SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " Grant " 2,399 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Trump administration pursues more durable changes to science policy after setbacks in court
The White House has proposed sweeping changes to the bedrock regulation undergirding all federal contracts, empowering the executive branch to direct research, terminate grants, and external scientific reviews.
Period poverty in NC schools: The Diaper Bank is stepping in to help
The nonprofit becomes official provider for N.C.'s Feminine Hygiene Products program, shifting from school grants to statewide distribution.
Academic Excellence Award Winner
Academic Excellence Award Winner Erin shares her experiences as a Public and Community Health Major, with double minors in Legal Studies and Health Policy and Management:"I came to Ithaca from the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts knowing that I wanted an education that would allow me to change the world in a positive light. Admittedly, I was unaware when choosing the public health major just how much of an impact I could make, but through my experiences in this rigorous program, I know public health is where I am meant to be. Being a public health major during the COVID-19 pandemic was a unique experience. My education granted me the opportunity to work on and off campus with different populations to provide support during the pandemic. Professor Srijana Bajracharya was my professor for Research Methods in Health. She encouraged her class to create research projects that would benefit our communities. She was a mentor for me and helped me find my passion in research, which I have brought with me to my job as a research assistant for Rescue - The Behavior Change Agency. I thank Professor Bajracharya for her guidance and support throughout my time as a public health student."
Taylor launches grants for downtown businesses amid growth
The city of Taylor is investing $500,000 into its downtown aimed at supporting local businesses, attracting new ones and preserving the downtown’s history.
Grant program helps Clermont County building, business owners give their facades a makeover
Business, building and nonprofit owners in Clermont County now have a chance to revitalize their storefronts. The program will offer up to $20,000 per project, with a total of $100,000 available.
Temple Health receives $700,000 grant for family support program
Temple Health has received a $700,000 grant to create a first-of-its-kind support program for parents and children during the earliest stages of life.
Build EBR launches facade improvement program for Plank Road businesses
Build EBR is introducing a new grant initiative designed to help small businesses and commercial property owners enhance the appearance of properties along the Plank Road corridor. Funded through the JPMorgan Chase AdvancingCities Grant, the Front Door Refresh Facade Improvement Program is the final implementation initiative tied to the Reimagine Plank Road Master Plan and […]
Royal Credit Union to Launch Small Business Grant program
$3,000 grant to one Chippewa Valley Small Business
IDHW director: Rural health grant may be ‘economic opportunity’ for small communities
Idaho's state health agency wants industry professionals to be ready for infrastructure projects paid for with federal rural health grants.
World Cup 2026: Belgium granted appeal after FIFA reversed USMNT's Folarin Balogun 1-game ban after red card
Why Business Should Oppose OMB’s Plan To Politicize Grantmaking
The Office of Management and Budget is proposing sweeping changes to federal grantmaking that could harm American science, economic competitiveness and national security
Spurring Tiger research momentum through internal funding
Research Council grants help faculty kick-start projects and pivot to new lines of inquiry.
IFT: Proposed US federal grant rules threaten nutrition science funding & competitiveness
The US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently proposed rules to rewrite the Uniform Guidance — the rulebook for all federal grants. Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) chief science and technology officer tells Nutrition Insight that these rules are set to undermine the nation’s scientific research for food and nutrition and hinder global competitiveness.
New state, federal laws bring changes to North Shore Health
State and federal legislation passed in 2025 is beginning to take effect at North Shore Health, according to the latest administrative report from North Shore Health CEO Kimber Wraalstad. One of the measures is Minnesota’s “swing bed” legislation, which Wraalstad worked on with state Sen. Grant Hauschild and state Rep. Roger Skraba. The law allows...
Trump Intervention in FIFA World Cup Ignites Controversy
Though Article 27 grants FIFA's disciplinary committee discretion to suspend sanctions, its use in automatic World Cup suspension is unusual.
America First Business Challenge seeks ambitious Americans for $1 million in grants
Founder Aristotle Loumis joins "NewsNation Prime" to provide more insight into the America First Business Challenge.
America First Business Challenge seeks ambitious Americans for $1 million in grants
Founder Aristotle Loumis joins “NewsNation Prime” to provide more insight into the America First Business Challenge.
