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Millions may be getting the wrong cholesterol test
A new study suggests that apoB, a blood test that measures harmful cholesterol particles, is better than standard LDL cholesterol testing for deciding who needs more intensive treatment. Researchers found it could prevent more heart attacks and strokes while remaining cost-effective for the U.S. healthcare system.
Faith beats economy for GOP
A new study finds conservative voters value religious identity over economic policy
China rare earth industry has critical weakness, study finds
New study finds China lagging behind Japan and the US in key patents for advanced rare earth technologies.
Uber's insurance fees varied widely in similar rides: study
Uber's insurance charges can vary greatly, affecting what riders pay, reveals Columbia's Len Sherman.
AI-native startups are hiring fewer entry-level workers, study finds
AI-native startups are running smaller, flatter teams and are hiring more senior talent rather than entry-level talent, a Harvard study found.
Scientists have now made the most comprehensive tally yet of deep-sea exploration — 43,681 dive records dating back to 1958 — and found that humans have directly seen less than 0.001% of the deep ocean floor, an area roughly the size of Rhode Island, leaving the vast seafloor across 66% of Earth’s surface essentially unobserved.
Humanity has sent cameras to the Moon, Mars, Venus and the outer planets, but on Earth itself there is still a larger frontier that has barely been looked at directly. A 2025 study in Science Advances has now put a number on that gap: since 1958, researchers have compiled 43,681 records of dives deep enough […]
Residents in eastern Congo cling to hope as a new Ebola treatment trial begins
Residents in Congo's Ebola outbreak zone are hopeful as researchers begin a study of two potential treatments.
For much of the past century, scientists believed dinosaurs were already in decline when the asteroid struck 66 million years ago — but a 2025 study published in Science found fossils in New Mexico showing they were flourishing in diverse, thriving ecosystems right up until the moment of impact
For much of the past century, many scientists believed the dinosaurs were already in decline when the asteroid struck 66 million years ago, a group past its prime that a cosmic accident merely finished off. A 2025 study published in the journal Science, built on fossils from New Mexico, argues almost the opposite. Right up […]
New study says one Houston power plant may be making the clouds
Houston's cloud mystery explained.
The secret to healthy aging may be hidden in your blood
Some people live past 100 with remarkable health, and researchers may have uncovered one reason why. A new study found that centenarians have a unique chemical "fingerprint" in their blood that sets them apart from normal aging, including unusual patterns of bile acids and steroids linked to longer survival.
A hidden weakness in deadly cancers could lead to powerful new treatments
A UCLA study has identified a hidden Achilles' heel in aggressive small cell cancers that have resisted new treatments for decades. Scientists found that tumors lacking the RB gene become critically dependent on the protein E2F3 for survival. Blocking E2F3 shut down tumor growth in laboratory models, and existing FDA-approved drugs may be able to exploit this vulnerability. The discovery could pave the way for faster development of more effective therapies.
The secret to healthy aging may be hidden in your blood
Some people live past 100 with remarkable health, and researchers may have uncovered one reason why. A new study found that centenarians have a unique chemical "fingerprint" in their blood that sets them apart from normal aging, including unusual patterns of bile acids and steroids linked to longer survival.
About South County: In charter school decision, McKee chose politics over process
Gov. Dan McKee froze charter school growth for three years but he stopped short of commissioning the kind of independent, rigorous study that might actually fix what’s broken.
Alien life on nearby 'super Earth' much likelier than we thought, study claims
A recently discovered "super Earth" located around 25 light-years from our planet is not as massive as previously thought, raising the chances that it has the conditions to support life.
Could We Have Been Wrong About Fish Oil and Brain Health? New Study Raises Major Questions
Fish oil supplements delivered omega-3s to the brain, but a new study found that was not enough to improve cognitive health in older adults at risk for Alzheimer’s.
Dangers of youth using AI for mental health care
A nationwide study finds more and more teens are using A-I to replace mental health professionals. It’s led to some scary outcomes, even tragic endings. NBC 7’s Shandel Menezes sat down with some teens to hear what type of support they need.
Scientists thought ravens followed wolves for food. A 2.5-year GPS study told a different story.
For decades, biologists believed ravens found their next meal by shadowing wolves across the landscape until the predators made a kill. A new study in and around Yellowstone National Park suggests the birds are using a far more sophisticated strategy.
