Society articles from across Nature Portfolio

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are widely utilized across various fields such as energy and electronics industries, but concerns have been raised about their environmental accumulation. Now, recent studies have revealed methods to decompose these compounds into reusable fluorine sources, enabling a circular economy.

Private data holds vast potential for AI training but is hindered by privacy concerns and lack of incentives. This work proposes a game-theoretic model sharing market that enables secure, personalized training while incentivizing sharing behavior.

Religious decline is happening around the world. Here, the authors show that countries are at different stages of a common global sequence of decline in religious participation, personal importance of religion, and religious belonging.

The ‘science fiction science’ method simulates future technologies and collects quantitative data on the attitudes and behaviours of participants in various future scenarios, with the aim of predicting impacts of future technologies before they arrive.

Online stereotypes about younger women and older men could impact real-world hiring decisions.

Khaled El-Enany, the agency’s first director-general from an Arab state, will lead the UN’s education, science and cultural organization through one of its most severe tests.

The publishing ecosystem must do more to tackle inequities; quotas and partnerships with societies can help.

Innovation is key to meeting today’s global challenges. This is why the University of Botswana, originally a teaching institution, is now fostering research, and others should take the leap.