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China’s regional cities are now major players in world science
As Chinese research goes from strength to strength, it is natural that the country’s biggest and most economically developed urban areas, such as Beijing and Shanghai, would become superstar science cities; as China gets richer, more educated and more technologically sophisticated, the megacities drive further progress. What might be more surprising is that some of…
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How being multilingual both helps and hinders me and my science
Credit: MirageC/Getty When I first arrived in the United States as an international student from India, I was immediately struck by the steep learning curve involved in communicating effectively in English. I’m a former research fellow at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in New Delhi, and a Bengali speaker, as well as being fluent…
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Leading Nature Index science cities in health sciences: US institutions power country’s growth
Due in part to strong institutional collaborations and industry presence, the United States has maintained its lead in health sciences, with the Boston metropolitan area (MA) taking the top spot with a Share of 676.43. However, the Massachusetts capital — which is home to numerous biotech companies, leading universities, and more than 20 hospitals —…
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Leading Nature Index science cities in physical sciences: regional centres drive China’s progress
A strengthening research climate has seen Chinese cities rise to take the top three spots in this year’s leading science cities for physical sciences, as the eastern city of Nanjing climbs above both Boston and New York for the first time. Nanjing, China’s 13th largest city by population size according to the country’s 2020 census,…
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Boston’s dense health-sciences networks help the city to maintain its lead
An analytical chemist works in the lab of biotech company Arcaea, which is based in Boston, Massachusetts.Credit: Boston Globe/Getty When a delegation of scientists from Japan recently visited Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, they asked their hosts a familiar question: what are the secret factors that make the Boston area, which includes Cambridge, such a…
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Clams use fiber optics to channel sunlight to symbiotic algae
In a discovery that blurs the line between biology and technology, scientists have found that heart-shaped clams use fiber optic–like structures to channel sunlight through their shells in much the same way that telecommunications company use fiber optics to deliver high-speed internet connectivity into homes. This innovation, a first known example of bundled fiber optics…
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How a silly science prize changed my career
Eleanor Maguire wasn’t too thrilled when she was first offered an Ig Nobel Prize. The neuroscientist at University College London was being honoured for her study showing that London taxi drivers have larger hippocampi in their brains than do people in other professions1. But she worried that accepting the prize would be a disaster for…
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Countries could use nature to ‘cheat’ on net zero targets, scientists warn
Relying on natural carbon sinks such as forests and oceans to offset continued fossil fuel emissions will not stop global heating, the scientists who developed net zero have warned. Each year, the planet’s oceans, forests, soils and other natural carbon sinks absorb abouthalf of all human emissions, forming part of government plans to limit global…
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Why we need a body to oversee how science is used by governments
Science and Politics Ian Boyd Polity (2024) Say what you really think, Sir Ian. Politics attracts people who are comfortable with “lying” and “manufacturing social truth” and who “do not distinguish between fantasy and reality”, Ian Boyd notes in his book Science and Politics. Moreover, many scientists are falling “for the wisdom of crowds”, “following…
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The effect of seeing scientists as intellectually humble on trust in scientists and their research
Abstract Public trust in scientists is critical to our ability to face societal threats. Here, across five pre-registered studies (N = 2,034), we assessed whether perceptions of scientists’ intellectual humility affect perceived trustworthiness of scientists and their research. In study 1, we found that seeing scientists as higher in intellectual humility was associated with greater perceived trustworthiness…