Advertise in Nature journal special features
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- Decide which of our special features you want to advertise against — view the topics below.
- Choose whether to run display advertising and/or branded content.
- Display ads build critical awareness of your research, employer brand, job vacancies, products, or events.
- Branded content uses compelling storytelling to engage Nature audiences with your message. Your article can be written by our award-winning custom media team or supplied by your organization.
- Book with us before the booking deadlines detailed in the calendars.
There are 3 types of special feature you can advertise in — all published in Nature:
- Spotlights: profiling a specific area of scientific interest.
- Nature Index supplements: based on data in the Nature Index.
- Career Guides from Nature Careers: helping scientists around the world with job-hunting and career advice.
2026 Nature special features calendar:
View the topics in more detail.
| Publication date in 2026 | Nature special feature and topic | Booking deadline for branded content (print and online) | Booking deadline for branded content (online only) | Booking deadline for display ad (submission of PDF) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05-Feb | Spotlight: Sensors | 17-Oct-25 | 7-Nov-25 | 23-Jan |
| 19-Feb | Spotlight: Mexico | 31-Oct-25 | 18-Nov-25 | 06-Feb |
| 26-Feb | Nature Index: Chemical Sciences | 07-Nov-25 | 21-Nov-25 | 13-Feb |
| 12-Mar | Spotlight: Nutrition | 21-Nov-25 | 15-Dec-25 | 27-Feb |
| 26-Mar | Nature Index: China | 05-Dec-25 | 09-Jan | 13-Mar |
| 16-Apr | Nature Index: Cancer | 05-Jan | 30-Jan | 01-Apr |
| 23-Apr | Spotlight: Philanthropy, Awards & Prizes | 16-Jan | 06-Feb | 10-Apr |
| 07-May | Spotlight: Synthetic Biology | 30-Jan | 16-Feb | 23-Apr |
| 11-Jun | Spotlight: Drug Discovery | 03-Mar | 27-Mar | 27-May |
| 23-Jul | Career Guide: Nordics | 10-Apr | 08-May | 10-Jul |
| 30-Jul | Nature Index: Nanotechnology | 17-Apr | 15-May | 17-Jul |
| 17-Sep | Spotlight: Digital Health/Wearables | 05-Jun | 30-Jun | 04-Sep |
| 24-Sep | Nature Index: Regenerative Medicine | 12-Jun | 03-Jul | 11-Sep |
| 01-Oct | Spotlight: Energy | 24-Jun | 17-Jul | 18-Sep |
| 08-Oct | Spotlight: Infectious Diseases | 26-Jun | 20-Jul | 25-Sep |
| 15-Oct | Nature Index: Biomedical Engineering | 10-Jun | 31-Jul | 02-Oct |
| 12-Nov | Career Guide: Neuroscience | 07-Aug | 28-Aug | 30-Oct |
| 03-Dec | Nature Index: Europe | 28-Aug | 18-Sep | 20-Nov |
| 10-Dec | Spotlight: ASEAN Member Countries | 04-Sep | 25-Sep | 27-Nov |
2025 Nature special features calendar:
View the topics in more detail.
| Publication date in 2025 | Nature special feature and topic | Booking deadline for branded content (print and online) | Booking deadline for branded content (online only) | Booking deadline for advertiser-supplied branded content | Booking deadline for display ad (submission of PDF) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 March | Nature Index: Energy | 27 November 2024 | 6 January | 10 January | 7 March |
| 17 April | Spotlight: Spain | 27 January | 7 February | 18 February | 2 April |
| 24 April | Nature Index: Cancer | 9 December 2024 | 10 February | 25 February | 9 April |
| 29 May | Spotlight: Singapore | 4 March | 20 March | 1 April | 14 May |
| 12 June | Career Guide: Texas | 19 March | 3 April | 15 April | 28 May |
| 19 June | Spotlight: Canada | 26 March | 9 April | 22 April | 4 June |
| 26 June | Nature Index: Corporate in Science (Science Inc) | 28 March | 16 April | 29 April | 11 June |
| 21 August | Spotlight: Climate change | 27 May | 12 June | 24 June | 6 August |
| 2 October | Nature Index: Research Hospitals | 7 July | 23 July | 5 August | 17 September |
| 16 October | Spotlight: Mexico | 18 July | 7 August | 19 August | 1 October |
| 23 October | Nature Index: Immunology | 25 July | 14 August | 17 June | 8 October |
| 30 October | Spotlight: Robotics | 1 August | 21 August | 24 June | 15 October |
| 13 November | Nature Index: Ageing | 20 August | 4 September | 16 September | 29 October |
| 20 November | Career Guide: California | 26 August | 8 September | 23 September | 5 November |
| 4 December | Career Guide: Germany | 9 September | 24 September | 7 October | 19 November |
| 11 December | Nature Index: Young universities | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |
Nature special features synopses:
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Career Guide: Texas (12 Jun 2025)
The career guide on Texas will be a supplement to Nature, due to be published in March, 2025. It will likely investigate challenges facing academics in the region, likely touching on points such as censorship, funding constraints and political influence. It may also focus on the opportunities for early career academics in the state, such as rising research institutions and growing industry collaborations (gas/oil, space, manufacturing/healthcare).
