Comment in 2025

Encouraging academics to act as advisers to outside organizations is the most effective way to serve society’s needs.

Controlled studies capture only a fraction of the effects of artificial intelligence. Economists should work with social scientists to find innovative ways to fully grasp this fast-moving field.

A global drop in public and private investment in agricultural science in the past four decades is partly to blame for high food prices, an analysis reveals.

Misunderstanding and hubris have broken public trust in governments’ use of science, but it can be restored.

Academia is unprepared for the rise in chatbot use among students — but with the right AI tools, personalized learning could soon become a reality.

Information about the roles of each author of a paper can help to build trust, integrity and responsible research assessment. Coordinated efforts are needed to consolidate progress.

The world needs to move towards an approach to measure well-being rather than economic growth. Here’s how that can happen.

Research in space is about more than discovery. It is a strategic asset and soft power that attracts partners and supports evidence-based decisions.

Universities are in thrall to a rankings system that prioritizes narrow aspects of academic life. Three changes would give institutions the freedom to explore fresh ways of working.

If it gets things right, the first major regulator of medicines to launch for 30 years could empower Africa to tackle African challenges around health and disease.

Rector and AI researcher Nataliya Shakhovska tells Nature how her institution is supporting students and staff members amid the war and about her hopes for the future.

Extreme weather threatens the extraction of critical minerals required to produce clean energy.

A focus on national security alone is limiting people’s access to key materials.

The collapse of talks about a UN plastics treaty is the wake-up call we didn’t need. It’s time to study what is going wrong and why.

Stronger links between researchers who work on Earth’s and other planets’ atmospheres, and between the experimental, modelling and observational communities, will help to interpret the astronomical data now at our fingertips.

Animal models provide insights that alternative approaches can’t. A heated debate about which method is better is distracting researchers from doing good science.

Biomedical research techniques that don’t involve the use of animals are gaining momentum, but those using innovative approaches still face resistance from some quarters.

The idea that emissions can be offset through projects that claim to avoid releases or to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is fatally flawed.

The metals industry must confront metals’ scarcity, rising demand and climate impacts. Sustainable solutions exist that must be embraced.

Open and adaptable artificial-intelligence models are crucial for scientific progress, but robust safeguards against their misuse are still nascent.