News & Comment

What does 2017 hold for science?

Expect researchers to glimpse an event horizon, continue striving for quantum supremacy and brace themselves for a political hangover.

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Hunters lived on Tibetan plateau thousands of years earlier than thought
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Hunters lived on Tibetan plateau thousands of years earlier than thought

Genetic and archaeological evidence points to pre-agricultural residents of the 'roof of the world'.
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NASA sets sights on asteroid exploration
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NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA sets sights on asteroid exploration

Agency plans to launch a mission to visit the Trojan asteroids in 2021, and one to the metallic asteroid Psyche in 2023.
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US scientists fear new restrictions on fetal-tissue research
US scientists fear new restrictions on fetal-tissue research

House Republicans conclude that tissue from aborted fetuses is of limited value for research and seek to reduce funding.

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Hunters lived on Tibetan plateau thousands of years earlier than thought

Genetic and archaeological evidence points to pre-agricultural residents of the 'roof of the world'.

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NASA sets sights on asteroid exploration

Agency plans to launch a mission to visit the Trojan asteroids in 2021, and one to the metallic asteroid Psyche in 2023.

2 Comments
US scientists fear new restrictions on fetal-tissue research

House Republicans conclude that tissue from aborted fetuses is of limited value for research and seek to reduce funding.

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Mysterious cosmic radio blasts traced to surprising source

Repeating bursts come from a faint, distant dwarf galaxy.

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Google reveals secret test of AI bot to beat top Go players

Updated version of DeepMind's AlphaGo program behind mystery online competitor.

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FeatureWhat’s killing the world’s shorebirds?

Researchers brave polar bears, mosquitoes and gull attacks in the Canadian Arctic to investigate an alarming die off

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Seven DaysChina’s ivory ban, spine-disease drug and dark-matter pioneer dies

The week in science.

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Argentina’s researchers occupy science ministry

Young scientists angry at budget cuts say they have been denied permanent jobs.

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Quantum computers ready to leap out of the lab in 2017

Google, Microsoft and a host of labs and start-ups are racing to turn scientific curiosities into working machines.

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3D ocean map tracks ecosystems in unprecedented detail

Tool to divide water masses into precise categories can help in conservation planning.

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How scientists use Slack

Eight ways labs benefit from the popular workplace messaging tool.

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Scientists in Germany, Peru and Taiwan to lose access to Elsevier journals

Libraries pursue alternative delivery routes after licence negotiations break down.

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Bat banter is surprisingly nuanced 1 comment
Fatal French clinical trial failed to check data before raising drug dose 1 comment
2017 sneak peek: What the new year holds for science 4 comments
Brain scan hints at first simple test for concussion
Swiss scientists to regain full access to EU research programmes
‘Gene drive’ moratorium shot down at UN biodiversity meeting
Seven DaysIce-age paintings, eczema drug and a Principia first edition 1 comment
Peaceful European Union starts to fund military research 2 comments
Wolf transplant could reset iconic island study 1 comment

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Opinion

CommentThe new face of US science

Gary McDowell, Misty Heggeness and colleagues present census data showing how the biomedical workforce is fundamentally different to those of past generations – academia should study the trends, and adapt.

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CommentSo you want to change the world?

In these tumultuous times, Nancy Baron urges scientists to speak from the heart to build public trust in research.

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World ViewScientists should not resign themselves to Brexit

Leaving the European Union is not yet a done deal, and UK researchers must look past a pay-off and take a stand, says Colin Macilwain.

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EditorialWhy researchers should resolve to engage in 2017

Debates over climate change and genome editing present the need for researchers to venture beyond their comfort zones to engage with citizens — and they should receive credit for doing so.

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EditorialEurope should hold fast to its scientific ambitions

The EU’s fresh round of billion-euro Flagship research projects must be open to all types of science.

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EditorialRaise the importance of retirement policy

Studies that inform policies on retirement need to assess occupations as well.

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Books & Arts

Books & ArtsHot tickets 2017

Robots, DNA and electricity are among the cultural highlights for the coming year. Nicola Jones reports.

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Books & ArtsA brief history of Stephen Hawking's blockbuster

Elizabeth Leane surveys the extraordinary influence of the physicist's first foray into popular-science publishing.

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Books & ArtsAgriculture: Sowing the city

As holiday feasts begin, Laura Lawson surveys the fruitful history of urban farming.

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Books & ArtsHidden Figures: the movie

Elizabeth Gibney applauds the inspiring film on NASA’s African-American ‘human computers’.

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Careers

CareersBy students, for students

Events at which PhD students share experiences can pay dividends.

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CareersScience advocacy: Get involved

Presenting science to politicians in a way they can understand can have good outcomes.

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CareersWord perfect

Nervous about your grant application's chance of success? Get help to make every word count.

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