Featured
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Career Feature |
Communication barriers for a Deaf PhD student meant risking burnout
Megan Majocha is gearing up to complete her PhD. But developing a sign-language lexicon to help her succeed took an immense toll during her scientific research.
- Jyoti Madhusoodanan
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News |
‘Despair’: Argentinian researchers protest as president begins dismantling science
Javier Milei’s actions after taking office have research institutions facing shutdown.
- Martín De Ambrosio
- & Fermín Koop
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News |
Oldest stone tools in Europe hint at ancient humans’ route there
Dating of artefacts found at a site in western Ukraine suggests that archaic humans had entered Europe’s eastern gate by 1.4 million years ago.
- Giorgia Guglielmi
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Perspective |
Artificial intelligence and illusions of understanding in scientific research
The proliferation of artificial intelligence tools in scientific research risks creating illusions of understanding, where scientists believe they understand more about the world than they actually do.
- Lisa Messeri
- & M. J. Crockett
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Editorial |
Why scientists trust AI too much — and what to do about it
Some researchers see superhuman qualities in artificial intelligence. All scientists need to be alert to the risks this creates.
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News |
Geologists reject the Anthropocene as Earth’s new epoch — after 15 years of debate
But some are now challenging the vote, saying there were ‘procedural irregularities’.
- Alexandra Witze
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News |
Trump versus Biden: what the rematch could mean for three key science issues
Depending on the winner of November’s election, researchers anticipate two completely different paths ahead for the environment, public health and more.
- Jeff Tollefson
- , Natasha Gilbert
- & Mariana Lenharo
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Article |
East-to-west human dispersal into Europe 1.4 million years ago
Burial-dating methods using cosmogenic nuclides indicate that the oldest stone tools at Korolevo archaeological site in western Ukraine date to around 1.4 million years ago, providing evidence of early human dispersal into Europe from the east.
- R. Garba
- , V. Usyk
- & J. D. Jansen
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News & Views |
From the archive: New Mexico’s prehistoric pottery, and traces of the Ice Age
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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Correspondence |
Space and nuclear pioneers show the value of empowering women in STEM
- Farhan M. Asrar
- , Safa Siddiqui
- & Soyeon Yi
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News Feature |
How five crucial elections in 2024 could shape climate action for decades
Some of the world’s biggest carbon emitters are going to the polls this year — the results could determine whether humanity can correct its trajectory of dangerous global warming.
- Smriti Mallapaty
- , Jeff Tollefson
- & Nisha Gaind
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Essay |
The spy who flunked it: Kurt Gödel’s forgotten part in the atom-bomb story
Robert Oppenheimer’s isn’t the only film-worthy story from the nuclear age. Kurt Gödel’s cameo as a secret agent was surprising — and itself a bomb.
- Karl Sigmund
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News Feature |
What science says about hybrid working — and how to make it a success
How researchers can maximize creativity and connection in the ‘new normal’.
- David Adam
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Book Review |
The enigmas of language and immunology, and other reads: Books in brief
Andrew Robinson reviews five of the best science picks.
- Andrew Robinson
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Career Feature |
Adding scientific signs to Indian Sign Language will create a more inclusive field for deaf students
Digvijay Singh, a deaf sign-language educator, works with biology researchers and sign-language specialists to add to the scientific lexicon for deaf students in India.
- Deepa Padmanaban
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News & Views |
A mobile DNA sequence could explain tail loss in humans and apes
The lack of a tail is one thing that separates apes — including humans — from other primates. Insertion of a short DNA sequence into a gene that controls tail development could explain tail loss in the common ancestor of apes.
- Miriam K. Konkel
- & Emily L. Casanova
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Nature Podcast |
Could this one-time ‘epigenetic’ treatment control cholesterol?
Regulating gene expression lowers blood cholesterol in mice, and how the Universe’s cosmic fog was lifted.
- Nick Petrić Howe
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World View |
‘Education is possible in any situation’ — what I’ve learnt from teaching in Kyiv amid a war
Ukraine’s universities have adapted by blending innovative forms of remote learning. Lessons from this experiment are relevant to the rest of the world.
- Inna Makhovych
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Correspondence |
Russia’s Arctic Council threat requires lessons from cold war science diplomacy
- Paul Arthur Berkman
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News & Views |
From the archive: Stephen Hawking’s explosive idea, and scientific spirit
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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News |
Influential abortion-pill studies retracted: the science behind the decision
Nature spoke to researchers about the flaws that triggered the retractions. They say these papers are just the tip of the iceberg.
- Mariana Lenharo
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News |
‘Incomprehensible’: scientists in France decry €900-million cut to research
A €10-billion reduction in public spending in response to a revised economic forecast includes cuts to higher-education and research budgets.
