For centuries a hub of ideas and trade, London is embracing ambitious developments to boost research and local connections, despite the uncertainty caused by Brexit.

Spain's science rivalry

27 October 2017

Monica G. Salomone

Barcelona lures scientists while Madrid is bound by bureaucracy.

Where the streets are paved with ideas

24 October 2017

Richard Florida

COMMENT: Most of the world's research and entrepreneurship is concentrated in a few megacities.

Destination Daejeon

20 October 2017

Mark Zastrow

A focus on basic research is shifting scientific resources from Seoul to South Korea's central city.

Metropolis of minds

19 October 2017

Smriti Mallapaty

Nature Index 2017 Science Cities looks at the challenges for established science cities and highlights some rising hotspots.

Measure for measure

26 September 2017

Aidan Byrne

COMMENT: Numbers on science and innovation do not always reflect performance.

Turning science into social outcomes

29 August 2017

Richard Jefferson

For innovation to bring public benefit, mapping the influence of academic papers is just the beginning.

Game changers

25 August 2017

Branwen Morgan & Annabel McGilvray

Some papers have a profound and obvious influence on future research and industry applications. Patents citing these life science papers indicate their bearing on developments which have widespread health implications.

Charting the influence of science on innovation

18 August 2017

Nicky Phillips

An analysis of the biggest industry influencers in four charts.

Michael Sporn: A legacy of greater knowledge

10 August 2017

Elie Dolgin

For the love of discovery, a biochemist freely shared the research which laid the groundwork for widely-used drugs.

Charting China's rising dominance in science

21 July 2017

Nicky Phillips

The country's research contribution is continuing to overtake other nations.

Transparency is a growth industry

14 July 2017

Joy Zhang

COMMENT: Fierce public debate over GM food has put pressure on Chinese researchers to engage with the public about their work.

Psychology to the fore as social pressures mount

11 July 2017

Flynn Murphy

China's growing economy is also fueling an increased demand for psychologists in the country.

The value of nostalgia in a land of upheaval

30 June 2017

Flynn Murphy

Psychology is an increasingly relevant discipline as the destabilizing effects of rapid social change take hold in China.

Kunming's natural advantage

20 June 2017

Flynn Murphy

The region's natural and cultural bounty are making researchers worldwide take notice.

Keeping a lid on open science

15 June 2017

Hepeng Jia

Open science has made progress in China, but there is room for improvement.

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.

China's higher ed reforms are ambitious, but can they address systemic issues?

29 May 2017

Wang Qi

The country is casting a wider net for excellence in higher education.

A close look at China's rise

25 May 2017

Nicky Phillips

Can the country maintain its growth in high-quality science?

Japan's plan to cultivate more entrepreneurial scientists

10 May 2017

Ian Munroe

Although government efforts to encourage innovation face significant obstacles.

Kyoto University is branching out in tough times

18 April 2017

Q&A

The university's president talks about the need for Japanese universities to stay competitive on the international stage.

How Todai is encouraging research spinoffs

11 April 2017

Ian Munroe

It was the first Japanese university to establish a venture capital firm.

Japan university reform 'unrealistic' without proper funding

7 April 2017

Atsushi Sunami

To unleash the potential of universities as engines of economic growth, further investment is necessary.

The rise and rise of a biology superstar

30 March 2017

Tim Hornyak

Nobel laureate Yoshinori Ohsumi’s persistent study of baker’s yeast spawned an exciting new field, and proves the value of supporting scientists in pursuit of their passion.

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.

What price will Japanese science pay for austerity?

23 March 2017

Ichiko Fuyuno

Japan’s stagnated research output corresponds with a deteriorating situation for young researchers.

Does proximity play a role in science collaborations?

30 November 2016

Neil Savage

Proximity is just one factor driving the high number of collaborations between top performing institutes in the same city.

Brexit uncertainty disrupting EU-UK research

29 November 2016

Mark Peplow

Uncertainty surrounding Britain’s future in EU research may be damaging science.

Partnerships between US and Chinese scientists surge

18 November 2016

Sujata Gupta

Research partnerships between the two superpowers outnumber all other international pairings.

New data reveals universities in Tokyo are highly connected

17 November 2016

Tim Hornyak

The Japanese capital is a hub of local research collaborations.

Collaboration trumps competition in city of love

17 November 2016

Barbara Casassus

Paris excels in intra-city collaborations but needs to look beyond its borders to increase research performance.

Chinese and US researchers team up to study forests in a warming world

15 November 2016

Sujata Gupta

A new program is encouraging climate change research partnerships between two research powerhouses.

Top New Zealand research universities in 2015

31 October 2016

Bianca Nogrady

New Zealand universities are building an international reputation for high-quality research.

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.

Research investments pay off for Australian city

25 October 2016

Bianca Nogrady

Significant state government investment along with philanthropic largesse has helped drive Brisbane's research performance.

Turkey's geology a boon for scientists

2 September 2016

Annabel McGilvray

The country's output of earth and environment science papers is growing.

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

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.

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.