Editorials in 2019

We are updating our editorial policies to further encourage authors to make their data publicly accessible. Publishing Extended Data figures and source data online will also ensure that data are given a more prominent role.

The awarding of this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of lithium-ion batteries was long overdue for a technology that is already providing a vital component of the energy economy.

Cold fusion may have a bad reputation, but the materials system in which it was allegedly achieved has plenty still to recommend it.

As the negotiation deadline approaches, the impact of Brexit on research in the United Kingdom is already being felt.

Creativity in science seems to have evolved over the centuries from mainly a solitary effort to a more collaborative one.

We are launching a new column to talk about science with our readers from a broader perspective. Our first topic is mental health in academia.

Synergy between materials and methods is helping to address open questions in magnetism and superconductivity.

2D materials face challenges along the road to commercialization, with increasing efforts being made in order to satisfy industrial needs.

Machine learning is swiftly infiltrating many areas within the healthcare industry, from diagnosis and prognosis to drug development and epidemiology, with significant potential to transform the medical landscape.

The redefinition of SI units removes materiality from science’s weights and measures. There’s logic to the decision, but it reminds us what we still don’t know about nature’s scales.

Much academic and industrial effort has been devoted to the study of multiferroics, but if related technologies are to have real-world impact, market awareness and reproducibility are also key.

As the periodic table reaches the age of 150, we reflect on the historical search for new elements, and consider element usage trends in some key research fields.