Miryam Naddaf
@miryamnaddaf.bsky.social
Science reporter at Nature | ABSW award winner |
I write about biology & neuroscience, academic publishing & integrity, Africa & the Middle East
I write about biology & neuroscience, academic publishing & integrity, Africa & the Middle East
Pinned
Miryam Naddaf
@miryamnaddaf.bsky.social
· Oct 28
How to spot fake scientists and stop them from publishing papers
Journals are considering doing identity checks to expose fake authors — but there are downsides.
www.nature.com
I recently wrote about cases of identity fraud in scientific publishing — including use of made-up personas as authors or peer reviewers and impersonation of real researchers. There are ongoing discussions on how to prevent such cases, but the solutions aren’t simple.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Miryam Naddaf
Map of brain ‘microproteins’ could offer new clues to Alzheimer’s disease
Great reporting from @miryamnaddaf.bsky.social on a @nataging.nature.com paper
🧪
@natureportfolio.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Great reporting from @miryamnaddaf.bsky.social on a @nataging.nature.com paper
🧪
@natureportfolio.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Map of brain ‘microproteins’ could offer new clues to Alzheimer’s disease
Researchers detect more than 1,000 overlooked microproteins in human brain tissue, including some that are altered in Alzheimer’s disease.
www.nature.com
September 17, 2026 at 8:52 AM
Map of brain ‘microproteins’ could offer new clues to Alzheimer’s disease
Great reporting from @miryamnaddaf.bsky.social on a @nataging.nature.com paper
🧪
@natureportfolio.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Great reporting from @miryamnaddaf.bsky.social on a @nataging.nature.com paper
🧪
@natureportfolio.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Miryam Naddaf
Everyone's talking about Pangram and other AI-detection software like GPTZero. They promise impressive accuracy at spotting AI-written text. Science journals are starting to use them.
How good are they? @miryamnaddaf.bsky.social and I take a look for @nature.com 🧵
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How good are they? @miryamnaddaf.bsky.social and I take a look for @nature.com 🧵
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
AI-detection tools have made huge leaps forward — how good are they?
Scientists and publishers are testing a new breed of software that promises impressive accuracy at spotting AI-written text.
www.nature.com
August 25, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Everyone's talking about Pangram and other AI-detection software like GPTZero. They promise impressive accuracy at spotting AI-written text. Science journals are starting to use them.
How good are they? @miryamnaddaf.bsky.social and I take a look for @nature.com 🧵
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How good are they? @miryamnaddaf.bsky.social and I take a look for @nature.com 🧵
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Today is the 5th anniversary of the take over of Afghanistan by the Taliban. The world has moved on, but for Afghan, these five years have brought gender apartheid & relentless oppression. Girls continue to be banned from secondary education, & women are banned from university & most employment.
The forgotten 20 million: why is the world neglecting Afghanistan’s girls and women?
It is shameful that half the country’s population continues to be overlooked by the international community.
www.nature.com
August 15, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Today is the 5th anniversary of the take over of Afghanistan by the Taliban. The world has moved on, but for Afghan, these five years have brought gender apartheid & relentless oppression. Girls continue to be banned from secondary education, & women are banned from university & most employment.
Reposted by Miryam Naddaf
NEW: Is there a 'crisis' of public trust in science?
It can feel that way — with attacks on research in the US and growing rejection of vaccines.
I investigated for @nature.com - and found some surprises.
My feature article is out today and a short🧵here
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
It can feel that way — with attacks on research in the US and growing rejection of vaccines.
I investigated for @nature.com - and found some surprises.
My feature article is out today and a short🧵here
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Have people stopped trusting science? The data tell a surprising story
Some say there’s a global crisis of trust — but research reveals where the real problems lie.
www.nature.com
July 1, 2026 at 1:50 PM
NEW: Is there a 'crisis' of public trust in science?
It can feel that way — with attacks on research in the US and growing rejection of vaccines.
I investigated for @nature.com - and found some surprises.
My feature article is out today and a short🧵here
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
It can feel that way — with attacks on research in the US and growing rejection of vaccines.
I investigated for @nature.com - and found some surprises.
