"Nature Magazine", "Nature (magazine)", and "Nature News" redirect here. For the American magazine published 1923–1959, seeAmerican Nature Association. For the French scientific magazine, seeLa Nature. For the fake news site, seeNatural News.
Nature is a British weeklyscientific journal founded and based inLondon, England. As a multidisciplinary publication,Nature featurespeer-reviewed research from a variety of academic disciplines, mainly in science and technology. It has core editorial offices across the United States, continental Europe, and Asia under the international scientific publishing companySpringer Nature.Nature was one of the world's most cited scientific journals by the Science Edition of the 2022Journal Citation Reports (with an ascribedimpact factor of 50.5),[1] making it one of the world's most-read and most prestigiousacademic journals.[2][3][4] As of 2012[update], it claimed an online readership of about three million unique readers per month.[5]
Founded in the autumn of 1869,Nature was first circulated byNorman Lockyer andAlexander MacMillan as a public forum for scientific innovations. The mid-20th century facilitated an editorial expansion for the journal;Nature redoubled its efforts in explanatory andscientific journalism. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the creation of a network of editorial offices outside of Britain and the establishment of ten new supplementary, speciality publications (e.g.Nature Materials). Since the late 2000s, dedicated editorial and current affairs columns are created weekly, andelectoral endorsements are featured. The primary source of the journal remains, as established at its founding, research scientists; editing standards are primarily concerned with technical readability. Each issue also features articles that are of general interest to the scientific community, namely business, funding, scientific ethics, and research breakthroughs. There are also sections on books, arts, and short science fiction stories.The main research published inNature consists mostly of papers (articles or letters) in lightly edited form. They are highly technical and dense, but, due to imposed text limits, they are typically summaries of larger work. Innovations or breakthroughs in any scientific or technological field are featured in the journal as either letters or news articles. The papers that have been published in this journal are internationally acclaimed for maintaining high research standards. Conversely, due to the journal's exposure, it has at various times been asubject of controversy for its handling of academic dishonesty, thescientific method, and news coverage. Fewer than 8% of submitted papers are accepted for publication.[6] In 2007,Nature (together withScience) received thePrince of Asturias Award for Communications and Humanity.[7][8]
Nature mostly publishes research articles. Spotlight articles are not research papers but mostly news or magazine style papers and hence do not count towards impact factor nor receive similar recognition as research articles. Some spotlight articles are also paid by partners or sponsors.[9]
The huge progress in science and mathematics during the 19th century was recorded in journals written mostly inGerman orFrench, as well as inEnglish. Britain underwent enormous technological and industrial changes and advances particularly in the latter half of the 19th century.[10] The most respected scientific journals of this time were the refereed journals of theRoyal Society, which had published many of the great works fromIsaac Newton andMichael Faraday toCharles Darwin. In addition, the number of popular science periodicals doubled from the 1850s to the 1860s.[11] According to the editors of these popular science magazines, the publications were designed to serve as "organs of science", in essence, a means of connecting the public to the scientific world.[11]
Nature, first created in 1869, was not the first magazine of its kind in Britain. One journal to precedeNature wasRecreative Science: A Record and Remembrancer of Intellectual Observation,[12] which, created in 1859, began as anatural history magazine and progressed to include more physical observational science and technical subjects and less natural history.[13] The journal's name changed from its original title toIntellectual Observer: A Review of Natural History, Microscopic Research, and Recreative Science[14] and then to theStudent and Intellectual Observer of Science, Literature, and Art.[15] WhileRecreative Science had attempted to include morephysical sciences such asastronomy andarchaeology, theIntellectual Observer broadened itself further to include literature and art as well.