Business leaders, advocates betting on south DeKalb
A recent tax allocation district (TAD) grant award is sparking economic development on Memorial Drive in DeKalb County after the Belvedere Plaza Kroger closed last year.
She navigated the US alone. Now, a UNT Health Fort Worth strategist guides others
Annabel Luna-Smith turned her own immigrant experience from Venezuela into work connecting residents to care and support.
Politics is personal for a CT attorney. She’s also a Haitian immigrant now running for Congress
After a years-long journey in search of the American Dream, she eventually received her law degree, bought a home at the age of 30, and is now raising three children with her husband.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are married. What to know about the wedding
Singer Camila Cabello, actors Hugh Grant, Ethan Hawke and Jason Sudeikis, and models Karlie Kloss and Gigi Hadid were among the guests
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are married. What to know about the wedding
Singer Camila Cabello, actors Hugh Grant, Ethan Hawke and Jason Sudeikis, and models Karlie Kloss and Gigi Hadid were among the guests
Caitlin Clark Targeted In WNBA, Sophie Cunningham Says
Cunningham calls out the WNBA and refs, claiming Clark takes nonstop cheap shots with little protection despite a growing list of flagrant fouls.
The Selective Frontier: The State of the American Experiment After 250 Years
Since its inception, America has revolutionized scientific research and technological advancements. Yet, in its shift away from federal research grants and “basic research,” science may find itself in an increasingly privatized and profit-driven setting.
All the celebrities at Taylor Swift's wedding at Madison Square Garden
Celebrities including Benson Boone, Ethan Hawke, and Hugh Grant were spotted near Madison Square Garden on Friday afternoon.
One year after federal funding cuts, Mississippi's Vietnamese health navigators face an uncertain future
More than a year ago, federal cuts to health-related grants threw into uncertainty Mississippi’s only advocacy group devoted to serving the needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders statewide, and they are still working to figure out how to recover.
Whatcom County schools' mental health services dwindle as funding disappears
$1.6M in grants expired June 30, new fundraising campaign attempts to sustain services
Providing Outdoor Science Education
Science Kids was one of 15 nonprofits that received funding from the Sheridan-Johnson Counties Local Board of the Wyoming Community Foundation as part of their spring competitive grant cycle. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has more. Science Kids in Sheridan started in 2009. The nonprofit provides outdoor, hands-on science education and summertime classes for youth ages […]
Coleman: Walz pardon of child rapist puts politics over public safety
Senate Republican Assistant Leader Julia Coleman (Waconia) denounced the actions of the Minnesota Pardon Board, including Governor Tim Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, for pardoning illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes to help them avoid deportation. The pardons were made to men convicted of criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated robbery, and...
HCA Healthcare Foundation awards grants to 89 Middle Tennessee nonprofits, advancing community health
In 2026, the HCA Healthcare Foundation has awarded $2.1 million in grants to 89 nonprofit organizations across Middle Tennessee.
Democrats demand HHS reinstate cancelled teen pregnancy prevention grants
Democrats across both chambers of Congress are demanding the Trump administration reinstate tens of millions of dollars in teen pregnancy prevention (TPP) grants that were suddenly cancelled last w…
Two different parties, two strikingly similar immigrant stories. Lawmakers from both parties share what being American means
The Guardian view on xenophobic violence in South Africa: anti-migrant politics can’t fix domestic problems
Editorial: Foreigners are not to blame for unemployment, crime and the state of public services. Leaders should have the courage to say so more clearly
Court Stops USDA From Enforcing Funding Conditions Tied to DEI, Women’s Sports
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) efforts to withhold funding from states and grant recipients that have not confirmed their compliance with Trump administration policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), “gender ideology,” women’s and girls’ sports, and immigration.
How a new White House proposal could fundamentally change American science
In this webinar, we discuss the potential impacts of a Trump admin plan to overhaul how federal research grants are awarded and administered.
Mississippi’s top health officer: Measles cases are ‘inevitable’ as county vaccination rates fall
Mississippi’s kindergarten vaccination rates declined during the most recent academic year, continuing a downward trend that began after the state started granting religious exemptions for school vaccine requirements.
