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New 'Science of Speed' exhibit at the Kamin Science Center offers an immersive look at racing, 40 mph karts and all
When the Kamin Science Center’s “Science of Speed” exhibit opens on Saturday, visitors will walk straight into a three-story race track...
Kamin Science Center’s ‘Science of Speed’ brings indoor go-karts, F1 simulators to Pittsburgh
Kamin Science Center’s brand new “Science of Speed” exhibit is off to a blistering start, ahead of its official opening on Saturday. On Thursday, dozens of early access guests were set loose upon the experience that features an indoor, three-level electric go-kart track with tightly coiled turns and railing lights
Students Take on Airborne Field Research with NASA
The gusty wind didn’t make it easy to hold tight to a balloon so large. The balloon, a scientific instrument called an ozonesonde, was about to be released
Four science-backed ways to tell if your cat loves you
Even the most devoted cat owners wonder at some point whether their cat really loves them
Experience the Science of Speed on the North Shore
I actually had fun driving in Pittsburgh today thanks to science. The Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Science Center’s new immersive experience allows
The Hill Country, the Science, and the Next Flood
New science sheds light on the 2025 Texas floods, and how to help people be more prepared in the future.
Researchers Tried Letting AI Do Science. It Failed
A multi-institution study found that today's frontier AI agents could handle the mechanics of research but failed to produce original work.
Eleven Arkansas students place in 2026 Soybean Science Challenge
Eleven students from Arkansas received honors in the 2026 Soybean Science Challenge.
A.14 Atmosphere Several Corrections
The Earth Science Division recently released A.14 Atmosphere, soliciting proposals for data analysis and modeling of NASA supported airborne campaign data.
First look: Kamin Science Center's indoor go-karts
Axios Pittsburgh took the first laps inside the new racing attraction. 🏎️
White House Calls for Science Funding Shake-Up
A new OSTP report recommends channeling funding to researchers with big ideas, not elite universities.
Senate Panel Advances Science of Reading, Dyslexia Bills with Bipartisan Support
Two bills passed out of the Senate HELP Committee Thursday, advancing the federal government’s oversight of literacy instruction and intervention.
Senate Panel Advances Science of Reading, Dyslexia Bills with Bipartisan Support
A bill that would require states to only use the science of reading in classrooms in order to qualify for a multi-million dollar funding grant passed with bipartisan support from a committee of federa...
Raleigh's bilingual science celebration returns Saturday
Free museum event features experiments, Latin American dance, NASA demos and family fun for all ages.
Journal, university investigations launched into gene-editing death following Science-Retraction Watch reporting
Nature is investigating concerns surrounding a paper at the heart of a news story published last week on the death of a 6-year-old girl following a gene therapy treatment in China. The paper, publi…
Before dinosaurs: scientists uncover the shocking cosmic event that changed Earth - Futura-Sciences
Asteroids, Meteorites, and Humanity’s Long Fascination For thousands of years, people have witnessed meteorites falling from the sky. Fascinating and fearsome, such events sparked myths and legends long before science explained their origin. Yet, it wasn’t until January 1, 1801, when Giuseppe Piazzi discovered Ceres—a dwarf planet a little under...
What Is “The Hum”? The Strange Sound Science Still Can’t Explain
On the latest episode of “The Astounding Pop Mech Show,” Andrew Daniels, Shawn Gorman, and John Gilpatrick discuss a shared sonic mystery.
A&S Earth Sciences Professor Honored as 40 Under 40 Rising Star
Tao Wen has been recognized for his innovative, data-driven research on water quality, open environmental data, community engagement and policy-relevant environmental science.
Summertime Learning: Real Life Heros at the Science and Discovery Center
The Science and Discovery Center Summer Camp
Scientists discover six hidden volcanoes hiding off the Sicilian coast - Futura-Sciences
“We were quite surprised, because we were really very close to the coast.” — Lodolo, researcher at Italy’s National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics. His team named the volcano Actea. It turned out to be one of six previously unknown volcanoes scattered across the Sicily Channel. An expedition finds...
HRS: Watch “WAVY Science Lab” with Jeremy Wheeler on WAVY+
Get the details on “WAVY Science Lab” with Jeremy Wheeler on WAVY+.
Harvard Business School announces 2026-2027 Blavatnik Fellows
Harvard Business School (HBS) has named its 2026-27 Blavatnik Fellows. The fellowship offers HBS alumni and Harvard-affiliated postdoctoral researchers the opportunity to advance new life science technology ventures and develop their leadership talents during a 12-month fellowship year. To date, Blavatnik Fellows have founded 50 biomedical companies developing innovations including gene writing technologies, engineered cell therapies, oral biologic drug delivery platforms, AI-enabled digital health solutions, and therapeutics for cancer, neurological, and metabolic diseases. Collectively, Fellows have raised more than $800 million in private and public capital to advance their ventures.
