Illustration: David Parkins The problem Dear Nature, In December 2024, I finished my PhD in biomedical chemistry in Italy, and I now find myself in that all-too-familiar early-career crisis, struggling to work out what to do next. Research is important to me as a way to contribute meaningfully to a better, healthier world. But I … Read more
Emergency hospital wards were set up during the 1918 flu pandemic.Credit: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE/SPL Of all the pathogens that have plagued humanity, few are as notorious and persistent as influenza. Its Houdini-like ability to regularly slip the shackles of vaccine- or infection-induced immunity, aided by a steady and sustained mutation rate, has … Read more
RESEARCH BRIEFINGS 17 December 2025 Video-call glitches might seem harmless, but they can reduce people’s chances of getting hired, closing a business deal or following a doctor’s recommendation. Human brains expect video calls to feel like in-person conversations. When glitches break that illusion, it feels unsettling and strange, harming judgements of trustworthiness, likeability and credibility.
“Another one, Boss,” Spooky haphazardly signed with his tentacles. “Mate, that’s your fifth shot. You sure you’re up for it?” The bartender spoke in a low voice, locking eyes with two of Spooky’s. Such a typical human habit — this compulsive need to make eye contact. It would have been far more practical to focus … Read more
Dekker, J. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09890-3 (2025). Article Google Scholar Simonis, M. et al. Nature Genet. 38, 1348–1354 (2006). Article PubMed Google Scholar da Costa-Nunes, J. A. & Noordermeer, D. Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 81, 102622 (2023). Article PubMed Google Scholar Davidson, I. F. & Peters, J.-M. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 22, 445–464 (2021). … Read more
Every summer, Aubree Gordon, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, spends about a month in Managua, Nicaragua, when the rainy season is in full swing. But Gordon is interested in a different kind of season. “June or July can be peak influenza time in Nicaragua,” Gordon says. Since 2011, she and … Read more
The U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) on Friday announced the launch of a new initiative designed to launch and scale a new generation of independent research organizations. These organizations will focus on technical challenges and bottlenecks that traditional university and industry labs cannot easily solve on their own. … Read more
The U.S. National Science Foundation is investing approximately $30 million in institutions across Montana, Idaho and Louisiana to establish NSF EPSCoR Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (NSF EPSCoR CREST Centers). These centers…
The U.S. National Science Foundation and United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) are investing in eight joint research projects that could open the door to breakthroughs in quantum computing…