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Common ground: Pilot program aims to help both homeless and business
On this edition, we talk with Darren Sparks of Tipping Point and Katie Wilgus of Downtown Eugene Inc. about a new pilot program in Eugene that aims to coordinate resources to better support those living unhoused and business owners who often are impacted by people forced to live on the streets.
Science on Target: Q2 2026 Research Spotlight
Basic Biology Consortium breaks new ground in ALS In 2022, Target ALS awarded funding to Drs. Jonathan Cooper-Knock (University of Sheffield, project lead) and Michael Snyder (Stanford University), along with fellow consortium members Drs. Ophir Shalem (University of Pennsylvania) and Eran Hornstein (Weizmann Institute), for their project “Exploring the landscape of ALS genetics with machine […]
Hungary moves to overhaul university models banned from Horizon Europe
Hungary’s new government is aiming to overhaul the governance model of the institutions and universities that lost access to Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ funds “in a short timeframe,” according to Péter Horváth, the new state secretary for science policy and innovation. “As of today, the two non-university foundation-controlled institutions under my remit have been transformed,” he told Science|Business. “We hope the universities will follow and that this will be enough to satisfy the EU’s demands.”Under the previous government, led by Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party, many academic and scientific institutions were restructured and made into special public trust foundations, with members strongly linked to the government given lifelong mandates and significant decision-making powers with little oversight. The European Commission deemed that this undermined academic freedom and transparency in the country, leading to a ban on 34 institutions in 2022, including 21 universities, which saw academics in Hungary lose access to Horizon Europe grants. The new Hungarian government, elected in May and led by Péter Magyar and his Tisza Party, has promised to dismantle this governance model and restore the institutions to EU programmes. As a result, the European Commission has promised to return access to the Erasmus+ education mobility programme, but so far no concrete agreement has been made on the Horizon Europe programme for research and innovation. Hungary has already made legislative changes in June to allow the institutions to be reformed and set a timeline for the implementation.The non-university foundations, which are mainly cultural centres such as the Foundation for Hungarian Culture or the Makovecz Campus Foundation, will all be dissolved by August 31 this year, a date tied to EU-set milestones that Hungary must meet to unlock frozen funds, with control transferred to relevant ministries. Meanwhile, the universities will have until 31 August 2027. For each university foundation, the government will set the dissolution date and the body to take over operations. There is no final decision on a permanent new model for the universities, according to Hungarian MEP Eszter Lakos, who is shadow rapporteur for the Horizon Europe specific programme, a separate piece of legislation detailing implementation rules for the EU’s next research programme, due to start in 2028. “The aim of the transition year is to settle this with [the universities], not to impose a model, and not to put them under state control,” she told Science|Business. “The goal is to give academic independence back to universities.”There are three models that are most likely to be implemented. One would be a return to a traditional, state-run model. Another could be a newer, more self-standing public institution. A third option would be a reformed version of the foundation models that meet EU standards. According to Lakos, the dismantling of the system put in place by the Orbán government is well underway and if all goes according to plan, Hungary could regain access to EU research money by the start of the next academic year in 2027. “I believe that the Hungarian government is doing the necessary changes so the universities could return as beneficiaries to Horizon from the next school year,” she said. In the meantime, “the universities, institutes and cultural assets carry on under proper public stewardship rather than a handful of unaccountable trustees,” said Lakos. The laws passed in June impose new safeguards: board terms are capped at four years and renewable only once, appointments are made through open competitions and sitting politicians cannot join joining these boards.It remains unclear whether a domestic science funding programme set up as a back-up scheme by the former government following the EU funding ban, called HU-rizon, could be continued. “This programme should never have had to have been established in the first place, but it has proven to be quite popular,” he said. “I am considering continuing this programme with a refined focus on helping international collaborations.”Re-organising the research network One of the first priorities for Horváth and his cabinet is to resolve questions over the future of the Hungarian Research Network, Hun-Ren. The network of academic institutes was taken away from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2019 and turned into a quasi-private organisation, with similarities in its governance to the public trust foundations.Horváth and his team have consulted over 5,000 representatives from the network and the conclusion is broad unhappiness with the directors of all the institutes involved. “We have presented the results to the president and the chief executive of the network and this is currently being discussed,” Horváth said. The plan is to re-integrate the network back into the Academy of Sciences but in an improved way, “learning from mistakes of the past,” he added. The government also wants to reintegrate four humanities and social science research centres into the network that the previous government had transferred to Eötvös Loránd University. The transfer brought sharp criticism from the academic community, with a group of Hungarian research heads, including European Research Council grant recipients, sending an open letter to Orbán warning that the transfer would “cause historically significant harm to the entirety of Hungarian scientific life.” The transfer was “one of the biggest shames in Hungarian research in the past 20 years,” Horváth said. “We want to immediately re-integrate them back into the research network and to regain the trust of these