Nature’s 10
Ten people who helped shape science in 2024
A fraud buster, a nuclear-clock maker and a virus hunter. These are just a few of the remarkable people chosen for this year’s Nature’s 10.
The Nature’s 10 list recognizes key developments in science over the past year, and tells the stories of some of the people behind them. It is compiled by Nature’s editors to highlight important trends in science, technology, engineering and medicine, as well as to acknowledge how researchers are shaping our world. Achievements this year range from reimagining how weather is forecast to leading a nation.
Ekkehard Peik: Father time
A physicist made key discoveries that could lead to nuclear clocks that outperform the best atomic ones.
Kaitlin Kharas: Fair-pay champion
A PhD student helped to lead a campaign to get Canadian graduate students and postdocs their biggest pay rise in 20 years.
Li Chunlai: Moon-rock guardian
A geologist is leading efforts to study the rock samples that China’s Chang’e-6 mission collected from the Moon’s far side.
Anna Abalkina: Fraud buster
This Russian science sleuth spots fake papers and hijacked journals.
Huji Xu: Daring doctor
A physician and researcher took a chance on a revolutionary approach to treating autoimmune disease.
Wendy Freedman: Cosmic ranger
A long-standing tension over the Universe’s expansion rate might be put to rest — thanks to this astronomer’s efforts.
Muhammad Yunus: Nation builder
An economist and Nobel peace laureate is now the interim leader of Bangladesh. He has the expectations of his country’s students on his shoulders.
Placide Mbala: Virus hunter
He has been sounding the alarm about deadly mpox outbreaks. But when will the world truly listen?
Cordelia Bähr: Climate crusader
A lawyer and an army of older women in Switzerland won a historical legal battle against their government over its climate policies.
Rémi Lam: AI weather sleuth
This researcher is developing machine-learning techniques to vastly improve weather forecasts.
This series is also available as a pdf version.
Ones to watch 2025
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Mark Thomson: Next director-general, CERN
As he prepares to take the reins of Europe’s particle-physics lab near Geneva, Switzerland, in 2026, this particle physicist must navigate several geopolitical challenges.
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Emma Hodcroft: Co-founder, Pathoplexus
The molecular epidemiologist set up an open-source hub for sharing viral-pathogen genomes this year. Many will be watching its progress in 2025.
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Donald Trump: US president-elect
His team has vowed to overhaul key science agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institutes of Health.
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