A study of almost 70,000 ratings showed that racial discrimination could be eliminated from an online platform by switching from a five-star rating system to a thumbs up or down. The platform connected customers to workers who performed home repair jobs, and prior to the shift people categorised by the study authors as ‘non-white’ had lower ratings and got paid less than their white counterparts. Through follow up studies the authors also showed that the five-star system allowed people to impart their personal opinions, whereas a thumbs up or down just focused them on whether a job was good or bad. The team hopes this could be an easy-to-implement shift to tackle racial discrimination.

Research Article: Botelho et al.

News and Views: Racial bias eliminated when ratings switch from five stars to thumbs up or down

Experimental evidence that cockatoos like flavouring their food, and the harsh climate of sixteenth century Transylvania.

Research Highlight: Gourmet cockatoos like to fancy up their food

Research Highlight: Transylvanian diaries reveal centuries-old climate extremes

A Nature investigation has revealed where the most retractions come from, with hospitals in China and institutions in India and Pakistan topping the list. Retractions are a normal part of science and may be a sign of necessary scrutiny, but they can also signal misconduct and use of paper mills. Features Editor Richard Van Noorden joins us to discuss what this means for science and tackling sloppy research.

Nature: Exclusive: These universities have the most retracted scientific articles

Layoffs in the US’s Environmental Protection Agency, reactions to the DEI purge at NASA, and what RFK Jr.’s role as secretary of Health and Human Services could mean for health research.

Nature: ‘Targeted and belittled’: scientists at US environmental agency speak out as layoffs begin

Nature: NASA embraced diversity. Trump’s DEI purge is hitting space scientists hard

Nature: Vaccine sceptic RFK Jr is now a powerful force in US science: what will he do?

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In this episode:

An enormous array of detectors, deep under the Mediterranean Sea, has captured evidence of the highest-energy neutrino particle ever recorded, although researchers aren’t sure exactly where in the cosmos it originated. Calculations revealed this particle had over 30 times the energy of previously detected neutrinos. The team hopes that further study and future detections will help reveal the secrets of high-energy phenomena like supernovae.

Research Article: The KM3NeT Collaboration

How bonobos adjust their communication to account for what other individuals know, and the discovery of a huge collection of beads adorning the attire of the powerful Copper Age women in Spain.

Research Highlight: Bonobos know when you’re in the know ― and when you’re not

Research Highlight: Record-setting trove of buried beads speaks to power of ancient women

A judge has blocked a policy that would have slashed billions of dollars of funding for US research institutions, which come as part of President Donald Trump’s controversial crackdown on government spending. We discuss the reasoning behind the proposed cuts and the impacts they may have if enacted. We also look at the effects that President Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and funding are having across the US.

Nature: ‘Devastating’ cuts to NIH grants by Trump’s team put on hold by US judge

Nature: Have Trump’s anti-DEI orders hit private funders? HHMI halts inclusive science programme

Nature: Scientists globally are racing to save vital health databases taken down amid Trump chaos

Why the latest odds on asteroid 2024 YR4’s chance of impacting Earth are so hard to calculate, and how the latest version of DeepMind's AlphaGeometry AI has reached the gold-medal level in geometry.

New York Times: Why the Odds of an Asteroid Striking Earth in 2032 Keep Going Up (and Down)

Nature: DeepMind AI crushes tough maths problems on par with top human solvers

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In episode 2 of 'What's in a name' we look how choosing names can help, or hinder, attempts to communicate important messages.

Categorizing things is central to science. And there are dozens of systems scientists have created to name everything from the trenches on the sea bed to the stars in the sky.

But names have consequences. In our series What’s in a name we explore naming in science and how names impact the world — whether the system of naming species remains in step with society, how the names of diseases can create stigma, or even how the names of scientific concepts can drive the direction of research itself.

In episode two, we're looking at how the names chosen by scientists help, or hinder, communication with the public.

Well chosen names can quickly convey scientific concepts or health messages — in emergency situations they can even save lives. We'll hear how the systems of naming tropical storms and Covid-19 variants came to be, and how they took different approaches to achieve the same outcome.

We'll also consider the language used to talk about climate change, and how the ways of describing it have been used to deliberately introduce uncertainty and confusion.

Listen to the first episode Should offensive species names be changed? The organisms that honour dictators, racists and criminals

For a list of sources please visit the the episode's webpage

Music credits

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Richard Smithson/Triple Scoop Music/Getty Images

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