Magdalena Skipper
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magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Magdalena Skipper
@magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
7.5K followers 260 following 470 posts
Editor in Chief of Nature, geneticist, editor, accidental potter. All views my own
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magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Craig Venter pays tribute to Ham Smith who passed away on October 25th - molecular biologist who co-discovered precise molecular scissors for cutting DNA
🧪 @nature.com

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Hamilton Smith obituary: molecular biologist who co-discovered precise molecular scissors for cutting DNA
Nobel laureate who helped to sequence the first bacterial and human genomes.
www.nature.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:51 PM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Jim Watson leaves a complex legacy. He will be remembered for one of THE discoveries of the 20th century but also for a baseless & damaging conviction for which there simply is no evidence
RIP
🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
DNA pioneer James Watson has died ― colleagues wrestle with his legacy
The co-discoverer of the structure of DNA helped to strengthen a US research institute and wrote a classic textbook, but also earned a reputation for racist and sexist comments.
www.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:35 AM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Comprehensive & multimodal cell-type atlases of the developing human, mouse & non-human primate brains reported by the BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network

How stem cells turn into neurons

🧪 #BICAN
@nature.com @natureportfolio.nature.com

www.nature.com/collections/...
BICAN: A cell census of the developing human brain
Building on their landmark efforts to create cell-type atlases of adult brains using single-cell and spatial genomics technologies, researchers in the BRAIN ...
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:36 PM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
If you only read one thing today - a Q&A with Patricia Kingori, a remarkable scholar who uncovered a remarkable story about a huge ‘fake essay industry’.

🧪 #academicSky

@nature.com @ox.ac.uk

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Shadow scholars: inside Kenya’s multibillion-dollar fake-essay industry
Sociologist Patricia Kingori is helping to expose contract cheating by scholars in high-income countries.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:37 AM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
In praise of fundamental research
Our editorial this week argues that I n these financially straitened times, funders must recognize that great discoveries often arise from work that was looking for something completely different
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@nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
From MRI to Ozempic: breakthroughs that show why fundamental research must be protected
In these financially straitened times, funders must recognize that great discoveries often arise from work that was looking for something completely different.
www.nature.com
October 30, 2025 at 1:53 PM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
What next for the plastics treaty? 🧪
“negotiations have stalled partly because a false morality play of ambition versus obstruction took hold. Over the years, I have witnessed how this ‘heroes versus villains’ narrative has obscured the complex realities at stake”

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What now for the global plastics treaty?
Ending plastic pollution will mean embracing the complexity of political and economic realities.
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:18 AM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
We asked physicists which are the sci-fi films they like the most - two were consistently highlighted in interviews for their depictions of science: 2014’s Interstellar and 2006’s The Prestige — both of which were directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan
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www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The sci-fi films that physicists love to watch — from Interstellar to Spider-Man
Nature surveyed scientists about their favourite cinematic moments to celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
www.nature.com
October 28, 2025 at 6:07 AM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
China seeks self-reliance in science in next 5-year plan & the focus is on advanced semiconductor technologies, AI & basic research

I’m just back from AI in medicine & biomedical
Innovation events in Beijing, and I sense China is also very keen on collaboration
🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
China seeks self-reliance in science in next five-year plan
Beijing wants to double down on advanced semiconductor technologies, artificial intelligence and basic research.
www.nature.com
October 27, 2025 at 1:01 PM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
“I believe he has ideas about becoming a scientist; on his present showing, this is quite ridiculous.”

A privilege to have known John. He always listened to what one had to say with great intent. If you knew him, you know what I mean.
🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
John Gurdon obituary: Biologist who made cloning possible
He showed that specialized cells retain the genes to form an organism.
www.nature.com
October 20, 2025 at 8:24 PM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Today’s best AI models sail through the Turing test, a famous thought experiment that asks whether a computer can pass as a human by interacting via text.

Some see an upgraded test as a necessary benchmark for progress towards AGI

By @lizziegibney.bsky.social

🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
AI language models killed the Turing test: do we even need a replacement?
Chatbots now ace the mathematician's famous imitation game, but imitation never equalled intelligence.
www.nature.com
October 20, 2025 at 6:01 PM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
An estimated 100 million people live with facial differences. As face recognition tech becomes widespread, some say they’re getting blocked from accessing essential systems and services.
🧪

@wired.com via #naturebriefing & @floragraham.bsky.social

www.wired.com/story/when-f...
When Face Recognition Doesn’t Know Your Face Is a Face
An estimated 100 million people live with facial differences. As face recognition tech becomes widespread, some say they’re getting blocked from accessing essential systems and services.
www.wired.com
October 19, 2025 at 8:14 AM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
This month China opened its doors to bright young things via a new visa—bold in vision but scant in detail—in a bid for global tech talent.

China’s H-1B-visa alternative excites interest abroad—but fury at home

@economist.com

economist.com/china/2025/1...
China’s H-1B-visa alternative excites interest abroad—but fury at home
America’s loss could be China’s gain in the war for tech talent
economist.com
October 15, 2025 at 9:48 PM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
The spectre of malnutrition is back & must be tackled fast. The rise in child malnutrition is not a statistic that can be ignored & must be reversed. Otherwise, the consequences will blight the lives of these children for decades to come

🧪 #MedSky

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The spectre of malnutrition is back and must be tackled — fast
Nobody should be going hungry in the twenty-first century. Scientists must determine the reasons why malnutrition is increasing so policymakers can act.
www.nature.com
October 15, 2025 at 9:19 PM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Carbon credits are failing. Offsets distract from this crucial task.