- Barbara Casassus
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Career Feature |
Why the US border remains ‘a place of terror’ for Chinese researchers
Two years after the end of the controversial China Initiative, academics describe being treated like spies, a loss of talent and a chilling atmosphere that is stifling science.
- Virginia Gewin
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News |
Earthquakes are most deadly in these unexpected countries
Haiti and Turkmenistan are among the nations with the highest earthquake fatality load, a measure of the burden imposed by quake-related deaths.
- Sumeet Kulkarni
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Book Review |
How our love of pets grew from a clash of world views
Indigenous Americans’ relationships with and knowledge of animals have influenced how Europeans have thought about animals since 1492.
- Surekha Davies
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Career Feature |
What’s the sign for ‘centrifuge’? How we added scientific terms to Indian Sign Language
Molecular biologist Alka Rao brought together her research group and sign-language specialists to broaden access to science for deaf students in India.
- Deepa Padmanaban
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News |
Buried microplastics complicate efforts to define the Anthropocene
Plastic particles in sediments could help to pin down the start of a new geological epoch. But their ability to migrate to older layers is muddying the waters.
- Katharine Sanderson
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News |
The life and gruesome death of a bog man revealed after 5,000 years
Vittrup Man, who died in his thirties, was a Scandinavian wanderer who settled down between 3300 and 3100 bc.
- Ewen Callaway
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News Feature |
Scientists under arrest: the researchers taking action over climate change
Fed up with a lack of political progress in solving the climate problem, some researchers are becoming activists to slow global warming.
- Daniel Grossman
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Editorial |
Science can drive development and unity in Africa — as it does in the US and Europe
A plan to establish Africa’s first continent-wide science fund should not be delayed any longer.
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World View |
How to boost your research: take a sabbatical in policy
Academic researchers have a unique opportunity to benefit society — and their research — by spending time in government.
- Jordan Dworkin
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News & Views |
Why reciprocity is common in humans but rare in other animals
Reciprocal cooperation can be advantageous, but why it is more common in humans than in other social animals is a puzzle. A modelling and experimental study pinpoints the conditions needed for reciprocity to evolve.
- Sarah Mathew
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Analysis
| Open AccessMaking cities mental health friendly for adolescents and young adults
A study examining how cities can foster well-being and positive mental health in young residents synthesizes opinions from researchers, practitioners, advocates and young people, highlighting factors that policymakers and urban planners should consider.
- Pamela Y. Collins
- , Moitreyee Sinha
- & Lian Zeitz
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News & Views |
From the archive: Tutankhamun’s coffin, and Darwin shares a letter
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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Correspondence |
Stockholm declaration on AI ethics: why others should sign
- Ross D. King
- , Teresa Scassa
- & Hiroaki Kitano
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Research Highlight |
Ancient bronze hand’s inscription points to origins of Basque language
Text on an artefact found in northern Spain resembles a present-day Basque word that means ‘of good fortune’.
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Editorial |
It’s time for countries to honour their million-dollar biodiversity pledges
Promises to safeguard biodiversity need to be translated into money in the bank.
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News |
200 years of naming dinosaurs: scientists call for overhaul of antiquated system
Some palaeontologists want more rigorous guidelines for naming species, along with action to address problematic historical practices.
- Katharine Sanderson
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Spotlight |
How science is helping farmers to find a balance between agriculture and solar farms
In the French countryside, energy companies are rushing to set up solar farms, with the risk of marginalizing agriculture. Researchers are finding solutions.
- Magali Reinert
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News |
The decimal point is 150 years older than historians thought
Origin of the powerful calculation tool traced back to a mathematician from the Italian Renaissance.
- Jo Marchant
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Book Review |
The mysteries of seaweeds and stars, and other reads: Books in brief
Andrew Robinson reviews five of the best science picks.
- Andrew Robinson
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Nature Careers Podcast |
Building robots to get kids hooked on STEM subjects
Robotics are a key part of the Fundi Bots education program and its aim to excite children about science and technology.
- Dom Byrne
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News Explainer |
What the EU’s tough AI law means for research and ChatGPT
The EU AI Act is the world’s first major legislation on artificial intelligence and strictly regulates general-purpose models.
- Elizabeth Gibney
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Research Highlight |
Great ‘Stone Age’ wall discovered in Baltic Sea
Megastructure stretching nearly 1 kilometre long is probably one of the oldest known hunting aids on Earth.
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Futures |
Welcome aboard the Silva family historic spaceside attraction tour
A trip of a lifetime.
- Carol Scheina
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News |
Largest post-pandemic survey finds trust in scientists is high
Study of more than 70,000 people suggests that trust levels vary among countries and are linked to political orientation.
- Carissa Wong