Featured
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Editorial |
In space, failure is an option — often the only one
Space companies should not lose heart when things go wrong. The first Moon missions failed repeatedly — and provided lessons on how to achieve success in space and beyond.
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Career Q&A |
How a simple idea to share lab materials led to a circular-economy movement in science
Garry Cooper’s sustainability business has grown to help thousands of people conduct more efficient research.
- Rachael Pells
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News Feature |
Is the world ready for ChatGPT therapists?
The current landscape of mobile mental-health apps is the result of a 70-year search to automate therapy. Now, advanced AIs pose fresh ethical questions.
- Ian Graber-Stiehl
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Correspondence |
Ecology: correct the digital data divide
- Sarab Sethi
- , Robert M. Ewers
- & Rohini Balakrishnan
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World View |
Every nation needs a space agency
As commercial firms transform the global space economy, each country’s space governance will shape its opportunities for decades to come.
- Carissa Bryce Christensen
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News & Views |
5G networks enable automated control of train traffic
Key tasks for ensuring railway safety have been performed automatically using fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks. The trial forms part of a Europe-wide scheme to test the feasibility of automating transport.
- Toktam Mahmoodi
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News Explainer |
Mind-reading machines are here: is it time to worry?
Neuroethicists are split on whether a study that uses brain scans and AI to decode imagined speech poses a threat to mental privacy.
- Sara Reardon
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Where I Work |
I helped to build Taiwan’s Silicon Valley
Miin Wu, whose company, Macronix International, has played a seminal part in Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, explains why dust and vibration pose enormous challenges for running his factory.
- Margaret Simons
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News & Views |
Online tools help large language models to solve problems through reasoning
The large language models popularized by chatbots are being taught to alternate reasoning with calls to external tools, such as Wikipedia, to boost their accuracy. The strategy could improve fact-finding outcomes, as well as online shopping.
- Aleksandra Piktus
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News Explainer |
Moon mission failure: why is it so hard to pull off a lunar landing?
The ispace lander’s failed touchdown highlights the challenges Moon landings pose, especially for private companies.
- Alexandra Witze
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Book Review |
Diving deep: the centuries-long quest to explore the deepest ocean
Schemes to dive to the bottom of the sea have a surprisingly long history — but a book shows how science has rarely been the motivation.
- Alexandra Witze
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News |
JWST spots planetary building blocks in a surprising galaxy
Planets might be more common throughout the Universe than previously thought, suggest results from the James Webb Space Telescope.
- Myriam Vidal Valero
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News |
SpaceX Starship: launch of biggest-ever rocket ends with explosion
The SpaceX rocket made it partially through its first full test. It could change astrophysics and astronomy, as well as ferry people to the Moon and Mars.
- Alexandra Witze
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Editorial |
Strengthen links between science and high finance
Influential studies have helped regulators to spot problems at banks and step in before they spread. But, as the events of the past month show, stability must not be allowed to breed complacency.
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World View |
Why open-source generative AI models are an ethical way forward for science
Researchers should avoid the lure of proprietary models and develop transparent large language models to ensure reproducibility.
- Arthur Spirling
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Career Feature |
Leaving academia for industry? Here’s how to handle salary negotiations
Don’t sell yourself short when talking about pay, annual leave and other benefits, say scientists who have made the move.
- Sarah Wild
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News |
Mega rocket Starship could enable new types of astrophysics
SpaceX’s Starship is poised to launch. As well as ferrying astronauts to the Moon and one day Mars, it could launch heavy science payloads, such as telescopes.
- Alexandra Witze
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Nature Index |
European Union appeals for interdisciplinary collaboration in new funding model
Brussels hopes that getting scientists from different fields to work together on big issues will bring innovations such as viable hydrogen energy infrastructure to the market more quickly.
- Charles Ebikeme
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News & Views |
From the archive: new words to describe human–machine relationships, and a demonstration of the perceptual abilities of butterflies
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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Comment |
How to make lithium extraction cleaner, faster and cheaper — in six steps
Demand for lithium for batteries and other green technologies is exploding. The industry must develop sustainable methods to remove and process the element from ores and brines to avoid environmental damage.
- Andrew Z. Haddad
- , Lukas Hackl
- & Robert Kostecki
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World View |
Carbon dioxide removal is not a current climate solution — we need to change the narrative
Drastically reduce emissions first, or carbon dioxide removal will be next to useless.
- David T. Ho
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News |
Antibody-patent row could have far-reaching impact on biotech
The results of a US case could dictate how broad patents are, and have knock-on effects for those developing drugs.
- Heidi Ledford
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Nature Video |
The driving test for driverless cars
A virtual world filled with bad AI drivers can be used to test autonomous vehicles.
- Shamini Bundell
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News & Views |
Hazards help autonomous cars to drive safely
Collecting training data by focusing on dangerous scenarios offers an efficient way for artificial intelligence to improve the safety of autonomous vehicles. Augmented reality allows the approach to be tested without risking lives.