Science of Speed, featuring all-electric kart racetrack, opens this weekend at Kamin Science Center
The 21,000-square-foot destination is located in the former SportsWorks building.
Summer program explores outer space with science fair and planetarium
With summer in full swing, students at Stout Middle School turned their curiosity toward the stars this week during the DiscoverWorks Program. Throughout the five-week program, students have...
Emerald Ash Borer Summer Update: Information, Action, and Community Science
Ash trees are being threatened by Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), an invasive pest which has arrived in North America. Ash trees—which make up about 3% of all trees in Maine, an estimated 511 million trees—feed and support numerous species of insects, birds, and mammals, and are vital to Maine forests and communities. Once EAB has […]
Scientists advance space agriculture for future moon and Mars missions
Space isn't known for rich soil or ideal agricultural conditions anywhere in the solar system. Yet amid extreme temperatures and vast distances, multidisciplinary teams at USF's Aerospace: Science, Technology, ...
Scientists Figured Out How to ‘Edit’ Your Memories. It Could Free Your Mind.
For decades, memories were thought to be permanent, but new science is reshaping how we might think about our past.
Science, Systems, and Communities: Turning Progress into Impact
As the AIDS 2026 conference enters its second half, one message has emerged above all others: the barriers to ending HIV are no longer primarily scientific; they are political. In one of the “most spectacular plenaries”, Raphy Landovitz argued that the field now faces “a challenge of political will” and “moral decision-making,” asking whether the world will choose […]
Bagley Cartoon: Hysteria Science Theater
Check out Pat Bagley's latest cartoon: Hysteria Science Theater
CSA Ocean Sciences Brings Marine Science Expertise to APEM Group
CSA Ocean Sciences Inc. has completed its integration into APEM Group, bringing more than five decades of marine environmental expertise, 115+ specialists, and a US headquarters to a global environmental consulting force of over 1,500 professionals. The transaction, first announced in February 2026, closed in June 2026.
West Virginia rolls out new AI and digital science framework for schools
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) – Hundreds of educators from across West Virginia gathered Wednesday at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center as the state rolled out a new artificial intelli…
Astronomers Looking Through Forgotten Observations Find Bizarre And Beautiful Planet-Wide Rings On Venus
Looking at Venus, captured accidentally in old observations, the team found a truly odd feature that can only be seen in polarized light.
How scholarly publishers are safeguarding trust in science
Antonia Seymour of IOP Publishing is our podcast guest
Exclusive | ‘Science is a universal language’: US materials pioneer defends global ties
Elsa Reichmanis spent decades collaborating with Chinese science teams and says research should remain distinct from tech rivalry.
Building the future, atom by atom — NSF deploys $108M for materials science at 6 research centers
The U.S. National Science Foundation is pushing materials science beyond the state-of-the-art with an investment of $108 million in six advanced research centers. The centers will explore a broad…
UT Health Sciences Advisory Board to Meet Friday, Aug. 7
The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Advisory Board will meet Friday, Aug. 7, at 11 a.m., in the Mooney Library, 875 Monroe Ave., in Memphis.
Science proved there's a reason people pick the longest line at the airport
A study may change the way you pick a line before your next flight
Get a LOTT out of Summer at the WET Science Center in Downtown Olympia
Visit the LOTT Clean Water Alliance WET Science Center or wade in the stream at East Bay Public Plaza with fun August activities for kids.
HRS: Watch "WAVY Science Lab" with Jeremy Wheeler on WAVY+
Hampton Roads Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina News, Weather, Traffic and Sports.