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Career Guide: California (20 Nov 2025)
The career guide on California will be a supplement to Nature, due to be published in November, 2025. It will aim to investigate current factors influencing academia in the state, including technological innovation, data sharing initiatives and interdisciplinary collaboration. It might also explore some of the challenges faced by early career researchers, such as intellectual property protection and publishing pressure.
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Career Guide: Germany (4 Dec 2025)
The career guide on Germany will be a supplement to Nature, due to be published in December, 2025. It will aim to cover some of the latest developments in the country, such as research opportunities and growing industries. It might also investigate regional disparities in universities across the country or the impact of the country’s changing political landscape.
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Career Guide: Nordics (23 Jul 2026)
The Nordic Career Guide will be a supplement in Nature, due to be published in July, 2026. This supplement will explore the research landscape in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and other territories), possibly focusing on projects and opportunities at the Arctic six, an alliance of universities in the region, and/or some of the challenges facing PhD students or early career researchers moving to the region.
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Career Guide: Neuroscience (12 Nov 2026)
The career guide on neuroscience will be a supplement in Nature, due to be published in November, 2026. This career guide will look at the universities and organisations driving the study into consciousness, possibly including profiles on some of the researchers leading this field and their thoughts on what the future will bring.
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Nature Index: Energy (20 Mar 2025)
A strong increase in global energy consumption is expected to continue in 2025, in both advanced and emerging economies. Expanding access to energy without contributing further to climate change and other negative impacts on the planet is one of the most pressing challenges in the world today. This supplement highlights the countries, institutions and people that are leading the way with research related to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Clean and affordable energy). From new approaches to get the most out of renewable sources to finding ways to improve battery efficiency and smart-grid technologies, the potential for research to drive major industrial advances is huge. As competition for resources intensifies, all eyes will be on the teams that are bringing innovative solutions to the table.
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Nature Index: Cancer (24 Apr 2025)
Cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide, with new cases expected to rise rapidly over the next decade, and imposes a considerable burden on all countries. But this supplement will highlight why there is reason for cancer researchers to be optimistic. Advances in oncology are coming in thick and fast, including personalized cancer immunotherapies, promising new drug candidates and the use of artificial intelligence to build efficiencies and representation in health systems and population studies. Persisting cancer health disparities are of great concern, however. Much work is needed to achieve equity and inclusion in cancer care and research in high- and low-income countries alike, to ensure that prevention and detection measures are reaching as many people as possible.
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Nature Index: Corporates in Science (Science Inc) (26 Jun 2025)
Corporate research is a major driver of scientific progress, especially in fields such as healthcare and technology, where the commercial rewards can drive investment to levels that public funding cannot hope to match. In this supplement, we will examine the degree to which research by companies is reaching high quality peer-reviewed journals, the incentives and policies that could help bring more corporate R&D into the public domain, and how to increase collaboration between the public and private sector for the benefit of all.
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Nature Index: Research Hospitals (2 Oct 2025)
The translation of medical research from discoveries made in the lab to treatments that make a difference to patients’ lives would be almost impossible without the key role played by research hospitals. These essential healthcare institutions often act as the conduit for clinical trials as well as a place to gather information that can be fed back to researchers trying to understand a myriad of conditions. In this supplement, we detail the research hospitals that are at the forefront of this activity and consider which research systems are most successfully entwining healthcare practice with scientific discovery.
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Nature Index: Immunology (23 Oct 2025)
Immunology is at the forefront of medical science, playing a crucial role in understanding and combating diseases that affect millions worldwide. This supplement will explore the latest breakthroughs in immunology research that are advancing our understanding of the immune system and informing the development of new vaccines and therapies. It will highlight the institutions and scientists that are pioneering these advancements, and the collaborative networks that support them. By delving into the field of immunology, this supplement aims to highlight its critical role in shaping the future of healthcare and improving global health outcomes.
