The study of social cognition has extended across the lifespan with a recent special focus on the impacts of aging on the social-cognitive brain. This review summarizes current knowledge on social perception, theory of mind, empathy, and social behavior from a social-cognitive neuroscience of aging perspective; and identifies new directions for studying the aging social-cognitive brain. These new directions

The ‘anthrobots’ were able to repair a scratch in a layer of neurons in the lab.

The whole genomes of 500,000 people in the UK Biobank will help researchers to probe our genetic code for links to disease.

The expansion of the neocortex, a hallmark of mammalian evolution1,2, was accompanied by an increase in cerebellar neuron numbers3. However, little is known about the evolution of the cellular programs underlying cerebellum development in mammals. In this study, we generated single-nucleus RNA-sequencing data for ~400,000 cells to trace cerebellum development from early neurogenesis to adulthood in

Hear the biggest stories from the world of science | 29 November 2023

Salient social identities have long appeared to shape what we believe and know. But do social identities also shape how we know? This essay argues that performances of “lay epistemology” by populist leaders may shape group norms in ways that encourage supporters to orient to their worlds more through intuition and emotion and less through evidence and data (or at least to report that they do, thus

Although cancer might seem like a niche subject, we argue that it is an excellent model topic for misinformation researchers, and an ideal area of application given its importance for society. We first discuss the prevalence of cancer misinformation online and how it has the potential to cause harm. We next examine the financial incentives for those who profit from disinformation dissemination, how

The United States and China are pursuing parallel scientific tracks. To solve crises on multiple fronts, the two roads need to become one.

Firms commercializing perovskite–silicon ‘tandem’ photovoltaics say that the panels will be more efficient and could lead to cheaper electricity.

What more could you want?

Data from the Nature Index suggest China-based authors are increasingly publishing without international colleagues.

‘Thirsty’ computing hubs could put pressure on already stretched water resources in sub-Saharan Africa. Plus, GPT-4 generates fake data set to support bogus science and what the OpenAI drama means for AI progress — and safety.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights — proclaimed 75 years ago — describes science as fundamental to humanity. Upholding this right has never been more relevant than it is now.

Under the proposal, technology with potential military use would need authorization to be shared with non-Australian colleagues.

A paper claiming that a structure in Indonesia is the oldest pyramid in the world has raised the eyebrows of archaeologists. Plus, some anglerfish species live life upside down and babies start learning language in the womb.

The trick baffles researchers — but they are getting closer to understanding how the songbird does it.

A spike in respiratory illnesses in children is the result of common winter infections — not a novel pathogen. Plus, how to stop waves in their tracks and why we might embrace the feeling of uncertainty.

Norm violations can not only cause harm but also contribute to the well-being of organizations. During the last several decades, two different foci of research on workplace norm violations have generated a host of empirical studies on both constructive and destructive norm-violating behavior (NVB). However, the two closely related bodies of literature have remained in almost complete isolation from

Despite recognition of the harmful effects of common method bias (CMB), its causes, consequences, and remedies are still not well understood. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to review our current knowledge of CMB and provide recommendations on how to control it. We organize our review into five main sections. First, we explain the harmful effects of CMB (why it is bad). Second, we discuss

Letter to the Editor

Snippets from Nature’s past.

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

California governor Gavin Newsom’s delegation is building on existing research and policy initiatives with China, showing that effective climate action can happen below the national level.

Why people take to the streets to march against global heating is relatively well documented. But it’s unclear why certain tactics work better than others in reaching the public and policymakers.

Putting the specific needs of individuals and communities at the heart of HIV/AIDS care, by harnessing behavioural science, is key to building on the progress already been made.

An advocacy group is pushing for more ‘human challenge’ trials to spur vaccine discovery. Following COVID-19 and Zika studies, hepatitis C could be next.

The massive buried structures at Gunung Padang in Indonesia would be far older than Egypt’s great pyramids — if they’re even human constructions at all.

Scientists expected a surge in respiratory disease, but what is happening in China is unusual.

Advances made since the era of genome analysis of cancer cells commenced.

Can the world get back on track with efforts to stay under 1.5 ℃ of warming? Plus: The US is set to announce its strategy for international partnerships to commercialize nuclear-fusion power.

The psychological literatures on prejudice and conspiracy theory belief have generally remained distinct, implicitly treating the two as unrelated phenomena. In this brief review, I demonstrate that the two phenomena share at least three dispositional precursors: ingroup bias, right-wing ideology (specifically right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation), and need for closure. The

We review theory and research on how work events and experiences influence employee well-being, with a particular focus on the day-to-day effects of positive events and experiences. Then we discuss how employees can amplify the beneficial effects of work on well-being by savoring and reflecting upon positive events and experiences from work, and by capitalizing on them via interpersonal means, such

?pela Borko tells how cave-diving enhanced her appreciation of the myriad life forms that teem in underground lakes.

Severe wildfires expected to profoundly affect wildlife habitats.

From classrooms to laboratories and conferences, working in chemistry presents huge challenges to disabled, chronically ill and neurodivergent people. Some simple fixes can help to shift the dial.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought home the value of cheap, ‘good enough’ methods of detecting disease. Extending that approach to other illnesses could improve health care in low- and middle-income countries.

Deep learning is driving the rapid evolution of algorithms that can automatically find and trace cells in a wide range of microscopy experiments.

Tornadoes, earthquakes and wildfires don’t have to lead to death and destruction. Plus, the most powerful cosmic ray since the Oh-My-God particle and a ‘treasure trove’ of new CRISPR systems holds promise for genome editing.

With the proliferation of misinformation have come toolkits that include refutation strategies to target the beliefs of individuals that can be employed preemptively (prebunking) or reactively (debunking). Whereas the theoretical lineage of prebunking is well established within the literature on inoculation theory, the theoretical underpinning of debunking is not. Recent advances in inoculation theory

Background Identification of the early warning signs (EWS) of relapse is key to relapse prevention in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, however, limitations to their precision have been reported. Substantial methodological innovations have recently been applied to the prediction of psychotic relapse and to individual psychotic symptoms. However, there has been no systematic review that has integrated

Listen to an audio version of a recent Nature feature.

Scientists spot a particle of intense energy, but explaining where it came from might require some new physics.

Artificial intelligence can help to regain lost art treasures. Plus, brain cells that control how quickly mice eat have been identified and how to make ‘loss and damage’ climate funding work.

An enzyme wielded by a common skin bacterium acts on nerve receptors that trigger intense itching.