The new "science golden age" looks suspiciously like a grift
This edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ 🚀 Subscribe to PN 🚀 The Trump regime is trying to usher in a “Golden Age in Science” where scientific research is run like a Trump family business, artificial intelligence is all that matters, profit is everything, and expertise is for chumps. Or at least that’s the vision emerging from a new 123-page “Report to the President” from Michael Kratsios, the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In a normal administration, you could probably skip over learning about a science policy document — but this is no normal administration, and this is no normal science policy document. Instead, it’s Trump’s attempt to end the actual golden age of science that was kicked off in 1945 with the publication of '“The Endless Frontier” by Vannevar Bush. [ ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/harmeet-dhillon-portland) [ Harmeet Dhillon demonstrates danger of posting through it ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/harmeet-dhillon-portland) Liz Dye · Jul 29 [ Read full story ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/harmeet-dhillon-portland) Bush, at President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s request, laid out a vision of federal support for science that centered on funding universities to do basic research, saying that as long as those institutions were “vigorous and healthy and their scientists are free to pursue the truth wherever it may lead, there will be a flow of new scientific knowledge to those who can apply it to practical problems in Government, in industry, or elsewhere.” Kratsios’s report is supposed to be the successor to Bush’s, and even apes the format, but this isn’t really a document about science policy. It’s one about ending science research as we know it in favor of shoveling cash at big tech companies. While it might be temping to wave this away as an aspirational policy document, Trump has already begun to shift billions in research funds to AI projects and has taken a hatchet to science funding across the board. He’s teed up the shift Kratsios proposes here, and since neither Congress nor the Supreme Court seem inclined to stop him from doing whatever he wants with taxpayer money, it isn’t doomering or hyperbole to say we are staring down the barrel of a world where the only “science” the government intends to support is for-profit tech and defense advancements. Science for dummies Part of how you can tell this isn’t a document about science is that you are immediately faced with an absolute wall of business-speak of the worst sort. Did you know we must “tightly couple our science and technology enterprises to ensure that groundbreaking ideas invented in the United States are rapidly prototyped, tested, manufactured, and scaled domestically”? You do now! That tone isn’t surprising, because Kratsios has no background in science or research. He has a bachelor’s in political science and spent most of his career working for Peter Thiel at Thiel Capital. After a stint in the first Trump administration as Chief Technology Officer, where he also did not do any science, Kratsios was tasked in 2020 with overseeing the Pentagon’s research budget for a brief time, a position that, as the Wall Street Journal put it, “carries a great deal of power in terms of dictating investment allocations.” He spent the Biden years at Scale AI as “head of strategy,” which you will also note is neither a science nor a research job. But Scale AI has contracts with the Department of Defense and, as the Washington Post wrote in 2023, “has been aggressively pitching itself as the company that will help the US military in its existential battle with China.” And now you have the necessary background for our new golden age, which is going to be a golden age of taking money away from scientists and universities and giving it to companies like Scale AI. A note from Aaron: Working with brilliant contributors like Lisa takes resources. If you aren’t already a paid subscriber, please become one to support our work. 👇 Subscribe In a genuinely galling move, Katsios spends a lot of time slamming universities because of “administrative burdens on researchers” and the “well-documented inefficiencies” in academia, the message being that those damn universities waste the time of amazing researchers with paperwork. Except it’s the administration that is attempting to impose inefficient, unnecessary burdens on those researchers with a proposed Office of Management and Budget rule that would require senior political appointees to approve every science grant and ensure it aligns with Trump’s personal priorities. Researchers would also have to seek prior government approval to attend conferences or publicize their research. And political appointees could terminate any grant at any time if they feel like it. [ ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/omb-rule-science-funding) [ The murder of expertise ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/omb-rule-science-funding) Lisa Needham · Jun 11 [ Read full story ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/omb-rule-science-funding) But when it comes to AI, we’re going to “restore permissionless innovation.” The report proposes to give lucky ducky innovators a pile of cash up front for grants lasting five years or longer, saying “awards should be fully-funded in year one, with all resources earmarked upfront, to minimize administrative burdens and reduce pressure for researchers to generate intermediate results to secure continued funding.” Yeah, wouldn’t want to have to make the Very Special Tech Bros show results or get money parceled out year by year like the plebes at universities. The report also proposes that we should have “fast grants” with “simplified applications requiring just a few pages of writing” because that is definitely how science works, just writing a bit off the dome and getting some cash. [ ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-ai-action-plan-altman-llms) [ Tech elites are turning AI into ChatGPTrump ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-ai-action-plan-altman-llms) Paul Waldman · July 29, 2025 [ Read full story ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-ai-action-plan-altman-llms) Oh, and we should have prizes and challenges, where multiple teams compete. The proposed prizes include incentives like “advance procurement commitments,” which means the federal government agrees to buy whatever is being developed. There’s also “regulatory fast-tracking,” making sure all those great AI thingies don’t have to wait too long to be unleashed on a market. These aren’t incentives to do science. These are incentives to develop things with tax dollars that you can then sell to the government for more tax dollars. In the suggestion that might be the most unhinged, the most very opposite of how both government and research work, our new age will include “golden tickets.” That’s where an individual reviewer in