My feature article is out today and a short🧵here
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Miryam Naddaf
A biology journal trialled paying their reviewers and found it led to faster first editorial decisions – and increased review quality.
go.nature.com/446SaLu
go.nature.com/446SaLu
Why paying peer reviewers works, according to a journal’s editor-in-chief
A biology journal which paid peer reviewers found that the approach cut the time to a first editorial decision by 85% and maintained high-quality reviews.
go.nature.com
July 1, 2026 at 9:45 AM
A biology journal trialled paying their reviewers and found it led to faster first editorial decisions – and increased review quality.
go.nature.com/446SaLu
go.nature.com/446SaLu
Reposted by Miryam Naddaf
Martin Torres explains that if a lab is not accessible to all types of students, then the issue is not the student:
‘The problem is that the environment was not designed with accessibility in mind.’
@mwakley.bsky.social
www.chemistryworld.com/careers/maki...
‘The problem is that the environment was not designed with accessibility in mind.’
@mwakley.bsky.social
www.chemistryworld.com/careers/maki...
Making lab equipment more accessible for chemists with physical disabilities
'Chemical laboratories are often designed around a very narrow idea of standard talent,' says one academic striving to make such spaces more inclusive
www.chemistryworld.com
June 25, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Martin Torres explains that if a lab is not accessible to all types of students, then the issue is not the student:
‘The problem is that the environment was not designed with accessibility in mind.’
@mwakley.bsky.social
www.chemistryworld.com/careers/maki...
‘The problem is that the environment was not designed with accessibility in mind.’
@mwakley.bsky.social
www.chemistryworld.com/careers/maki...
Amid chaos in US science and geopolitical turmoil, Europe wants to position itself as a research haven.
“The reality is that we are like a Sleeping Beauty and maybe it’s time to wake up,” says cell biologist Anna Rubartelli. On some measures, it would be a case of both waking up and catching up.
“The reality is that we are like a Sleeping Beauty and maybe it’s time to wake up,” says cell biologist Anna Rubartelli. On some measures, it would be a case of both waking up and catching up.
Europe as science superpower: what it will take to rival the US and China
Amid chaos in US science and geopolitical turmoil, Europe wants to position itself as a research haven — but questions about funding and innovation remain.
www.nature.com
June 25, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Amid chaos in US science and geopolitical turmoil, Europe wants to position itself as a research haven.
“The reality is that we are like a Sleeping Beauty and maybe it’s time to wake up,” says cell biologist Anna Rubartelli. On some measures, it would be a case of both waking up and catching up.
“The reality is that we are like a Sleeping Beauty and maybe it’s time to wake up,” says cell biologist Anna Rubartelli. On some measures, it would be a case of both waking up and catching up.
“I realized that many of the things that we scientists complain about in media coverage are problems that we have helped to create… We owe it to the public — those funding a lot of our research — to devote time to help science journalists.” - @lonnibesancon.bsky.social writes for @nature.com.
A conference taught me that scientists and journalists must work together to protect research
Science sleuth Lonni Besançon realizes that he has sometimes misunderstood what the media want from him and his researcher colleagues.
www.nature.com
May 20, 2026 at 9:57 PM
“I realized that many of the things that we scientists complain about in media coverage are problems that we have helped to create… We owe it to the public — those funding a lot of our research — to devote time to help science journalists.” - @lonnibesancon.bsky.social writes for @nature.com.
Reposted by Miryam Naddaf
A first-author slot on an article sold by a paper mill costs a median value of nearly US$800. Price range from $57 to > $5,600.
@miryamnaddaf.bsky.social in @nature.com on @reeserichardson.bsky.social, @abalkina.bsky.social analysis of thousands of papermill ads
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
@miryamnaddaf.bsky.social in @nature.com on @reeserichardson.bsky.social, @abalkina.bsky.social analysis of thousands of papermill ads
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How much for a fake authorship? Ad database reveals secrets of scientific fraud
An analysis of thousands of paper-mill adverts could help journals to crack down on misconduct.
www.nature.com
April 24, 2026 at 2:21 PM
A first-author slot on an article sold by a paper mill costs a median value of nearly US$800. Price range from $57 to > $5,600.