Scientists discover giant fan-shaped structure beneath Antarctica's ice sheet: The hidden structure rewriting Earth's ancient history
For decades, Antarctica has been treated as a kind of frozen time capsule, a place where evidence of Earth's deep past sits preserved, undisturbed, beneath layers of ice that have built up over millions of years. As per the study published in Nature Geoscience, scientists have now uncovered something remarkable within that buried record: an enormous, fan-shaped geological structure stretching across a huge swath of East Antarctica, hidden entirely from view beneath the ice.
Digital diabetes tool shown to improve patient care and cut health care costs
A new study by University of Manchester researchers has linked a digital platform helping people manage type 2 diabetes to better blood sugar control, improved health and potential long-term NHS cost ...
Reduced sunshine linked to higher demand for mental health care
The study highlights the relationship between weather and mental health care use, suggesting routine weather patterns could forecast service demand effectively.
Scientists have detected a giant fan-shaped structure buried beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, suggesting the frozen continent may be hiding the geological scars of the breakup that helped separate Antarctica from Australia
East Antarctica can look, from above, like the quiet half of the frozen continent: old, thick, cold and buried under kilometres of ice. But beneath that ice, new mapping suggests the bedrock may carry the shape of a much more violent past. In a Nature Geoscience study published in June 2026, researchers described a giant […]
Stem cell scientists engineer 'synthetic organizer' cells to improve kidney organoids
In a study published in Science, USC researchers paired a biological discovery with an engineering feat to create more faithful, reproducible lab-grown kidney structures from stem cells, known as organoids.
NASA Students Get Airborne View of Atmospheric Science at Ellington Field
From June 3 to 13, aircraft at Ellington Field in Houston gave students a firsthand look at how scientists study Earth from the air.
Over-40s with obesity have normal-BMI cholesterol and blood pressure levels, study finds
Success of statins and blood-pressure drugs hailed as researchers find some people with obesity were ‘better off’
Statins and blood pressure drugs changing health risks of obesity, study suggests
New research shows obesity patients over 40 are managing blood pressure and cholesterol as well as healthy-weight peers, but younger adults remain at risk.
WHO Health Emergencies EPI-WIN webinar: Strengthening the governance of national public health agencies for emergency preparedness and response
This webinar will provide a platform to present the main findings of the cross-country study on governance of National Public Health Agencies for emergency preparedness and response and bring country perspectives from different governance models on how governance arrangements shape emergency action in practice.
Study Reveals Biology Underlying Oral Health Issues in Down Syndrome
Low saliva from calcium signaling dysfunction, microbiome changes may contribute to high rates of gum disease
Scientists propose launching a giant 'airbag' into space to protect us from solar superstorms — and experts say it's 'quite feasible'
A new study suggests creating a satellite constellation, dubbed StormWall, that could reduce the impacts of the worst solar storms by more than 50%. The novel plan, which involves dumping gas into the magnetosphere, could be the only way to directly protect ourselves from dangerous space weather, experts say.
Scientists can now study the event horizons of black holes
They make the universe’s most extreme gravitational laboratories
'Legally Blonde' prequel 'Elle' is soulless and senseless
In the seminal 2001 comedy "Legally Blonde," our young fair-haired heroine Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is a kind-hearted yet naive valley girl who trades beach days for study sessions as
Steelers film study: Eli Heidenreich's playmaking skills need more seasoning
It wasn’t just a good story that led to Eli Heidenreich being a seventh-round selection in his hometown by his hometown team. The Pittsburgh native...
If you’re at risk of Alzheimer’s, these dietary habits can help, study finds
Research suggests diet remains a relevant factor for brain health even after blood markers of dementia are present.
Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. teens have turned to AI chatbots for mental health advice, study finds
A growing number of adolescents and young adults in the United States are turning to artificial intelligence chatbots for help with their mental health.
Gov. Stein wants a study conducted on rising health care costs in NC, ways to make it affordable
The new commission will study rising health care costs in NC and recommend ways to make care more affordable.
White House forms UFO science panel led by polarizing Harvard professor
A polarizing Harvard astronomer has been appointed to lead a White House panel studying UFOs. Avi Loeb is leading a new Science Advisory Council tasked with finding the origin of unidentified objects spotted by military pilots and others.
66 billion trees have been planted in China's Great Green Wall — and they appear to be growing faster than natural forests
A study of China's planted and natural forests reveals age, species mix, and CO2 sensitivity all contribute to how fast trees sprout leaves.
Computer scientists develop a new AI tool that rivals AlphaFold 3 in mapping RNA
The method, called RNAbpFlow, was described in a study published on June 30 in Nature Methods, among the most selective journals in computational life sciences.
