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Clippers draft pick Narcisse Ngoy announces he will play at Auburn next year in unique draft-and-stash situation
Shohei Ohtani Earns Three Nominations for 2026 ESPYS
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers has redefined what a two-way player can look like in the modern era of baseball. Ohtani is coming off a 2025 season in which he won his fourth MVP and second straight World Series championship. On Thursday, ESPN announced the nominations for the 2026 ESPYS awards.
At least two people shot near Birmingham business
Just after 8:30 p.m., Birmingham police confirmed two victims in the shooting.
California unions, hospitals strike deal — but billionaire tax heads to ballot
Two healthcare ballot measures are gone. One very contentious wealth tax isn't.
Blue state leaders erupt after Supreme Court’s decision ending TPS protections for Haitians, Syrians
Supreme Court rules 6-3 in favor of Trump administration in two key immigration cases on Temporary Protected Status and asylum, drawing opposition from blue state Democrats.
Sephora CEO Guillaume Motte on Creating Demand and Scaling Desire
The beauty retailer’s chief executive spoke at day two of The Business of Beauty Global Forum about the strategies that have led to $5 billion in growth over the past three years.
Inside Trump’s plans for retribution and other lesser-known allegations in ‘Regime Change’
A new book from two Washington reporters reveals what took place inside the White House after President Donald Trump’s return to power.
Octavia Spencer's Orit Entertainment Names New Heads Of Film & TV
Octavia Spencer's Orit Entertainment has made two key executive hires, naming Kathryn Tyus-Adair as Head of Film and Adam Wagner as Head of Television
Octavia Spencer’s Orit Entertainment Names Kathryn Tyus-Adair Head Of Film & Adam Wagner Head Of Television
EXCLUSIVE: Octavia Spencer’s Orit Entertainment has made two key executive hires, naming Kathryn Tyus-Adair as Head of Film and Adam Wagner as Head of Television. “Kathryn and Adam are exceptional exe...
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.
FlashPoint: How a Christian political media network became a platform for Indiana’s Lt. Gov.
By Sydney Byerly The Indiana Citizen June 25, 2026 When Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith called Islam a “demonic death cult” during an appearance on the Christian political program FlashPoint in May, the remarks drew swift backlash from faith leaders across Indiana. It also highlighted the growing influence of the Christian media network that amplified
Two Steelers land on CBS Sports Pete Prisco’s Top-100 NFL players list
A couple of Pittsburgh’s defensive stalwarts cracked the list.
PAHO mobilizes emergency health response following earthquakes in Venezuela
Caracas, Venezuela/Washington, D.C., 25 June 2026 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has activated its emergency response mechanisms to support the health response in Venezuela following two magnitude 7.5 earthquakes that struck the country on June 24.
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.
Gov. Jeff Landry appoints two new members to LSU Board of Supervisors. Here’s what to know.
The new supervisors will take their oath of office at Friday’s board meeting.
Scientists find molecular-level evidence for two structures in liquid water
A study published in Nature Physics provides new molecular-level evidence from simulations that liquid water is not a single uniform substance, but a constantly shifting mixture of two distinct microscopic ...
Dating Coach Urges All Men to Avoid 'Worst' Hobby for Single Guys
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Smile spacecraft reaches science orbit
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South Dakota mayoral candidates separated by just two votes in shockingly close race, recount expected
The Sioux Falls mayoral runoff contest shockingly resulted in just a two-vote margin separating the candidates out of more than 36,000 ballots cast.
Merck KGaA bolsters life sciences business with $11.3B Bio-Techne buy
The deal comes a matter of weeks after Kai Beckmann was promoted to CEO at Merck and signalled his intent to broaden the company's scope for M&A.
Two NC lawmakers, a Democrat and a Republican, push Congress to delay SNAP changes
Above the federal penalty threshold, NC could owe $140M a year, putting at risk a program that helps over 1.2 million North Carolinians.
Oregon Ducks' DL dominates EA College Football 27 ratings
The ratings for top defensive linemen in EA Sports College Football 27 came out, and they're littered with Oregon Ducks.
