries with the longest-lived populations and in Hong Kong and the United States, Olshansky et al. propose that, without medical breakthroughs that slow aging, radical lifespan extension is implausible in this century.

Oil and gas methane emissions in Alberta and Saskatchewan from 2010–2022 fell by 27% and 41% respectively, according to inversions and the new official inventory incorporating aerial survey data. Both estimates show consistent, statistically significant trends.

The presidential election in the United States will have global ramifications. Do scientists around the world care who wins? Will the outcome affect you?

Working as an oenologist brings to life an important aspect of my country’s cultural identity.

Scientists, tech entrepreneurs and educators on both sides of the border describe the devastation of lost homes, destroyed laboratories and slain colleagues.

Sorbent materials that capture and release water molecules are key to technologies that turn the Earth’s ambient moisture into drinkable water and energy.