Nepedia
Back to Discover
Advanced Reader
🧬

Nature (journal)

life science Maturity 5-7 Next article →

Nature is a prominent British weekly international scientific journal. It publishes peer-reviewed research across many natural sciences. These include biology, physics, chemistry, and the earth sciences. It also covers related interdisciplinary fields. This means it connects different branches of science together. The journal is part of a large company called Springer Nature. It maintains editorial offices in London, the United States, continental Europe, and Asia.

Nature cover, November 4, 1869
Nature cover, November 4, 1869

To understand how Nature works, we must look at its publication process. The primary source of the journal is research scientists. These scientists submit papers, which are often called articles or letters. These papers are highly technical and dense. Because the journal imposes text limits, these papers are usually summaries of much larger works. The journal uses a peer-review process to maintain high standards. This is a way for experts to check the work. It is very difficult to be published here. Fewer than 8% of submitted papers are actually accepted for publication.

Nature offers many different types of content to its readers. The main research consists of those technical papers mentioned before. However, the journal also publishes commentary and analysis. It provides news and features on various scientific topics. These topics include research funding, science policy, and ethical issues in science. There are even sections for books, arts, and short science fiction stories. The journal also features spotlight articles. These are news or magazine-style papers about breakthroughs or innovations. Some of these spotlight articles are funded by partners or sponsors.

Nature Materials Nov 2008
Nature Materials Nov 2008

The history of Nature began in the autumn of 1869. It was founded by Norman Lockyer and Alexander MacMillan. They wanted to create a public forum for scientific innovations. Lockyer was a professor at Imperial College. Many early articles were written by a group called the X Club. This group included scientists like Thomas Henry Huxley and Joseph Dalton Hooker. They held progressive scientific beliefs. They were also strong supporters of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. This theory was quite controversial among conservative scientists at the time. This scientific liberality may have helped Nature succeed where other journals failed.

Before Nature, several other British journals tried to serve similar purposes. For example, a journal called Recreative Science was founded in 1859. It eventually changed its name several times. Another journal, the Popular Science Review, was created in 1862. There were also the Quarterly Journal of Science and Scientific Opinion. Some of these, like The Reader, tried to mix science with literature and art. However, most of these earlier publications ultimately failed. Nature's success was aided by the financial backing of the Macmillan family. This allowed the journal to flourish and develop more freely than its predecessors.

Nature citations per article, 2013-2015
Nature citations per article, 2013-2015

Nature has expanded significantly over the decades. In 1970, it opened its first office in Washington. Other offices opened in New York, Tokyo, Munich, Paris, San Francisco, Boston, and Hong Kong. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, it created a network of offices outside of Britain. It also established ten new specialty publications, such as Nature Materials. In 1999, the Nature Publishing Group created a series of Nature Reviews. The journal also has a massive digital presence. It claims an online readership of about three million unique readers per month. In 2012, it even launched an Arabic edition.

Nature Materials Nov 2008
Nature Materials Nov 2008

The significance of being published in Nature is very high. It carries a great deal of prestige in the academic world. Research published in the journal is widely cited by other scientists. In 2022, Nature had an impact factor of 50.5. The impact factor is a measure of how many citations a journal generates. High citation counts can lead to academic promotions and grant funding. It can also attract significant attention from mainstream media. Because of this, competition among scientists to publish in Nature is very fierce. This influence helps shape the direction of scientific research worldwide.

644 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (3)
File:Nature cover, November 4, 1869.jpg
Nature cover, November 4, 1869.jpg
File:Nature citations per article, 2013-2015.jpg
Nature citations per article, 2013-2015.jpg
File:Nature Materials Nov 2008.jpg
Nature Materials Nov 2008.jpg
More to explore

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.