Comcast's Sky Reaches Terms to Acquire ITV's Media & Entertainment Unit for $2 Billion
The deal, which includes ITV's linear channels and ITVX streaming platform, could be announced in the next two weeks, according to Reuters
Comcast’s Sky Reaches Terms to Acquire ITV’s Media & Entertainment Unit for $2 Billion
The deal, which includes ITV's linear channels and ITVX streaming platform, could be announced in the next two weeks, according to Reuters
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.
Poor metabolic health can age the brain even in young people, finds new large-scale study
Two people of very different ages can have a similar level of biological aging in their brains. Such an occurrence is possible because aging and metabolic health follow two distinct pathways that influence ...
Comcast's Sky to Buy ITV's Media and Entertainment Unit for $2.1 Billion
Comcast-owned Sky Group has reportedly agreed to acquire the media and entertainment business unit of U.K.-based ITV for $2.1 billion. The deal is expected to be officially announced in two weeks. Satellite operator Sky will absorb ITV’s broadcast network, linear free-to-air channels, and the ITVX subscription streaming service with 900,000 paid subscribers and 16.4 million … Continue reading "Comcast’s Sky to Buy ITV’s Media and Entertainment Unit for $2.1 Billion"
Health systems must shift AI use from automation to transformation
While healthcare investments in AI are two to three times that of other industries, most providers focus AI's power on tackling administrative tasks. But AI's true value is in transforming care, explain experts at the HIMSS AI in Healthcare Forum.
Ohio State–led team secures NSF award to advance to next phase of the National Quantum Virtual Laboratory program
The Ohio State University is strengthening its growing prominence in quantum science, technology, and education with a $4 million, two‑year Phase II design award from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance a national effort focused on next‑generation quantum sensing.The funding is helping to bring together top researchers and ...
Merck KGaA to buy Bio-Techne for $11.3bn in life science footprint expansion
The deal is Merck’s largest since 2015, when it spent $17bn on acquiring Sigma-Aldrich, also a life sciences specialist.
David P. O'Brien
About five years ago, David P. O'Brien had a comfortable position at Marsh & McLennan Cos., where he held the top post at the financial giant's Louisville, Ky., office. Despite the lofty rank, Mr. O'Brien found himself longing to be at a smaller company that had to work a little harder to land business. That desire led him away from Kentucky five years ago and to Cleveland, where he serves as executive vice president at business insurance agency Oswald Cos. "I left Marsh before it was en vogue," he said, referring to layoffs and defections at Marsh over the course of this year that followed accusations of bid rigging at the big firm. Above all, Mr. O'Brien, 38, wanted to work at a company that relied on its inventiveness, rather than its name, for business. He said he has found that at Oswald. "It causes you to be more creative, to be more resourceful," Mr. O'Brien said. For instance, an Oswald client seeking to do business internationally might be directed to the network of offices abroad run by competitors such as Marsh and Aon Risk Services Inc. "We're going to use whatever access into the market that makes the most sense for our clients," he said. Of course, using such a strategy can be dangerous for Oswald if its client decides to further a business relationship with one of the firms Oswald recommended. "That's the obvious question and why it's nontraditional," he said. "I think if we're good, and if we're bringing value to the client, then there's no risk. I'm not threatened by it." Imaginative business solutions of that type made his career move to Oswald from Marsh worthwhile. "It's very much a challenge," he said. "It helps you keep your edge. I'm all for the competition." John Jacunski, currently vice president and corporate controller at York, Pa., paper company PH Gladfelter Co., met Mr. O'Brien four years ago when Mr. Jacunski was at WCI Steel Inc. in Warren. So impressed was he with Mr. O'Brien's work for WCI that Mr. Jacunski has retained the Oswald executive at PH Gladfelter. "He's a young guy for the position he has, but he's done a great job for us," Mr. Jacunski said. Among his roles at Oswald, Mr. O'Brien leads the firm's client retention efforts and also serves as director of its property and casualty group. "You don't have the same human resources," he said of the job jump to Oswald. "You don't have, obviously, the safety net a big company has." But sometimes, it can be difficult to ascertain individual contributions when working at a big company. "I wanted to be able to see the end results of my work and my efforts," Mr. O'Brien said.
UPS is losing ground to FedEx
The two logistics giants have similar strategies—and face a common threat
Steve Zabel, throwback two-way player, dies at 78
Steve Zabel, a tight end and pass rusher who was Oklahoma's last two-way player and then played both positions in the NFL, has died at the age of 78.
