Motherhood derails women’s academic careers — these data reveal how and why Mothers in academia take on considerably more childcare-related responsibilities than do fathers.

Study shows that mothers are:
- 29% less likely to be employed at a university
- 12% reduction in earnings when they left academia
- 35% decline in their chance of getting tenure
- 31% fewer publications than fathers

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

Friendly reminder from AI-Lindsey: ChatGPT isn’t ‘smart’, it’s obedient.
If your prompt is fuzzy, your result will be… creative.

Student mental health is in crisis — here’s how to help

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

ADHD diagnoses are growing. What’s going on? More children and adults are being diagnosed with ADHD in some countries. Science is helping to understand why — and how best to provide support.

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

The future of AI Artificial intelligence is flying high. Nature asked leading innovators what they think will happen next.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Pressure to publish is rising as research time shrinks, finds survey of scientists Researchers feel that pressures to publish are increasing, but the time and resources available to do research are decreasing, according to a survey by Elsevier.

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

What makes PhD students happy? Good supervision Supervisors who invest in positive mentoring relationships with their PhD candidates also reap the benefits for their own research.

What factors contribute the most to PhD satisfaction? Stipends that are more than just a living wage? Manageable hours? A supportive team? These all matter, and are often in short supply. Another factor often overlooked is supportive supervision.

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

Universities must move with the times: how six scholars tackle AI, mental health and more Societies are evolving, and so must higher education. Researchers describe initiatives that can help to create stimulating and nurturing environments fit for today’s learning landscape.

Higher education is being reshaped by powerful forces — from AI to mental health to decolonization. Six scholars offer fresh ideas for how universities can truly evolve.

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

Can I join please?

The grant lottery: award rates at UK national funding agency fall below 20% Application volume is outpacing available funding, intensifying competition and worsening pressure on the peer-review system. But those who win grants are now getting more.

The rise in applications indicates a “huge increase in the amount and cost of work for academics completing these applications”. “[Researchers] must be spending less time either teaching or doing research, and spending more time on writing these grants”.

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

1 AUG

P hacking — Five ways it could happen to you Some data practices can lead to statistically dubious findings. Here’s how to avoid them.

P-hacking

Removing outliers, using alternative statistical methods and running extra experiments are some methods that could be used to change the P-value. Be careful not to fall in this trap! Stay sceptical! Null results are a normal part of science.

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

Translational Immunology - Careers Becoming a Scientist

It was fantastic to have @labliston.bsky.social give a talk at the @mrc-mbu.bsky.social on building a positive research culture. Valuable for all investigators/group leaders regardless of career stage, check out the resources below:
listonlab.uk/careers/

The do’s and don’ts of scientific image editing Acceptable image-editing practices are partly a matter of common sense. But researchers say journals and funders could help scientists by standardizing policies.

The temptation to create beautify images can be a slippery slope.

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

Highly sensitive method captures rare RNAs in blood to search for disease A method for examining RNAs in blood samples offers a clinical tool to detect and monitor cancer and to assess immune responses to vaccination.

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

Japan’s big bet on stem-cell therapies might soon pay off with medical breakthroughs Induced pluripotent stem cells are being tested to treat blindness, paralysis, Parkinson’s disease and more. Approvals might be around the corner.

Stem cells were initially touted as a cure-all, but aside from a few anecdotal studies, this has not been proven true. Is it finally going to happen?

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

Clinically translatable mitochondrial #GeneTherapy in muscle using tandem mtZFN architecture.
By P. Nash, @mitogene.bsky.social & colleagues @mrc-mbu.bsky.social

🗞️ doi.org/10.1038/s443...

Read also related N&V by A. Ghifari & M. Ott 👉 doi.org/10.1038/s443...

Congratulations, Pavel!

Proud to have been involved in this project.

Cells are swapping their mitochondria. What does this mean for our health? Researchers are studying why the energy factories are moving between cells and whether the process can be harnessed to treat cancer and other diseases.

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

Reposting since it's been a while since I posted this, and new MBU members might have joined.

First map of human brain mitochondria is ‘groundbreaking’ achievement Hundreds of cubes of human brain tissue help scientists to chart the energy-making capabilities of various brain regions.

Mitochondria differ in type and density in different parts of the brain. For example, the evolutionarily oldest brain regions have a lower density of mitochondria than newer regions.

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

Does sharing first authorship on a paper carry a penalty? What the research says Study dispels myth that order of names in a paper’s author list dictates perception of success.

Shared first authorship, but who gets to be first? According to this study, there is no disadvantage to sharing credit.

Weakness of the study: The test name was a gender-neutral European name. Can someone please repeat this study with female/non-European names?

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

In-cell architecture of the mitochondrial respiratory chain Mitochondria regenerate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) through oxidative phosphorylation. This process is carried out by five membrane-bound complexes collectively known as the respiratory chain, workin...

In-cell architecture of the mitochondrial respiratory chain | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

How ‘animal methods bias’ is affecting research careers Some early-career researchers report feeling pressure to use animal models to meet journal and grant requirements, even in disciplines and projects that don’t require them.

“These findings will need to be confirmed in vivo.“

Animal research can be extremely valuable, but isn't it time to encourage novel alternative non-animal models if they are available? Shouldn't funders encourage research to establish such alternative models more?

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

Vaccines save lives. Leaders must champion them Attacks on vaccines and the cancellation of research into what causes vaccine hesitancy puts people in harm’s way.

It is often said that the first responsibility of any government is the safety and protection of its people. Vaccines save lives, and casting doubt on their safety could have dangerous and far-reaching consequences.

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

Neural pathways in addiction: The hypothesized main neural circuits in human addictive behaviors are shown. The “feels better” path includes positive and negative reinforcement experiences and involves the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens), and the dorsal striatum in later stages. The “must do” path includes primarily compulsive behaviors, involving the dorsal striatum (putamen and caudate nucleus). The “stop now” self-control process mainly involves the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Can internet use become addictive?

A #SciencePerspective discusses the addictive potential of the #internet and how it can be best conceptualized and evaluated. scim.ag/3R5Npv1 #BrainAwarenessWeek

Conference alert: Machines acting on DNA and RNA
Madrid, May 28-30
Abstract deadline: April 24
Organised by @cniostopcancer.bsky.social. Come to share your research with experts in the molecular mechanisms of DNA & RNA machines. See the list of speakers below.
Please repost.

Thought that only purine nucleotides could inhibit mitochondrial thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue? Edmund Kunji and coworkers @mitocarriers.bsky.social @mrc-mbu.bsky.social show that pyrimidines bind and inhibit UCP1 in similar manner
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

2025 campaign - World Kidney Day 2025 World Kidney Day – 13 March 2025 Are Your Kidneys OK?Detect early, protectkidney health Are Your Kidneys OK? Take this quiz! Are Your Kidneys OK? Detect early, protect kidney health Chronic kidney dis...

Today is World Kidney Day. Are you sure your kidneys are OK? Do the quick test in the link and read about the risks.

www.worldkidneyday.org/2025-campaign/

Alcohol and cancer risk: what you need to know Experts weigh in on the risks of moderate drinking — and how people should assess them.

Alcohol raises the risk of at least seven types of cancer, including breast, liver, and esophageal cancer. Yet, many drinkers remain unaware.

Is there truly a “safe” amount of alcohol? Would a cancer warning label be helpful?

htps://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00729-5