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Demonstrators hold signs and an upside-down U.S. flag during a "Stand Up for Science" rally.
Protesters advocate for science at the Stand Up for Science rally in Washington DC, holding an upside-down American flag as a sign of distress.Credit: Kent Nishimura/Reuters
‘Scientists will not be silenced’
Thousands of researchers and supporters of science in the United States and in Europe protested under the banner of ‘Stand Up for Science’ on Friday against actions taken by the administration of US President Donald Trump to cut the US scientific workforce and slash spending on research worldwide. “It’s dawned on me,” said global-health metrics researcher Abraham Flaxman: “Nobody is coming to save us. We’re going to have to save ourselves.”
Nature | 7 min read
Nature journalists reported live from the protests on Bluesky. For those looking to follow us (including yours truly) on Bluesky, here’s the Naturemagazine starter pack.
Coma brain waves hint at who’s waking up
A pattern of brain waves that occurs during sleep might help to predict whether an unresponsive person who experienced severe brain injury will recover consciousness. Researchers recorded the electrical activity in the brains of 226 people in a coma who had experienced recent brain injury, and homed in on specific patterns of brain activity called sleep spindles. They found that 28% of people who had well-defined sleep spindles recovered consciousness, compared with only 14% of those who lacked this pattern. “We're starting to lift the lid a little bit and find some signs of recovery as it's happening,” says neurologist and study co-author Jan Claassen.
ScienceAlert | 4 min read
Reference: Nature Medicinepaper
LGBTQ+ biologists face hostility at work
A survey of more than 1,400 LGBTQ+ biologists finds that many experience hostility, intimidation or offensive behaviour at work. The preprint study reports that 40% of transgender and gender-nonconforming respondents, and 20% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer respondents, say they have faced these issues. “One person experiencing that is one person too many,” says biology-education researcher and co-author Katelyn Cooper.
Nature | 6 min read
Reference: bioRxiv preprint (not peer reviewed)
PhD lab size affects future academic success
Postdoctoral and graduate students in large research groups are more likely to leave academia than their peers in smaller groups, but they have more career success if they stick it out, according to a study of over one million researchers. Early-career researchers might have more responsibilities in small groups, says computational social scientist Lingfei Wu, which encourages them to stay in academia. In big groups, some members will “fall off the [academic] wagon, but the people who experiment in novel ways will succeed more dramatically”, says sociologist James Evans.
Nature | 5 min read
Reference: Nature Human Behaviourpaper
SURVIVAL ADVANTAGE. Graphic shows analysis of neuroscience students and their mentors.
Source: Ref. 1
5,000 to 10,000
The approximate number of foreign researchers working in China who have a PhD, according to an analysis of author names on scholarly publications. By contrast, there are estimated to be at least 100,000 foreign scholars at this level in the United States. Tough regulations following the COVID-19 pandemic, new data laws and other restrictions have made it more challenging for foreign researchers to work in China. (Nature | 5 min read)
Features & opinion
Microplastics research needs ironing out
Last month, Briefing readers recoiled from the news that human brains seem to be full of plastic bits — with a recent study of autopsied bodies finding our brains might contain as much as 4.5 bottle caps’ worth of plastic. But some of the most shocking studies about microplastics in human tissues rely on small sample sizes, lack appropriate controls or “are not biologically plausible”, write four health researchers. “Without more rigorous standards, transparency and collaboration — among researchers, policymakers and industrial stakeholders — a cycle of misinformation and ineffective regulation could undermine efforts to protect both human health and the environment,” they argue.
Nature | 8 min read
Reference: Nature Medicinepaper
Academia is getting resilience wrong
After giving a presentation to her department about issues she faced with inclusivity, “I got told that I need to toughen up”, says biomechanics researcher Emily Wharton. Her experience captures academia’s often misguided view of resilience. It's more than putting on a brave face when the going gets tough, says biomedical researcher Sharon Milgram. “It is the ability to know when to persist and when to pivot.” It also isn’t just down to the individual, but also to their work environment, says cognitive neuroscientist Dusana Dorjee.
Nature | 9 min read
Where I work
Mtamu Kililo is standing in the storage yard , surrounded by bags of natural fibers, at the MycoTile headquarters in Nairobi.
Mtamu Kililo is the chief executive of MycoTile in Nairobi, Kenya.Credit: Kang-Chun Cheng for Nature
Mtamu Kililo’s company, MycoTile, produces building materials in Kenya that are made out of agricultural waste bonded with the fungal filaments that form the ‘roots’ of oyster mushrooms. “MycoTile’s insulation panels have been installed in a few projects,” he says. “When we can produce a brick to build external walls and partitions, it will be a huge step towards affordable housing. In my view, the most important thing to communicate is that this is a practical solution to problems that people are facing day-to-day.” (Nature | 3 min read) (Kang-Chun Cheng for Nature)
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Scientists are often told that we should stay in our lane, rather than engage in advocacy work or speak out about issues of public importance. We are organizing Stand Up for Science because that is simply not true. Science affects everyone, and every social issue has a scientific angle. This is every scientist’s lane.”
Five co-organizers of the Stand Up For Science movement in the United States explain why they organised last week’s protests in response to attacks on US science. (Nature Human Behaviour | 5 min read)