Suspect in $5,000 Academy Sports theft arrested
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man accused of stealing over $5000 worth of merchandise from Academy Sports and Outdoor over a span of two days earlier this month is now in jail. Carltrell Taylor, 39, is …
Gators among top-20 rated teams in EA Sports College Football 27
EA Sports views Florida as one of the nation's 25-best teams entering the 2026 season, so where exactly did the Gators land in CFB 27 rankings?
Hackensack Meridian Health Graduates Largest Number of Residents and Fellows Yet for Network
314 doctors continue their quest to be the best clinicians possible within New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive health network
How should European scientists respond to the US AI kill switch?
Earlier in June, Europe’s worst fears of technological dependence were confirmed when the White House ordered the AI firm Anthropic to stop non-US citizens using its leading models. This kill-switch moment crystalised anxieties in Brussels that the continent, lagging the US on the creation of leading-edge AI models, is now a technological of vassal of Washington. The shock has specific implications for European scientists and universities. Some governments are now worried that with AI being integrated into labs, Donald Trump now has his finger hovering over an off switch for European science. “Having restrictions on this tool, it can have an impact on our own research,” said France’s research minister, Philippe Baptiste, at the VivaTech conference in Paris on June 18.Baptiste, himself a former academic, said that colleagues in mathematics had recently warned him they were now cut off from leading-edge US models, risking their work. “This model is not available anymore now because of the US restriction, and for the first time this had an impact on mathematics,” a field where large language models (LLMs) are making a significant contribution, said Baptiste. So, should European scientists avoid relying on US models in the future? Or would this be a self-harming overreaction? And how is AI being used in science, anyway? What happened?On June 12, it emerged that Washington, citing cybersecurity concerns, had ordered Anthropic to stop non-US citizens using two models: Claude Mythos 5, and Claude Fable 5, a version of Mythos but with guardrails to prevent abuse. Anthropic said Washington’s concerns were overblown. But forced to follow the order, yet with no way to check who was using the models, the company suddenly shut down access for everyone, US citizens included. There’s still no agreement on how to restore broad access. But last week, Bloomberg reported that select US companies, and the US government, still had access to Mythos despite the ban, but the EU’s cybersecurity agency Enisa had been shut out. Class division of researchersIn the longer term, access outside the US should be restored, said Marcel Salathé, co-director of the AI centre at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (EPFL), because a permanent restriction would be financially ruinous to US AI firms. “Even Trump will eventually budge to economic pressure,” he said.However, US AI firms might end up operating rather like banks, doing due diligence on users of their leading-edge AI models, he went on.European scientists are unlikely to fall foul of such checks, he said. But having a Chinese postgraduate in their lab, or doing a type of research the US disapproved of, could potentially result in access being denied. “It will create a sort of class division of researchers,” he said. More than frontier modelsHowever, successfully deploying AI in science is about far more than just having access to leading LLMs such as Mythos.Instead, many science-specific tools, most famously Alphafold, which predicts protein folding structures, require “far less” computing power to train than frontier models, well within the capabilities of European supercomputers, according to a recent analysis by the Arq Foundation, a Brussel-based AI think tank. Instead, tools such as Alphafold are possible because certain fields, like protein folding, weather prediction or astronomy, have large, clean, standardised datasets that can be used to train predictive models. Rather than compute, “data is the central constraint for AI for science,” the report says. For example, a less powerful physics model trained on CERN’s data “will be more valuable than the best model without certain data,” said Bengüsu Özcan, author of the report. European advantage?Europe could therefore steal a march by using its scientific data and infrastructure to create models US digital giants cannot. “They might actually match or go even beyond what these big [US] companies are doing,” said Özcan.Indeed, some European start-ups hope to create automated testing labs to create the kind of standardised data that could speed up the discovery of new materials. Materials scientists say there’s currently too little data to train models. AI scientistsHowever, even if the bottleneck for AI in science is often data, rather than compute, being at the mercy of the US for LLM access could still become a problem for European scientists. A new class of “AI scientists” based on leading LLMs is also emerging, Özcan’s report says.Unlike domain-specific tools like Alphafold, these try to automate day-to-day scientific work, by providing an overarching tool that coordinates specific models to synthesise