an agency — yes, just one person — can “recommend unconventional proposals that may not pass consensus-driven review panels” because somehow this will “surface valuable ideas too divisive for committees and attract higher quality reviewers by empowering them to exercise independent scientific judgment.” Yes, that’s saying that a random person in an agency should be able to shovel money at some idea even if it can’t pass a review panel, and that the opportunity to do so will attract better employees because apparently all the best minds in science are chomping at the bit to be allowed to unilaterally fund AI research based on their personal vibes. But that isn’t at all how actual science works, and actual scientists aren’t unhappy about review panels. They work collaboratively, not siloed in some secret race to create the next AI chatbot. A 2020 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research examined whether peer review panels succeed in helping agencies predict which research ideas will best advance science. Peer review was better at finding “diamond in the rough” applicants than a single government program official. How about that. Trump always wants a taste It’s painfully clear that what Katsios is trying to do here is turn the whole of government science research and funding into the sort of “move fast and break things” paradigm that is the hallmark of big tech. That method works to line the pockets of tech executives, but it isn’t science. There’s a reason the government funds different kinds of research than private tech companies do. What Katsios either fails to understand or deliberately ignores is that the federal government is the main funder of basic research precisely because it can take a long time for it to bear fruit and is not intended to be profitable as such. “Basic” here does not mean rudimentary or simple, but rather research that is designed to advance scientific knowledge instead of achieving a specific outcome or product. Big tech companies don’t widely fund that sort of research, because it doesn’t make them money. Industry dollars account for only about 20 percent of basic research funding, while the government contributes around 60 percent. Big tech companies and startups do, however, rely on and benefit from that basic research. A 2019 study found that 35 percent of all patents obtained by venture-backed startups from 1976 to 2016 cited federally supported research. Basic research funded by the NIH contributed to every single drug the FDA approved from 2010 to 2016. [ ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-saudi-nuclear-deal) [ The Saudi nuclear farce and governance by whim and meme ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-saudi-nuclear-deal) Noah Berlatsky · Jul 27 [ Read full story ](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-saudi-nuclear-deal) Unlike inventing the next ChatGPT, actual science is slow and iterative. Government funding of research that, on its face, would not appear to lead to any big new invention is actually what underpins those big new inventions. If the government hadn’t funded research into desert lizard venom, we wouldn’t know about semaglutide, and we wouldn’t have Ozempic. If research scientists hadn’t studied how bees optimize nectar foraging within a colony, we wouldn’t have the algorithm that assigns internet traffic across computer servers. The report assiduously ignores that a symbiotic, profitable relationship between the federal government, universities, and private companies already exists. Each federal research dollar generates about $1.50 to $3.00 in long-term economic benefits. The $36 billion the government awarded in NIH research funding in fiscal year 2025 generated $94 billion in new economic activity. Trump’s proposed new golden age is intended to strip those billions from universities, resulting in the dismantling of departments and the shuttering of labs. But Katsios has a plan for that: Universities should just become trade schools to churn out no-show STEM degrees! “Require universities and community colleges to embed practical technical training and externships into STEM curricula. Let hands-on experience and industry credentials count toward degrees.” It’s quite the feat to, on the one hand, strip schools of funding for scientific research while simultaneously demanding to control what is taught and, oh, also, colleges need to give degrees to employees at big tech companies just for being employees at big tech companies. The new golden age would also exacerbate the brain drain Trump’s policies have already caused. Nature found that in the first quarter of 2025, US scientists submitted 32 percent more job applications abroad than in 2024. A March 2025 poll by Nature of roughly 1,600 scientists found that over 1,200 said they were considering leaving the country. Europe is investing $565 million to make it a “magnet for researchers” and provide funding for scientists who relocate. The new golden age is also about embedding Trump’s xenophobia into the fabric of American science. The report complains of an “over-reliance on foreign students” that “creates a security challenge our institutions are ill-equipped to address” and that a “reliance on foreign talent sidelines American students.” This is, to put it mildly, nonsense. International students pay far higher tuition and often receive no financial aid. Their tuition dollars are what make it possible for American students to get financial aid. In the 2023-2024 school year alone, international students contributed $43.8 billion to the US economy and supported over 378,000 jobs. Those 1.1 million international students accounted for only six percent of the total number of students in higher education that year, but were such an economic engine that for every three international students, one job was created or supported. It’s impossible not to wonder whether part of Trump’s loathing for universities and their leading role in scientific research is that there is no way for him to corrupt the process and make money off it in the same way he can by giving millions and billions to Silicon Valley types who, in turn, give him millions in cash. There’s no way for his children to invest in universities that the government then gives no-bid contracts to, fattening the family’s bottom line, which is pretty much the Trump sons’ current venture capital practice. Trump and Katsios’s view of science is narrow, cramped, and wrong. We’re not in a crisis, we’re not a failed state. We’ve been a science superpower for decades, and the only thing that threatens that is Donald Trump. Tech bros are already living high off the hog in this administration. They don’t need any more of our tax dollars. Hopefully this new golden age never comes to pass. Thanks for reading Public Notice. This post is public so feel free to share it. Share We’ll be back with more tomorrow. If you appreciate today’s PN, please do your part to keep us free by signing up for a paid subscription. 🚀 Subscribe to PN 🚀 Thanks for reading, and for your support.