@miryamnaddaf.bsky.social in @nature.com on @reeserichardson.bsky.social, @abalkina.bsky.social analysis of thousands of papermill ads
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
@miryamnaddaf.bsky.social in @nature.com on @reeserichardson.bsky.social, @abalkina.bsky.social analysis of thousands of papermill ads
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Miryam Naddaf
A congressional hearing covered the rise of paper mills and the costs of open-access publishing — but there was little agreement on what reform would entail
go.nature.com/4to6MkE
go.nature.com/4to6MkE
US lawmakers intensify scrutiny of scientific-publishing practices
A congressional hearing covered the rise of paper mills and the costs of open-access publishing — but there was little agreement on what reform would entail.
go.nature.com
April 17, 2026 at 5:29 PM
A congressional hearing covered the rise of paper mills and the costs of open-access publishing — but there was little agreement on what reform would entail
go.nature.com/4to6MkE
go.nature.com/4to6MkE
Reposted by Miryam Naddaf
Until you change the incentive structure of academia you will continue to see people fear losing their status and use AI as a way to fast-track productivity bc academia doesn't currently value the meaningful production of knowledge, only the performance of producing it.
Lazy use of AI by half-ass researchers is putting digital asbestos everywhere, which will be a huge pain in the ass to clean up.
Just do your damn job as a scholar or let someone else with more integrity and competence have your position.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Just do your damn job as a scholar or let someone else with more integrity and competence have your position.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Hallucinated citations are polluting the scientific literature. What can be done?
Tens of thousands of publications from 2025 might include invalid references generated by AI, a Nature analysis suggests.
www.nature.com
April 1, 2026 at 12:19 PM
Until you change the incentive structure of academia you will continue to see people fear losing their status and use AI as a way to fast-track productivity bc academia doesn't currently value the meaningful production of knowledge, only the performance of producing it.
My colleague & I teamed up w/ Grounded AI to look for fake/hallucinated references. Our analysis suggests that at least tens of thousands of publications from 2025 likely contain such references. More detz at @nature.com, w/ input from @gcabanac.cpesr.fr, @mhmdhsini.bsky.social & @kowb.bsky.social.
Hallucinated citations are polluting the scientific literature. What can be done?
Tens of thousands of publications from 2025 might include invalid references generated by AI, a Nature analysis suggests.
www.nature.com
April 1, 2026 at 5:07 PM
My colleague & I teamed up w/ Grounded AI to look for fake/hallucinated references. Our analysis suggests that at least tens of thousands of publications from 2025 likely contain such references. More detz at @nature.com, w/ input from @gcabanac.cpesr.fr, @mhmdhsini.bsky.social & @kowb.bsky.social.
Tune in to hear Ben, @nickpetrichowe.bsky.social & I talk about how the world of Pokémon & the world of science come in together, featuring Charizard bees & Turtwig fossils + what a phylogenetic tree of 646 Pokémon monsters looks like.
My fav is Jigglypuff & Pikachu exposing predatory journals
My fav is Jigglypuff & Pikachu exposing predatory journals
Briefing chat: Pokémon turns 30 — how Pikachu and pals inspired generations of researchers
Hear the biggest stories from the world of science | 27 February 2026
www.nature.com
February 28, 2026 at 10:51 AM
Tune in to hear Ben, @nickpetrichowe.bsky.social & I talk about how the world of Pokémon & the world of science come in together, featuring Charizard bees & Turtwig fossils + what a phylogenetic tree of 646 Pokémon monsters looks like.
My fav is Jigglypuff & Pikachu exposing predatory journals
My fav is Jigglypuff & Pikachu exposing predatory journals
Watching the Pokémon TV series & owning a Poké ball were some of my happiest childhood memories. Little did I know that one day I’d be interviewing scientists around the world to talk about how Pokémon inspired them to name bees and fossils, teach biodiversity & even expose predatory journals!