existing literature, generate hypotheses or run analysis of data. The problem for Europe, however, is that these tools are sometimes based on US leading models. Google Deepmind’s AI Co-Scientist, for example, is built on Google’s Gemini LLM. Systematic failureThese scientific automation tools are still in their early stages, and still exhibit “systematic failures on scientific tasks,” Özcan’s report says. One of the problems is that the messy, day-to-day process of scientific discovery is largely not documented, meaning LLMs don’t have a good source of data to learn how scientists actually work. Meanwhile, some tasks, such as literature synthesis, don’t typically require access to leading edge models.However, the performance of AI scientific assistants could improve as companies such as Google pour resources into developing them. Rely on US“Unfortunately, for scientific assistants, there is not much we can do right now except rely on US frontier AI,” said Antoine Bosselut, a natural language processing expert based at EPFL. Chinese-built open models, which can run on local computers, lessening the risk of a shutdown, are touted as one alternative to US dependence. There’s also Mistral, once seen as Europe’s main AI hope, but the Paris-based company has seen its recent models fall behind in performance. But the Chinese alternatives are generally not as capable as US frontier AI models, said Bosselut, unless paired with fiddly, custom tools that allows them to act as independent agents. “Most scientists do not have the time,” he said. Don’t jump ship yetAlthough the kill switch moment is seen a warning shot for European scientists, it doesn’t mean labs should abandon US AI tools immediately. “I do not think the right response is simply to abandon US-based models and systems under the banner of sovereignty or independence,” said Mattias Björnmalm, secretary general of the Cesaer university association. “That would be an overreaction.”Related articlesEuropean sovereignty in AI requires ‘ugly trade-offs,’ say experts Robotic lab start-up makes case for €500M EU-funded materials testing facilityAI in science: is it useful? Instead, European researchers need to ask themselves whether they’re becoming dependent on technology that could be turned off in Washington, said Özcan. “They might not see this today, but they should really start asking this question,” she said. European researchers need a plan B, said Salathé. “I would recommend to every researcher, very proactively explore alternatives.”Own toolsIn addition, Björnmalm and others want European research institutions to develop their own scientific AI tools.Instead of signing AI deals with US digital giants, European universities should be using this money to create their own models, which may end up being superior for research, said Sabine Leonelli, an expert on the use of AI in science at the Technical University of Munich. “Universities in Europe seem to be happy to sign commercial contracts with US companies on the assumption [their AI tools] are better,” she said. But US frontier LLMs are typically opaque, and have been developed without independent scientific input, she said. “This is not good enough for science.”Last year, Swiss researchers released Apertus, an LLM designed to be completely transparent, from its development methods to its training data. The idea is that this makes scientific tools built on top of the model far more reproducible than with closed, commercial alternatives.“Europe needs more of this: serious capacity-building that gives researchers, universities and companies credible options,” said Björnmalm.
Ball State Teacher Preparation Programs Earn Top Ratings in Science of Reading Reviews
Ball State University’s elementary education, early childhood education, and special education teacher preparation programs have earned top marks in two reviews focused on how well future educators are prepared to teach reading through evidence-based, scientifically grounded instruction.
Experienced Vikings Executive Says Goodbye
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Mary Means Business: Indoor pickleball facility plans in Columbus
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Mamdani and Hochul announce cash infusion for New York City Abortion Access Hub expansion
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The Science Behind Venezuela’s Doublet Earthquake
The earthquakes that struck Venezuela were an uncommon but dangerous two-punch blow known as a doublet.
Venezuela's Devastating Earthquake Was a ‘Doublet’? Here's What This Means
The two deadly earthquakes happened just 39 seconds apart, but were seismologically distinct.
TikTok and YouTube are reinventing sports viewership. Broadcasters are taking note
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Palo Alto Networks CEO: Workers are in 'Darwinian moment' with AI
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Prime Day is here: We found 100+ deals from Apple, Lego, Sony, and more
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Griffin Jax Leads Rays Past Royals 5-3 as Tampa Bay Snaps Two-Game Skid
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NASA’s TESS Mission Reveals the “Puffiest” Planets Ever Found
NASA has revealed two new “super-puff” planets, giant worlds so light that their density is comparable to cotton candy. Scientists calculate that these Jupiter-sized planets are the “puffiest” worlds ever found.
