Racist ratings linger in five-star systems — a thumbs up could fix that

01:14 A simple switch to reduce racist ratingsA study of almost 70,000 ratings showed that racial discrimination could be eliminated from an online platform by switching from a five-star rating system to a thumbs up or down. The platform connected customers to workers who performed home repair jobs, and prior to the shift people categorised by the study authors as ‘non-white’ had lower ratings and got paid less than their white counterparts. Through follow up studies the authors also showed that the five-star system allowed people to impart their personal opinions, whereas a thumbs up or down just focused them on whether a job was good or bad. The team hopes this could be an easy-to-implement shift to tackle racial discrimination.Research Article: Botelho et al.News and Views: Racial bias eliminated when ratings switch from five stars to thumbs up or down11:24 Research HighlightsExperimental evidence that cockatoos like flavouring their food, and the harsh climate of sixteenth century Transylvania.Research Highlight: Gourmet cockatoos like to fancy up their foodResearch Highlight: Transylvanian diaries reveal centuries-old climate extremes14:05 An analysis of retraction hotspotsA Nature investigation has revealed where the most retractions come from, with hospitals in China and institutions in India and Pakistan topping the list. Retractions are a normal part of science and may be a sign of necessary scrutiny, but they can also signal misconduct and use of paper mills. Features Editor Richard Van Noorden joins us to discuss what this means for science and tackling sloppy research.Nature: Exclusive: These universities have the most retracted scientific articles22:43 Briefing ChatLayoffs in the US’s Environmental Protection Agency, reactions to the DEI purge at NASA, and what RFK Jr.’s role as secretary of Health and Human Services could mean for health research.Nature: ‘Targeted and belittled’: scientists at US environmental agency speak out as layoffs beginNature: NASA embraced diversity. Trump’s DEI purge is hitting space scientists hardNature: Vaccine sceptic RFK Jr is now a powerful force in US science: what will he do?Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.