Pokémon turns 30 — how the fictional pocket monsters shaped science
The Japanese media sensation has inspired generations of researchers in fields as diverse as evolution, biodiversity and research integrity.
www.nature.com
February 28, 2026 at 9:57 AM
Watching the Pokémon TV series & owning a Poké ball were some of my happiest childhood memories. Little did I know that one day I’d be interviewing scientists around the world to talk about how Pokémon inspired them to name bees and fossils, teach biodiversity & even expose predatory journals!
Reposted by Miryam Naddaf
Iranians are experiencing a collective trauma. Thousands have been killed/injured in recent events, the economy is crippled & the threat of a wider conflict is real. This is especially difficult for those living in Iran, as many have lost (or fear losing) loved ones. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
February 3, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Iranians are experiencing a collective trauma. Thousands have been killed/injured in recent events, the economy is crippled & the threat of a wider conflict is real. This is especially difficult for those living in Iran, as many have lost (or fear losing) loved ones. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Tune in to hear about what’s in store for science in 2026, from compact AI models that may beat LLMs in reasoning, clinical trials of gene editing to treat rare genetic disorders, space missions, particle physics experiments, & the continued aftershocks of policy changes by the Trump administration.
Science in 2026: what to expect this year
YouTube video by Nature Podcast
youtu.be
January 2, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Tune in to hear about what’s in store for science in 2026, from compact AI models that may beat LLMs in reasoning, clinical trials of gene editing to treat rare genetic disorders, space missions, particle physics experiments, & the continued aftershocks of policy changes by the Trump administration.
An ode to a rubber duck that was stuck to a rock, thanks to a newly designed, AI-enhanced super-adhesive hydrogel capable of sticking even in wet, salty conditions. @nature.com
Hard the Hydrogel is Stuck
YouTube video by Nature Podcast
youtube.com
December 25, 2025 at 9:31 PM
An ode to a rubber duck that was stuck to a rock, thanks to a newly designed, AI-enhanced super-adhesive hydrogel capable of sticking even in wet, salty conditions. @nature.com
A Christmas carol brought to you by @nature.com celebrating the discovery this year that Nanotyrannus was actually its own species, not a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex as had been believed.
I Am the Very Model of a Miniature Tyrannosaur
YouTube video by Nature Podcast
youtube.com
December 25, 2025 at 9:19 PM
A Christmas carol brought to you by @nature.com celebrating the discovery this year that Nanotyrannus was actually its own species, not a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex as had been believed.
I recently wrote about cases of identity fraud in scientific publishing — including use of made-up personas as authors or peer reviewers and impersonation of real researchers. There are ongoing discussions on how to prevent such cases, but the solutions aren’t simple.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How to spot fake scientists and stop them from publishing papers
Journals are considering doing identity checks to expose fake authors — but there are downsides.
www.nature.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:00 PM
I recently wrote about cases of identity fraud in scientific publishing — including use of made-up personas as authors or peer reviewers and impersonation of real researchers. There are ongoing discussions on how to prevent such cases, but the solutions aren’t simple.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Is AI sycophancy holding science back?
A preprint by @jurafsky.bsky.social and his team found that AI chatbots are 50% more sycophantic than humans.
In this piece, researchers tell me how AI sycophancy is creeping into many of the tasks that they use LLMs for.
Read more @nature.com
A preprint by @jurafsky.bsky.social and his team found that AI chatbots are 50% more sycophantic than humans.
In this piece, researchers tell me how AI sycophancy is creeping into many of the tasks that they use LLMs for.
Read more @nature.com
AI chatbots are sycophants — researchers say it’s harming science
Nature asked researchers who use artificial intelligence how its propensity for people-pleasing affects their work — and what they are doing to mitigate it.
www.nature.com
October 25, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Is AI sycophancy holding science back?
A preprint by @jurafsky.bsky.social and his team found that AI chatbots are 50% more sycophantic than humans.
In this piece, researchers tell me how AI sycophancy is creeping into many of the tasks that they use LLMs for.
Read more @nature.com
A preprint by @jurafsky.bsky.social and his team found that AI chatbots are 50% more sycophantic than humans.
In this piece, researchers tell me how AI sycophancy is creeping into many of the tasks that they use LLMs for.
Read more @nature.com