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Nature Index: Ageing (13 Nov 2025)
Ageing populations represent one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century and will be an issue that is likely to affect every nation eventually as economies develop. Science is playing an essential role in meeting this challenge by helping us to understand the conditions and diseases that affect older people and developing treatments to lessen their burden on families and society. In this supplement, we will look at the institutions and countries leading this effort, and consider whether research and its funding is being applied evenly enough to tackle all of the challenges of ageing.
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Nature Index: Young universities (11 Dec 2025)
Some of the most successful universities in the world have a history dating back centuries, but this is no means a necessary condition for scientific excellence. New research institutions are springing up every year, often in countries that are emerging as research powerhouses and they can bring a fresh and innovative perspective on how to achieve results. In this supplement, we analyse the performance of the youngest academic institutions in the Nature Index database — those established within the past few decades — to ascertain the ingredients needed for success.
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Nature Index: Chemical Sciences (26 Feb 2026)
Chemical sciences sits at the core of discovery across disciplines, increasingly bridging studies in biology, materials science and environmental engineering. It plays an essential role in solving some of the world’s most urgent scientific and technological problems, from designing sustainable catalysts and greener manufacturing processes to enabling breakthroughs in drug development and battery materials. In this supplement, we will explore how the field is evolving — and expanding — in scope, influence and ambition, and showcase the teams around the world that are leading the charge.
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Nature Index: China (26 Mar 2026)
In the space of just a few years, China has risen to become the global leader in high-quality natural-science output. Its lead in the Nature Index is still growing rapidly as it continues to invest in advances in technologies such as green materials or artificial intelligence, many of which are successfully being turned into innovations used across the globe. In this supplement, we will explore the frontiers that China’s research system might push forward next — including those in the biological and health sciences where it has historically had less expertise — and consider how it might approach international science and collaboration in the years ahead.
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Nature Index: Cancer (16 Apr 2026)
Cancer is one of the most urgent and costly challenges in global health, with incidence projected to rise significantly in the coming decades. Hospitals and clinics are seeking more effective ways to address the disease, from personalised therapies to more comprehensive screening strategies. And while technological advances are transforming how cancer is prevented, diagnosed and treated, questions around equity and access are becoming more complex. This supplement will examine the evolving cancer research landscape, highlighting the places and people that are driving advances in the field, and probing the ethical questions that accompany them.
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Nature Index: Nanotechnology (30 Jul 2026)
The field of nanotechnology continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible at the molecular scale. With growing links to materials science, electronics and biotechnology, nanotechnology is driving innovation across almost every major sector, from drug development to electronics. This supplement will showcase the discoveries that have made the biggest impact in the field, and the collaboration networks that are leading the way. As climate change continues to affect communities around the world, and food, energy and healthcare needs are becoming more urgent, advances in nanotechnology will be crucial to address global challenges.
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Nature Index: Regenerative Medicine (24 Sept 2026)
From stem cell therapies to bioengineered tissues, regenerative medicine is redefining the possibilities of modern healthcare. Once largely experimental, the field is now moving steadily toward clinical translation, with growing investment across academia and industry. This supplement will examine the institutions and individuals that are producing high-quality research in this space, and the collaborations that are combining world-class expertise in tissue engineering, gene editing and biomaterials. As scientific ambition meets clinical complexity, the path to scalable, equitable regenerative treatments will be a focus for many.
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Nature Index: Biomedical Engineering (15 Oct 2026)
As global health issues become more complex, biomedical engineering is proving essential to the future of medicine. From advanced prosthetics and bioelectronics to tissue engineering and diagnostic imaging, this field is transforming how we might approach and treat disease in the coming decades. But despite massive investment in the space, taking discoveries from the lab to the clinic remains slow and expensive, and very difficult to scale. In this supplement, we will showcase the institutions and researchers that are taking on these challenges and finding ways to translate fundamental discoveries into life-saving applications.
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Nature Index: Europe (3rd Dec 2026)
Research collaboration and funding in Europe has been forced to deal with a series of shocks across the last decade, from the UK’s vote to leave the European Union in 2016 to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 (and the COVID-19 pandemic that emerged in between). But despite these challenges, its universities and researchers continue to be at the cutting edge of major scientific advances. In this supplement, we will look at the fields, institutions and individuals who are at the forefront of these developments and consider what the future holds for the next iteration of the continent’s pan-national research-funding programme, Horizon Europe.
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Spotlight: Spain (17 Apr 2025)
The spotlight on Spain will be a supplement in Nature, due to be published in April, 2025. It will aim to cover some of the latest developments in the region – this might include coverage of the country’s growing prominence in sectors such as agriculture, biomedical science and environmental research. It may also focus on some of the country’s challenges, such as fragmentation of local and international collaboration, research translation obstacles and issues with climate change.