institutions, because the way they were treated was really unfair.”Another pressing issue is the Élvonal Excellence Research and Talent Development Foundation, led by Nobel laureate Ferenc Krausz. The foundation signed a financing agreement with the former government earlier this year for a budget of over €730 million over the next five years. The goal is to create a world-class centre to attract top talent from abroad and to develop local researchers. But there was little transparency about this foundation, and news of its huge budget, which is nearly as much as Hungary’s entire research budget, caused a stir in the media following the recent elections. Another issue is that, as with the foundation boards of the institutes banned from Horizon Europe, there was little-to-no oversight of decisions led by Krausz. “It was an excellent idea but an unacceptable execution,” Horváth said of the foundation. “The fact that this is out of the Hungarian funding scheme, mostly concentrating on one person who decides on the budget is unacceptable for us.”The government plans to merge the centre with the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, the country’s R&D funding agency, with a reduced budget. Horváth is hopeful that Krausz will still be involved. The new government’s R&D goalsA phrase that crops up regularly during the discussion with Horváth is “democratic process.” The new state secretary is determined to involve Hungary’s research community in shaping future policies. This marks a departure from the previous government’s approach, and several people in Hungary’s research community have commented on the openness of the new government. In terms of concrete goals, Horváth and his team already have plans. He wants to create a new science fund in Hungary, based on the best practices of other European countries. The fund would not be tied to annual government budgets and would provide long-term, stable financing. “If we were to succeed in creating this fund, then I think it would be one of the biggest achievements for me in this period of government,” Horváth said. On the innovation side, he is looking into how best to bring in the private sector. “We want to make sure that we are working with the private sector to support innovation,” Horváth said. One of his big aims is to introduce entrepreneurship teaching into high schools. Hungary already has a reputable national academy offering research and innovation training in the field of natural sciences, and Horváth wants to expand this to all disciplines and across the whole country. “One of the main ways to elevate our innovative businesses is to teach our children to be innovative,” he said. “This will probably need ten years to pay off, but this is what we should do. Our aim is to make Hungary strong in our region, and this is what is needed.” Related articlesHungary’s Horizon Europe performance in numbersCommission unlocks Erasmus+ cash for Hungary, Horizon could be next‘Academic Huxit.’ Hungarian researchers speak out on impact of EU ban A more difficult task will be funding. The new government is aiming to increase research spending to 2% of the GDP by 2030, and then increase it to 3% in line with EU objectives. Currently, spending sits around 1.3%. But according to Horváth, the current budget, inherited from the previous government, is “heavily in the negative,” so any plans to increase research spending will have to start next year. Achieving 2% by 2030 already needs a big push, almost doubling the research budget. “This is something we’d definitely like to reach, and something I can see us achieving,” he said. “From the 2030s, I’d like to see an innovative generation growing up that can help us reach the 3% target.” Positivity in the new governmentDespite the many challenges facing Horváth and his team, the mood is positive. “It feels a bit like a start-up right now. Everyone is working 24/7, day and night, trying to do as much as they can. There is a lot of energy,” he said. It is a big change for the state secretary who, like many in his cabinet, is coming from a background in research or business, and not in politics. “Six weeks ago, I was sitting with my microscope and my research PhDs, so it’s been a big change for me,” said the computer scientist, who was previously the director of the Institute of Biochemistry at the Hun-Ren Biological Research Centre in Hungary and worked at the Institute for AI for Health at Helmholtz Munich. But he is relishing the task to transform the country’s R&D landscape. “We feel enormous support from the Hungarian people, but also from Europe,” he said. “We’ve received a lot of letters of support from around Europe. There is big trust there, and huge responsibility on our side. We want to get everything back on track, and there’s a lot to do.”
LPS board hears plan to modernize school playgrounds and sports facilities
Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) has unveiled a plan to transform outdoor spaces as well as district athletic and activity facilities at multiple schools across the city.
‘We don’t know how long we can survive’: Church Street business owner hopes new project flourishes
"Since COVID-19, the foot traffic is very, very slow," business owner Yehya Rizeq said of Church Street in downtown Orlando. "It’s not recovered yet." A new project breaking ground hopes to change that, but Rizeq worries they can't survive much longer.
Platner’s three-day vetting job comes back to haunt Dems as rape allegation rocks Senate bid
Democratic operatives paid only $6,250 for a rushed background check on Graham Platner, missing a Nazi tattoo, rape allegations, and Reddit posts.
Road of Legends Day 3: All Five-Star Raids, Mega Gardevoir, Bonuses and Guides
Road of Legends is a stacked week of Legendary raids, Mega Raids, event bonuses, Special Backgrounds, Adventure Effects, and a new GO Pass. Running from July 6, 2026, at 12:01 a.m. to July 10, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. local time, Road of Legends is a final prep event before GO Fest Global weekend. Trainers will […]
BIW breaks ground on new parking garage
Bath traffic can be a nightmare during shipyard shift change. A new parking garage may help.
Fermilab marks 70 years of neutrino science and leads next-generation experiment
As Fermilab commemorates 70 years since the discovery of the neutrino at the Savannah River Site in the United States, the lab also celebrates its multiple generations of pioneering neutrino research. Today, Fermilab is building the next era of neutrino discovery through the development of the world-leading Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.
