Bec Crew

Many people have no mental imagery. What’s going on in their brains? Nature - People with aphantasia are offering a window into consciousness.

Think about your breakfast this morning. Can you imagine the pattern on your coffee mug? The sheen of the jam on your half-eaten toast?

go.nature.com/4kgR3jv

What would an AI university look like and how might it change education? From lectures by avatars to entire qualifications, higher education centred around AI is just around the corner.

How long before we see a university built with AI from the ground up? And will it work or perhaps go the way of MOOCs (ie be mostly a lot of hype)? @jacksonwryan.com takes a look www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘A serious problem’: peer reviews created using AI can avoid detection Tools fail to identify most AI-generated peer-review reports, say researchers, who warn that the issue is only getting worse.

‘A serious problem’: peer reviews created using AI can avoid detection www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Author knows best? Top AI conference asks for self-ranked papers amid paper deluge As submissions to AI conferences soar, authors’ own rankings — combined with peer review — could offer a powerful way to identify high-impact research.

Submissions to AI conferences are soaring, with lots of fears that AI itself is to blame. Could asking authors to rank their submissions help?

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

AI research deluge: why one conference is asking authors to rank their own papers As submissions soar, could authors’ rankings work together with peer review to help identify high-impact research?

“You know which papers are your ‘baby’, which papers you really love." by @dalmeet.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Why an overreliance on AI-driven modelling is bad for science Without clear protocols to catch errors, artificial intelligence’s growing role in science could do more harm than good.

Without clear protocols to catch errors, artificial intelligence’s growing role in science could do more harm than good

go.nature.com/4iZwCXT

Closer look at the fish associates on this Stygiomedusa. @schmidtocean.bsky.social dive 884 #argentiniandeepseeps #MarineLife #CONICET

Will young universities set the pace in the age of AI? Why some institutions are betting on technology to stay relevant.

Some institutions are betting on technology to stay relevant.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

#NatureIndex Immunology www.nature.com/collections/... Measles, polio, tuberculosis: what’s causing spikes in infectious diseases? The huge power of vaccines is being diluted by hesitancy, funding cuts and conflict. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Measles, polio, tuberculosis: what’s causing spikes in infectious diseases? The huge power of vaccines is being diluted by hesitancy, funding cuts and conflict.

“There are more vulnerable people right when our walls of defence are crumbling."

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The journal Nature has named Thomas Karikari, PhD, one of three Rising Stars in Aging Research! Dr. Karikari is an internationally recognized expert in plasma biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease. Read more here: bit.ly/3XukLa9

Could humans live to 150? Why some researchers think we’re on the cusp of a major longevity breakthrough Other scientists believe extending lifespan might be difficult but are pursuing therapies that aim to make us feel younger for longer.

“I’m very optimistic that we will be able to slow down the biological process of ageing. I think it will happen in our lifetime.”

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Is ageing a disease? The debate that could reshape medicine Classifying ageing as a disease might bring funding and other benefits, say some researchers, but others say this is fraught with ethical and regulatory implications.

Does it make sense to classify ageing as a disease? It'd be helpful for funding, say some researchers, but others say it doesn't make sense: "You either have a disease or you don’t — and who doesn’t have ageing?”

by @rachelnuwer.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Measles, polio, tuberculosis: what’s causing spikes in infectious diseases? The huge power of vaccines is being diluted by hesitancy, funding cuts and conflict.

“We need is a concerted global effort with enormous sharing of resources and collaboration to solve this problem that kills so many people. We aren’t even close to that.”

Reporting by @rachelnuwer.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Four game-changing immunology tools to watch Researchers are getting an unprecedented look at the human immune system through emerging techniques.

“I’m very excited. I think this will be a real game-changer.”

A guide to some of the most exciting tools and techniques immunlologists are using. by @gvconroy.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Google Scholar tool gives extra credit to first and last authors Researchers welcome the initiative, but say it doesn’t go far enough to capture the nuance of researcher productivity and impact.

