4 Insights into Nature Publications by The Pennsylvania State University

As young researchers, we all strive to aim high in our careers. But how high may we plan? This project was born out of curiosity to see what statistics say about our chances to be published in Nature.
The presented data is based on 62,454 publications and reflects the state of research in the 21st century through the prism of Nature publications. It showed a severe gender bias in the research community, but at the same time it revealed a matching career timeline between women and men. Throughout the years, articles in biology-related fields were the most prevalent in Nature, with U.S. institutions leading the research. Noticeably, the concentration of interest in individual research areas for men and women differed throughout the years, and only in the 2010s did they combine their efforts to make big advances in Cancer & Stem Cell Biology. Being a PhD student at Penn State (We Are ..?.), it was great to see the university in the top 100 in worldwide ranking.
As for our initial question, when could we expect to make the achievement worthy of Nature? On average, in the 18th year of our publication career, says statistics. But it also seems that science is accelerating rapidly - the visibility of our research has shortened from 6.5 to 3 years over the past 20 years. So, who knows, maybe our great work is awaiting us much sooner?

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