Residents raise health, environmental concerns as crews battle Parkersburg warehouse fire
Neighbors nearby are voicing worries about the smoke in the air and possible runoff into the ground and local waterways.
Brewers Can't Let Cardinals Gain Ground
The Milwaukee Brewers must ignite their stagnant bats to stifle a surging St. Louis Cardinals offense and protect their narrow divisional lead during a series at Busch Stadium.
Scientists Say We May Have Been Wrong About the Origin of Life
Ancient evidence suggests a new twist in how we all got here.
Socialist mayor Katie Wilson silent amid protests over ‘human dumping ground’ ahead of US World Cup match
CID businesses report a major decline in foot traffic during the FIFA World Cup as residents protest Mayor Katie Wilson over crime and drug dealing.
Neighbors shape plant life more than expected, scientists find
Scientists at Leiden University have discovered that plants are strongly influenced by their neighbors, not just above ground but also through hidden networks in the soil. Their findings challenge long-held ...
KUOW’s new podcast Pocket Science digs into the groundbreaking research happening right here in the Pacific Northwest
Today KUOW launches Pocket Science, a podcast that takes you up close to the scientific research and discovery happening all around the region and introduces you to the scientists in the thick of it.
Downtown redevelopment years in the making breaks ground this week
The next piece of former downtown rail yard land is about to be transformed into new places to live, work and spend time downtown.
Texas Sports Academy Launches Elite Girls Volleyball School with TAV Leadership
Texas Sports Academy today announced the launch of its first-ever Girls Volleyball School, a groundbreaking institution that combines AI-powered academics with championship-level volleyball development.
Supreme Court ruling may wipe out Democrats' cash advantage in Senate battlegrounds
The GOP and Democratic national committees, others can now spend unlimited funds from their big donors in coordination with political campaigns.
UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center brings real scientists into L.A. classrooms
For many high school students, the term “scientist” conjures someone who doesn’t look like them or share their background. This program sets out to change that, bringing young researchers directly into classrooms for hands-on, interactive presentations.
Engineers solved an airflow mystery hidden nearly a mile underground
Engineers at a deep underground research facility noticed something strange during major rainstorms: airflow underground sometimes reversed direction. Using new sensors and mathematical modeling, they found that water rushing down a shaft was effectively pushing air through the tunnels like a giant piston. The breakthrough explains a long-standing mystery and could help underground operations better predict and manage ventilation during storms and emergencies.
New outdoor playground opens as part of Eugene Science Center expansion
The outdoor science park, which opened last week, doubles the museum’s footprint and offers a fenced-in area for children to climb, slide and run. Three more play structures will be added in the fall.
It’s the Summer of Sports and Politics
Sports has always been a battleground for political discourse. Lately it’s been driving policy, too.
The Science Behind Erling Haaland's Sleep Routine: Do You Really Need These Sleep Hacks?
Elite footballers spend countless hours perfecting their game, but one of the biggest factors behind peak performance happens away from the training ground. Er
Fort Bend County Fair to Reveal 2026 Entertainment Lineup at Free Sugar Land Event
SUGAR LAND, Texas (Covering Katy News) — The Fort Bend County Fair and Rodeo will reveal its 2026 entertainment lineup during a free public event Wednesday as the organization prepares to celebrate its 90th anniversary. Fort Bend County Fair 2026 Lineup Reveal Set for July 8 in Sugar Land The “Who’s Playing at the Fair?” gathering is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. at Talyard Brewing Company, 1033 Imperial Blvd. Attendees will be the first to learn which artists are set to perform, with giveaways, special guests and family-friendly activities planned. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.2026 Fort Bend County Fair Dates and Schedule The fair’s Championship BBQ Cook-Off is set for Sept. 18-19, with the main fair and rodeo running Sept. 25 through Oct. 4. The events will feature nightly concerts, livestock shows, youth competitions, rodeo performances and carnival attractions. What to Expect at the Fort Bend County Fair 90th Anniversary Celebration "We’re excited to kick off our 90th year by answering the question everyone is asking — who’s playing at the fair?” Fair President Brian Graeber said. “This event is a chance for residents to come together, become part of our fair family, and get an early look at what’s in store for our milestone celebration.” Fort Bend County Fair Scholarship and Youth Impact For 90 years, the Fort Bend County Fair and Rodeo has focused on benefiting youth, promoting agriculture and supporting education. This year, the organization awarded $250,000 in scholarships and generated more than $1.4 million through its junior livestock and other auctions. The lineup reveal is free and open to the public. For more information, visit fortbendcountyfair.com or follow the fair on social media. The fairgrounds are located at 4310 Hwy. 36 South in Rosenberg.
Streetlights are trapping thousands of pill bugs in giant “death spirals”
Researchers discovered that artificial streetlights can trap thousands of woodlice in mesmerizing circular "death spirals" never before seen in the wild. The surprising finding suggests that light pollution may be unintentionally altering the behavior of even the smallest ground-dwelling animals.
