Nature Careers Podcast |
Featured
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News |
Argentina’s pioneering nuclear research threatened by huge budget cuts
President Javier Milei is making moves to partially privatize the sector, but in the meantime, projects have paused.
- Martín De Ambrosio
- & Fermín Koop
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Obituary |
Allen J. Bard obituary: electrochemist whose techniques underpin clinical diagnostics, materials discovery and more
Innovator who pioneered scanning electrochemical microscopy, bioassays and solar fuels.
- Michael Rose
- & Henry S. White
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Correspondence |
It’s time to talk about the hidden human cost of the green transition
- Manuel Prieto
- & Nicolás C. Zanetta-Colombo
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Research Briefing |
Scalable, high-quality 2D telluride nanosheets for energy and catalysis applications
An innovative solid-state lithiation strategy allows the exfoliation of layered transition-metal tellurides into nanosheets in an unprecedentedly short time, without sacrificing their quality. The observation of physical phenomena typically seen in highly crystalline TMT nanosheets opens the way to their use in applications such as batteries and micro-supercapacitors.
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Nature Podcast |
Killer whales have menopause. Now scientists think they know why
Data suggest menopause evolved to enable older female whales to help younger generations survive, and how researchers made a cellular map of the developing human heart.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Nick Petrić Howe
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Research Highlight |
A better way to charge a quantum battery
Batteries that store photons in atoms or molecules could retain their efficiency with wireless charging.
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Comment |
The world must rethink plans for ageing oil and gas platforms
Earth’s oceans are awash with ageing energy infrastructure. A change in the law is needed to ensure that these structures are decommissioned in ways that maximize environmental and societal benefits.
- Antony Knights
- , Anaëlle Lemasson
- & Paul Somerfield
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Where I Work |
Catching the rays: my part in Morocco’s renewable-energy revolution
Soukaina El Idrissi Faouzi works to optimize the performance of the world’s biggest working solar farm.
- Nikki Forrester
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Research Briefing |
Reducing carbon dioxide efficiently to reuse and recycle it
Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide holds promise for converting CO2 into valuable products but is hampered by stability issues and wasted carbon. A proton-exchange membrane that uses lead as a catalyst demonstrates the feasibility of durable and efficient CO2 reduction.
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Correspondence |
Triple win: solar farms in deserts can boost power, incomes and ecosystems
- Haimeng Liu
- & Jianguo Liu
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Correspondence |
Deep-sea mining opponents: there’s no free lunch when it comes to clean energy
- Saleem H. Ali
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Editorial |
EU climate policy is dangerously reliant on untested carbon-capture technology
Europe’s ambition for emissions reductions is to be welcomed — but look at the detail, and significant hazards emerge.
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News & Views |
Resting restores performance of discharged lithium-metal batteries
In lithium-metal batteries, grains of lithium can become electrically isolated from the anode, lowering battery performance. Experiments reveal that rest periods after battery discharge might help to solve this problem.
- Laura C. Merrill
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News Feature |
The new car batteries that could power the electric vehicle revolution
Researchers are experimenting with different designs that could lower costs, extend vehicle ranges and offer other improvements.
- Nicola Jones
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Article |
A rechargeable calcium–oxygen battery that operates at room temperature
A Ca–O2 battery that relies on a highly reversible two-electron redox to form chemically reactive calcium peroxide as the discharge product is reported to be stable in air and rechargeable for 700 cycles at room temperature.
- Lei Ye
- , Meng Liao
- & Huisheng Peng
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News |
EU unveils controversial climate target: what scientists think
The goal leans heavily on the largely unproven approach of carbon removal, concerning researchers.
- Katharine Sanderson
- & Carissa Wong
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News |
Canada’s oil sands spew massive amounts of unmonitored polluting gases
Innovative aircraft-based technique records carbon emissions not tracked before from the industrial region.
- Nicola Jones
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News |
Pioneering nuclear-fusion reactor shuts down: what scientists will learn
The decommissioning of the Joint European Torus near Oxford, UK — a test bed for ITER — will take until 2040 and be studied in detail.
- Elizabeth Gibney
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Research Highlight |
Flexible geothermal power makes it easier to harness Earth’s inner heat
Next-generation plants that respond to demand could be key to making a low-carbon energy source more economically appealing.
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News |
US nuclear-fusion lab enters new era: achieving ‘ignition’ over and over
Researchers at the National Ignition Facility are consistently creating reactions that make more energy than they consume.
- Jeff Tollefson
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Outlook |
Sizing up hydrogen’s hydrological footprint
The use of hydrogen as an energy carrier is essential to decarbonizing economies. Industrial policies and technology developments could trim the water consumption involved in producing the gas, minimizing its cost and environmental impact.
- Peter Fairley
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News Feature |
Nature’s 10: ten people (and one non-human) who helped shape science in 2023
An AI pioneer, an architect of India’s Moon mission and the world’s first global heat officer are some of the people behind this year’s big stories.
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Spotlight |
Renewable energy for the subcontinent
India has invested heavily in wind, solar and storage technology to hit net zero by 2070, but some don’t think it’s doing enough.
- Bianca Nogrady
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Spotlight |
The climate disaster strikes: what the data say
A series of impact assessments highlight India’s vulnerability to extreme weather events and the risks they pose to human health.
