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Scitility’s tool Argos identifies work whose authors have a record of misconduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from giant project show how withdrawn research propagates through the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scientist reviewing a study spotted figures that looked identical to his own, leading to a frustrating campaign to prevent its publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pulp and paper industry is an important contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions1,2. Country-specific strategies are essential for the industry to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, given its vast heterogeneities across countries3,4. Here we develop a comprehensive bottom-up assessment of net greenhouse gas emissions of the domestic paper-related sectors for 30 major countries from 1961 to 2019—about 3.2% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions from the same period5—and explore mitigation strategies through 2,160 scenarios covering key factors. Our results show substantial differences across countries in terms of historical emissions evolution trends and structure. All countries can achieve net-zero emissions for their pulp and paper industry by 2050, with a single measure for most developed countries and several measures for most developing countries. Except for energy-efficiency improvement and energy-system decarbonization, tropical developing countries with abundant forest resources should give priority to sustainable forest management, whereas other developing countries should pay more attention to enhancing methane capture rate and reducing recycling. These insights are crucial for developing net-zero strategies tailored to each country and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 for the pulp and paper industry.A bottom-up assessment of the net greenhouse gas emissions of the pulp and paper industries of 30 countries from 1961 to 2019 leads to country-specific strategies to achieve net zero by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of articles being retracted rose sharply this year. Integrity experts say that this is only the tip of the iceberg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Awareness of when a paper can’t be trusted is often too low — but adopting some easy-to-use technological solutions can help researchers, publishers and referees to clean things up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a century, scientists pondered whether bird flight evolved by animals gliding down from trees or by creatures running and flapping from the ground up. A landmark 1974 paper reset the debate to focus on the evolution of the flight stroke instead. Fiftieth anniversary of an advance in understanding how flight evolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unreliable data, falsification and other issues related to misconduct are driving a growing proportion of retractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper-folding mechanism has been widely adopted in building of reconfigurable macroscale systems because of its unique capabilities and advantages in programming variable shapes and stiffness into a structure1–5. However, it has barely been exploited in the construction of molecular-level systems owing to the lack of a suitable design principle, even though various dynamic structures based on DNA self-assembly6–9 have been developed10–23. Here we propose a method to harness the paper-folding mechanism to create reconfigurable DNA origami structures. The main idea is to build a reference, planar wireframe structure24 whose edges follow a crease pattern in paper folding so that it can be folded into various target shapes. We realized several paper-like folding and unfolding patterns using DNA strand displacement25 with high yield. Orthogonal folding, repeatable folding and unfolding, folding-based microRNA detection and fluorescence signal control were demonstrated. Stimuli-responsive folding and unfolding triggered by pH or light-source change were also possible. Moreover, by employing hierarchical assembly26 we could expand the design space and complexity of the paper-folding mechanism in a highly programmable manner. Because of its high programmability and scalability, we expect that the proposed paper-folding-based reconfiguration method will advance the development of complex molecular systems.A method is presented to harness the paper-folding mechanism of reconfigurable macroscale systems to create reconfigurable DNA origami structures, in anticipation that it will advance the development of complex molecular systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theories of scientific and technological change view discovery and invention as endogenous processes1,2, wherein previous accumulated knowledge enables future progress by allowing researchers to, in Newton’s words, ‘stand on the shoulders of giants’3–7. Recent decades have witnessed exponential growth in the volume of new scientific and technological knowledge, thereby creating conditions that should be ripe for major advances8,9. Yet contrary to this view, studies suggest that progress is slowing in several major fields10,11. Here, we analyse these claims at scale across six decades, using data on 45 million papers and 3.9 million patents from six large-scale datasets, together with a new quantitative metric—the CD index12—that characterizes how papers and patents change networks of citations in science and technology. We find that papers and patents are increasingly less likely to break with the past in ways that push