Two ‘super-puff’ planets are as wispy as cotton candy
TOI-791 b and TOI-791 c are about the size of Jupiter, but 28–35 times less dense.
In 3-game healthcare series, underdog large-language models sweep specialized AI powerhouses
Pitting three multipurpose LLMs against two healthcare-specific AI tools, researchers have discovered the consumer-level AI can beat its purpose-built counterparts in healthcare scenarios—and soundly, at that.
NBA Draft: Knicks continue spate of trades, deal No. 31 and 55 picks to Rockets after moving out of first round
Liverpool signs find a way to support business
EAST LIVERPOOL-As part of the revitalization process for the historic downtown area in East Liverpool, two wayfinding signs have just been installed in the downtown area to help direct people walking through downtown to businesses located in the area. The wayfinding signs, which have smaller directional signs on them pointing out the locations of multiple […]
Mamdani's sweep in New York a 'political earthquake' among Democrats
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani scored a massive political victory on Tuesday when his trio of insurgent congressional candidates toppled two incumbents and the establishment favorite in an open seat, results some described as "a political earthquake" for Democrats.
Space Shuttle Endeavour: California Science Center unveils vertical shuttle display
The California Science Center Wednesday provided the first public view of space shuttle Endeavour inside its permanent home -- in upright launch position with two rocket boosters and an external fuel tank.
The Red Sox Have a Big Jarren Duran Problem
The Boston Red Sox could have a tough time selling off one of their most obvious trade chips at this year's deadline.
Newsom visits SF Mexican restaurant for 1st meeting with Becerra
The two lawmakers chatted over a mid-morning meal on Wednesday.
Valve clarifies: all Steam Machines, for now, will ship with one 16GB stick of RAM.
In an interview with Gamers Nexus, Valve had said that the PCs would ship with either one 16GB stick of RAM or two 8GB sticks of RAM. “We misspoke here - all units will actually have one 16GB stick of RAM,” the company says in a follow-up statement to the channel. “It’s possible that this might change in future builds, but the units that customers are currently signing up for will all come with one 16GB stick of RAM.” [Media: https://youtu.be/glXA3ObwSwQ?si=QGmDWmVfbMiONxLd&t=109]
What Does Success Look Like in 2026 for Dolphins?
After moving on from veterans such as Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill, the upcoming season is about developing the Dolphins' roster, resetting the culture, and gaining salary cap flexibility for the future. The goal for any NFL team is not just to succeed in the immediate future but to establish a solid foundation for long-term success. After releasing Tagovailoa, Willis became the Dolphins' most significant free agent acquisition after he signed a three-year, $67.5 million contract with $45 million guaranteed.
Patriots Coach Jeremy Springer Announces Engagement To NBC Sports Host Kayla Burton
NBC Sports host Kayla Burton is engaged to an NFL coach. The popular Boston-based sports media personality announced her engagement to New England Patriots special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer. The two announced their big news in a joint Instagram post Monday, sharing photos from the NFL ...
A tale of two Democratic parties: From the Politics Desk
Plus, Trump slams the brakes on a bipartisan housing bill.
OpenAI triumphs in brutal $26M political fight against Anthropic
Bores quickly became the pawn between the two California AI companies.
Tooting its own horn: Keller business with brass focus proves its mettle
Houghton Horns has been providing horn repair, service and supplies for 40 years.
Brian Kelly in negotiations with CBS Sports for college football TV role: Source
Former LSU and Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly is in discussions with CBS Sports to join the network for its college football coverage.
Highlights of Aspen Ideas: Health, day two
On June 23, Aspen Ideas: Health ushered in the actual first full day — and evening — of programming. Here are some highlights from different tracks, or themes. NextGen Health Track: On the Frontiers of Brain Health “As belly size gets larger, the memory center in the brain gets smaller,” said Richard Isaacson, director...
How Brexit broke British politics
Brexit has had a lasting impact on British politics, causing a decade of turmoil and division, and resulting in the resignation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer after two years of economic stagnation and a divided electorate.
A-Rod talks his journey through the 'two B's': Baseball & Business
Former MLB All-Star and A-Rod Corp CEO Alex Rodriguez sits down with Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to discuss his upbringing and personal journeys through baseball and his ventures off the field in the world of business.
