News archive
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.
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
Turning science into social outcomes
29 August 2017
Richard Jefferson
Game changers
25 August 2017
Branwen Morgan & Annabel McGilvray
Charting the influence of science on innovation
18 August 2017
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.
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
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
The rise and rise of a biology superstar
30 March 2017
Tim Hornyak
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
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.
Top New Zealand research universities in 2015
31 October 2016
Bianca Nogrady
New Zealand universities are building an international reputation for high-quality research.
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.
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: 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.