Privilege, power and vulnerability in science: precarious funding can prompt unethical ties

Email Bluesky Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Whatsapp X Access through your institution Buy or subscribe The links between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the scientific community (see Nature 650 , 529–530 (2026) and Nature https://doi.org/qtkn; 2026 ) stem from a variety of factors, some personal, some structural. Access options Access through your institution Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $32.99 / 30 days cancel any time Learn more Subscribe to this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access $199.00 per year only $3.90 per issue Learn more Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from $1.95 to $39.95 Learn more Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Nature 651 , 550 (2026) doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00777-5 Competing Interests The authors declare no competing interests. Related Articles The Epstein scandal is a wake-up call — new rules are needed on links with rich donors Funding from individual donors: lessons from the Epstein case Epstein files reveal deeper ties to scientists than previously known Scientists face fallout for past associations with Epstein Subjects Scientific community Funding Research management Society Latest on: Scientific community Funding Research management The ethical risks of open-access agreements being used for authorship leverage Correspondence 10 MAR 26 My PhD student is stuck. How do I teach them perseverance and problem solving? Career Feature 09 MAR 26 Eight common errors I see in PhD applications and interviews, and how to avoid them Career Column 09 MAR 26 Under pressure: the reality of Mexico’s research system Spotlight 04 MAR 26 Funding from individual donors: lessons from the Epstein case Editorial 04 MAR 26 White House stalls release of approved US science budgets News 27 FEB 26 The ethical risks of open-access agreements being used for authorship leverage Correspondence 10 MAR 26 My PhD student is stuck. How do I teach them perseverance and problem solving? Career Feature 09 MAR 26 How Congress can restore the independence of US science Comment 09 MAR 26 Jobs Research group leader, Systems Immunology (m/f/d) The Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut is one of the world’s leading research institutes in the field of animal diseases, animal welfare, animal husbandry... Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (DE) Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut für Tiergesundheit Postdoctoral Fellow UMass Chan Medical School (FBGao Lab) Post Doc Position to study pathogenic mechanisms of Frontotemporal Dementia using patient iPSC-derived neurons Worcester, Massachusetts (US) Umass Chan Medical School - Fen-Biao Gao Lab Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Warmly Welcomes Talents Abroad Qiushi Chair Professor; Qiushi Distinguished Scholar; ZJU 100 Young Researcher; Distinguished researcher No. 3, Qingchun East Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang (CN) Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital Affiliated with Zhejiang University School of Medicine Talent Recruitment Announcement of the College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University Join Huazhong Agricultural University No.1 Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU) Seeking Global Talents at All Levels - SIAT We find Distinguished PIs, Senior PIs, Junior PIs, Senior Engineer, Junior Engineer, Post-doctoral fellow, Assistant research fellow. 1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen 518055 P. R. China Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences（CAS)