- Colin Paterson
- & Chiara Picardi
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Nature Podcast |
How to make driverless cars safer — expose them to lots of dangerous drivers
A method to test and teach autonomous cars how to deal with dangerous situations, and a renewed interest in bats and how they deal with viruses.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Shamini Bundell
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World View |
The US should get serious about mining critical minerals for clean energy
Green technologies cannot advance without a secure supply of essential metals.
- Saleem H. Ali
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News & Views |
Swift progress for robots over complex terrain
A four-legged robot has learnt to run on sand at a faster pace than humans jog on solid ground. With low energy use and few failures, this rapid robot shows the value of combining data-driven learning with accurate, yet simple, models.
- Chen Li
- & Feifei Qian
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News |
What the Silicon Valley Bank collapse means for science start-ups
Bailouts mean customers’ deposits are safe, but the bank’s demise has sparked concern about future investment in small tech companies.
- Katharine Sanderson
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World View |
Chatbots shouldn’t use emojis
Artificial intelligence that can manipulate our emotions is a scandal waiting to happen.
- Carissa Véliz
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Nature Index |
Freeing up Japan’s PhD potential
Better prospects are needed in universities and industry to make the most of valuable talent.
- Ayuko Hoshino
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Nature Index |
How Japanese science is trying to reassert its research strength
Successes in life sciences and international collaboration could be key to boosting the country’s high-quality output.
- Tim Hornyak
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Career Q&A |
How I honed my leadership skills while working in vaccine manufacturing
Piper Trelstad responded to early feedback about her management style and says that those interested in leadership positions in industry should learn to show vulnerability.
- Nikki Forrester
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News Feature |
In AI, is bigger always better?
As generative AI models grow larger and more powerful, some scientists advocate for leaner, more energy-efficient systems.
- Anil Ananthaswamy
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Book Review |
Seven everyday objects that made the modern world
Nails, wheels, springs, magnets, lenses, string and pumps: a structural engineer reveals the small things that our biggest tech advances are built on.
- Anna Novitzky
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Career News |
Academic employers seek research experience and teaching skills
Tens of thousands of job advertisements across Europe call for research experience, but teaching and student-supervision skills are also high on the wanted list.
- Bianca Nogrady
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Research Highlight |
Quest for a cable brings a quantum network to life
Newly developed connectors allow scientists to link five quantum modules into a functional network.
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Comment |
Autonomous ships are on the horizon: here’s what we need to know
Ships and ports are ripe for operation without humans — but only if the maritime industry can work through the practical, legal and economic implications first.
- Rudy R. Negenborn
- , Floris Goerlandt
- & Nikolaos P. Ventikos
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Comment |
AI weapons: Russia’s war in Ukraine shows why the world must enact a ban
Conflict pressures are pushing the world closer to autonomous weapons that can kill without human control. Researchers and the international community must join forces to prohibit them.
- Stuart Russell
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Book Review |
Hauling icebergs to Africa: could a bizarre plan to get drinking water actually work?
Transporting water trapped in icebergs to drought-plagued regions is pooh-poohed by scientists — but some see it as a huge opportunity.
- Josie Glausiusz
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News Explainer |
High-altitude balloons: a scientists’ guide to what’s up there and why
The US has shot down four flying objects over fears of spy balloons. But what else are high-altitude balloons used for?
- Nicola Jones
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Comment |
How social media affects teen mental health: a missing link
Researchers investigating the impacts of social media on mental health must consider where exactly adolescents are in their cognitive and social development.
- Amy Orben
- & Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
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News |
Researchers scramble as Twitter plans to end free data access
A controversial policy change threatens to upend large social-media studies.
- Heidi Ledford
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Book Review |
How NASA’s breakthrough ‘class of ’78’ changed the face of space travel
The inclusion of women and people of colour in NASA’s astronaut cadet programme was unprecedented — and met sometimes fierce resistance.
- Alexandra Witze
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News Explainer |
AI chatbots are coming to search engines — can you trust the results?
Google, Microsoft and Baidu are using tools similar to ChatGPT to turn Internet search into a conversation. How will this change humanity’s relationship with machines?
- Chris Stokel-Walker
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Nature Careers Podcast |
Showing the love as a science leader: the emotional side of empowering and inspiring others
Effective leaders should ideally make you feel calm, clear about priorities and cared for, say Gianpiero Petriglieri and Robert Harris.
- Julie Gould
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Career Feature |
Measuring societal impact: how to go beyond standard publication metrics
Approaches to capturing the benefits of research on society are improving — but huge challenges remain.
- Chris Woolston
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Book Review |
A crash course in biotech success — and failure
The unlikely discovery of a life-changing leukaemia drug uncovers harsh realities of profit and loss.
- Heidi Ledford
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Career Column |
Leaving academia and becoming an online entrepreneur: embracing the good, the bad and the ugly
Ana Pineda left academia after teaching a yoga and writing course unleashed her entrepreneurial passion.
- Ana Pineda