Behind the science in the Nanopatterning Cleanroom
Hamish Carr Delgado, a PhD student in materials science and engineering, shares how he’s working at the nanoscale to produce more energy-efficient chips for AI data centers.
Science & PINS Prize recognizes work that could prevent blood pressure crises after spinal cord injury | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Jan Elaine Soriano asked a question that researchers had struggled to answer for decades: What if the nervous system could be retrained to stop these dangerous blood pressure surges before they begin?
This 4,000-year-old city defied the rules of history
As Mohenjo-daro prospered, the gap between its richest and poorest households actually shrank. Its shared infrastructure, fair trade systems, and lack of powerful royal elites suggest that equality may have helped fuel the ancient city’s success.
What if the brain does not create consciousness?
Christof Koch is taking on one of science’s deepest mysteries: how the brain creates conscious experience, or whether it creates it at all. He argues that materialism has yet to solve this “hard problem” and will explore puzzling phenomena such as near-death experiences and terminal lucidity. His work points toward the possibility that consciousness may be woven into reality itself.
The US ‘golden age’ science strategy: what Europeans need to know
The US has unveiled what officials claim is the most radical overhaul of the public R&D system in a generation, which if implemented could have significant implications for transatlantic research collaboration. Science: A New Golden Age derides universities as “legacy institutions” and instead wants to prioritise funding on technological challenges, new research labs and funding that follows individual scientists, rather than being linked to their institutions. “Too much of our research enterprise has come to serve itself rather than the scientists within it,” writes Michael Kratsios, director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the only named author of the report. “Federal funding agencies should support a broader range of performers.” But some critics argue that the strategy is a smokescreen, using genuine problems in academia as an excuse to further weaken US universities, which US vice-president JD Vance has labelled “the enemy..”Even as it talks of a “golden age” for science, the White House has proposed halving the 2027 budget of the US National Science Foundation (NSF), and has put forward double-digit cuts for other funding bodies, such as the National Institutes for Health. It asked for similarly steep savings in 2026, but Congress stopped them going through. Science: A New Golden Age says success will be measured by the extent to which scientists are “free” to pursue the most “vital questions,,” painting academia as currently hidebound by bureaucracy, sluggishness and consensual conservatism. And yet the Trump administration is simultaneously planning new rules that will hand political appointees unprecedented powers to screen and cancel grants. The report has pretentions to be the successor to Science: The Endless Frontier, the seminal 1945 document in which presidential science advisor Vannevar Bush set out the case for post-war government funding of basic research, helping to spur the creation of funders such as the NSF. Even the title page font is the same. But it remains unclear if the latest report will leave anything like as lasting a legacy.Here, Science|Business explains some of the biggest proposed changes in Science: A New Golden Age, and how Europeans think it might change the landscape of their biggest science partner.Universities under fireA key target of the report are US universities, which it repeatedly suggests are outmoded as research institutions. It criticises the NSF for channelling resources “overwhelmingly to a single type of performer, the university-based, principal investigator-led research group..” Universities “extract” money from researchers’ grants to support “growing administrative bloat,” alongside legitimate uses. The Trump administration has been trying to cut the overhead costs in federal research grants that flow to universities. Instead, new institutions are being built. In May, the NSF announced it would spend $1.5 billion on two new so-called X-Labs, focused on scientific instrumentation and quantum systems. The idea is that they fill a niche in the landscape, tackling problems that are too big for a university lab, but too early stage for private start-up funding. Parallel with Europe?This shift to new research organisations parallels moves in Europe to set up new innovation agencies, such as Germany’s Sprind, the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency, and the EU’s European Innovation Council. The Dutch and French governments are looking to set up their own entities too. There’s now an emerging consensus, evident in a number of new strategies, that public R&D needs to be shaken up, Charles McIvor, an economist at the OECD, has written in response to Kratsios’s plans. “What stands out for me across these strategies [in the US, Germany, South Korea and Japan] is that governments are realising that the old ways of delivering STI [science, technology and innovation] programming no longer works,” he said in a LinkedIn post. Metascience wins?The document is, at least on the face of it, also a big win for some policy thinkers in the US who want far more experimentation with new forms of research grant and institution.It name-checks a litany of new public R&D ideas, from focused research organisations and advance market