- December 23, 2025
Explore 2025 with Leif Penguinson
For five years now, Briefing readers have eagerly awaited Fridays for a chance to put their penguin-hunting skills to the test. Each week, Leif Penguinson,
peer reviews created using AI can avoid detection
The difficulty of detecting AI-tool use in peer review is proving problematic.Credit: BrianAJackson/iStock via Getty It’s almost impossible to know whether a peer-review report has
I’ve earned my PhD — what now?
Illustration: David Parkins The problem Dear Nature, In December 2024, I finished my PhD in biomedical chemistry in Italy, and I now find myself in
Revised estimates of CO<sub>2</sub> sources and sinks improve global carbon accounting
Nature, Published online: 12 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03981-x Updated estimates of the worldwide sources and sinks of anthropogenic carbon dioxide provide a firmer basis for monitoring
Pancreatic cancer is evasive. Is the nervous system the reason why?
The neural network in a healthy pancreas (left) and in a pancreatic tumour (right).Credit: Ref. 4 When Jami Saloman gave capsaicin, the molecule that gives
AI is saving time and money in research — but at what cost?
More than 60% of researchers surveyed about AI say they use it for work.Credit: MD Abu Sufian Jewel/NurPhoto via Getty Scientists are increasingly using artificial
Fate of hepatitis B vaccine for US babies hangs in the balance
Current US guidelines call for universal hepatitis B vaccination of newborn babies.Credit: Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post/Getty Members of a top US vaccine advisory panel are
Antibodies and T cells join forces for sustained HIV remission
Nature, Published online: 01 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03805-y Two studies suggest that T cells with stem-cell-like properties could work with antibody therapies to control HIV after
Laser cooling traps more antimatter atoms than ever before
Researchers have trapped more atoms of antimatter more quickly than ever before — a potentially transformative step in elucidating the mysteries of this elusive substance1.
World leaders must find the courage to end the fossil-fuel age
The work of COP30 president André Corrêa do Lago and Brazil’s environment minister Marina Silva must continue at COP31 in Antalya, Turkey.Credit: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP/Getty The