Road of Legends: Monday 6th July 2026 Pokémon GO Raids
Road of Legends is a stacked week of Legendary raids, Mega Raids, event bonuses, Special Backgrounds, Adventure Effects, and a new GO Pass. Running from July 6, 2026, at 12:01 a.m. to July 10, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. local time, Road of Legends is a final prep event before GO Fest Global weekend. Trainers will […]
A Nantucket dive bar is booking big name bands, bringing fans together like never before
Concertgoers from all backgrounds have packed this 375-person venue to listen to artists that might not typically go out to Nantucket.
MSU student group helps foster conversations across the political aisle
MSU Middle Ground is a group that fosters conversation about hot-topic issues with people across the political aisle to create empathy for the other side.
Trump pokes fun at himself, roasts Obama in children's podcast
The 24-page book “Presidents Play!” features illustrations showing how presidents, despite their hectic schedule, unwind on the White House grounds
Illegal business shut down, guns and drugs found
Illegal business shut down, guns and drugs found
Business Briefs: July 2026
Fallen Tree Breaks New Ground with Wine Wins In the tasting room of Fallen Tree Vineyard, co-owner Matt Hales offered a glass of petit manseng. He’d just been manning the kitchen, his wife Lisa overseeing the front of the house, and out on the lawn a small crew of workers built the foundation of a
New Pentagon office will oversee majority of drones
From small one-way attack drones to drone boats and ground robots, the new office will have vast authority over the future of uncrewed programs.
Scientists warn: a hidden space threat could trigger the next plane crash - Futura-Sciences
Space debris: silent stalkers in our skies For the past 50 years, NASA has recorded no more than one piece of space debris making it to the ground per day. And thankfully, there’s yet to be a single serious accident. After all, Earth is big and humans only occupy a...
Trump reads a children's book on second lady Usha Vance's podcast, then riffs on past presidents and himself
The president read "Presidents Play!" a children's book from the White House Historical Association that features illustrations of the presidents enjoying sports and using the White House and its grounds for recreation.
'Topgolf 2.0' opens in Parsippany with new game tech. Take a look.
The $30 million project Topgolf broke ground in June 2025, promising to bring 400 new jobs to Parsippany, NJ.
LSUA breaks ground on health education campus that will train future healthcare workers
LSU-Alexandria breaks ground on its new 43-million-dollar Health Education Campus. University officials say it...
10 truly groundbreaking sports ‘firsts’ that shaped America
These 10 firsts laid the foundation for the sports that drive us to eat, sleep and breathe fandom.
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce's relationship timeline, from NFL games to wedding
Years before Travis Kelce knelt to the ground and pulled out a custom ring for Taylor Swift, the Kansas City Chiefs player was just a fan in the stands who
Roundup: Beach Chairs, Tom Lowrie, Teardowns …
An update on the Great Compo Beach Fireworks Land Grab Arms Race: Here was the view as of 8:30 this morning. (Photo/Karen Como) (Photo/Amy Schneider) That’s the scene at ground level. A drone…
Xbox reportedly to follow PlayStation's example and ditch discs for next-gen console Project Helix
The next Xbox console may also ship without a built-in disc drive, but Microsoft may have a solution for discs from older generations.
7 Indoor Kid Entertainment Venues in Northern Virginia
These Northern Virginia indoor kid entertainment venues include slides, a space-themed playground, a community-centered play café, and more.
Trump's actions signal a move toward institutionalizing people with disabilities, advocates warn
For decades, disabled people have fought for their rights to go to school and live alongside peers without disabilities — rights that some fear could be losing ground under the Trump administration.
Android 17 QPR1 hits Platform Stability with today's Beta 6 release
Google has announced that Android 17 QPR1 Beta 6 is releasing today, which includes several fixes and improvements.
Godot bans "autonomous AI agent use or vibe coded" contributions
Godot has updated its contribution policy and "take[n] steps" to reduce "demoralizing" AI contributions.
NEW Best In Games Warren: Metro Detroit’s Ultimate Indoor Family Entertainment Center
Located at 28300 Dequindre Road, this massive entertainment destination features everything from an enormous indoor playground and laser tag to go-karts, bowling, arcade games, and even axe throwing…
CID Business Owners Call Neighborhood a 'Human Dumping Ground'
CID business owners say the World Cup is hurting their Seattle neighborhood. One advocate says Mayor Wilson has turned the CID into a 'human dumping ground.
Sudden danger: the science and stakes of flash flood forecasting
Flash floods pose a major threat to lives and property. When it comes to researching them, understanding the rain as it falls is only half the battle. The next step is knowing how the water will move once it hits the ground.
Scientists have built a cell in a lab from the ground up
What do you call an organism with no evolutionary ancestors? SpudCell, apparently
Scientists have built a cell from the ground up
What do you call an organism with no evolutionary ancestors? SpudCell, apparently
The engineer who became Anthropic's political secret weapon
Tom Brown, an Anthropic cofounder, helped mediate the White House complaints over Fable and Mythos. His background in AI is brief but noteworthy.