commitments to “golden tickets,” which allow grant reviewers the power to hand applicants money without requiring the consensus of other review panellists.Related articlesEuropean researchers sound the alarm that Trump rule changes will hit cooperationFocused research organisations: what are they, and how do you set them up? NIH turmoil risks reciprocal EU-US access to health research funding In addition, every federal research funding agency should set up a metascience unit, the strategy says, “with authority to run controlled experiments on review and funding mechanisms.” The UK has already set one up, the strategy points out. This mirrors recommendations to the European Commission. In 2024, a report led by former Portuguese science minister Manuel Heitor also advised the EU to set up an “experimental unit” to test out new methods of funding research. So far, however, Brussels hasn’t put forward any plans to do so. Bypass universitiesBut there’s a worry that the Trump administration is using the metascience movement to justify an overhaul of public R&D that punishes universities, which it sees as centres of political resistance. Last year, it threatened to cut Harvard University’s federal funding unless it hired and admitted a “critical mass” of new faculty and students to create “viewpoint diversity” across campus. It’s also attempted to strip academics of funding for working on politically forbidden areas, like LGBTIQ people’s health.The new strategy appears to be a “move to bypass the power of universities full stop and allow funders and political bureaucracies to handpick the projects and people who will execute them,” said Jean-Claude Burgelman, a former senior official in the Commission’s research directorate, on LinkedIn.The EU’s science counsellor in Washington, Florent Bernard, wrote that the plans risk diverting public research funding so that it “solely serves private interests.” “Who, if not independent universities, will do research that demonstrates the impact of tobacco on lung cancer or the role of human activities in our current climate crisis?” he wrote.Should we take it seriously?“I would view the overall document as a bad faith argument,” said Cole Donovan, director of science policy at the campaigning group Stand Up for Science, and a former OSTP official. “I don’t see the project itself as something that can be isolated from the broader attack on the system.” He thinks the argument that academia has become dysfunctional and in need of radical reform is being deployed as part of a “PR argument” to legitimate moves against US scientists. The strategy presents ideas like metascience units as new, whereas there were moves to set them up at the NSF during the previous administration of Joe Biden, Donovan said. The other caveat here is that the OSTP has limited power to carry out any of these recommendations. While Kratsios has issued a memo to research agencies telling them to implement the recommendations in the report, he doesn’t have direct budgetary control. “As a former OSTPer myself, this does not seem like a document that is realistic,” said Donovan.
Scientists found evolution repeating itself in the Galápagos Islands
More than 150 years after Darwin’s finches helped reshape biology, Galápagos plants are exposing another evolutionary surprise. Giant daisies repeatedly developed similar heat-tolerant leaf shapes, but each lineage used a different combination of genes. Researchers also found major genetic differences among isolated populations, suggesting new species may be forming right now.
KFF Health Tracking Poll: Mifepristone and the Midterms
Amid an ongoing FDA re-review of mifepristone, awareness of the safety and prevalence of the abortion pill remains limited. This KFF poll also finds that the voters who say abortion policy is an important issue for 2026 midterm candidates to discuss are disproportionately Democrats.
The Vampire Squid Discovery That Science Had to Correct
For decades, the vampire squid stood alone as the last survivor of an ancient cephalopod order, until a strange specimen hauled from the deep South China Sea changed everything. Or so scientists thoug...
Teacher of the Week: Diamond Bibbie, science, Urbana Sixth Grade Center
In her first year at the Urbana Sixth Grade Center, math teacher Diamond Bibbie made an impact beyond her classroom, taking the lead in planning the school’s Black History Month
Science and the American Experiment: 250 Years of Innovation
A new exhibit highlights moments when new knowledge changed how Americans understood their world—and how they acted within it.
What to do this weekend: Reggae at Riverview, Science of Speed and Lawrenceville Art Crawl
Buckle up and it's off to the races at the Kamin Science Center's new "Science of Speed" exhibit, check original works at the Lawrenceville Art Crawl or chill at the Reggae at Riverview concert — here's what to do in Pittsburgh this weekend.
Digital habits that rob attention and energy — and how to combat them
There's a reason why double- or triple-screening your devices makes you feel tired, says NPR's Manoush Zomorodi. She explains the science of information overload and how to reclaim calm and focus.
Science grants opened my world. Proposed cuts would cut students off at knees
I was my family's first college grad. Federal science funding grants were my ticket. Cuts would rob Buckeye State, Ohio University professor writes.
American Red Cross to Host Aug. 5 Blood Drive on Health Science Campus
Open to everyone, the blood drive is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, in the Morse Fitness Center on Health Science Campus.