science and technology in new directions. This pattern holds universally across fields and is robust across multiple different citation- and text-based metrics1,13–17. Subsequently, we link this decline in disruptiveness to a narrowing in the use of previous knowledge, allowing us to reconcile the patterns we observe with the ‘shoulders of giants’ view. We find that the observed declines are unlikely to be driven by changes in the quality of published science, citation practices or field-specific factors. Overall, our results suggest that slowing rates of disruption may reflect a fundamental shift in the nature of science and technology.A decline in disruptive science and technology over time is reported, representing a substantive shift in science and technology, which is attributed in part to the reliance on a narrower set of existing knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments reveal that human skin is most reliably cut by specific thicknesses of paper, including the kind used to print certain high-profile journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence could help speedily summarize research. But it comes with risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do you get your creative juices flowing after spending hours, days or months looking at a blank screen? Researchers share their advice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Browser plug-in alerts users when studies — or their references — have been posted on a site known for raising integrity concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientists compiling a review scan more than 1,000 papers and find troubling images in some 10%.Scientists compiling a review scan more than 1,000 papers and find troubling images in nearly 20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theories of innovation emphasize the role of social networks and teams as facilitators of breakthrough discoveries1–4. Around the world, scientists and inventors are more plentiful and interconnected today than ever before4. However, although there are more people making discoveries, and more ideas that can be reconfigured in new ways, research suggests that new ideas are getting harder to find5,6—contradicting recombinant growth theory7,8. Here we shed light on this apparent puzzle. Analysing 20 million research articles and 4 million patent applications from across the globe over the past half-century, we begin by documenting the rise of remote collaboration across cities, underlining the growing interconnectedness of scientists and inventors globally. We further show that across all fields, periods and team sizes, researchers in these remote teams are consistently less likely to make breakthrough discoveries relative to their on-site counterparts. Creating a dataset that allows us to explore the division of labour in knowledge production within teams and across space, we find that among distributed team members, collaboration centres on late-stage, technical tasks involving more codified knowledge. Yet they are less likely to join forces in conceptual tasks—such as conceiving new ideas and designing research—when knowledge is tacit9. We conclude that despite striking improvements in digital technology in recent years, remote teams are less likely to integrate the knowledge of their members to produce new, disruptive ideas.Analysis of research articles and patent applications shows that members of teams that collaborate remotely are less likely to make breakthrough discoveries than members of on-site teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies to tackle air quality in Delhi and solve the mystery of an emerging pathogen are among those helping to raise the profile of Indian science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EXCLUSIVE: Poor-quality studies are polluting the literature — a group will study the businesses that produce them to stem the flow of bogus research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covalent bonds share electron pairs between two atoms and make up the skeletons of most organic compounds in single, double and triple bonds. In contrast, examples of one-electron bonds remain scarce, most probably due to their intrinsic weakness1–4. Although several pioneering studies have reported one-electron bonds between heteroatoms, direct evidence for one-electron bonds between carbon atoms remains elusive. Here we report the isolation of a compound with a one-electron σ-bond between carbon atoms by means of the one-electron oxidation of a hydrocarbon with an elongated C–C single bond5,6. The presence of the C•C one-electron σ-bond (2.921(3) Å at 100 K) was confirmed experimentally by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and Raman spectroscopy, and theoretically by density functional theory calculations. The results of this paper unequivocally demonstrate the existence of a C•C one-electron σ-bond, which was postulated nearly a century ago7, and can thus be expected to pave the way for further development in different areas of chemistry by probing the boundary between bonded and non-bonded states.The one-electron oxidation of a hydrocarbon with an elongated C–C single bond provides direct evidence for a one-electron σ-bond between carbon atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campaigners who want scrutiny of biometrics research on Uyghurs, Tibetans and other groups are frustrated by slow progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unpublished analysis suggests that there are hundreds of thousands of bogus ‘paper-mill’ articles lurking in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some publishers