The engineer who became Anthropic's political secret weapon
Tom Brown, an Anthropic cofounder, helped mediate the White House complaints over Fable and Mythos. His background in AI is brief but noteworthy.
Unisun Sports Commences, Kicking Off 2026-27 Season
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Unisun Sports, the groundbreaking strategic alliance between the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and the United Athletic Conference (UAC), has officially commenced as of July 1, 2026. Unisun Sports will serve both conferences, designed to significantly enhance operational efficiency, foster deeper collaboration, and drive innovation across both NCAA Division I organizations.
Unisun Sports Commences, Kicking Off 2026-27 Season
Unisun Sports, the groundbreaking strategic alliance between the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and the United Athletic Conference (UAC), has officially commenced as of July 1, 2026. Unisun Sports will serve both conferences, designed to significantly enhance operational efficiency, foster deeper collaboration, and drive innovation across both NCAA Division I organizations.
Events in VT go big for July with Weird Al, Jack White and Thundercat
The Vermont Comedy Club, Higher Ground and the von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort all have plenty to offer as America celebrates its 250th birthday.
Academy Sports + Outdoors coming to Siloam Springs
Marc Hayot/Herald-Leader Construction workers prepare the ground to build the new Academy Sports + Outdoors in between the Walmart Supercenter and Lowe's Home Improvement on June 24. An opening date has not been set, said Kelley Jones, senior external communications specialist for Academy Sports + Outdoors.
What you need to know about the health effects of ozone on hot days
A heat dome has settled over Michigan, driving up ground-level ozone and concerns about the health effects for all, not just the most vulnerable.
Mayor Mamdani, NYC Health + Hospitals break ground on $255M River Commons, bringing 328 affordable affordable homes to the South Bronx
The city has broken ground on River Commons, a mixed-use development in Morrisania that will bring 328 affordable and supportive apartments, an expanded
Revitalized 1930s estate in Mettawa for sale at almost $9 million
The mansion and 11-acre grounds of the estate known as Shagbark have been extensively rehabbed and updated since 2019 as a personal project of the man whose family company revitalized the former Motorola Mobility campus in Libertyville.
Building the Valley: Young Springdale man keeping lawns at bay as business grows
When Justin Burrell started landscaping in 2022, the then-14-year-old wasn’t old enough to drive himself to clients’ houses so he enlisted help from his parents. At first, he mowed lawns for some extra pocket change. Now, at 18, Burrell is working toward turn his Burrell Grounds and Services business into
Samsung hints the Galaxy Ring 2 could do something no Galaxy wearable has done before
A senior Samsung executive has revealed that the next-generation Galaxy Ring will bring a promising compatibility upgrade.
Bronx rodeo where rider was injured by bull had no permit: Health Department
The victim, a man in his 30s, was slammed to the ground at the show Monday night in Baychester. That's when the bull charged him, causing cuts to his face.
New York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. Exits Game Against Tigers
The New York Yankees have been struggling in recent games, and their ballclub is continuing to spiral. In the fourth inning, Jazz Chisholm Jr. collided with Jasson Domínguez, ultimately knocking Chisholm to the ground. Status alert: Jazz Chisholm Jr. leaves game Monday.pic.twitter.com/5XyTh98wIX — Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) June 30, 2026 Chisholm exited the game following the […] The post New York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. Exits Game Against Tigers appeared first on HEAVY.
Raveheart by Graeme Armstrong review – ravers rebel in a Scottish political satire
A veteran techno DJ embarks on a campaign of civil disobedience in this passionate and at times hilarious tale of underground resistance
🎧 When belief returned: Episode five of new Coventry documentary
The relegation from League One to the bottom tier of English football starts episode five of Back Where We Belong. Under Mark Robins, Coventry City found their identity and stability on the pitch, with fans finding joy in small and shared moments. With Wasps still owning the Ricoh Arena, the Sky Blues were forced to ground-share with Birmingham City at St Andrew's.
Katy Perry cancels music festival performance at the last minute: 'They gave me no choice'
Katy Perry apologizes after her Werchter Boutique performance was canceled at the last minute, tells fans 'I am just as unhappy as you are.'
Assessing the claim that the U.S. government is abandoning science
The people who do not trust science today would probably like to be able to. And the people who do trust it may simply be unaware of the problems.
Americans find common ground on healthcare
Americans agree that healthcare needs to be better, cheaper, and less complicated. Good ideas toward those goals are bubbling up around the country.
I overcame my fear of learning about AI and landed a Big Tech AI job
A product designer share how embracing her inner "mad scientist" and experimenting with AI helped her land a job at Adobe, with no formal background in machine learning.
I overcame my fear of learning about AI and landed a Big Tech AI job
A product designer share how embracing her inner "mad scientist" and experimenting with AI helped her land a job at Adobe, with no formal background in machine learning.
