NEWS 17 February 2025 There are many large language models to choose from; some excel at coding, whereas others are better for synthesizing information.

Abstract Citations are widely considered in scientists’ evaluation. As such, scientists may be incentivized to inflate their citation counts. While previous literature has examined self-citations and citation cartels, it remains unclear whether scientists can purchase citations. Here, we compile a dataset of ~1.6 million profiles on Google Scholar to examine instances of citation fraud on…

The Core77 Design Awards Sustainability category features any designed product, service, or system tackling issues around sustainability in a thoughtful, research-backed manner through strategies ranging from materials, production methods, efficient systems, packaging and shipping, etc. If there is one thing Kara Pecknold worries about in the world of design, it is: “that we will avoid…

NEWS 13 February 2025 More than 1,300 scientists have signed a letter calling on the world’s oldest science society to reassess the billionaire’s membership after cuts to US science.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr now oversees the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which he last year called a ‘cesspool of corruption’. Credit: Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg/Getty Scientists are bracing for major changes in the direction of US biomedical research as Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has promoted vaccine misinformation and public-health conspiracies, gains control…

One of the reasons I love science fiction, or speculative fiction as it’s often called now, is its range. The two books I have to recommend today are good examples of how the genre can contain very different kinds of stories that focus on disparate aspects of human nature in settings that are far removed…

It’s always good (and frustratingly rare) to see the mainstream media get it right when it comes to pseudoscience in medicine. Too often the narrative is – scientists are baffled at this alternative “one easy trick” to improve your health. Most mainstream articles on pseudoscience in medicine frame their reporting around a positive anecdote, and…

Download the Nature Podcast 12 February 2025 In this episode: 00:45 An elusive, cosmic neutrino with a record-breaking energy An enormous array of detectors deep under the Mediterranean Sea has captured evidence of the highest-energy neutrino particle ever recorded, although researchers aren’t sure exactly where in the cosmos it originated. Calculations revealed this particle had…