[15] Similar toRecreative Science was the scientific journalPopular Science Review, created in 1862,[16] which covered different fields of science by creating subsections titled "Scientific Summary" or "Quarterly Retrospect", with book reviews and commentary on the latest scientific works and publications.[16] Two other journals produced in England prior to the development ofNature were theQuarterly Journal of Science andScientific Opinion, established in 1864 and 1868, respectively.[15] The journal most closely related toNature in its editorship and format wasThe Reader, created in 1863; the publication mixed science with literature and art in an attempt to reach an audience outside of the scientific community, similar toPopular Science Review.[15]
These similar journals all ultimately failed. ThePopular Science Review survived longest, lasting 20 years and ending its publication in 1881;Recreative Science ceased publication as theStudent and Intellectual Observer in 1871. TheQuarterly Journal, after undergoing a number of editorial changes, ceased publication in 1885.The Reader terminated in 1867, and finally,Scientific Opinion lasted a mere 2 years, until June 1870.[13]
Not long after the conclusion ofThe Reader, a former editor,Norman Lockyer, decided to create a new scientific journal titledNature,[17] taking its name from a line byWilliam Wordsworth: "To the solid ground of nature trusts the Mind that builds for aye".[18] First owned and published byAlexander Macmillan,Nature was similar to its predecessors in its attempt to "provide cultivated readers with an accessible forum for reading about advances in scientific knowledge."[17] Janet Browne has proposed that "far more than any other science journal of the period,Nature was conceived, born, and raised to serve polemic purpose."[17] Many of the early editions ofNature consisted of articles written by members of a group that called itself theX Club, a group of scientists known for having liberal, progressive, and somewhat controversial scientific beliefs for their time.[17] Initiated byThomas Henry Huxley, the group consisted of such important scientists asJoseph Dalton Hooker,Herbert Spencer, andJohn Tyndall, along with another five scientists and mathematicians; these scientists were all avid supporters ofDarwin's theory of evolution ascommon descent, a theory which, during the latter half of the 19th century, received a great deal of criticism among more conservative groups of scientists.[19] Perhaps it was in part its scientific liberality that madeNature a longer-lasting success than its predecessors.John Maddox, editor ofNature from 1966 to 1973 and from 1980 to 1995, suggested at a celebratory dinner for the journal's centennial edition that perhaps it was the journalistic qualities of Nature that drew readers in; "journalism" Maddox states, "is a way of creating a sense of community among people who would otherwise be isolated from each other. This is what Lockyer's journal did from the start."[20] In addition, Maddox mentions that the financial backing of the journal in its first years by the Macmillan family also allowed the journal to flourish and develop more freely than scientific journals before it.[20]
Norman Lockyer, the founder ofNature, was a professor atImperial College. He was succeeded as editor in 1919 bySir Richard Gregory.[21] Gregory helped to establishNature in the international scientific community. His obituary by the Royal Society stated: "Gregory was always very interested in the international contacts of science, and in the columns ofNature he always gave generous space to accounts of the activities of the International Scientific Unions."[22] During the years 1945 to 1973, editorship ofNature changed three times, first in 1945 to A. J. V. Gale andL. J. F. Brimble (who in 1958 became the sole editor), then toJohn Maddox in 1965, and finally toDavid Davies in 1973.[21] In 1980, Maddox returned as editor and retained his position until 1995.Philip Campbell became Editor-in-chief of allNature publications until 2018.Magdalena Skipper has since become Editor-in-chief.[21]