Hunter Goodman smashes three home runs vs. Twins
Colorado Rockies designated hitter Hunter Goodman hit three long home runs against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday. Goodman crushed two no-doubters — solo shots in the first and third innings — in his first two at-bats against Twins starter Mike Paredes. Then, after grounding out in the fifth, Goodman came up with two runners on base and the Rockies leading 3-2 in the seventh.
PHOTOS | Multitude enjoy aerial entertainment at resurgent Texarkana Airshow
Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Hall, assistant team leader, watches the ground to help the Golden Knights line up with their jump mark at the Texarkana Airshow on Saturday at Texarkana Regional Airport. Throngs of people lined a taxiway at the airport to watch the Army parachute team and other aerial entertainment. It was the first airshow in the city in nearly 30 years. See Monday's edition for extended coverage.
Design and Early Implementation Outcomes of a Mobile Health-Enabled Social Support Intervention for Adults Living With HIV and Type 2 Diabetes in Uganda
Background: Adults living with HIV and type 2 diabetes experience complex treatment demands that affect medication-taking, clinic attendance, privacy, social support, and engagement with care. M...
Scientists finally explain why these wild boars stay more radioactive than Chernobyl's wolves - Futura-Sciences
What explains this surprising finding? The answer appears to be a complex mix of history, ecology, and diet. Bavaria’s wild boars mainly feed on underground fungi that absorbed radioactive fallout from both the notorious Chernobyl disaster and Cold War-era nuclear testing. Unlike wolves, which sit higher on the food chain...
What scientists discovered about coffee grounds will transform construction industry - Futura-Sciences
At the start of 2024, a study published several months ago is once again drawing attention. Scientists at RMIT University in Australia have identified an unexpected use for spent coffee grounds, opening the door to a promising solution for both the construction sector and organic waste management. From coffee waste...
Yellowstone’s supervolcano may be fueled by something unexpected
Scientists have uncovered a new explanation for what powers Yellowstone and other supervolcanoes. Instead of a deep plume rising from near Earth’s core, a broad “mantle wind” may push hot rock beneath Yellowstone, generating magma closer to the surface. This process helps create a massive underground magma network and may explain how supervolcanoes remain active for long periods.
Pilots react to a Boeing 777 freighter's 'reckless' stunt over Texas
A Boeing 777 nearly clipped the ground during an unusually low flyover in Texas, a stunt veteran pilots called "reckless" and "stupid."
Some In Silicon Valley Want To Build A Machine God: Here's What Business Leaders Should Build Instead.
What young people need to become capable, grounded adults is not a faster model release.
Scientists Turn Wet Coffee Grounds Into Coal-Like Fuel in Just 90 Seconds
A new process skips energy-intensive drying for recycling coffee waste.
Earthquake shifts political ground for Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodriguez
Venezuela's strongest earthquake in over a century is the biggest challenge to Delcy Rodriguez's leadership but could also allow the interim president to stamp her authority on a fractured government.
PNC Business Credit Names Brady to Southwest Region Sales Manager
PNC Business Credit promoted Eamonn Brady to Southwest region sales manager. Based in Denver, Brady will spearhead business development efforts across both
Democratic socialists’ battleground test: From the Politics Desk
Plus, Pete Buttigieg is back on the campaign trail. And digging into Michael Whatley’s bio in the North Carolina Senate race.
Making Our Own Luck
We are cross-posting a piece that former NIH official Kris Willis wrote for Macroscience. Kris is now the President and Founder of the Woodley Park Institute, for which I’m a board member. Picking winners or hedging bets? Federal science agencies have long wrestled with the question of how to ensure their billions of dollars of grants and contracts result in maximum benefits for Americans. On the surface, it might seem that a goal-oriented, interventionist style of management would be the best policy: prioritize our most pressing problems and distribute funding accordingly.This top-down strategy creates a unique hazard, though: bad choices can send resources in the wrong direction, resulting in slow progress that impedes the delivery of tangible benefits to citizens. Moreover, if decision makers pursue an applied advance when the underlying scientific principles remain poorly understood, they risk costly failures and a loss of support for the research enterprise at large. Examples include Nixon’s 1971 War on Cancer, undertaken on the premise that a cure could be achieved in less than a decade, the drive to build an operational commercial fusion plant by the mid-1990s, and the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, which failed to produce the effective treatments and prevention strategies promised by 2025. The contrasting laissez-faire approach is to hedge your bets. If the path to an advance is impossible to predict, then the wisest choice might be to distribute funding to as widely as possible. The main risk of this strategy is that spreading funding thinly may limit the resources available to the most promising research, resulting in the same negative outcomes as the interventionist approach: limited support for the most promising topics, slow progress, and delayed returns. In reality, at science agencies like the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, program managers navigate between these two extremes, setting some funds aside to target high-priority areas and using the rest to cover the widest possible range of meritorious proposals. This middle path seems like the most rational way to proceed, but it still requires making choices. How much should be set aside for high priority topics? What should those topics be? How should we define merit? Expert opinion can provide a helpful guide, but leading experts can have remarkably different opinions about what matters and what should be prioritized. Moreover, experts and administrators alike can be risk averse, giving an edge to high-profile, well-established concepts. What’s really needed is a data-driven framework to