Featured
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Nature Podcast |
The world’s smallest light-trapping silicon cavity
Researchers exploit intermolecular forces to carve a nanoscale hole, and investigating whether poverty can be reduced without increasing emissions.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Shamini Bundell
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News |
India and climate: what does the world’s most populous nation want from COP28?
India wants to be the voice of the global south at the climate conference. It is also massively dependent on coal.
- Gayathri Vaidyanathan
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News & Views |
From the archive: Uri Geller’s tricks, and willows to the rescue
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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Career News |
Disability lawsuit lands Howard Hughes Medical Institute in court
RNA biologist Vivian Cheung accuses the institute of discrimination after it decided not to renew her funding.
- Amanda Heidt
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Book Review |
Writing dissected, and big answers to simple questions: Books in brief
Andrew Robinson reviews five of the best science picks.
- Andrew Robinson
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Obituary |
Evelyn Fox Keller (1936–2023), philosopher who questioned gender roles in science
Mathematical biologist, philosopher and historian of science who challenged the vision of science as a masculine activity.
- Marga Vicedo
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Nature Careers Podcast |
How to create compelling scientific data visualizations
Start with pen and paper, keep things simple, do your coding at the end, say data visualization specialists.
- Julie Gould
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Nature Podcast |
Sanitary products made from plants could help tackle period poverty
Researchers have extracted absorbent materials from the succulent Agave sisalana for making local, low-cost period products.
- Julie Gould
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News |
First cash pledged for countries devastated by climate change: COP28 starts with historic decision
Draft resolution on a ‘loss and damage fund’ has attracted more than $400 million, but climate-vulnerable countries say more cash is needed.
- Katharine Sanderson
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Nature Index |
Why is China’s high-quality research footprint becoming more introverted?
Data from the Nature Index suggest China-based authors are increasingly publishing without international colleagues.
- Brian Owens
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Research Briefing |
The myth of cosmopolitan cities: why large urban areas are more segregated
There is a long-standing assumption that large, densely populated cities inherently foster interactions between a diverse range of people. Analysis of 1.6 billion person-to-person encounters in the United States reveals that big cities are actually pockets of extreme segregation, highlighting a need for strategic urban design that fosters more integrated environments.
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Editorial |
Global science is splintering into two — and this is becoming a problem
The United States and China are pursuing parallel scientific tracks. To solve crises on multiple fronts, the two roads need to become one.
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Research Briefing |
The genetic diversity of Bantu-speaking populations helped to shape African history
Analysis of a massive genomic data set reveals the profound effects that the movement of Bantu-speaking peoples had on Africa’s biological, linguistic and cultural landscape. These findings provide valuable insights for a wide range of disciplines and serve as a comprehensive data set of ancient and modern African individuals for comparative studies.
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News & Views |
Tackling extreme poverty around the world need not impede climate action
A study has revealed that eliminating extreme poverty would result in a relatively small increase in global greenhouse-gas emissions, dispelling the idea that efforts to combat climate change and poverty are incompatible.
- Katharine L. Ricke
- & Gordon C. McCord
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Nature Podcast |
Why COP28 probably won’t keep the 1.5 degree dream alive
We discuss the challenges of the upcoming climate-change conference, and a way to make stable plasma using hairy blocks.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Shamini Bundell
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News |
‘Disruptive’ science: in-person teams make more breakthroughs than remote groups
Analysis of millions of papers shows that farflung collaborators produce fewer foundational discoveries than groups working together in person.
- David Adam
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Article |
Remote collaboration fuses fewer breakthrough ideas
Analysis of research articles and patent applications shows that members of teams that collaborate remotely are less likely to make breakthrough discoveries than members of on-site teams.
- Yiling Lin
- , Carl Benedikt Frey
- & Lingfei Wu
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Article
| Open AccessThe genetic legacy of the expansion of Bantu-speaking peoples in Africa
We gathered genetic data for 1,763 individuals from 147 populations across 14 African countries, and 12 Late Iron Age individuals, to trace the expansion of Bantu-speaking peoples over the past 6,000 years.
- Cesar A. Fortes-Lima
- , Concetta Burgarella
- & Carina M. Schlebusch
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Article
| Open AccessHuman mobility networks reveal increased segregation in large cities
There is extreme socioeconomic segregation in large US cities, arising from a greater choice of differentiated spaces targeted to specific socioeconomic groups, which can be countered by positioning city hubs (such as shopping centres) to bridge diverse neighbourhoods.
- Hamed Nilforoshan
- , Wenli Looi
- & Jure Leskovec
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News & Views |
From the archive: renaming the proton, and enthusiasm for sanitary matters
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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Editorial |
How the ‘right to science’ can help us overcome the many crises we face today
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights — proclaimed 75 years ago — describes science as fundamental to humanity. Upholding this right has never been more relevant than it is now.