In 1970,Nature first opened its Washington office; other branches opened in New York in 1985,Tokyo andMunich in 1987, Paris in 1989, San Francisco in 2001, Boston in 2004, andHong Kong in 2005. In 1971, underJohn Maddox's editorship, the journal split intoNature Physical Sciences (published on Mondays),Nature New Biology (published on Wednesdays), andNature (published on Fridays). In 1974, Maddox was no longer editor, and the journals were merged intoNature.[23] Starting in the 1980s, the journal underwent a great deal of expansion, launching over ten new journals. These new journals comprise Nature Research, which was created in 1999 under the name Nature Publishing Group and includesNature,Nature Research Journals, Stockton Press Specialist Journals and Macmillan Reference (renamed NPG Reference). In 1996,Nature created its own website[24] and in 1999 Nature Publishing Group began its series ofNature Reviews.[21] Some articles and papers are available for free on the Nature website, while others require the purchase of premium access to the site. As of 2012[update],Nature claimed an online readership of about 3 million unique readers per month.[5]
On 30 October 2008,Nature endorsed an American presidential candidate for the first time when it supportedBarack Obama during his campaign inAmerica's 2008 presidential election.[25][26] In October 2012, anArabic edition of the magazine was launched in partnership withKing Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. As of the time it was released, it had about 10,000 subscribers.[27] On 2 December 2014,Nature announced that it would allow its subscribers and a group of selected media outlets to share links allowing free, "read-only" access to content from its journals. These articles are presented using thedigital rights management systemReadCube (which is funded by the Macmillan subsidiary Digital Science), and does not allow readers to download, copy, print, or otherwise distribute the content. While it does, to an extent, provide free online access to articles, it is not a trueopen access scheme due to its restrictions on re-use and distribution.[28][29] On 15 January 2015, details of a proposed merger with Springer Science+Business Media were announced.[30]
Skewed curve of citations per article in 2015 toNature articles from 2013 to 2014
According toScience, another academic journal, being published inNature has been known to carry a certain level of prestige in academia.[34] In particular, empirical papers are often highly cited, which can lead to promotions, grant funding, and attention from the mainstream media. Because of thesepositive feedback effects, competition among scientists to publish in high-level journals likeNature and its closest competitor,Science, can be very fierce.Nature'simpact factor, a measure of how many citations a journal generates in other works, was 42.778 in 2019 (as measured byThomson ISI).[1][35][36] However, as with many journals, most papers receive far fewer citations than the impact factor would indicate.[37]Nature's journal impact factor carries a long tail.[38]
Studies of methodological quality and reliability have found that some high-prestige journals includingNature "publish significantly substandard structures", and overall "reliability of published research works in several fields may be decreasing with increasing journal rank".[39]
As with most other professional scientific journals, papers undergo an initial screening by the editor, followed bypeer review. In this process, the editor selects several other scientists to read and critique articles, based on their expertise with the subject matter but who have no connection to the research under review. These critiques are then given to the original author, who makes revisions based on feedback. In the case ofNature, articles are generally sent for peer review if it is decided that they deal with a topical subject and are sufficiently ground-breaking in that particular field. As a consequence, the majority of submitted papers are rejected without peer review.
It is intended, FIRST, to place before the general public the grand results of Scientific Work and Scientific Discovery; and to urge the claims of Science to a more general recognition in Education and in Daily Life; and, SECONDLY, to aid Scientific men themselves, by giving early information of all advances made in any branch of Natural knowledge throughout the world, and by affording them an opportunity of discussing the various Scientific questions which arise from time to time.[40]
First, to serve scientists through prompt publication of significant advances in any branch of science, and to provide a forum for the reporting and discussion of news and issues concerning science. Second, to ensure that the results of science are rapidly disseminated to the public throughout the world, in a fashion that conveys their significance for knowledge, culture and daily life.[41]
Many of the most significant scientific breakthroughs in modern history have been first published inNature. The following is a selection of scientific breakthroughs published inNature, all of which had far-reaching consequences, and the citation for the article in which they were published.