- Shannon Hall
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News |
COP28 climate summit signals the end of fossil fuels — but is it enough?
As nations make historic pledge to ‘transition’ energy systems away from fossil fuels — some scientists are disappointed by the softened wording.
- Katharine Sanderson
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News Feature |
Nuclear-fusion breakthrough: this physicist helped to achieve the first-ever energy gain
Annie Kritcher and her team at the US National Ignition Facility designed fusion experiments that generated more energy than they consumed.
- Jeff Tollefson
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News |
India and climate: what does the world’s most populous nation want from COP28?
India wants to be the voice of the global south at the climate conference. It is also massively dependent on coal.
- Gayathri Vaidyanathan
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News |
First cash pledged for countries devastated by climate change: COP28 starts with historic decision
Draft resolution on a ‘loss and damage fund’ has attracted more than $400 million, but climate-vulnerable countries say more cash is needed.
- Katharine Sanderson
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Article
| Open Access
Associative pyridinium electrolytes for air-tolerant redox flow batteries
The redox behaviour of pyridinium electrolytes under representative flow battery conditions is investigated, offering insights into air tolerance of batteries containing these electrolytes while providing a universal physico-chemical descriptor of their reversibility.
- Mark E. Carrington
- , Kamil Sokołowski
- & Oren A. Scherman
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Spotlight |
Réunion’s search for energy self-sufficiency
Whether the French island succeeds in producing all of its electricity depends not only on technology, but also on social and political will.
- Rachel Nuwer
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Nature Index |
Are rooftop solar panels the answer to meeting China’s challenging climate targets?
Research is central to the success of major photovoltaic programmes in ramping up clean energy and alleviating rural poverty.
- Yvaine Ye
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Technology Feature |
Microbial miners take on rare-earth metals
As a tech-hungry world gobbles up rare-earth elements, researchers are adapting bacteria that can isolate and purify the metals in the absence of harsh chemicals.
- Amber Dance
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Correspondence |
US universities must tackle their huge carbon footprints
- Mark O. Huising
- & Adam R. Aron
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World View |
The UK’s rollback of climate policies will cost its citizens and the world
Incoherent new climate-policy messages by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will dissolve the UK’s climate leadership, stifle innovation’s momentum and cost consumers.
- Joeri Rogelj
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Article |
Flatband λ-Ti3O5 towards extraordinary solar steam generation
A route to greatly elevate joint densities of states by introducing a flat-band electronic structure is demonstrated, showing metallic λ-Ti3O5 powders have a high solar absorptivity and offering insights into access to cost-effective solar-to-steam generation.
- Bo Yang
- , Zhiming Zhang
- & Liang Zuo
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Research Briefing |
Surprising reaction pathway observed in lithium–sulfur batteries
Electrochemical-reaction pathways in lithium–sulfur batteries have been studied in real time at the atomic scale using a high-resolution imaging technique. The observations revealed an unexpected collective charge-transfer process that could lead to improvements in the performance of these batteries.
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Career Column |
How we set our lab on an environmentally sustainable path
Leading a drive to lower your lab’s carbon footprint alongside your PhD research is tough. Start by celebrating small successes, says Caroline Giuglaris.
- Caroline Giuglaris
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Article
| Open Access
A microscale soft ionic power source modulates neuronal network activity
A study describes the development of a miniaturized hydrogel-based soft power source capable of modulating the activity of networks of neuronal cells without the need for metal electrodes.
- Yujia Zhang
- , Jorin Riexinger
- & Hagan Bayley
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Editorial |
The science is clear: sustainable development and climate action are inseparable
Sustainability cannot be achieved without climate action, and vice versa. What’s needed is a fight on both fronts.
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Research Highlight |
How electric-car batteries could be safer and more recyclable
An organic material makes a solid electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries.
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Editorial |
Clean energy can fuel the future — and make the world healthier
Research challenges the myth that clean energy acts as a brake on global economic development.
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Research Briefing |
Lithium forms perfect polyhedra in ultrafast-charging batteries
The performance of next-generation batteries is closely linked to the shape of deposits of metallic lithium that form during charging. Experiments in ultrafast-charging batteries have now revealed that lithium intrinsically forms geometrically perfect 12-face polyhedra, independently of various factors that were long thought to affect the shape of lithium deposits.
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World View |
Power companies must adapt to climate change now. Here’s how researchers can help
To protect millions from unnecessary power outages, utility companies need one thing above all: data.
- Juliet Homer
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World View |
The G20 should forge a pact to support nations’ shifts to a low-carbon future
Fossil fuels should be used sparingly, in the areas where they contribute most to human welfare.
- Navroz K. Dubash
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Outlook |
Robots need better batteries
As mobile machines travel farther from the grid, they’ll need lightweight and efficient power sources.
- Jeff Hecht
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Obituary |
John Bannister Goodenough, battery pioneer (1922–2023)
Materials scientist and Nobel laureate who invented the rechargeable lithium batteries used in electric cars and phones.
- Bill David
- & Michael Thackeray
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Correspondence |
Germany: luring drivers onto public transport
- Mark A. Andor
- , Fabian T. Dehos
- & Lukas Tomberg
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How artificial intelligence is helping Ghana plan for a renewable energy future