say they are battling industrialized cheating. A Nature analysis examines the 'paper mill' problem — and how editors are trying to cope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This journal will double down on efforts to diversify the pool of corresponding authors and referees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A crop of referee reports from the Royal Society’s archive reveal discussions about cutting printing costs, reviewer holidays and even editing images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some areas of social science, around half of studies can’t be replicated. A new test-fast, fail-fast initiative aims to show what research is hot — and what’s not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ERROR project offers researchers a bounty for spotting mistakes in published papers — a strategy borrowed from the software industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The controversy over online misinformation and social media has opened a gap between public discourse and scientific research. Public intellectuals and journalists frequently make sweeping claims about the effects of exposure to false content online that are inconsistent with much of the current empirical evidence. Here we identify three common misperceptions: that average exposure to problematic content is high, that algorithms are largely responsible for this exposure and that social media is a primary cause of broader social problems such as polarization. In our review of behavioural science research on online misinformation, we document a pattern of low exposure to false and inflammatory content that is concentrated among a narrow fringe with strong motivations to seek out such information. In response, we recommend holding platforms accountable for facilitating exposure to false and extreme content in the tails of the distribution, where consumption is highest and the risk of real-world harm is greatest. We also call for increased platform transparency, including collaborations with outside researchers, to better evaluate the effects of online misinformation and the most effective responses to it. Taking these steps is especially important outside the USA and Western Europe, where research and data are scant and harms may be more severe.This Perspective identifies common misperceptions regarding the harms of online misinformation, finding that exposure to false and inflammatory content is rare and concentrated among a small minority of people who already have extreme views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments on quantum materials have uncovered many interesting quantum phases ranging from superconductivity to a variety of topological quantum matter including the recently observed fractional quantum anomalous Hall insulators. The findings have come in parallel with the development of approaches to probe the rich excitations inherent in such systems. In contrast to observing electrically charged excitations, the detection of charge-neutral electronic excitations in condensed matter remains difficult, although they are essential to understanding a large class of strongly correlated phases. Low-energy neutral excitations are especially important in characterizing unconventional phases featuring electron fractionalization, such as quantum spin liquids, spin ices and insulators with neutral Fermi surfaces. In this Perspective, we discuss searches for neutral fermionic, bosonic or anyonic excitations in unconventional insulators, highlighting theoretical and experimental progress in probing excitonic insulators, new quantum spin liquid candidates and emergent correlated insulators based on two-dimensional layered crystals and moiré materials. We outline the promises and challenges in probing and using quantum insulators, and discuss exciting new opportunities for future advancements offered by ideas rooted in next-generation quantum materials, devices and experimental schemes. Searches for neutral fermionic, bosonic or anyonic excitations in unconventional insulators are discussed, and challenges in probing and using quantum insulators outlined, in this Perspective on future advancements offered by quantum materials and experimental schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This year's pivotal election will shape the future of US science. Rising international competition and domestic concerns are also at play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industry research funding is vastly eclipsing academia’s spend, but healthy development demands broad input. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The confidential 124-page report from the University of Rochester, disclosed in a lawsuit, details the extent of Ranga Dias’s scientific misconduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chatbots and other tools are increasingly being considered, but people power is still seen as a safer option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Too often, journal assessments of potentially unreliable research are superficial, opaque and prolonged. Changes to the guidance given by the Committee on Publication Ethics could tighten up the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Text- and image-generating tools present a new hurdle for efforts to tackle the growing number of fake papers making their way into the academic literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generative-AI technologies can create convincing scientific data with ease — publishers and integrity specialists fear a torrent of faked science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless modules that provide