‘All My Children’ Alum’s Mysterious Health Crisis Prompts Plea From Friends and Costars
Marcy Walker is leaning on her All My Children and Santa Barbara family as she battles a private health issue. The 64-year-old former soap star’s friends, Melissa Braverman and Johanna Humphries, laun...
In failing to address Pride Night controversy, Giants' Buster Posey risks tarnishing his once untouchable legacy
Gas prices, health, quality of life drive push for more Coloradans to trade four wheels for two, even if safety is a worry
Bike to Work Day brings out the cyclists in Denver, but many already pedal to their jobs and back.
What does CBS Sports think is the best case scenario for the Vikings?
The Vikings season could go one of two ways, what does CBS Sports think is the good way?
Brian Kelly to Call CBS College Football Games
Kelly previously contributed to CBS Sports Network’s NFL Draft coverage.
Scientists observe water switching between 2 different molecular structures, boosting decades-old theory
For decades, scientists suspected water secretly behaves like two different liquids. A new AI-powered study has finally caught it happening at the molecular level.
Water might secretly be a mix of 2 different liquids, scientists say
For decades, scientists suspected water secretly behaves like two different liquids. A new AI-powered study has finally caught it happening at the molecular level.
Dallas Cowboys 2026 training camp schedule released
We officially have a Dallas Cowboys training camp schedule.
China's Einstein Probe detected a mysterious cosmic explosion — and scientists have no idea what caused it
The explosion, consisting of two mysterious double flares, matches no known space eruption.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra picks up a display upgrade to really show what Samsung can do
Samsung is introducing a display upgrade for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra to really sell that 'Ultra' moniker to you.
EPA Announces Two Public Meetings of the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals
What: On June 22, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two virtual public meetings of the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC).Why: The SACC provides independent advice and recommendations to the EPA on the scienti
Upstate NY youth sports coach accused of sending indecent material to children through Snapchat
The 21-year-old faces six charges after allegedly sending inappropriate content to two minors over several weeks.
Uh, Rockstar, Please Fix This Massive GTA 6 Lore Mistake
Here's 350 words or so about two revolvers featured in a single marketing image
Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' writers claim CBS skipped Emmy campaign
A writer for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” claims the canceled talk show is not receiving any support from its former network for Emmy Award consideration.
BYD's Stella Li talks expanding the business and home robots (with editor-in-chief Jamie Heller)
NSF selects five additional teams in National Quantum Virtual Laboratory design competition
The U.S. National Science Foundation has selected five new teams to design experimental quantum technologies, from networks that can ferry fragile quantum information across long distances to sensors…
NSF selects five additional teams in National Quantum Virtual Laboratory design competition
The U.S. National Science Foundation has selected five new teams to design experimental quantum technologies, from networks that can ferry fragile quantum information across long distances to sensors…
Butler County health officials confirm bat tests positive for rabies, marking 4th case in past month
Butler County health officials say a bat has tested positive for rabies in West Chester, marking at least the fourth positive case in Butler County over the last two months.
Day Two of Competition Highlights Athletes Across Multiple Sports
The second day of competition at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games was cut short due to inclement weather, but not before some memorable moments. Before outdoor events were halted, athletes showcased speed on the track, excitement and enthusiasm at gymnastics, and pride on the football and soccer fields. Even as an athletics athlete from Special Olympics Southern California lost his shoe, he managed to win the race.
Astros Must Have Hard Conversations on Javier, McCullers
We need to have a difficult conversation about two Astros returning from injury
Red Sox beat the Rockies 5-2 behind Sonny Gray's 11 strikeouts
Wilyer Abreu and Nate Eaton drove in two runs each to back an 11-strikeout performance from Sonny Gray and the Boston Red Sox beat the Colorado Rockies 5-2.
Rockstar Games Announces Pre-Orders for Grand Theft Auto VI
Rockstar Games®, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is excited to announce that pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI wil...
Dozens in Florida among hundreds charged in a DOJ crackdown on healthcare fraud
The two-week operation uncovered more than $6.5 billion in false claims submitted to insurers, according to the Department of Justice. Nearly two dozen arrests were made by state authorities.
After clashes, Senate Republicans prepare to talk it out with Trump
Trump’s relationship with some members has deteriorated — not least because he helped to defeat two of them in GOP primaries.