Job insecurity is chipping away at me and my cohort. Is it us, or the state of the economy?

Nature, Published online: 30 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01843-8The career market is difficult to navigate — and academic achievements feel like they’re no longer enough, says Daniella Watson.

Nature, Published online: 30 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01843-8

The career market is difficult to navigate — and academic achievements feel like they’re no longer enough, says Daniella Watson.

How I use statistics and my law degree to fight human-rights abuses

Nature, Published online: 30 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02079-2Some 50 years after exposing gender discrimination in US academics’ retirement benefits, Mary Gray works as a statistician and social-justice campaigner.

Nature, Published online: 30 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02079-2

Some 50 years after exposing gender discrimination in US academics’ retirement benefits, Mary Gray works as a statistician and social-justice campaigner.

Miniaturizing and modifying natural proteins with Raygun

Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10842-8Probabilistic sequence encoding from language model embeddings within a generative AI framework enables protein miniaturization, modification and augmentation while …

Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10842-8

Probabilistic sequence encoding from language model embeddings within a generative AI framework enables protein miniaturization, modification and augmentation while maintaining native architecture and functional integrity.

Underdog ‘spin qubits’ leap forward in race to a useful quantum computer

Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02357-zFour independent research teams report big advances in devices built with the underestimated quantum bits, including lower error rates.

Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02357-z

Four independent research teams report big advances in devices built with the underestimated quantum bits, including lower error rates.

Over 20,000 precolonial earthworks in the Southwest Amazonia

Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10835-7Using canopy-penetrating LiDAR data, the northern part of southwestern Amazonia appears to contain as many earthworks as previously estimated for the whole of Amazonia.

Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10835-7

Using canopy-penetrating LiDAR data, the northern part of southwestern Amazonia appears to contain as many earthworks as previously estimated for the whole of Amazonia.

Artificial algal blooms could remove atmospheric carbon — but can they be used responsibly?

Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02126-yAdding iron to the ocean to stimulate carbon-absorbing phytoplankton could have ecological consequences that reach far beyond the intervention site.

Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02126-y

Adding iron to the ocean to stimulate carbon-absorbing phytoplankton could have ecological consequences that reach far beyond the intervention site.

Climate benefit and ecological cost trade-offs for ocean iron fertilization

Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10795-yA process-rich global biogeochemical model is used to determine the trade-offs between carbon dioxide removal efficiency and ecosystem impacts in ten ocean ocean bio…

Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10795-y

A process-rich global biogeochemical model is used to determine the trade-offs between carbon dioxide removal efficiency and ecosystem impacts in ten ocean ocean biomes following ocean iron fertilization.

Amazonian earthwork survey indicates ancient population was much larger than thought

Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02321-xAerial laser-scanning data reveal that, from ad 100 to ad 300, an area spanning less than 3% of the Greater Amazonia region probably supported between 1.25 million a…

Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02321-x

Aerial laser-scanning data reveal that, from ad 100 to ad 300, an area spanning less than 3% of the Greater Amazonia region probably supported between 1.25 million and 3 million people and contained more than 20,000 human-made earthworks. These findings call for a re-evaluation of the density of pre-colonial Amazonian populations and the influence these civilizations had on present-day tropical soils and forests.