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Can creativity in science be learnt? These researchers think so

Time pressure gets in the way of ideas. Developing ‘creative oases’ and small grants for risky ideas can encourage innovative thinking in science.
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  1. Esme Hedley

    1. Esme Hedley is a science writer based in London.

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One morning in 2009, Jacqueline Tabler woke up with the solution to a laboratory problem that had been plaguing her for months. She got out of bed, grabbed her notebook, and started sketching out an experiment that had come to her in a dream.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-01913-3

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Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 28 January 2026: An earlier version of this story misnamed the head of research funding and strategy at the Danish Cancer Institute.

References

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