Features in 2015

Thought leaders across the globe answer one question: what is the biggest missing piece in how we educate scientists? Responses ranged from the practical to the philosophical.

A scientific collaboration is vulnerable to derailment unless members learn to trust each other at the outset.

From painting to punching to aeroplane-jumping, the hobbies that scientists pursue offer a vital escape from the laborious life of the lab.

The time spent at a patient's bedside makes nurses the perfect people to pursue potent quality-of-life research.

Short-term upheaval can yield widespread collaborations and long-term resources.

When a key member of a team is lost, the work does not have to come to an end.

Most scientists who study disease carry out their research with an eye to treating others — but a few have only to look at their own bodies to feel the need for a cure.

Enforced mingling and straight-up instruction can help scientists in a foreign country.

Contract teaching positions are becoming the norm for many aspiring professors. Know how to make the best out of them.

To get respect in a field, scientists need to consider not just their work, but also their interactions with others.

A burgeoning vaccine industry paves paths for scientists to spread their knowledge outside the laboratory.

Ice-core scientists struggle to adapt as the subject of their research melts away.

PhD holders with quantitative skills are landing posts at technology companies.

Partnering with a writer on a book can bring literary panache to scientific stories.

Centralized laboratories offer an alternative for researchers with a predilection for the latest technology.

Manufacturers are snapping up chemists who can make their products more environmentally friendly.

Surveys of sexual harassment and assault during field research and on campus reveal a hitherto secret problem.

The scientific design of low-energy sustainable buildings is moving into the mainstream.

Of all of the hazards faced by researchers, the biggest threat may be the human element.

How scientists can use Twitter to expand their social contacts and find jobs.