Croatia criticised for ‘unambitious’ changes to 2022 science law
Croatia’s science ministry has been accused of a lack of ambition, and even incompetence, over proposed changes to the country’s 2022 science law. Critics say an opportunity has been missed to fix wider shortcomings in the research and universities system.“This law, like all the previous ones, will not significantly change the current state of science in Croatia,” Vlatko Silobrčić, a member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences, told Science Business. “A small shift here and there will not have a significant impact.”The 2022 law introduced multi-year block grant financing of research, based on results, and changes intended to boost employment and career progression for researchers and lecturers. But implementation of the law has been uneven. “It became apparent that certain of its provisions were subject to different interpretations by higher education institutions and scientific institutes,” the science ministry said in its proposal for change. “This caused legal uncertainty in the system, administrative difficulties in implementation and, in certain cases, unequal treatment of teachers, scientists and students.”Most of the proposed amendments deal with technicalities in hiring and promoting staff, such as extending the committee deadlines from 60 to 90 days, or allowing applicants to cite all of their achievements and not only those since their last appointment.Both the ministry and Croatian media highlighted changes that would raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 years and allow part-time students 15 year rather than 10 years to finish their studies.The change to retirement age has been criticised for reinforcing a weakness in the system. According to Matko Marušić, professor emeritus at the University of Split, this will “allow unproductive teachers to advance and work longer, while hindering and discouraging productive ones.”A longtime campaigner for excellence-based meritocracy, he sees little hope in the new legislation. “I am not optimistic that things will improve,” he told Science Business. “As recent changes to the law in Croatia show, the legal framework is becoming increasingly hypocritical and harmful.”For Marušić, who analyses Croatia's university system in a recently published book, the situation is “unfavourable and constantly deteriorating” due to the criteria used for academic advancement.“The key criterion for advancement should be scientific productivity,” he said. “In Croatia [. . .] scientific criteria are increasingly lowered, and ineffective and absurd criteria such as waiting times for promotion and age limits for remaining in a job are promoted.” He would also like to see better criteria for the quality of teaching at universities. “In practice, teaching is not monitored or evaluated,” he said, estimating that up to a third of teaching simply does not take place. “Under the guise of university autonomy and bad laws, universities and faculties are allowed to earn additional money by increasing enrolment quotas that have nothing to do with the needs of the labour market.” Lack of ambitionDora Kršul, a reporter at Telegram.hr who covers science policy in Croatia, finds the rationale for changes “bizarre.” “The ministry responsible for supervising the uniform application of the law is changing the law because it is being implemented unevenly,” she said. “This primarily speaks to the power relationship in the sphere of science and higher education in Croatia, that is, the question arises as to who actually manages this system.”Rather than raising quality, she continued, the changes appear to be designed to help vocational and applied universities who have not been complying with the law.The Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees of Croatia said that the changes were “unambitious” and represent a missed opportunity for more important changes. “We think some of the changes are even negative,” it said in its statement on June 25. One of these is introduction of an “assistant” job title that allows people to be hired only for the duration of a project. Related articles: Elections to top science bodies test Croatia’s gender equality in researchSlovakia revises R&D approach to increase focus on competitivenessLatvia pilots citizen engagement in research grant evaluationsThe union’s president, Tvrtko Smital, who was part of the 15-member working group tasked with drafting the changes, told the local media there was a “worrying lack of ambition” in the process, and “lack of competence” in terms of research experience and understanding the problems in the system.“There is no clear will to deal with the problems,” said Smital, an assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb. “It’s a combination of unambitiousness and incompetence,” he went on, expressing his “deep frustration” with the situation. “There is no strategy, no clear thinking, and money is not being spent optimally.”Croatia’s science ministry has not responded to requests for comment.
SF grant program fills empty neighborhood storefronts
Latest round provided support to nearly 40 local business owners.
The Iran MOU is a mess. It still might work
The 14-point “Memorandum of Understanding” is among the oddest international agreements in recent memory. Short on detail, its two pages purport to grant significant up-front American concessions to Iran in exchange for opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was already open before the war President Donald Trump started in February and now hopes to end.
UToledo Health Pharmacy Residency Program Awarded Competitive National Grant
A $25,000 ASHP Foundation grant will grow UToledo's PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program to seven residents, helping meet growing demand for pharmacist-led patient care.
