NEW: Is there a 'crisis' of public trust in science? It can feel that way — with attacks on research in the US and growing rejection of vaccines. I investigated for @nature.com - and found some surprises. My feature article is out today and a short🧵here www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Have people stopped trusting science? The data tell a surprising story

Some say there’s a global crisis of trust — but research reveals where the real problems lie.

nature.com

A biology journal trialled paying their reviewers and found it led to faster first editorial decisions – and increased review quality. go.nature.com/446SaLu

Why paying peer reviewers works, according to a journal’s editor-in-chief

A biology journal which paid peer reviewers found that the approach cut the time to a first editorial decision by 85% and maintained high-quality reviews.

go.nature.com

Martin Torres explains that if a lab is not accessible to all types of students, then the issue is not the student: ‘The problem is that the environment was not designed with accessibility in mind.’ @mwakley.bsky.social www.chemistryworld.com/careers/maki...

Making lab equipment more accessible for chemists with physical disabilities

'Chemical laboratories are often designed around a very narrow idea of standard talent,' says one academic striving to make such spaces more inclusive

chemistryworld.com

Amid chaos in US science and geopolitical turmoil, Europe wants to position itself as a research haven. “The reality is that we are like a Sleeping Beauty and maybe it’s time to wake up,” says cell biologist Anna Rubartelli. On some measures, it would be a case of both waking up and catching up.

Europe as science superpower: what it will take to rival the US and China

Amid chaos in US science and geopolitical turmoil, Europe wants to position itself as a research haven — but questions about funding and innovation remain.

nature.com

“I realized that many of the things that we scientists complain about in media coverage are problems that we have helped to create… We owe it to the public — those funding a lot of our research — to devote time to help science journalists.” - @lonnibesancon.bsky.social writes for @nature.com.

A conference taught me that scientists and journalists must work together to protect research

Science sleuth Lonni Besançon realizes that he has sometimes misunderstood what the media want from him and his researcher colleagues.

nature.com

A first-author slot on an article sold by a paper mill costs a median value of nearly US$800. Price range from $57 to > $5,600. @miryamnaddaf.bsky.social in @nature.com on @reeserichardson.bsky.social, @abalkina.bsky.social analysis of thousands of papermill ads www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How much for a fake authorship? Ad database reveals secrets of scientific fraud

An analysis of thousands of paper-mill adverts could help journals to crack down on misconduct.

nature.com

A congressional hearing covered the rise of paper mills and the costs of open-access publishing — but there was little agreement on what reform would entail go.nature.com/4to6MkE

US lawmakers intensify scrutiny of scientific-publishing practices

A congressional hearing covered the rise of paper mills and the costs of open-access publishing — but there was little agreement on what reform would entail.

go.nature.com

Until you change the incentive structure of academia you will continue to see people fear losing their status and use AI as a way to fast-track productivity bc academia doesn't currently value the meaningful production of knowledge, only the performance of producing it.

T. Ryan Gregory 🇨🇦@tryangregory.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Lazy use of AI by half-ass researchers is putting digital asbestos everywhere, which will be a huge pain in the ass to clean up. Just do your damn job as a scholar or let someone else with more integrity and competence have your position. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

My colleague & I teamed up w/ Grounded AI to look for fake/hallucinated references. Our analysis suggests that at least tens of thousands of publications from 2025 likely contain such references. More detz at @nature.com, w/ input from @gcabanac.cpesr.fr, @mhmdhsini.bsky.social & @kowb.bsky.social.

Hallucinated citations are polluting the scientific literature. What can be done?

Tens of thousands of publications from 2025 might include invalid references generated by AI, a Nature analysis suggests.

nature.com

Tune in to hear Ben, @nickpetrichowe.bsky.social & I talk about how the world of Pokémon & the world of science come in together, featuring Charizard bees & Turtwig fossils + what a phylogenetic tree of 646 Pokémon monsters looks like. My fav is Jigglypuff & Pikachu exposing predatory journals

Briefing chat: Pokémon turns 30 — how Pikachu and pals inspired generations of researchers

Hear the biggest stories from the world of science | 27 February 2026

nature.com

Watching the Pokémon TV series & owning a Poké ball were some of my happiest childhood memories. Little did I know that one day I’d be interviewing scientists around the world to talk about how Pokémon inspired them to name bees and fossils, teach biodiversity & even expose predatory journals!

Pokémon turns 30 — how the fictional pocket monsters shaped science

The Japanese media sensation has inspired generations of researchers in fields as diverse as evolution, biodiversity and research integrity.

nature.com

Iranians are experiencing a collective trauma. Thousands have been killed/injured in recent events, the economy is crippled & the threat of a wider conflict is real. This is especially difficult for those living in Iran, as many have lost (or fear losing) loved ones. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Tune in to hear about what’s in store for science in 2026, from compact AI models that may beat LLMs in reasoning, clinical trials of gene editing to treat rare genetic disorders, space missions, particle physics experiments, & the continued aftershocks of policy changes by the Trump administration.

Science in 2026: what to expect this year

YouTube video by Nature Podcast

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An ode to a rubber duck that was stuck to a rock, thanks to a newly designed, AI-enhanced super-adhesive hydrogel capable of sticking even in wet, salty conditions. @nature.com

Hard the Hydrogel is Stuck

YouTube video by Nature Podcast

youtube.com

A Christmas carol brought to you by @nature.com celebrating the discovery this year that Nanotyrannus was actually its own species, not a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex as had been believed.

I Am the Very Model of a Miniature Tyrannosaur

YouTube video by Nature Podcast

youtube.com

I recently wrote about cases of identity fraud in scientific publishing — including use of made-up personas as authors or peer reviewers and impersonation of real researchers. There are ongoing discussions on how to prevent such cases, but the solutions aren’t simple. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How to spot fake scientists and stop them from publishing papers

Journals are considering doing identity checks to expose fake authors — but there are downsides.

nature.com

Is AI sycophancy holding science back? A preprint by @jurafsky.bsky.social and his team found that AI chatbots are 50% more sycophantic than humans. In this piece, researchers tell me how AI sycophancy is creeping into many of the tasks that they use LLMs for. Read more @nature.com

AI chatbots are sycophants — researchers say it’s harming science

Nature asked researchers who use artificial intelligence how its propensity for people-pleasing affects their work — and what they are doing to mitigate it.

nature.com