No world-changing discoveries without biodiversity

Email Bluesky Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Whatsapp X Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Your Feature points out that US cuts to research budgets will decrease the likelihood of world-changing innovations that arise from basic science (see Nature 646 , 1040–1043; 2025 ). There’s another dimension worth considering, too — most of the innovations highlighted hinged on insights from a natural world that is now at risk from climate change, biodiversity loss and further funding cuts. Access options Access through your institution Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $32.99 / 30 days cancel any time Learn more Subscribe to this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access $199.00 per year only $3.90 per issue Learn more Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from $1.95 to $39.95 Learn more Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Nature 649 , 555 (2026) doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00122-w Competing Interests The authors declare no competing interests. Related Articles 7 basic science discoveries that changed the world From MRI to Ozempic: breakthroughs that show why fundamental research must be protected Subjects Conservation biology Biodiversity Funding Policy Latest on: Biodiversity Funding Tracing pollution in the lives of Arctic seabirds Career Feature 15 DEC 25 Better models are needed to gauge the ecological impacts of reservoirs Correspondence 09 DEC 25 A place-based assessment of biodiversity intactness in sub-Saharan Africa Article 03 DEC 25 We need to talk about salaries in science Career Column 09 JAN 26 NASA won’t bring Mars samples back to Earth: this is the science that will be lost News 09 JAN 26 Why academics should do more consulting — and how to make it work Comment 29 DEC 25 Jobs Talent Recruitment Announcement of the College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University Join Huazhong Agricultural University No.1 Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU) Faculty Positions in School of Al for Science / School of Electronic and Computer Engineering, PKUSZ Full professor/Tenured Associate Professor/Associate Professor/Assistant Professor. University Town of Shenzhen, Nanshan District, Shenzhen 518055, P.R.China Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School Postdoctoral Researcher in human intestinal tumor- and inflammation research Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research? We are looking for an ambitious postdoc with solid human immunology skills to join our high Huddinge Karolinska Institutet (KI) Institute of Nanotechnology And Intelligence Global Recruitment for Outstanding Young Scientists Exceptional young scholars worldwide with strong research achievements in relevant fields Guangzhou, Guangdong (CN) Institute of Nanotechnology and Intelligence (inAI), Jinan University, China. High-Level Talent at the Major Agricultural Microbiology Research Facility of HZAU Join HZAU's global faculty team to advance research with competitive benefits. No.1 Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU)

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