help guide decision-making, one that doesn’t simply repackage prestige or incumbency. Recognizing breakthroughs years in advance Many breakthroughs fail to attract funding or recognition at the earliest stages of development. Katalin Karikó, for example, spent years struggling to win grants for work on mRNA that would eventually win her and Drew Weissman a Nobel Prize. Similar stories can be told about Jim Allison’s groundbreaking studies leading to the development of cancer immunotherapy, Stan Pruisner’s demonstration that prions can self-replicate without DNA, or Robin Warren and Barry Marshall’s proof that Helicobacter pylori, not stress, causes ulcers. Yet at some point, the scientific community recognizes and responds to transformative breakthroughs like these. How does that change happen? And what if science funders could identify the areas that are on the cusp of a breakthrough? Those questions led my collaborators and me to study how scientists responded to past breakthroughs. Based on patterns in that data, we developed a means of predicting future breakthroughs, using biomedicine as a proof of concept. It’s worth taking a moment to describe how our approach works. Briefly, our prediction process begins by grouping the 18 million or so peer-reviewed papers in PubMed, the authoritative database of biomedical research, into roughly 50,000 unique topics. A small subset of these topics are so widely acclaimed as breakthroughs that they have been recognized with a major prize like a Nobel or a Lasker Award. We theorized that studying the development of these outliers over time, especially before they gained acclaim, was the key to identifying future instances of them. After defining topics, we chose 21 representative breakthroughs and asked what they looked like before they won prestigious prizes. To answer that question, we re-ran our topic-mapping algorithm repeatedly, winding back the clock one year each time, stringing together the years to follow the progress of each field as it grew and advanced. We found that in each case, the years leading up to a discovery followed a pattern: a burst of papers on a new, rapidly evolving topic, many of which quickly became influential. These characteristics—the percent of papers that are new, the percentage of papers that are brought in from other topics, and the influence of each individual paper—can all be measured separately for any given topic. Together, they act as a predictive signal that is detectable an average of five years before a transformative discovery is made, and up to thirty years before the discovery receives a major prize. Scanning the current research landscape for topics that display this signal allows us to predict what work will likely produce a future breakthrough. Each year we analyzed includes four or five signals, a number that appears to have remained constant across a twenty year time frame. In their classic work on the sociology of science, Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar established that the desire to participate in a major discovery is an important motivator for scientists as they consider whether they should take up (or abandon) a research problem. Although further work is needed, the simplest explanation for our results is that this behavior is widespread enough to detect at scale. A foundational advance, or something like it, draws the attention of scientists and causes them to change the direction of their research. They vote with their feet, staking their own reputation and careers by publishing on and citing the new idea. That upswell of interest is the foundation of our breakthrough signal. What kind of research does our model identify as a breakthrough? After building a model based on the patterns in our 21 preselected breakthroughs, we tested it by identifying all early signals of discovery from 1994 through 1997. Of the 18 signals we found in that time period, 17 can be traced forward in time to a breakthrough. Examples include super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (see the image above), the directed evolution of proteins and enzymes (Chemistry Nobel, 2018), and sequencing the human genome (National Medal of Science, 2008). The discovery of the role of leptin signaling in obesity is a particularly interesting case study. Around 1950, scientists noticed the existence of a type of lab mouse that suffered from a unique inherited form of obesity. When given the freedom to choose their own diet, these mice ate more than normal and preferred food that was high in fat. Researchers had few clues as to why the animals overate; early experiments pointed to the existence of a soluble ob factor found circulating in the bloodstream that regulated appetite, but its identity was unknown. In 1994, Jeffrey Friedman and colleagues identified and sequenced the ob gene, noting that the protein it encoded appeared to fit the profile of a circulating factor. A year later, a trio of high-profile publications demonstrated that ob was a hormone that regulated body weight and fat deposition by regulating appetite. One of these was co-authored by Friedman, who christened it leptin from the ancient Greek word for thin. Using our model, the data from 1996 make it clear this advance would become a breakthrough. Scientists had flocked to study the biology of the new hormone, generating the flurry of new papers and citations required to produce a signal. One of these demonstrated that serum leptin concentrations reflected the amount of adipose tissue in the human body, providing clinical validation of the earlier mouse studies. Before the identification of leptin, scientists were unable to point to a specific molecule that controlled appetite and adiposity, so that it was impossible to rule out non-physiological causes of obesity; its characterization fundamentally changed our concept of weight gain. In 2010, Friedman and fellow pioneer Douglas Coleman were awarded a Lasker for the discovery. Our work also identifies breakthroughs in clinical practice and behavioral and social sciences, even though these areas are less likely to draw the attention of major prize committees. One example that falls into this category is the introduction of endovascular aneurysm repair, a minimally invasive surgical procedure for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm, a leading cause of death among Americans over the age of 65. Relative to the previous standard of care, it reduces in-hospital mortality by almost four-fold. In 2017, Timothy