Articles in 2025

A tiny population of cells that are passed across the placenta between mother and baby challenge basic tenets of human immunology.

A meta-analysis of 168 studies covering more than 11 million people found no reliable link between economic inequality and well-being or mental health. In other words, living in a place that has large gaps between the rich and poor does not affect these outcomes, with implications for policy.

A model quantifies the environmental footprint of wearable health-care electronics and identifies strategies to reduce their environmental toll.

To map the biodiversity of sub-Saharan Africa, 200 specialists in African plants and animals were asked to estimate local species abundances. This approach integrates contextual, place-based knowledge into a multi-scale, comparative biodiversity assessment that can be used to support policy decisions at national, regional and global scales.

Stacking light-generating layers in ‘tandem’ light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can enhance performance, but achieving efficient and stable tandem LEDs made with perovskite materials has remained a challenge. A tandem perovskite-based device that seems to benefit from ‘recycling’ of photons between stacked layers demonstrates highly efficient performance, surpassing the combined emissions of two single-unit devices.

Fermionic currents of opposing chirality can be spatially filtered without the need for a magnetic field using the quantum geometry of topological bands in single-crystal PdGa.

Modulation of random heteropolymers results in globular polymer clusters with catalytic activity mimicking proteins.

An integrated systems engineering framework based on life-cycle inventories is used to quantify the global eco-footprint of wearable healthcare electronics and identify effective mitigation strategies.

Privacy in the age of computers and a Nature reader questions eyewitness accounts of boomerangs in our weekly dip into the archive.

Constructive feedback.

Nuclear fusion. People on Mars. Artificial general intelligence. These are just some of the advances that could come by the mid-century mark.

A challenging exhibition asks why we are so fascinated with the preserved bodies of our ancestors, and how we should treat them.

Journals that work hard to meet the needs of both authors and readers should be acknowledged publicly — encouraging others to follow suit.

Can you spot the penguin in every game this year?

Researchers are investigating whether GLP-1 drugs can help blunt cravings for nicotine, alcohol and opioids.

Buse Tuğba Zaman is developing a way to track tiny amounts of contaminants — and fulfilled a dream to visit Earth’s most remote continent.

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

AI technologies need to be safe and transparent. There are few, if any, benefits from being outside efforts to achieve this.

If you’ve hatched a New Year plan to move abroad, improve your presentations or chase happiness as a 20-something researcher, you’ll find advice aplenty in these books.

The team select some of their favourite stories from the past 12 months.