Colorado governor fires two clemency board members who spoke out about Tina Peters’ commutation
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday fired two members of the state’s clemency board after they spoke out against his controversial decision to grant clemency to Tina Peters – an election denier whose sentence was cut in half by the outgoing Democratic governor in May.
Commerce Awards to Help Renovate Buildings into Business Incubators
Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced the Kansas Department of Commerce has awarded $750,000 in Downtown Revive & Thrive grants to support nine building...
Immigrant-owned small businesses take center stage at pop-up storefront in Philadelphia's Market East
The Welcoming Center has opened a pop-up storefront for immigrant small business owners.
Opinion: Proposed federal grant rules are attempt to ‘muzzle’ science | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
A proposed overhaul in how federal grants are awarded is aimed at shutting down scientific research on disfavored topics such as health disparities, climate change, gender identity, and vaccines, according to Harvard Chan School’s Nancy Krieger.
$63M in federal funding being used to upgrade airports across New York
The funding is part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program and Airport Infrastructure Grant Program.
UC Davis to Set Standard for Measuring Airborne Nanoplastic Health Risks
UC Davis researchers have received a nearly $4 million grant NIEH to develop the world’s first standardized method for measuring and describing the neurotoxicity of airborne nanoplastics.
Applications for grants to aid businesses along Route 66 to open July 2
If you are a business along The Mother Road, a grant program is being set up to offer you aid.
Food science sector warns proposed US grant rules could weaken research independence
As the deadline for public comment approaches, a proposed overhaul of the rules governing federal financial assistance is drawing increasing attention from research institutions, universities, and industry organizations, with implications that could extend across the US F&B sector.
Trump administration ends $1.2M in federal grants for Wisconsin teen health programs
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services notified funding recipients on Saturday that the federal government had abruptly terminated a $1.2 million annual Teen Pregnancy Prevention grant, according to a letter shared with Wisconsin Public Radio.
Waynesboro offers new grants for local businesses
Waynesboro is offering new grants to help local businesses improve storefronts and boost tourism marketing efforts.
Greater Savannah Black Chamber of Commerce celebrates small business grant recipients
Eleven small businesses completed the program and received grant funding.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan and MetroPlusHealth Support New Mother of Triplets
New York, NY – NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, in partnership with MetroPlusHealth, today shared the story of Doris A. Lucio Lucio, an immigrant
Nutanix and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Partner to Expand Computer Science Access Across North Carolina
$250,000 Corporate Grant From Nutanix Establishes Endowed Professorship to Fund Public K-12 Teacher Training and Open-Source STEAM Curriculum NCSSM Nutanix Endowed Professorship Charles Robinson, Nutanix Endowed Professor of Computer Science at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics SAN JOSE, Calif., and DURHAM, N.C., June 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX), a leader in hybrid multicloud computing, and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM), t
'Clarkson's Farm' Producer Expectation Hires Katrina Grant
'Clarkson's Farm' maker Expectation has hired Katina Grant as Director of Development, Entertainment.
Anti-migrant politics spark resurgence of racism, say some Britons of colour
After nearly four decades in Britain, Ali Haydor says there are now days when he wishes he could hide his brown skin.
'Cruel, heartless': Critics raise health concerns with proposed immigrant detention facility
Critics warn that plans for a proposed immigration detention center in Salt Lake City may not be dead and are raising healthcare concerns if such a facility is built.
Mayor Moreno announces grants for Decatur businesses
$200,000 grant to be divided among struggling French Quarter businesses
Does your small business need a boost? How to get a $5,000 grant from Miami-Dade
“Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy.”
Those with temporary protected status fear for what's next
The Supreme Court ruled to allow the Trump administration to end TPS for Haitian and Syrian immigrants.
Grizzlies reportedly trade Ja Morant to Trail Blazers for Jerami Grant, Kris Murray
Scientists Slam Trump Rule Change
Dr. Esen Sefik moved from Istanbul to New Haven 20 years ago because she believed the U.S. was the best place to do scientific research. Now, her advisees are wondering whether to stay in their home countries instead. Sefik described the U.S.'s changing research climate on Monday during a press conference about a proposed rule by the Trump administration that would require a political appointee to approve all discretionary federal grants.
