Hello Nature readers,
Today we discover what happens when journals pay peer reviewers, hear how US grant cuts are ending scientific careers and learn what Lyft ride-share data can tell us about racial bias in policing.

What happens when you pay reviewers?

Two journals have released data from their own experiments that suggest that offering payments of around US$250 to researchers who review manuscripts speeds up the process, without affecting the quality of reviews. A six-month experiment at Critical Care Medicine, led by clinical scientist David Maslove, found that the motivating effect on reviewers was small. That might be down to “these other values that peer reviewers have, whether it’s a sense of responsibility or loyalty or owing to society”, says Maslove. At Biology Open, payment speeded up reviews so much that the journal is rolling it out more widely. But some specialists warn that the practice could have unintended consequences for science and publishing.

Lyft data shows speeding-ticket racism

Data from more than 200,000 drivers working for the ridesharing company Lyft in Florida suggest that racial profiling plays a role in traffic citations and fines. Researchers found no detectable differences in speeding or traffic violations between white drivers and a group that included Asian and Pacific Islander, Black, and Hispanic drivers. But minority drivers were 33% more likely to be cited for speeding and paid 34% more money in fines.

How to overcome six barriers to net zero

Lucas Joppa and Elizabeth Willmott were once the principal architects of Microsoft’s carbon-negative commitment, and have influenced more than US$1 billion in activities related to carbon reduction and removal. “Although we have a deep conviction that net zero can work, we know it has issues,” they write. “A premature desire for perfection, overly precise guidelines for implementation, insufficient flexibility in carbon accounting, unhelpful constraints on collaboration and a disproportionate focus on the actions of others all combine to slow down the net-zero transformation just when it needs to speed up.” They outline six roadblocks to decarbonization, and how to overcome them.