Chuter received the American College of Surgeons’ prestigious Jacobsen Innovation award for his multiple refinements to the technique. Another under-recognized breakthrough identified by our model is the development of standardized survey instruments to assess the quality of life for HIV+ patients. The antiretroviral cocktails introduced in the mid-1990s reduced AIDS mortality, but treatment came with serious side effects. The new evaluations showed that patients whose disease progressed had worse physical functioning than Americans with other chronic diseases, while those who were asymptomatic maintained a health-related quality of life on par with the overall US population. This evidence made it possible for patients and activists to argue that even in the absence of a total cure, and in spite of the side effects, alleviation of symptoms was a worthwhile priority for clinicians. My colleagues and I have failed to identify any significant recognition for the physicians and health policy experts who pioneered this advance, although in 2016, researchers called for the World Health Organization to set targets for good health-related quality of life as part of its framework to end the AIDS pandemic. From forecasting to funding How should science funders use our predictions? Any serious discussion of what we should do with this new capability needs to begin with an understanding of its limitations. We can’t (and shouldn’t) invest all of our resources in the small number of topics predicted to produce breakthroughs. Innovative new fields are born from existing ones; they rarely arise de novo. If funders don’t maintain a diverse portfolio, the breakthroughs of tomorrow will have no antecedents. Think of this as eating the seed corn, or killing the goose that lays the golden egg. There are also multiple goals of funding beyond basic scientific discovery, including translating discoveries into clinical practice, developing new technologies, supporting economic development, and training new scientists. The investments needed to accomplish these goals are likely different from those required to support emerging breakthroughs. Finally, we must be aware that we may not capture every instance of a breakthrough. The concept is fuzzy, and not every significant discovery is recognized with a major award. Further, breakthroughs are rare, meaning that our dataset is, by necessity, small. This makes formal estimates of accuracy challenging. Although our overall success rate appears to be high, any one signal may turn out to be a false positive. We found one apparent example: the development of the third generation COX-2 inhibitors, Vioxx and Celebrex, which were much celebrated in the early 2000s as effective but non-addictive pain relievers, meets all the algorithmic criteria of a breakthrough. Five years after it received FDA approval, researchers demonstrated that Vioxx was associated with serious cardiovascular complications, and the manufacturer voluntarily pulled the drug from the market. Celebrex remains available, although like other NSAIDs, it carries an FDA warning for increased cardiovascular risk. Decision makers who were overly focused on the breakthrough potential of this research might have wasted substantial resources nurturing an area that ultimately proved to be a failure—but so would those who relied on expert opinion at the time. That said, the potential benefits of funding the next mRNA vaccine or cancer immunotherapy years earlier than we might have are large. When we can’t assume the outcome of an action, it’s worth conducting an experiment. Can targeted support for areas that are poised to produce a breakthrough increase the return on scientific investment without cannibalizing future advances? With the necessary administrative infrastructure in place, conducting this experiment would be straightforward. First, identify all the breakthrough signals between 2018 and 2023, select half at random, and commit to a decade of investment. For biomedicine, a six year window should yield about 30 topics with the potential to produce a breakthrough. Providing strong support to half of these might be accomplished for $300 million a year. That’s roughly half of the recent annual budget of the NIH Common Fund or around 20% of the fiscal year 2025 budget for ARPA-H. After five years, then again at ten, compare to see which group — the one that was actively managed, or the control — produced more breakthroughs, and on what timescale. Although we used biomedicine as an example, the same experiment could just as well be run for physics, materials science, or any other discipline. Any attempt to undertake such an experiment should keep three points top of mind. First, we can predict the topic of future breakthroughs, but the people and vision for how to move the work forward are still important. In practice, this means success requires active program managers with the expertise to develop the science and the authority to do so, including by recruiting investigators. Second, we would be wise to learn from the failures of past attempts to fund transformative research. High among these are funding modestly repackaged work, confusing the genuinely novel with the merely unfamiliar, and relying too much on incumbent investigators. All of these risks can be mitigated by thoroughly and intelligently integrating high quality data into portfolio management. Finally, we need to have patience. Even with strong funding support, producing a breakthrough takes time. If supporting breakthroughs is the best way to nurture the birth of new fields, we also need to accurately describe and properly manage the other two stages, so that we invest wisely throughout the productive lifetime of ideas and divest once they reach the point of diminishing returns. We would benefit from more study of all of these phases, especially the transition from one to another. More research could answer questions like: When does a breakthrough become an established field? How do the availability of funding, the size and characteristics of the available workforce, and the accumulation of evidence that disagrees with prevailing models affect a field’s decline? Exactly how do old ideas give birth to new ones, and can we speed up the process? The more we understand about the dynamics of scientific progress, the better we can maximize the odds that our curiosity leads to results. I’d call that finding a way to make our own luck.
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