THE WEEK OF JUNE 29, 2026
- NSF proposes grant policy changes - Republicans urge DOE to limit lab access - DOD highlights aging labs
Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: Breaking down every team's closer situation at the halfway point
Grant Taylor, Alex Lange and Yoendrys Gomez headline the latest bullpen report
Supreme Court rejects Trump's push to toss $5M verdict in E. Jean Carroll case
The decision comes about two years after the court granted Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution
Elon Musk shares Armie Hammer comeback film banned in Germany for violent anti-immigrant imagery
Elon Musk shared a link to stream Uwe Boll's 'Citizen Vigilante' in its entirety. The Armie Hammer comeback vehicle was effectively banned from distribution in Germany due to violent anti-immigrant imagery.
VSP Vision Announces Winner of Propel Student Business Challenge Scholarship
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—VSP Vision, in collaboration with the Student Optometric Leadership Network (SOLN), today announced that Mason Martin, a student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry, is the winner of the 2026 Propel Student Business Challenge Scholarship, powered by PECAA. Martin, who was awarded the $10,000 scholarship and a travel grant to attend the SOLN conference in Denver, is the first first-year student at the school to receive this honor, the announcement said. VSP said his standout submission featured a thoughtful, patient-centered private practice business plan.
Federal health agency cancels most of its teen pregnancy prevention grants, including some in Pa.
A spokesperson for U.S. Health and Human Services confirmed to Stateline on Friday that the agency is canceling 53 out of 67 grants, worth about $68 million, under the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, affecting grantees in more than two dozen states. A list obtained by Stateline of canceled grants includes those awarded to universities, community […]
Efzimfotase alfa demonstrated improvements in bone health in treatment-naïve pediatric patients with hypophosphatasia achieving median difference of 1.67 vs placebo in RGI-C Score at week 25 in MULBERRY Phase III trial
Positive results from the MULBERRY Phase III trial showed that efzimfotase alfa (ALXN1850), an investigational enzyme replacement therapy, demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in bone health in children (2 to
Assemblyman David Tangipa says California should spend more on veterans than undocumented immigrants
California Assemblyman David Tangipa shared his views on the state's budget negotiations, focusing on tax increases, spending priorities, and the implications of California's $350 billion budget.
Carlisle Cathedral, University of Cumbria secure grant to explore science and faith connections in local farming landscapes - Lutheran Alliance for Faith, Science and Technology
Carlisle Cathedral and the University of Cumbria won a £9,850 grant to explore how science and faith connect in Cumbria's farming landscapes.
Scientists in Synagogues grant program to name finalists in July - Lutheran Alliance for Faith, Science and Technology
Sinai and Synapses has launched a $5,000 Scientists in Synagogues grant program promoting Judaism and science. Finalists will be named in July.
Community Harvest receives $5,000 grant from the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation
Community Harvest Food Bank received a $5,000 grant from the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation.
‘Unhealthy environment’: Arctic researcher Li Xueke leaves the US for Hong Kong
Li is among a growing cohort of US-based researchers moving to Asia as Donald Trump terminates grants for climate-related projects.
How the dairy industry pushed Trump for migrant labor, and won
President Donald Trump was expected to announce the expansion of a guest-worker program to the dairy industry at a Wisconsin event. Instead, the news came out in a press release, angering immigration hard-liners.
Asheville grants $855K to business accelerator, extends recovery program through 2028
Asheville grants $855,000 to Optimist Ventures, an accelerator for Asheville entrepreneurs affected by Hurricane Helene.
Federal health agency cancels most of its teen pregnancy prevention grants
A spokesperson for U.S. Health and Human Services confirmed to Stateline on Friday that the agency is canceling 53 out of 67 grants, worth about $68 million, under the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, affecting grantees in more than two dozen states.
OHS disbanded, $25 minimum wage push, housing grants: CT Politics news
Plus: A $25 minimum wage push, housing grants for small towns, free bus fares for July 4th, and an online forum with Lamont and Elliott.
