Hello Nature readers,
Today we hear about widespread protests in support of science in the United States and discover how a sign of sleep can help predict who will recover from a coma. Plus, we explore how ‘resilience’ can mask a toxic lab culture.

‘Scientists will not be silenced’

Thousands of researchers and supporters of science in the United States and in Europe protested under the banner of ‘Stand Up for Science’ on Friday against actions taken by the administration of US President Donald Trump to cut the US scientific workforce and slash spending on research worldwide. “It’s dawned on me,” said global-health metrics researcher Abraham Flaxman: “Nobody is coming to save us. We’re going to have to save ourselves.”

Coma brain waves hint at who’s waking up

A pattern of brain waves that occurs during sleep might help to predict whether an unresponsive person who experienced severe brain injury will recover consciousness. Researchers recorded the electrical activity in the brains of 226 people in a coma who had experienced recent brain injury, and homed in on a specific patterns of brain activity called sleep spindles. They found that 28% of people who had well-defined sleep spindles recovered consciousness, compared with only 14% of those who lacked this pattern. “We're starting to lift the lid a little bit and find some signs of recovery as it's happening,” says neurologist and study co-author Jan Claassen.

LGBTQ+ biologists face hostility at work

A survey of more than 1,400 LGBTQ+ biologists finds that many experience hostility, intimidation or offensive behaviour at work. The preprint study reports that 40% of transgender and gender-nonconforming respondents, and 20% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer respondents, say they have faced these issues. “One person experiencing that is one person too many,” says biology-education researcher and co-author Katelyn Cooper.

PhD lab size affects future academic success

Postdoctoral and graduate students in large research groups are more likely to leave academia than their peers in smaller groups, but they have more career success if they stick it out, according to a study of over one million researchers. Early-career researchers might have more responsibilities in small groups, says computational social scientist Lingfei Wu, which encourages them to stay in academia. In big groups, some members will “fall off the [academic] wagon, but the people who experiment in novel ways will succeed more dramatically”, says sociologist James Evans.

Microplastics research needs ironing out

Last month, Briefing readers recoiled from the news that human brains seem to be full of plastic bits — with a recent study of autopsied bodies finding our brains might contain as much as 4.5 bottle caps’ worth of plastic. But some of the most shocking studies about microplastics in human tissues rely on small sample sizes, lack appropriate controls or “are not biologically plausible”, write four health researchers. “Without more rigorous standards, transparency and collaboration — among researchers, policymakers and industrial stakeholders — a cycle of misinformation and ineffective regulation could undermine efforts to protect both human health and the environment,” they argue.

Academia is getting resilience wrong

After giving a presentation to her department about issues she faced with inclusivity, “I got told that I need to toughen up”, says biomechanics researcher Emily Wharton. Her experience captures academia’s often misguided view of resilience. It's more than putting on a brave face when the going gets tough, says biomedical researcher Sharon Milgram. “It is the ability to know when to persist and when to pivot.” It also isn’t just down to the individual, but also to their work environment, says cognitive neuroscientist Dusana Dorjee.