A new Google Scholar tool quantifies how much credit each study author gets — my latest for @nature.com:

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

@michaelgusenbauer.bsky.social

Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.

There are tons of graphic novels, academic papers, film and TV scripts, & prose novels/nonfiction on the LibGen list Anthropic used.

As settlement approaches, make it easy for the class action lawyers to contact you! Here’s how

Part 1: is your work in Libgen?

www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Peer reviewers more likely to approve articles that cite their own work Nature - Preprint examines how citations can influence the review process.

Reviewers are more likely to approve a manuscript if their own work is cited

go.nature.com/4oOf3MI

Do academics publish less after getting tenured? Depends on your field Paper output varies between disciplines, as does the trend after tenure is achieved.

There's an large uptick in papers published in the year before researchers attain tenure, a new analysis shows.

From there it diverges: those in fields that have labs (eg biology, chemistry) keep churning papers, while those that aren't (eg sociology, math) see a decline in papers.

Australia Launches Lung Cancer Screening Program for Smokers Australia has launched its first lung cancer screening program, which targets current and recent smokers with biennial low-dose CT scans.

Some good news: Australia has just launched its first new cancer screening program in decades, using low-dose CT to screen current and former smokers for early lung cancer. Could save hundreds of lives every year.
www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...

US senators poised to reject Trump’s proposed massive science cuts Committee gives first hint that policymakers might preserve, rather than slash, funding for US National Science Foundation and other agencies.

A key US Senate committee has indicated that it will reject the huge budget cuts that President Donald Trump proposed for some science agencies, including the US National Science Foundation and NASA.

go.nature.com/40H0XST

Science Inc. Corporate research is a major part of the global science ecosystem, and all eyes are on the sector amid federal funding cuts in the United States.

Hot off the press, our latest Nature Index supplement on private-sector science. Lots of interesting questions/data to explore, especially in the context of public research funding being cut in the US. www.nature.com/collections/...

Transparent research: can big tech learn from big pharma? The results of technology research and development must find their way into the published literature. New models of regulation could help.

"Technology’s potential to shape almost every aspect of our lives makes public scrutiny of its research output all the more important."

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Leadership change at African journal sparks calls for bold reform The Journal of Public Health in Africa faces a pivotal moment, and researchers say it must evolve to better serve the scientific community.

“There’s a niche group that knows [the journal] well, but many more of us are clueless."

Story by @sciwriabdul.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Harvard vs Trump: what this epic battle means for science Research across science and medicine will probably shrink at one of the world’s most elite universities amid a new political reality.

Researchers told Nature that long-term threats to science at Harvard University are likely to remain no matter what happens in the legal battle between the university and the Trump administration. #Academicsky 🧪

I had the opportunity to speak with Brian Owens (@scibri.com) at Nature Index about why firms invest in scientific research and what drives their decisions to publish. Grateful for the thoughtful reporting: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

RFK Jr. says US won’t donate to global vaccine effort Kennedy ripped into Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in a video address at its pledging summit.

This is a travesty & a nightmare. The US was a founder of @gavi.org. It lowers global vaccine costs, has vaccinated 1B children, & averted 19M deaths. This pull out will cost 100s of thousands of children's lives a year - and RFK Jr will be personally responsible.
www.politico.com/news/2025/06...

These are the top companies and countries for industry research Here’s where academic researchers are flocking to — and the topics they’re pursuing.

Where the academic researchers to flocking to.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

What incentives do companies need to publish research? There are good commercial reasons for firms to share their research in science journals, but the practice seems to be falling out of favour.

There are good commercial reasons for firms to share their research in science journals, but the practice seems to be falling out of favour.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Can industry fill the gap left by US research funding cuts? If companies do step in to support research, will they publish the results, or keep them close to their chest?

If the United States continues to cut funding for fundamental research, it could undermine its own innovation pipeline with potentially dire consequences.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...