News archive
Six researchers who are shaping the future of artificial intelligence
10 December 2020
Gemma Conroy, Hepeng Jia, Benjamin Plackett & Andy Tay
From radio galaxies to robots, these trailblazers are at the forefront of AI advances.
China's science ministry gets power to attract more foreign scientists
23 March 2018
Hepeng Jia
Science super-ministry gains new remit to develop policies that benefit international researchers.
The secrets of Switzerland’s surprisingly high citations success
24 January 2018
Dalmeet Singh Chawla
Small countries have an outsized presence among the scientific elite.
Disagreement over the legal definition of misconduct
9 January 2018
Yojana Sharma
Without clear and consistent terminology, policing can be tricky.
In Japan, corporates make reluctant partners
20 December 2017
Ichiko Fuyuno
The shifting corporate–academic relationship in pictures
11 December 2017
Nature Index
Research partnerships between industry and academia have more than doubled in five years.
The top academic and corporate partners in the Nature Index
8 December 2017
Mark Zastrow
China leads BRICS university rankings
23 November 2017
Smriti Mallapaty
7 out of the top 10 universities in the QS World University Rankings 2018 are in the east-Asian nation.
Trouble at the top
7 November 2017
Smriti Mallapaty
The 7 ingredients for building a science city
30 October 2017
Nature Index
What does it take to create a metropolis of knowledge and innovation?
The US leads the Nature Index top 500
19 September 2017
Smriti Mallapaty
140 institutions in the United States have spent five consecutive years in the Nature Index top 500.
New entrants to the Nature Index
14 September 2017
Nature Index
A few institutions in the United States, China and Germany make it into the top 500 for the first time.
Taiwan losing ground in the index
4 September 2017
Hepeng Jia
Taiwan slips to number 20 as graduates’ interest in science fades.
The long and short of US-China rivalry
31 August 2017
Nature Index
China has the largest number of institutions that have risen up the top 500 ranks over the past five years.
Charting the influence of science on innovation
18 August 2017
An analysis of the biggest industry influencers in four charts.
Charting China's rising dominance in science
21 July 2017
Nicky Phillips
The country's research contribution is continuing to overtake other nations.
10 institutions contribute to more than 10% index output in 2016
18 July 2017
Smriti Mallapaty
A few large institutions produce the majority of articles in the index.
Global universities ranked by a different measure
8 June 2017
Ivy Shih
Find out how the top 20 institutions in the QS University Rankings 2018 measure up in the index.
US research in a state of decline
6 June 2017
Nature Index
California, Massachusetts and New York produce the most high-quality research, but their output is in decline.
Search for industry partners heats up in China's chemistry hotspot
2 June 2017
Peng Tian
The industrial city of Changchun is losing young researchers to more prosperous cities in the south.
Japan loses share of research articles to China
24 March 2017
Nicky Phillips
Despite being among the top science nations, Japan's publication output has stalled over the past decade.
The slow decline of Japanese research in 5 charts
23 March 2017
Nicky Phillips
The country's research output is falling behind other dominant science nations.
A great leap forward, but China needs more scientists
21 March 2017
Ivy Shih
OECD survey reveals the country’s science spending frenzy, noting a need for investment in innovation and invention.
China and South Korea flash the cash in R&D race
24 February 2017
Ivy Shih
G20 countries dominate global research spending and production, but the mix is changing.
Innovators file record number of patent applications in China
24 November 2016
Ivy Shih
China's appetite for patents leads the world.
UQ retains position as Australia's top research university in 2015
28 October 2016
James Mitchell Crow
There's not much separating the top three Australian universities with the highest contributions to the index in 2015.
How Australian universities spent $4.5b on research in four years
27 October 2016
Bianca Nogrady
Assessing the research performance of universities is a difficult pursuit.
Melbourne pips Sydney as Australia's research hotspot
27 October 2016
Annabel McGilvray
Australia's two largest cities strive to attract the best researchers and produce science that makes a difference.
Rising stars 2016: 10 countries to watch
26 August 2016
Nicky Phillips and Larissa Kogleck
Nature Index 2016 Rising Stars seeks to pinpoint the ascendant performers of science.
Singaporean research continues to dominate in some fields
23 August 2016
Tim Hornyak
The country has the world's highest per capita investment in science and technology
European universities rise to the challenge
11 August 2016
Mark Zastrow, James Mitchell Crow
As a continent, Europe is home to the most rising stars in the index.
Xerox puts more skin in the printing game
9 August 2016
Tim Hornyak
The research the company is publishing in top journals.
The right formula: chemistry the key to leaders’ research performance
3 August 2016
Mark Zastrow, James Mitchell Crow
Chemistry research was a significant driver of the performance for several institutions.
Australia's most improved research institutions
1 August 2016
James Mitchell Crow
Represented are institutions from the east and west coast.
Who are the research world's rising stars?
28 July 2016
Annabel McGilvray
Undaunted by the scientific dominance of historic global big-hitters, some of the world's less prominent research nations are carving out a niche and making a strong impact.
Rising stars: Chinese institutions lead the way
26 July 2016
Sarah O'Meara
China is a growing source of the world's top science
Rising stars: Baylor, the best medicine
25 July 2016
James Mitchell Crow, Mark Zastrow
BCM’s contribution to high-quality research rose 39% from 2012 to 2015.
Rising stars: Indian researchers have so much chemistry
22 July 2016
Annabel McGilvray
A significant rise in chemistry research makes India a Nature Index 2016 Rising Star.
China's top 10 research universities in 2015
15 July 2016
The country's contribution to top journals continues to grow.
China's diaspora key to science collaborations
23 June 2016
Peng Tian
Links formed by mainland China's large scientific diaspora and its increasing output of high-quality research make it an emerging centre of international collaboration.
America's top 10 research universities in 2015
17 June 2016
It's a battle between the east and west coast.
Canadian researchers do more with less
2 June 2016
Brian Owens
Growing participation in large international research projects may explain the drop in Canada's index performance.
What does industry contribute to the world's best research?
19 May 2016
The Nature Index tracks corporations who publish in top journals.
Saudi Arabian research in 6 charts
10 May 2016
Strong connections with global scientific heavy-hitters and meaningful regional and domestic collaborations have thrust Saudi Arabia into a leading position in the Arab world.
Top research institutes in chemistry in 2015
27 April 2016
James Mitchell Crow
National research organisations take the top three spots in the latest Nature Index chemistry research rankings.
US leads science pack, but its grip is loosening
22 April 2016
Jennifer Hackett
When it comes to the world’s best natural science research, no nation can match the United States.
Ten institutions that dominated science in 2015
20 April 2016
Sarah O'Meara
The top 10 institutions in the Nature Index are the largest contributors to papers published in 68 leading journals in 2015
US tops global research performance in 2015
20 April 2016
Japanese institutions mix it with the world's best
17 March 2016
"The trend transforming science" - Jonathan Adams
16 March 2016
Jonathan Adams and Tamar Loach
The small but focused snapshot of research afforded by the Nature Index helps fine-tune analysis of global scientific collaboration, say Jonathan Adams and Tamar Loach.
Can Japan halt the decline?
16 March 2016
Chart: Move over USA, here comes China
15 March 2016