N.I.H. Announces World’s Largest Integrated Health Database
It contains more than half a million people’s genomes, paired with clinical records and wearable tech data. That gives researchers unmatched power to study both diseases and treatments.
Fast food, fries and science: Inside U-M's lab studying cravings
The experiment starts before anyone takes a bite. There's no drive-thru. No cashier calling the next order. No glowing sign announcing the restaurant is open.
Half of states sue over Medicaid work requirements
FDA peptide panelists, a new study on Covid and flu shots, and more health news from Morning Rounds
New study: Americans’ perceptions of the health harms of climate change
Awareness of climate change as a health issue is increasing, but polarization on the topic is, too.
Top GLP-1 prescription indications include sleep apnea, depression and kidney disease, study finds
A report from Trilliant Health looking at payer data found that, as prescriptions for the popular weight loss drugs spike, so rises the number of approved benefits.
Action! NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Begins Capturing the Greatest Cosmic Movie Ever Made
The wait is over: NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, is now capturing the cosmos in unprecedented detail, transforming the way we study the dynamic Universe.
Gaining biological insights through supervised data visualization
Nature Computational Science - This study introduces RF-PHATE, a supervised visualization method that preserves data structure while revealing biological patterns, enabling insights into disease...
Fish oil supplements no match for Alzheimer's risk, new study finds
A new study from the Keck School of Medicine at USC found a revelation regarding fish oil supplements. Here's the researchers' findings.
Scientists Found Ancient Human DNA on Cave Walls for the First Time and It Could Rewrite the Story of Prehistoric Art
The find could transform how researchers study prehistoric cave art.
Turtles Are Really Weird Animals. Where Did They Come From?
The origin of turtles has puzzled scientists. A new study provides more evidence that these shelled reptiles share a common ancestor with crocodiles and birds.
Students in Distress Turning to AI for Mental Health Support, Study Shows
Nearly one in five college students is turning to AI for mental health reasons, and those with severe symptoms are roughly twice as likely to do so.
Biden's illegal immigration surge caused higher rent and home prices, Fed study finds
A Federal Reserve working paper finds unauthorized immigration during the Biden administration drove up home prices by 2.2% and rents by 1.4%.
New research shows the hidden challenges facing religious scientists
A recent study from Rice’s Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance titled “Religious Representation in Science: How Scientists in the United States, Mexico and South Africa Respond” explores the aspect of religious representation in science.
Millions take omega-3 fish oil for brain health but a new study found no benefit
Fish oil supplements successfully delivered omega-3s to the brain, but a two-year study found no meaningful benefits for memory, cognition, or Alzheimer’s-related brain changes. The results challenge the idea that fish oil pills can help prevent Alzheimer’s and shift attention toward overall diet and lifestyle instead.
Millions take omega-3 fish oil for brain health but a new study found no benefit
Fish oil supplements successfully delivered omega-3s to the brain, but a two-year study found no meaningful benefits for memory, cognition, or Alzheimer’s-related brain changes. The results challenge the idea that fish oil pills can help prevent Alzheimer’s and shift attention toward overall diet and lifestyle instead.
Scientists Discover Ultrasound May Stop Arthritis Before It Starts
A new study suggests low-intensity ultrasound can influence immune cell behavior in ways that may reduce chronic inflammation and encourage tissue repair after joint injury.
Efzimfotase alfa demonstrated improvements in bone health in treatment-naïve pediatric patients with hypophosphatasia achieving median difference of 1.67 vs placebo in RGI-C Score at week 25 in MULBERRY Phase III trial
Positive results from the MULBERRY Phase III trial showed that efzimfotase alfa (ALXN1850), an investigational enzyme replacement therapy, demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in bone health in children (2 to
Rise in cancer in younger adults may be explained by faster 'biological aging,' early study hints
Researchers report that younger adults with older‑than‑expected biological ages are more likely to develop early‑onset lung, gastrointestinal and uterine cancers, but more research is needed.
Only one workout helped older adults lose fat without losing muscle
A six-month study of more than 120 adults in their 70s found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) may offer a key advantage over other forms of exercise: it helped reduce body fat while preserving valuable muscle mass. While moderate and low-intensity workouts also led to some fat loss, only HIIT maintained lean muscle, which becomes increasingly important with age.
Only one workout helped older adults lose fat without losing muscle
A six-month study of more than 120 adults in their 70s found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) may offer a key advantage over other forms of exercise: it helped reduce body fat while preserving valuable muscle mass. While moderate and low-intensity workouts also led to some fat loss, only HIIT maintained lean muscle, which becomes increasingly important with age.