Instead, set progressively rising price caps that require facilities to pay a prescribed amount to government when they are unable to meet mandatory emissions-reduction obligations.
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www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Carbon credits are failing to help with climate change — here’s why
The idea that emissions can be offset through projects that claim to avoid releases or to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is fatally flawed.
www.nature.com
October 15, 2025 at 5:30 AM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
The incentive for investing in R&D declines as a company’s market share grows. To guarantee the societal benefits of constant innovation, it is in society’s interests for the state to subsidize R&D, so long as the return is not merely incremental improvements.
🧪 #NobelPrize2025
October 14, 2025 at 9:17 AM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Brilliant winner choice for the economics Nobel Prize. Congratulations to the winners!

A very timely choice to demonstrate the key contributions that innovation, technology and creativity make to the economies! Well-worth continued investment

🧪 #NobelPrize2025

www.nobelprize.org/prizes/econo...
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025 was awarded "for having explained innovation-driven economic growth" with one half to Joel Mokyr "for having identified ...
www.nobelprize.org
October 13, 2025 at 5:40 PM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
T regs, which help to dampen inflammation, won Nobel fame on Monday.
There is hope that they can be used in clinical trials against ailments such as certain types of cancer or autoimmune diseases

@nature.com

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

🧪 #MedSky #NobelPrize2025 #Nobel2025
These immune cells won Nobel fame — can they solve autoimmune disease?
Regulatory T cells, which help to dampen inflammation, are being used in clinical trials against ailments such as rheumatoid arthritis.
www.nature.com
October 10, 2025 at 8:50 AM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Less than 70% of science Nobel prize winners awarded this century hail from the country in which they were awarded their prize.
“Mobility benefits everyone. Each newcomer brings fresh ideas, new techniques & different ways of looking at old problems”
🧪 #academicSky
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
More than 30% of this century’s science Nobel prizewinners immigrated: see their journeys
The most common destination for eventual Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and medicine since 2000 is the United States, Nature has found.
www.nature.com
October 9, 2025 at 10:58 PM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Congratulations to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi who win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering the creation of metal-organic frameworks, which can capture and store molecules such as carbon dioxide.
🧪
#Nobel25

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Chemistry Nobel for scientists who developed massively porous ‘super sponge’ materials
Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi pioneered the creation of metal-organic frameworks, which can capture and store molecules such as carbon dioxide.
www.nature.com
October 8, 2025 at 7:41 PM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Congratulations to John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis!

Martinis told our reporter that his wife had gotten the news in the middle of the night — in California time — but decided not to wake him up quite yet.
🧪
#Nobel2025

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Groundbreaking quantum-tunnelling experiments win physics Nobel
John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis discovered quantum physics on a macroscopic scale, paving the way for quantum computing.
www.nature.com
October 8, 2025 at 7:00 AM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
“A consistent refrain – from rank-and-file scholars, department chairs, academic leaders, policymakers, and other interest holders – has been, “Nothing will really change until you tackle academic hiring and promotion.” “
🧪 #AcademicSky

@retractionwatch.com

retractionwatch.com/2025/10/06/1...
$1.5 million program targets changes to academic incentives
The incentive systems that drive academic research underlie nearly every story we write: publication counts for promotion, pressure to produce positive results, hitting certain metrics, and so on. …
retractionwatch.com
October 7, 2025 at 11:29 AM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Congratulations to Fred Ramsdell, Mary Brunkow and Shimon Sakaguchi for winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine!

🧪

#Nobel2025

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Medicine Nobel goes to scientists who revealed secrets of immune system ‘regulation’
Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi discovered cells that protect the body from autoimmune diseases.
www.nature.com
October 6, 2025 at 12:33 PM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Embracing failure as a necessary part of success is long overdue in science and in life in general.

An economist, Severine Toussaert, shares why she is happy to admit to her research failures, and why others should too

🧪 #AcademicSky

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Six journal rejections and a major rethink: why I’m happy to admit to my research failures, and you should too
Outlining the trial-and-error processes that are involved in every research project could help others to become more efficient and paint a more honest picture of life as a researcher.
www.nature.com
October 3, 2025 at 8:05 AM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Read our exclusive interview by @maxkozlov.bsky.social with the ex-CDC director - Susan Monarez -
In which she talks about the importance of the job and the reasons why she was fired

🧪 #CDC #MedSky
@nature.com

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: ex-CDC director talks about why she was fired
“I would never do that, as a scientist,” Susan Monarez says of being asked to approve changes to vaccine recommendations without knowing the details.
www.nature.com
October 2, 2025 at 9:57 PM
magdalenaskipper.bsky.social
Jane Goodall challenged what it meant to be a scientist.

In this news story we look at three ways she changed science.

A loss for science, a loss for the community, a loss for everyone

🧪 #academicSky

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Jane Goodall’s legacy: three ways she changed science
The primatologist challenged what it meant to be a scientist.
www.nature.com
October 2, 2025 at 2:59 PM