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Spotlight: Singapore (29 May 2025)
The spotlight on Singapore, due to be published as a supplement to Nature in May 2025, will aim to provide Nature readers with a sense of science in the island nation. It may focus on efforts to bring private investment into research and development in the country, and how science is affecting its economy, subject to editorial changes.
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Spotlight: Canada (19 Jun 2025)
The Spotlight on Canada will be a supplement to Nature, due to be published in October, 2025. This series will explore how Canada’s academic and research landscape will be impacted by the upcoming federal election and the return of a Trump administration. A separate feature will highlight the work of an Indigenous Canadian researcher making an impact, possibly in the areas of climate change or health.
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Spotlight: Climate change (21 Aug 2025)
The spotlight on Climate Change will be a supplement in Nature, due to be published in August, 2025. This series will likely focus on some of the greatest climate challenges researchers are currently facing and the innovative ways they are tackling these issues. This might include on the research scene (such as the study of fluctuating ocean dipoles, agricultural effects), the economic impacts of climate change, or the shifting climate policies across the world.
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Spotlight: Mexico (16 Oct 2025)
The spotlight on Mexico will be a supplement in Nature , due to be published in June, 2025. It will aim to investigate the scientific research landscape of this growing country. This might include exploring future prospects (ie infrastructure and funding) or political and socio-economic factors influencing scientific output. Will likely investigate how these issues are being addressed and what the future might look like for research output/industry.
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Spotlight: Sensors (5 Feb 2026)
Sensor technology is a fast-growing and diversified field, spanning fields such as AI, robotics, climate modelling, and healthcare. The spotlight on sensors will be a supplement in Nature, due to be published in Feb, 2026. It aims to cover some of the latest developments in the field, areas such as sensors in healthcare (electrochemical sensors in implants, neural sensors) and the use of sensors in smart cities (to improve emergency responses or city management).
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Spotlight: Nutrition (12 Mar 2026)
The spotlight on nutrition will be a supplement in Nature, due to be published in March, 2026. This spotlight will focus on new discoveries in the field of nutrition, areas such as the use of food and supplements in anti-aging (bio-hacking), the rise of nutrigenomics (how diet can affect gene expression) and/or the use of digital nutrition to model metabolism.
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Spotlight: Philanthropy, awards & prizes (23 Apr 2026)
The spotlight on philanthropy, awards and prizes will be a supplement in Nature, due to be published in April, 2026. It will focus on the stories and efforts of private funders and award winners, exploring how their work is having a global impact. It will possibly include a story on how private funders in the US are bridging the gaps left by decreases in federal funding.
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Sportlight: Synthetic biology (7 May 2026)
The spotlight on synthetic biology will be a supplement in Nature, due to be published in May, 2026. This supplement will explore some of the breakthroughs in the field, including the use of synthetic biology in medicine (living drugs – ie engineered bacteria for smart probiotics, the creation of synthetic cells, genome editing) and/or the increasing importance of biosecurity with engineered products.
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Spotlight: Drug discovery (11 Jun 2026)
The spotlight on drug discovery will be a supplement in Nature, due to be published in June, 2026. This series will explore some of the new discoveries in the field, including topics such as AI designed drugs and their subsequent trials, molecular editing for manipulation of existing drug molecules and/or discoveries in psychedelic assisted therapies.
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Spotlight: Digital health and wearables (17 Sep 2026)
The spotlight on digital health and wearables will be a supplement in Nature, due to be published in September, 2026. This series will explore some of the new innovations in this field, including topics such as AI patient monitoring and wearable biosensors, and might include a feature focusing on tech of the future.
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Spotlight: Energy (1 Oct 2026)
The spotlight on energy will be a supplement in Nature, due to be published in October, 2026. This spotlight will investigate breakthroughs and challenges in the field, including topics such as Nuclear fusion research, cybersecurity and cyberattacks on grid systems, and supporting AI’s future energy demands.
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Spotlight: Infectious diseases (8 Oct 2026)
The spotlight on infectious diseases will be a supplement in Nature, due to be published in October, 2026. This series will focus on some of the leading research in the field, possibly including profiles of academics on the frontline, investigating the re-emergence of diseases such as Marburg, and/or a feature on some of the advancements in the use of AI in disease detection.
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Spotlight: ASEAN countries (10 Dec 2026)
The spotlight on ASEAN countries will be a supplement in Nature, due to be published in December 2026. This series will investigate some of the research highlights from these countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam), potentially including work on international collaborations, growth of the research landscape in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam and/or the creation of smart cities.
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