American Red Cross to Host Aug. 5 Blood Drive on Health Science Campus
Open to everyone, the blood drive is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, in the Morse Fitness Center on Health Science Campus.
UToledo-Led Initiative Gathers Science Teachers in Kentucky
Eighteen master teaching fellows are participating in the five-year program supported by $2.3 million through the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Scholarship Program.
The White House’s science vision is no blueprint for Europe
Individual talents need the ecosystem of strong research universities to flourish, says Kurt Deketelaere
Science Hill brings young, talented roster into 2026
The Hilltoppers are focused on gaining experience while getting desired results at the same time.
Mad about Science: Batoids » Sandpoint Reader
By Brenden BobbyReader Columnist At the library’s Citizen Science events, which take place twice a month at the Waterlife Discovery Center on Lakeshore Drive, I love to ask a fun question of guests that...
New book breaks down the science behind swimming
Former University of Hawaiʻi head swim coach Jans Prins breaks down the biomechanics of swimming in his new book, “Freestyle Biomechanics.”
Reincarnation: What Science Says and Doesn’t (or Can’t) Say
Inside a University of Virginia lab, scientists have spent nearly six decades gathering unsettling evidence: children who recall violent deaths, bear matching birthmarks, and know facts they never could have learned. A grieving skeptic investigates whether reincarnation might just be real.
Science demos, stellar suds: Brewsology to pour at California Science Center
The evening event will feature fine foams and the after-hours opportunity to roam the educational museum.
Structural alignments to design functional RNAs
Nature Computational Science - A new method designs RNA sequences by learning from alignments of structurally similar molecules, producing aptamers and ribozymes that are experimentally validated.
Political Science 101: Socialism vs. Communism
Now, either the President of the United States doesn’t understand the differences between democratic socialism, which is an economic philosophy that is gaining some momentum on the far left right now, particularly among younger voters, and communism; or Trump is merely slinging emotionally-charged rhetoric at people who also don’t understand the distinctions. There is a word for that technique; it’s called “propaganda.”
Animal spillover? Lab leak? What the science says about the origins of COVID-19
The release of Dr. Anthony Fauci's pandemic diaries has rekindled the debate over the origins of SARS-CoV-2. Here's how scientists have weighed in.
Animal spillover? Lab leak? What the science says about the origins of COVID-19
The release of Dr. Anthony Fauci's pandemic diaries has rekindled the debate over the origins of SARS-CoV-2. Here's how scientists have weighed in.
University of Utah Team Selected for NSF Initiative to Shape the Future of AI in Science Education
A multidisciplinary team will help design AI-powered learning tools that strengthen scientific thinking in K–12 classrooms. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into classrooms and...
Science with Stevie: Scud Clouds
Meteorologist Stevie Daniels breaks down the eerie fog-like clouds that formed in the wake of strong thunderstorms in this Science with Stevie article!
Hegseth offers soldiers testosterone and FDA loosens safety warnings. Is the science there?
Last week, the Pentagon posted a video on X announcing they will be mandating testosterone screening for troops in the military aged 30 and above. If they test low, they will be offered voluntary testosterone replacement therapy. This episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Youtube. At the same time, FDA has announced it […]
Huge 1.5-Million-Year-Old Footprints Suggest a Human Cousin Nicknamed Nutcracker Man Was Far Bigger Than We Thought
The tracks suggest Paranthropus boisei grew surprisingly large and traveled in male groups.
Anthony Fauci’s high-profile Senate hearing: what we learned
Six years on from Covid crisis, Republicans still politicizing science – and Fauci remains a political punching bag
UT health science center expanding Health Hubs program across Tennessee
A $4 million grant will expand TennesseeCares Health Hubs to 13 locations, bringing preventive care to rural areas.
Correction to C.4 Planetary Science Enabling Facilities
C.4 The Planetary Science Enabling Facilities (PSEF) was recently added to ROSES-25. It solicits proposals for experimental and analytical research facilities
The Work Behind Trustworthy Science
From ethical review and mentorship to collaboration and reproducibility, strong science depends on processes the public rarely sees. When a scientific breakthrough captures national attention,...
UConn School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Professor Xiuling Lu Receives Director Promotion
UConn School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Professor (SoPPS), Xiuling Lu, was recently announced as the new Director of Research and Graduate Educ ...
CTSI gets more than $29 million in new funding
The Clinical & Translational Science Institute at URochester received the research dollars from the National Institutes of Health.
The Dinosaurs May Have Had Only Hours Before Extinction After the Asteroid Struck and Turned the Planet into a Global Furnace
New research suggests fine dust trapped heat from falling debris, producing a deadly pulse that could have ignited forests around the world.
