
COVID Advances Win $3-million Breakthrough Prizes
Pioneers of mRNA vaccines and next-generation sequencing techniques are among the winners of science’s most lucrative awards
First published in 1869, Nature is the world's leading multidisciplinary science journal. Nature publishes the finest peer-reviewed research that drives ground-breaking discovery, and is read by thought-leaders and decision-makers around the world.

COVID Advances Win $3-million Breakthrough Prizes
Pioneers of mRNA vaccines and next-generation sequencing techniques are among the winners of science’s most lucrative awards

Success! Perseverance Mars Rover Finally Collects Its First Rock Core
The mission is living up to its name, drilling and storing a Martian rock after a misstep in August

Rogue Antibodies Involved in Nearly One Fifth of COVID Deaths
Self-targeting antibodies attack part of the immune system that plays a key role in fighting infection

Afghanistan’s Terrified Scientists Fear Persecution
Reprisals may come for their field of study, their ethnicity or involvement in international collaborations

Too Many Scientists Still Say Caucasian
Racist ideas of categories for human identity continue to warp research and medicine

How Did Neanderthals and Other Ancient Humans Learn to Count?
Archaeological finds suggest that people developed numbers tens of thousands of years ago. Scholars are now exploring the first detailed hypotheses about this life-changing invention

Home Seismometers Provide Crucial Data on Haiti’s Quake
A volunteer network helps to monitor aftershocks and illuminate the country’s earthquake hazards

Exotic Four-Quark Particle Spotted at Large Hadron Collider
The rare tetraquark is one of dozens of nonelementary particles discovered at the accelerator and could help test theories about the strong nuclear force

Earth Is Warmer Than It’s Been in 125,000 Years
A landmark assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change says greenhouse gases are unequivocally driving extreme weather, but nations can still prevent the worst impacts

New Climate Report Will Detail Grim Future of Hotter, Extreme Weather and Rising Seas
The first assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change in eight years will sound the alarm on soaring temperatures and other effects of unchecked carbon pollution

China’s Space Station Is Preparing to Host 1,000 Science Experiments
The spaceborne studies will cover diverse topics, from dark matter and gravitational waves to the growth of cancer and pathogenic bacteria

NASA Investigates Renaming James Webb Space Telescope after Anti-LGBT+ Claims
Some astronomers argue the space agency’s next flagship observatory will memorialize discrimination. Others are waiting for more evidence

How the Delta Variant Spreads So Quickly
Viral load is roughly 1,000 times higher in people infected with the Delta variant than those infected with the original coronavirus strain, according to a study in China

Should Children Get COVID Vaccines? What the Science Says
With vaccination campaigns underway in some countries while others weigh the options, Nature looks at the evidence for vaccinating younger people

China Launches World’s Largest Carbon Market: But Is It Ambitious Enough?
Experts welcome the trading scheme, but question whether it is up to the task of helping China achieve its climate goals

Behold the ‘Borg’: Massive DNA Structures Perplex Scientists
Researchers say they have discovered unique and exciting DNA strands in the mud; others are not sure of their novelty

Kids Get ‘Long COVID,’ Too
Children can suffer lingering symptoms from the disease, but researchers are still working to determine how frequently and how severely

‘Inflammation Clock’ Can Reveal Body’s Biological Age
Using machine learning, researchers created a tool that might help doctors improve people’s healthy lifespan

Mix-and-Match COVID Vaccines: The Case Is Growing, but Questions Remain
Studies suggest mixing vaccines provokes potent immune responses, but scientists want answers on real-world efficacy and rare side effects

Six Months of COVID Vaccines: What 1.7 Billion Doses Have Taught Scientists
At a pivotal moment in the pandemic, Nature explores key questions about the vaccines that countries are racing to deliver while viral variants spread around the globe

COVID Vaccines Will Not Reach Poorest Countries Until 2023
Amid a COVID surge in Africa, vaccine promises from richer nations are not enough to bring an early end to the pandemic, experts say

Why Uruguay Lost Control of COVID
Complacency and a coronavirus variant help to explain why the country, once a pandemic success story, couldn’t withstand the surge now rocking South America

Deleted Coronavirus Genome Sequences Trigger Scientific Intrigue
Partial SARS-CoV-2 sequences from early outbreaks in Wuhan were removed from a U.S. government database by the scientists who deposited them

CureVac COVID Vaccine Letdown Spotlights mRNA Design Challenges
Scientists are searching for explanations to disappointing final-stage trial results. These insights could help guide the future development of mRNA vaccines