Nature
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mathematics was built on infighting and emotional turmoil
The Great Math War: How Three Brilliant Minds Fought for the Foundations of Mathematics Jason Socrates Bardi Basic (2025) In the weeks leading up to September 1891, mathematician Georg Cantor prepared an ambush. For years he had sparred — philosophically, mathematically and emotionally — with his formidable rival Leopold Kronecker, one of Germany’s most influential mathematicians. Kronecker thought that mathematics…
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Ancient ‘snowball’ Earth had frigidly briny seas
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 12 January 2026 Ocean temperatures well below freezing in Earth’s deep-past glacial phases imply some very salty waters. Source link
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graduates anxious, but optimistic, about the future
Last year, Nature’s careers team spoke to five recent PhD students in North America, Israel and the United Kingdom to understand how disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, had affected their career plans. At the time, these students expressed anxiety about their prospects as they prepared to enter the job market — citing concerns around substantial cuts to US scientific…
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how I use penguin faeces to measure contaminants in Antarctica
“In this image, I’m collecting faecal samples from Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) on Horseshoe Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula at about 68° S. As an analytical chemist, my research focuses on detecting trace contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides and microplastics. It’s always been a dream of mine to travel to Antarctica, and I loved every minute. We follow strict…
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Explore 2025 with Leif Penguinson
For five years now, Briefing readers have eagerly awaited Fridays for a chance to put their penguin-hunting skills to the test. Each week, Leif Penguinson, a Rockhopper penguin, travels to scientifically interesting (and stunning) locations across the globe to hide from our readers’ keen eyes. (Read more of Leif’s origin story — and enjoy every puzzle over the first three…
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How fasting boosts breast cancer therapy
Brufsky, A. M. & Dickler, M. N. Oncologist 23, 528–539 (2018). Article PubMed Google Scholar Schagerholm Stanev, C. et al. BMC Cancer 25, 1556 (2025). Article PubMed Google Scholar Anemoulis, M., Vlastos, A., Kachtsidis, V. & Karras, S. N. Nutrients 15, 532 (2023). Article PubMed Google Scholar Padrão, N. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09869-0 (2025). Article Google Scholar Keith, B. D.…
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This science sleuth revealed a retraction crisis at Indian universities
Achal Agrawal had just finished giving a lecture when an enthusiastic undergraduate student approached him with an idea for a research project. Agrawal was delighted, until the student described how he had previously used software to paraphrase published work. Agrawal explained that doing so was considered plagiarism — a serious violation of research integrity — but the student insisted that…
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Antibodies and T cells join forces for sustained HIV remission
Nature, Published online: 01 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03805-y Two studies suggest that T cells with stem-cell-like properties could work with antibody therapies to control HIV after a person stops taking antiviral pills. Source link
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how to account for the ecological costs of our actions
On Natural Capital: The Value of the World Around Us Partha Dasgupta Witness (2025) An economist might celebrate a nation achieving record economic growth on one day, yet overlook a coral reef lying bleached and lifeless on another. This contradiction must be challenged, writes economist Partha Dasgupta in his elegant account of why the global economic system is exploiting, rather…
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How COVAX raced to protect the world from COVID-19
Fair Doses: An Insider’s Story of the Pandemic and the Global Fight for Vaccine Equity Seth Berkley Univ. California Press (2025) Most people don’t like getting vaccines, much less seeing their children have needles poked into their thighs and arms. But context can change that. Besieged by terrifying outbreaks of paralytic polio and the spectre of iron-lung respirators, many parents…
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