In 2017,Nature published an editorial entitled "Removing Statues of Historical figures risks whitewashing history: Science must acknowledge mistakes as it marks its past". The article commented on the placement and maintenance of statues honouring scientists with histories that have since come under criticism for a variety of reasons. Specifically, the editorial called on examples ofJ. Marion Sims, the 'Father of gynecology' who experimented on African American female slaves who were unable to give informed consent, andThomas Parran Jr. who oversaw theTuskegee Syphilis Experiment. The editorial as written made the case that removing such statues, and erasing names, runs the risk of "whitewashing history", and stated "Instead of removing painful reminders, perhaps these should be supplemented". The article caused a large outcry and was quickly modified by Nature.[42] The article was largely seen as offensive, inappropriate, and by many, racist.Nature acknowledged that the article as originally written was "offensive and poorly worded" and published selected letters of response.[43] The editorial came just weeks after hundreds of white supremacists marched inCharlottesville, Virginia, in theUnite the Right rally to oppose the removal ofa statue of Robert E. Lee, setting off violence in the streets and killing a young woman. When Nature posted a link to the editorial onTwitter, the thread quickly exploded with criticisms. In response, several scientists called for a boycott.[44] On 18 September 2017, the editorial was updated and edited by Philip Campbell, the editor of the journal.[45]
WhenPaul Lauterbur andPeter Mansfield won aNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research initially rejected byNature and published only after Lauterbur appealed against the rejection,Nature acknowledged more of its own missteps in rejecting papers in an editorial titled, "Coping with Peer Rejection":
In June 1988, after nearly a year of guided scrutiny from its editors,Nature published a controversial and seemingly anomalous paper detailingJacques Benveniste and his team's work studyingwater memory.[47] The paper concluded that less than a single molecule ofantibody diluted in water could trigger an immune response in humanbasophils, defying the physicallaw of mass action. The paper excited substantial media attention in Paris, chiefly because their research sought funding fromhomeopathic medicine companies. Public inquiry promptedNature to mandate an extensive and stringent experimentalreplication in Benveniste's lab, through which his team's results were refuted.[48]
Before publishing one of its most famous discoveries,Watson andCrick's 1953paper on thestructure of DNA,Nature did not send the paper out for peer review.John Maddox,Nature's editor, stated: "the Watson and Crick paper was not peer-reviewed byNature ... the paper could not have been refereed: its correctness is self-evident. No referee working in the field ... could have kept his mouth shut once he saw the structure".[49]
The journal apologised for its initial coverage of theCOVID-19 pandemic in which it linked China and Wuhan with the outbreak, which may have led to racist attacks.[52][53]
From 2000 to 2001, a series of five fraudulent papers byJan Hendrik Schön was published inNature. The papers, aboutsemiconductors, were revealed to contain falsified data and other scientific fraud. In 2003,Nature retracted the papers. The Schön scandal was not limited toNature; other prominent journals, such asScience andPhysical Review, also retracted papers by Schön.[54]
In 2024, a paper titled "Pluripotency ofmesenchymal stem cells derived from adult marrow," published in 2002, wasretracted due to concerns raised regarding some of the panels shown in a figure, making it the most-cited retracted paper ever.[55][56][57]
In 1999,Nature began publishingscience fiction short stories. The brief "vignettes" are printed in a series called "Futures". Thestories appeared in 1999 and 2000, again in 2005 and 2006, and have appeared weekly since July 2007.[58] Sister publicationNature Physics also printed stories in 2007 and 2008.[59] In 2005,Nature was awarded theEuropean Science Fiction Society's Best Publisher award for the "Futures" series.[60] One hundred of theNature stories between 1999 and 2006 were published as the collectionFutures from Nature in 2008.[61] Another collection,Futures from Nature 2, was published in 2014.[62]
Since 2005, each issue ofNature has been accompanied by aNature Podcast[64] featuring highlights from the issue and interviews with the articles' authors and the journalists covering the research. It is presented by Kerri Smith and features interviews with scientists on the latest research, as well as news reports fromNature's editors and journalists. The Nature Podcast was founded – and the first 100 episodes were produced and presented – by clinician and virologistChris Smith of Cambridge andThe Naked Scientists.[65]
Nature Portfolio actively supports the self-archiving process and in 2002 was one of the first publishers to allow authors to post their contributions on their personal websites, by requesting an exclusive licence to publish, rather than requiring authors to transfer copyright. In December 2007, Nature Publishing Group introduced the Creative Commons attribution-non-commercial-share alike unported licence for those articles in Nature journals that are publishing the primary sequence of an organism's genome for the first time.[66]
In 2008, a collection of articles fromNature was edited by John S. Partington under the titleH. G. Wells in Nature, 1893–1946: A Reception Reader and published byPeter Lang.[67]
Nature also publishes a number of journals in different disciplines, all prefixed with "Communications", which complement their other journals. These include:[68]