telecommunications and power-harvesting capabilities enabled by radio-frequency (RF) electronics are vital components of skin-interfaced stretchable electronics1–7. However, recent studies on stretchable RF components have demonstrated that substantial changes in electrical properties, such as a shift in the antenna resonance frequency, occur even under relatively low elastic strains8–15. Such changes lead directly to greatly reduced wireless signal strength or power-transfer efficiency in stretchable systems, particularly in physically dynamic environments such as the surface of the skin. Here we present strain-invariant stretchable RF electronics capable of completely maintaining the original RF properties under various elastic strains using a ‘dielectro-elastic’ material as the substrate. Dielectro-elastic materials have physically tunable dielectric properties that effectively avert frequency shifts arising in interfacing RF electronics. Compared with conventional stretchable substrate materials, our material has superior electrical, mechanical and thermal properties that are suitable for high-performance stretchable RF electronics. In this paper, we describe the materials, fabrication and design strategies that serve as the foundation for enabling the strain-invariant behaviour of key RF components based on experimental and computational studies. Finally, we present a set of skin-interfaced wireless healthcare monitors based on strain-invariant stretchable RF electronics with a wireless operational distance of up to 30 m under strain.Stretchable radio-frequency electronics based on a dielectro-elastic elastomer is demonstrated to be capable of completely maintaining operating frequencies unaffected by strain and shows superior electrical, mechanical and thermal properties compared with conventional stretchable substrate materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A popular theory about how trees cooperate has enchanted the public and raised the profile of forest conservation. But some ecologists think its scientific basis has been oversold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immune cells rely on transient physical interactions with other immune and non-immune populations to regulate their function1. To study these ‘kiss-and-run’ interactions directly in vivo, we previously developed LIPSTIC (labelling immune partnerships by SorTagging intercellular contacts)2, an approach that uses enzymatic transfer of a labelled substrate between the molecular partners CD40L and CD40 to label interacting cells. Reliance on this pathway limited the use of LIPSTIC to measuring interactions between CD4+ T helper cells and antigen-presenting cells, however. Here we report the development of a universal version of LIPSTIC (uLIPSTIC), which can record physical interactions both among immune cells and between immune and non-immune populations irrespective of the receptors and ligands involved. We show that uLIPSTIC can be used, among other things, to monitor the priming of CD8+ T cells by dendritic cells, reveal the steady-state cellular partners of regulatory T cells and identify germinal centre-resident T follicular helper cells on the basis of their ability to interact cognately with germinal centre B cells. By coupling uLIPSTIC with single-cell transcriptomics, we build a catalogue of the immune populations that physically interact with intestinal epithelial cells at the steady state and profile the evolution of the interactome of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-specific CD8+ T cells in multiple organs following systemic infection. Thus, uLIPSTIC provides a broadly useful technology for measuring and understanding cell–cell interactions across multiple biological systems.A paper reports the development of a universal tool for studying cellular interactions in biological systems, and demonstrates its coupling with single-cell transcriptomics methods to provide insights into the biology of the interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By designing an autonomous system that fed prompts to the chatbot, researchers produced a paper that was fluent and insightful. Yet they still have concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific evidence regularly guides policy decisions1, with behavioural science increasingly part of this process2. In April 2020, an influential paper3 proposed 19 policy recommendations (‘claims’) detailing how evidence from behavioural science could contribute to efforts to reduce impacts and end the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we assess 747 pandemic-related research articles that empirically investigated those claims. We report the scale of evidence and whether evidence supports them to indicate applicability for policymaking. Two independent teams, involving 72 reviewers, found evidence for 18 of 19 claims, with both teams finding evidence supporting 16 (89%) of those 18 claims. The strongest evidence supported claims that anticipated culture, polarization and misinformation would be associated with policy effectiveness. Claims suggesting trusted leaders and positive social norms increased adherence to behavioural interventions also had strong empirical support, as did appealing to social consensus or bipartisan agreement. Targeted language in messaging yielded mixed effects and there were no effects for highlighting individual benefits or protecting others. No available evidence existed to assess any distinct differences in effects between using the terms ‘physical distancing’ and ‘social distancing’. Analysis of 463 papers containing data showed generally large samples; 418 involved