Science

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Zelenskyy seeks answers to why SpaceX Starshield defence is failing

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Kennedy’s vaccine plan could cause surge in hepatitis B, study finds

Under the new advisory, chronic hepatitis B infections acquired by age 20 could increase by 19%.

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Body clock disruptions contribute to one in four cases of depression, suggests large study

Nature, Published online: 20 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03359-7 Evidence grows for ‘circadian depression’, but more evidence is needed to change diagnosis and treatment guidelines.

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Butterfly wing patterns make motion hard to read

Nature, Published online: 20 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03062-7 Movement can expose camouflaged prey, yet whether colour patterns help moving prey to avoid capture is a long-standing puzzle. Butterfly wings might offer an answer.

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It’s time to teach peer review as a core research skill

Nature, Published online: 20 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03200-1 Preprint journal clubs offer a scalable way to make peer-review training a routine part of scientific education.

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Is it ‘moon-stroke’, or a chill?

Nature, Published online: 20 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02975-7 An explanation for the injurious effect of sleeping in the moonlight, and a proponent of all-electronic televisions, in this week’s pick from the Nature archive.

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Nature ’s job-satisfaction survey highlights the changing geography of science

Nature, Published online: 20 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03327-1 A higher proportion of scientists in China and India report feeling optimistic about the future than in the United States and several European countries.

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Vast new fossil record challenges story of Earth’s ‘big five’ mass extinctions

Nature, Published online: 20 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03316-4 An artificial-intelligence model trained on nearly four million fossils suggests that three of the extinction events might have happened more gradually than…

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Nepal’s disaster is an urgent wake-up call

Nature, Published online: 20 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03314-6 Record-breaking avalanches and floods are signs of things to come. Scientists must evaluate and respond to growing risks in mountain regions.

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Europe and the rest of the world must come up with an answer to US science strategy

Nature, Published online: 20 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03352-0 Europe and the rest of the world must come up with an answer to US science strategy

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Nobel-prizewinning breakthroughs can emerge from neglected organisms

Nature, Published online: 20 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03351-1 Nobel-prizewinning breakthroughs can emerge from neglected organisms

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Bundle water safeguards into critical-mineral licences

Nature, Published online: 20 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03353-z Bundle water safeguards into critical-mineral licences