Maryland health insurers want to raise premiums an average 13.7% for individual plans in 2027
Maryland health insurers want to raise premiums an average 13.7% for individual ACA plans in 2027
House Science Republicans Examine Grant Fraud
Committee Democrats argued the hearing was a distraction and an excuse to slash spending.
MSU Vet Tech program awarded $150k NIFA-USDA grant
Morehead State University's nationally ranked veterinary technology program was recently awarded significant financial support to help it maintain its place as the #1 program of its kind in Kentucky. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), awarded MSU's vet tech program a $150,000 NIFA-USDA grant for equipment to support small and large veterinary technology education and workforce competency at MSU. Learn more about veterinary technology programs at MSU by emailing Staton at a.staton@moreheadstate.edu or calling 606-783-2328. Find out more about MSU's veterinary technology program by calling 606-783-2662.
After Supreme Court’s TPS decision, more than a million immigrants face scramble to stay in US
Until Thursday, hundreds of thousands of Haitians were legally living and working in the United States, along with thousands of Syrians. Now, they’re in legal limbo.
In governor's race, voters face stark choice on immigrant healthcare
California’s next governor will face tough decisions on a highly controversial piece of healthcare policy: what to do about health coverage for the more than 1.4 million low-income residents without legal status.
Opinion | Don't apply politics to scientific research
Under recently proposed rules, federal grants could be terminated midstream for reasons having little to do with science or merit.
Proposed Changes to Grant Rules Threaten the Future of Research: Scientists Must Act Now!
The Trump administration is seeking to politicize US federal science funding, but collective action can stop this grantpocalypse from happening.
WATCH: Stephen Miller says 'America's doors are closed fully to asylum seekers' after Supreme Court rulings
The Supreme Court voted 6-3 on Thursday to allow the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence and natural disaster in Haiti and Syria, exposing hundreds of thousands more people to potential deportation.
UT Health San Antonio researcher receives $400,000 Komen grant to study therapeutic yoga for breast cancer survivors
UT Health San Antonio researcher receives $400,000 Komen grant to study therapeutic yoga for breast cancer survivors
UT Health San Antonio researcher receives $400,000 Komen grant to study therapeutic yoga for breast cancer survivors
Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH, MPH, to work with Hispanics in South Texas Contact: Steven Lee, (210) 450-3823, lees22@uthscsa.edu Content provided by Cliff Despres SAN ANTONIO, June 25, 2026 – Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH, MPH, a cancer researcher at UT Health San Antonio, the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio, is […]
Supreme Court hands Trump major victories on his immigration agenda
In two ideologically spit rulings that could affect millions, justices say the administration can deport some migrants and turn others away at the border.
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.
Senator Ron Wyden accuses US health agency of plan to deport more than 500 migrant children
Wyden says in a letter addressed to Robert F Kennedy Jr that HHS is preparing an ‘unprecedented legal framework’
New program aims to bring more business to downtown Buffalo
The initiative will provide grant money to allow local groups and businesses to host community focused events in the downtown area.
Trump administration identifies more than 500 migrant children for removal from the US, senator says
The Trump administration has identified more than 500 unaccompanied migrant children in US government custody to be potentially removed from the country, according to Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden.
Supreme Court hands Trump two major immigration victories
Supreme Court rules migrants turned away at the border cannot apply for asylum and blocks TPS recipients from judicial relief in two major decisions.
Supreme Court allows Trump administration to end legal protections for Haitians and Syrians
The 6-3 decision overturns lower court orders and allows the Department of Homeland Security to swiftly end temporary protected status, a program that protects a total of 1.3 million people from 17 countries.
Supreme Court lets Trump end temporary protections for migrants
The decision could allow the government to deport hundreds of thousands of people starting this year.
A new vision for quantum computing takes a big step forward, with new grant
A $4 million National Science Foundation grant will propel the next phase of a Yale-led project to build a quantum computer with an innovative new design.
CVS Health Foundation invests $1 million in Rhode Island nonprofits tackling community health needs
/PRNewswire/ -- The CVS Health Foundation is investing $1 million in grants through its Hometown Fund to 20 organizations that are making a difference for...
Immigrant-led residential care businesses in Maine launch new coalition
The group consists of 30 agencies who provide Medicare services to Mainers with intellectual disabilities and autism.