human participants with a mean of 16,848 (median of 1,699). That statistical power underscored improved suitability of behavioural science research for informing policy decisions. Furthermore, by implementing a standardized approach to evidence selection and synthesis, we amplify broader implications for advancing scientific evidence in policy formulation and prioritization.Evaluation of evidence generated to test 19 proposed policy recommendations and guidance for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientists worry that ill-informed use of artificial intelligence is driving a deluge of unreliable or useless research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ranga Dias will have a second paper revoked. A journal’s investigation found apparent data fabrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a huge collaborative effort, millions of cells in the mouse brain have been mapped in detail. Two scientists examine the resulting wealth of insights into gene regulation in brain cells, neuronal connections and how our own brains evolved.Transcriptomic and epigenomic data from millions of mouse brain cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater is the most ubiquitous source of liquid freshwater globally, yet its role in supporting diverse ecosystems is rarely acknowledged1,2. However, the location and extent of groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are unknown in many geographies, and protection measures are lacking1,3. Here, we map GDEs at high-resolution (roughly 30 m) and find them present on more than one-third of global drylands analysed, including important global biodiversity hotspots4. GDEs are more extensive and contiguous in landscapes dominated by pastoralism with lower rates of groundwater depletion, suggesting that many GDEs are likely to have already been lost due to water and land use practices. Nevertheless, 53% of GDEs exist within regions showing declining groundwater trends, which highlights the urgent need to protect GDEs from the threat of groundwater depletion. However, we found that only 21% of GDEs exist on protected lands or in jurisdictions with sustainable groundwater management policies, invoking a call to action to protect these vital ecosystems. Furthermore, we examine the linkage of GDEs with cultural and socio-economic factors in the Greater Sahel region, where GDEs play an essential role in supporting biodiversity and rural livelihoods, to explore other means for protection of GDEs in politically unstable regions. Our GDE map provides critical information for prioritizing and developing policies and protection mechanisms across various local, regional or international scales to safeguard these important ecosystems and the societies dependent on them.Mapping of groundwater-dependent ecosystems, which support biodiversity and rural livelihoods, shows they occur on more than one-third of global drylands analysed, but lack protections to safeguard these critical ecosystems and the societies dependent upon them from groundwater depletion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working from home has become standard for employees with a university degree. The most common scheme, which has been adopted by around 100 million employees in Europe and North America, is a hybrid schedule, in which individuals spend a mix of days at home and at work each week1,2. However, the effects of hybrid working on employees and firms have been debated, and some executives argue that it damages productivity, innovation and career development3–5. Here we ran a six-month randomized control trial investigating the effects of hybrid working from home on 1,612 employees in a Chinese technology company in 2021–2022. We found that hybrid working improved job satisfaction and reduced quit rates by one-third. The reduction in quit rates was significant for non-managers, female employees and those with long commutes. Null equivalence tests showed that hybrid working did not affect performance grades over the next two years of reviews. We found no evidence for a difference in promotions over the next two years overall, or for any major employee subgroup. Finally, null equivalence tests showed that hybrid working had no effect on the lines of code written by computer-engineer employees. We also found that the 395 managers in the experiment revised their surveyed views about the effect of hybrid working on productivity, from a perceived negative effect (−2.6% on average) before the experiment to a perceived positive one (+1.0%) after the experiment. These results indicate that a hybrid schedule with two days a week working from home does not damage performance.A trial investigating the effects of a hybrid working schedule in a Chinese technology firm in 2021–2022 shows that working from home two days a week improved job satisfaction, reduced quitting and did not affect performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Borrowing the idea of ‘bug bounties’ from the technology industry could provide a systematic way to detect and correct the errors that litter the scientific literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An algorithm that takes just seconds to scan a paper for duplicated images racks up more suspicious images than a person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three studies of the human dopamine transporter reveal how it binds to molecules such as dopamine and cocaine. Dopamine imbalances underlie some brain conditions and these data will aid targeted drug design.Insights into how molecules bind to the human dopamine transporter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]