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News |
‘My collaborations would see me jailed’: Australian researchers fear proposed new laws
Under the proposal, technology with potential military use would need authorization to be shared with non-Australian colleagues.
- Bianca Nogrady
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News |
A 27,000-year-old pyramid? Controversy hits an extraordinary archaeological claim
The massive buried structures at Gunung Padang in Indonesia would be much older than Egypt’s great pyramids — if they’re even human constructions at all.
- Dyani Lewis
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Comment |
How effective are climate protests at swaying policy — and what could make a difference?
Why people take to the streets to march against global heating is relatively well documented. But it’s unclear why certain tactics work better than others in reaching the public and policymakers.
- Dana R. Fisher
- , Oscar Berglund
- & Colin J. Davis
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World View |
China and California are leading the way on climate cooperation. Others should follow
California governor Gavin Newsom’s delegation is building on existing research and policy initiatives with China, showing that effective climate action can happen below the national level.
- Fan Dai
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Comment |
Chemistry is inaccessible: how to reduce barriers for disabled scientists
From classrooms to laboratories and conferences, working in chemistry presents huge challenges to disabled, chronically ill and neurodivergent people. Some simple fixes can help to shift the dial.
- Blaine G. Fiss
- , Laena D’Alton
- & Naumih M. Noah
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Nature Careers Podcast |
How ChatGPT and sounds from space brought a ‘luminous jelly’ to life
Engineer-turned-artist Diana Scarborough and inorganic chemist Anna Melekhova describe how their art–science collaboration gave voice and form to a new material.
- Julie Gould
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News Explainer |
What the OpenAI drama means for AI progress — and safety
A debacle at the company that built ChatGPT highlights concern that commercial forces are acting against the responsible development of artificial-intelligence systems.
- Nicola Jones
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News |
‘Politicians don’t understand science’: advisers give evidence at UK COVID inquiry
Patrick Vallance, Chris Witty and others reflect on advising the UK government during the ongoing investigation into the country’s pandemic response.
- Katharine Sanderson
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Research Highlight |
Forty slaughtered horses mark site of ancient mass sacrifices
Cattle and other animals were slaughtered for rituals during the fifth century bc in what is now Spain.
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Editorial |
‘Loss and damage’ — the most controversial words in climate finance today
Crucial talks on how richer countries should compensate poorer countries for the effects of climate-related extreme weather are stuck. The COP28 climate summit must make a breakthrough.
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Comment |
Climate loss-and-damage funding: how to get money to where it’s needed fast
Finance for coping with the harms of climate change must be disbursed swiftly and pragmatically. The world’s largest existing climate fund for supporting climate mitigation and adaptation provides lessons.
- Laura Kuhl
- , Istiakh Ahmed
- & Saleemul Huq
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Comment |
Climate loss-and-damage funding: a mechanism to make it work
Compensating for the devastating impacts of heatwaves, hurricanes and floods after they occur is too slow. With climate risks accelerating, the world must predict who needs funds and when.
- Richard H. Clarke
- , Noah J. Wescombe
- & Domenico Lombardi
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News & Views |
Ancient DNA uncovers past migrations in California
Genomic data from ancient humans who lived up to 7,400 years ago, sampled from across California and Mexico, unveil patterns of migration that could explain how some Indigenous languages spread in parts of North America.
- Alan Izarraras-Gomez
- & Diego Ortega-Del Vecchyo
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Nature Podcast |
Polio could be eradicated within 3 years — what happens then?
How to ensure polio doesn’t return after eradication, and the space explosion that’s baffling scientists.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Shamini Bundell
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Article |
Genetic continuity and change among the Indigenous peoples of California
Genome-wide analyses of ancient DNA from individuals from California and Mexico shed light on the spread of Mexican ancestry to California and how it correlates with linguistic flow.
- Nathan Nakatsuka
- , Brian Holguin
- & David Reich
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Nature Index |
Science in cities benefits rural communities, too
Shouting about the far-flung impact of city-based research can help counter attempts at urban–rural division.
- Simon Baker
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Correspondence |
China: personalized carbon accounting for consumers
- Li Zhang
- , Lan Tao
- & Fangyi Yang
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Essay |
How AI is expanding art history
From identifying disputed artworks to reconstructing lost masterpieces, artificial intelligence is enriching how we interpret our cultural heritage.
- David G. Stork
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Nature Index |
Bridging the rural–urban health-care divide through community research partnerships
Scientists are working with Indigenous communities in Alaska to improve many facets of rural health.
- Lucas Trout
- , Margaret Smith
- & Stuart Harris