Stories by Jeff Tollefson

Following Mexico’s election of a woman with a scientific pedigree, Nature reviewed the legacy of well-known politicians with backgrounds in science and engineering.

A jury awarded Mann more than $1 million—raising hopes for scientists who are attacked politically because of their work

A government shutdown would disrupt biomedical research and clinical trials as federal experimental facilities shuttered

United Nations secretary-general António Guterres is proposing a $500-billion annual stimulus package to meet the Sustainable Development Goals to preserve the environment and end poverty and hunger

Researchers in Hawaii are studying the effects of the deadly blazes on its island of Maui, including how they have impacted drinking-water quality and might affect local marine ecosystems

New habitats that are emerging as mountain glaciers melt away represent huge ecological shifts and present new challenges for conservation

Investments in research and development are likely to drop—even if the worst-case scenario is avoided

Here’s what’s next after the U.S. National Ignition Facility’s breakthrough on nuclear fusion last year

The Environmental Protection Agency has released draft regulations that set the stage for a huge transition to electric vehicles

Fusion researchers at the U.S. National Ignition Facility created a reaction that made more energy than they put in

Fresh data released at the COP27 climate summit show global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels are soaring despite an energy crisis

At the COP27 climate summit, countries will grapple with how to pay for loss and damage from global warming and how to bolster pledges to cut emissions

Celebrated sociologist Alondra Nelson and genome leader Francis Collins will temporarily split Lander’s duties

The Glasgow Climate Pact is a step forward, researchers say, but efforts to decarbonize are not enough to limit global temperature rises to two degrees Celsius

Nations have promised to end deforestation, curb methane emissions and stop public investment in coal power. Researchers warn that the real work of COP26 is yet to come

A Nature survey reveals that many authors of the latest IPCC climate science report are anxious about the future and expect to see catastrophic changes in their lifetime

A landmark assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change says greenhouse gases are unequivocally driving extreme weather, but nations can still prevent the worst impacts

The first assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change in eight years will sound the alarm on soaring temperatures and other effects of unchecked carbon pollution

Researchers are applying strategies honed during the 2020 US presidential election to track anti-vax propaganda

As the U.S. president announces his advisers and agency heads, Nature’s guide tracks the appointees who matter most to science

The new president has the opportunity to reverse four years of anti-science policies—but he has a hard road ahead as he inherits a nation divided

The coronavirus pandemic, climate change and space exploration are among the issues that Biden will influence if he wins the upcoming U.S. election

U.S. research sees deep cuts in the president’s request for 2021. But Congress has resisted similar reductions in the past

Researchers without access to backup power scramble to save invaluable specimens and expensive reagents