Nature (journal)

Nature (journal)
Title	Nature
Discipline	Multidisciplinary science
Abbreviation	Nature
Publisher	Springer Nature
Country	United Kingdom
History	1869–present
Frequency	Weekly
Impact	69.504 (2021)

Nature (journal) is a weekly, international, multidisciplinary scientific journal founded in 1869. It publishes original research across the sciences alongside commentary, news, and reviews, and is produced by the publisher Springer Nature in London, United Kingdom. Nature has become a major venue for high-profile research from figures and institutions such as Charles Darwin, Alexander Fleming, Rosalind Franklin, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, and Max Planck Society.

History

Founded by Alfred, Lord Tennyson's contemporary Sir Richard Owen's associates in 1869, Nature evolved through interactions with figures like Thomas Henry Huxley, Joseph Dalton Hooker, and Charles Lyell. The journal's 19th-century development paralleled debates involving Louis Pasteur, Gregor Mendel, Dmitri Mendeleev, and the expansion of institutions such as the Royal Society and Smithsonian Institution. In the 20th century Nature published reports relevant to events and projects including the Manhattan Project, the discovery stories involving Alexander Fleming and Howard Florey, and accounts linked to the rise of laboratories at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, and the Pasteur Institute. Editorial leadership and technological change connected Nature to the emergence of professional research networks including Royal Institution, Wellcome Trust, and National Institutes of Health. Postwar growth saw Nature engage with controversies tied to figures such as Watson and Crick-era disputes involving Rosalind Franklin and institutional policies by University of Oxford and University of Cambridge.

Scope and Content

Nature covers original research across fields represented by institutions like Stanford University, Princeton University, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Its content spans areas historically associated with names such as James Watson, Francis Crick, Max Planck, Marie Curie, and Linus Pauling. Sections include Letters, Articles, Reviews, News & Views, Comment, Careers, and Books & Arts, each engaging topics connected to projects at CERN, European Space Agency, Large Hadron Collider, Hubble Space Telescope, and networks like Human Genome Project. Nature has featured work with authors from collaborative consortia such as Allen Institute for Brain Science, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Broad Institute, and European Molecular Biology Laboratory.

Editorial Process and Peer Review

Editorial decisions at Nature are made by in-house editors interacting with external reviewers drawn from academies and societies such as Royal Society of Chemistry, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Academia Europaea, and national academies like National Academy of Sciences (United States), Royal Society (United Kingdom). Manuscripts are screened by editors with backgrounds connected to universities including Yale University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Tokyo, and Peking University. Peer review often involves referees affiliated with laboratories at Francis Crick Institute, Salk Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and Columbia University. The process has been shaped by debates involving policies advocated by organizations such as Committee on Publication Ethics and standards promoted by International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

Impact and Reception

Nature's influence is reflected in citations, coverage by outlets like The New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, and recognition via awards including the Nobel Prize when prizewinning work—associated with laureates such as Dorothy Hodgkin, Peter Higgs, Barbara McClintock—first appeared in the journal. Its impact factor placed it alongside other high-profile journals such as Science (journal), Cell (journal), The Lancet, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Reception has varied: institutions and funders including Wellcome Trust, European Research Council, and National Science Foundation have debated publication incentives and metrics tied to Nature, while critics from movements tied to open access advocacy and organizations such as Public Library of Science have challenged its access policies.

Notable Publications and Controversies

Nature has published landmark reports—including early accounts related to DNA structure, gene mapping in projects similar to the Human Genome Project, observations from Hubble Space Telescope, and particle physics results linked to Large Hadron Collider. High-profile controversies include disputes over authorship and data involving figures and institutions like Rosalind Franklin, debates over reproducibility highlighted by cases involving laboratories at Harvard Medical School and Stanford University, and editorial controversies paralleling investigations by bodies such as Committee on Publication Ethics and national research councils. Retractions and expressions of concern have involved work tied to teams at Osaka University, Seoul National University, and collaborative groups linked to CNRS and Institute Pasteur, prompting wider discussion about standards endorsed by organizations such as COPE and funders like Wellcome Trust.

Access, Formats, and Supplements

Nature is available in print and online platforms managed by Springer Nature with supplementary materials hosted alongside digital archives used by libraries at British Library, university consortia including JSTOR-linked collections, and subscription services accessed by institutions like MIT Libraries and Bibliothèque nationale de France. The journal produces specialist sister titles such as Nature Genetics, Nature Medicine, Nature Physics, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Climate Change, and Nature Communications, and runs supplements and special issues tied to conferences like AAAS Annual Meeting and programs affiliated with UNESCO. Debates over access have involved initiatives by Public Library of Science, mandates from funders such as Wellcome Trust and European Commission, and national policies from bodies like National Institutes of Health.

Category:Scientific journals