Dancing popcorn, marker flowers, color-mixing ice cubes: DIY science experiments from the kitchen
Thirteen early-career professors win NSF development awards
Researchers studying ribosomes, AI and quantum computing are among 13 early-career professors from Cornell who’ve recently been awarded National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Awards.
Wild horse decisions should be led by science
Karen Schutte’s recent Arizona Capitol Times op-ed, “Arizona Should Not Manage Wild Horses by Straw Poll,” raises an important question that deserves serious consideration: How should public agencies establish population targets for free-roaming wildlife?
Erica McLain on bridging the gap between science and design
Before she even considered entering the design industry, Erica McLain’s professional path contained enough experience for a few lifetimes. Her résumé tells ...
Ohio University Lancaster to launch Associate of Applied Science in Nursing program in Spring 2027
The addition of the nursing program represents another step in Ohio University Lancaster’s commitment to expanding access to high-quality, career-focused education that meets the needs of the communities it serves.
Astronomy Picture of the Day’s Educational Links
Resources for astronomy research for learners of all ages!
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Click on a picture and discover the cosmos!
Submit an image to APOD
Images can be submitted to Astronomy Picture of the Day by email to the editors Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell. To submit an image, please use this mailto
Weaving WEBS of Science at Wilkes
It may be summer break, but more than 100 someday scientists spent a week living the lab life at the We’re Empowered by Science camp on Wilkes University’s campus. The camp, better known by its...
UAMS Names Wendy N. Nembhard, Ph.D., MPH, as Dean of the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health
LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) named Wendy N. Nembhard, Ph.D., MPH, as the next dean of the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, effective Sept. 1.
'Completely Transformed My Understanding': Scientists Uncover Hundreds of Hidden Structures Beneath The Amazon
A society of millions.
Protect science & innovation from political interference
Scientific research is already facing setbacks as this administration tries to gain leverage over independent scientists. Now, President Donald Trump and his allies have proposed a rule to put their political appointees in charge of federal grant funding. This weaponization of research funding will slow down or stop research we depend on. Tell your senators to stop this proposed rule now!
NASA Webb Explores Family Tree of Newly Discovered Distant Objects
Since their discovery by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in 2022, little red dots (LRDs) have been the subject of great interest to astronomers.
Killing slime: an AI-first biotech solution | Investors Lab
We love public science lessons, like the algae debacle that turned Washington, D.C.'s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool a vibrant green this summer after a renovation. It's not exactly a new development. Algal blooms have intermittently plagued the site for generations, including during the last big overhaul in 2012. But the latest episode lingers despite treatments with hydrogen peroxide and an ozone nanobubble system. As Bethany Brookshire makes clear for Science News, there's another option that might have managed the crisis far more effectively, had it been used from the start.
Dr. Fauci, the Age of Big Players in science and what his diary reveals about the disputed origins of Covid
In the age of Big Players, even science has become politicized. The most recent evidence is contained in Dr. Anthony Fauci’s diary.
Zombie sea cucumbers and the future of tissue engineering | Investors Lab
It's pretty cool, but not exactly news, that lizards can regrow their tails and starfish can regenerate arms. However, the lost or discarded body parts typically decay and die within a few days or weeks. Not so for those of at least one kind of sea cucumber. Researchers have found that detached tissue from these marine invertebrates can remain alive independently for years. Their findings could have a real impact on how we understand tissue culture, regeneration and aging in medical science. Saugat Bolakhe takes us beneath the surface for SN.
Taufer Leads Team Awarded $9M by NSF To Enable US Transition to AI-Driven Discovery
A project led by Michela Taufer has been awarded $9 million by the National Science Foundation to accelerate AI-driven scientific discovery.
Science and Scripture both reject racist church doctrine
A former church member reflects on science, religious racism, diversity, melanin and why faith should reject prejudice in favor of truth, dignity and inclusion.
The power plant players unlocking the grid | Investors Lab
History is full of aha moments where an apparent failure was actually the breakthrough people didn't know they needed. Take champagne, discovered when French winemakers kept finding their bottles exploding under pressure. Or sticky notes, developed from a glue that was rejected by leadership at 3M for being too weak, but later redeployed for the purpose we all know and love. Nuclear fusion just experienced another of these serendipitous discoveries. For decades, it wasn't clear how the subatomic particles known as alpha particles would affect the turbulence that drains heat from a reactor's core, preventing the reactor from reaching self-sustaining fusion. Now, new simulations suggest that the particles help. The new research turns what was once viewed as a potential operational hindrance into a critical performance booster. SN's Emily Conover has the info blast.