Employment scams study reveals soaring numbers
Job hunters tricked into handing over thousands of dollars are being lured with a new tactic: task-based scams, in which they are offered high pay to “like” and “subscribe” to videos online.
Scientists Challenge a Fundamental Assumption About Consciousness
A new philosophical study challenges the idea that consciousness requires human-like biology.
'Super puffy': Scientists ponder extreme low density of two planets
International researchers are engaged in a complex study of two planets in deep space that appear to have an average density lower than that of candy floss. The planets orbiting star TOI-791, located ...
What scientists discovered about coffee grounds will transform construction industry - Futura-Sciences
At the start of 2024, a study published several months ago is once again drawing attention. Scientists at RMIT University in Australia have identified an unexpected use for spent coffee grounds, opening the door to a promising solution for both the construction sector and organic waste management. From coffee waste...
Are ghosts real? What top scientists secretly found will shock you - Futura-Sciences
The Enigma of Cryptozoology Cryptozoology is the study of animals whose existence hasn’t been scientifically proven. Think about it: creatures like the Yeti, the Loch Ness Monster, or the giant squid. Sometimes these beings seem straight out of outlandish legends—a touch of myth, a dash of curiosity, and a sprinkle...
Mountain lions changed everything in this tiny California preserve
A surprising ecological makeover unfolded when mountain lions began frequenting a small preserve south of San Francisco. Deer activity dropped, plants recovered, and shifts among predators like coyotes, bobcats, and foxes followed. The study shows that powerful “trophic cascades” aren’t limited to remote wilderness—they can happen in small, suburban preserves too.
Screen time can damage under-twos’ development, landmark study suggests
Exclusive: Researchers call for urgent investigation of risks to babies of tablets, smartphones and other digital devices
"People think science is about the truth. It's not" – Why everything we know about the Universe could be mere guesswork | BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Are space science, cosmology and astronomy just guesswork? Considering the purpose of science and how we study the Universe.
This Week's 10 Must-Read Stories on Women in Politics: Title IX Anniversary, AI's Anti-Women Bias and Ranked-Choice Voting Victories
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a weekly compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment! Published every Friday. —This week marked the 54th anniversary of Title IX. —As the Taliban approaches the five-year mark of its return to power this August, a rare protest in western Afghanistan last week laid bare both the brutality of its rule and the resilience of those living under it. —A woman will replace Eric Swalwell in California … but for not two more months. —A study of 133 AI systems found that 44 percent demonstrated gender bias, and more than a quarter showed both gender and racial bias. ... and more.
Trustees hear Glencoe neighbors who blast possibility of street parking near business district
Facing opposition from residents living adjacent to the Village’s business district, the Glencoe Village Board has adopted the findings of a long-in-development parking study without three areas that multiple residents spoke against during a recent Village Board meeting. In a 5-0 vote, with Trustee Dudley Onderdonk abstaining, the Glencoe Village Board on Thursday, June 18, […]
Scientists Baffled by Discovery of Rare “Pink Floyd” Spider Hidden in Home Walls - Futura-Sciences
The Birth of a “Pink Floyd” Spider Tiny, discreet, and quietly settled on urban walls, a new species of spider was recently discovered in Colombia—and christened as a tribute to the iconic rock band Pink Floyd. As part of a study published in the journal Zoosystematics and Evolution, South American...
New study suggests health damage from exposure to Ohio toxic train spill
Research finds immune systems still ‘responding to toxic chemical exposures’ related to East Palestine derailment
Outdoor recreation study highlights economic challenges for Wyoming businesses
The report represents the first comprehensive study of the state’s outdoor recreation economy. Businesses ranked hiring, climate and marketing as top concerns.
Study analyzes youth sports and committing violence
The study used survey data on 3,849 adults who participated in the National Sports and Society Survey.
Study analyzes youth sports and committing violence
The study used survey data on 3,849 adults who participated in the National Sports and Society Survey.
Study analyzes youth sports and committing violence
The study used survey data on 3,849 adults who participated in the National Sports and Society Survey.
Hollywood gets into the microdrama race as mobile-first storytelling draws stars and major studios
While much of Hollywood was consumed by the streaming wars, Issa Rae was studying a different mode of entertainment thousands of miles away: microdramas. No stranger to creating a successful online s...
UT Health San Antonio researcher receives $400,000 Komen grant to study therapeutic yoga for breast cancer survivors
UT Health San Antonio researcher receives $400,000 Komen grant to study therapeutic yoga for breast cancer survivors
UT Health San Antonio researcher receives $400,000 Komen grant to study therapeutic yoga for breast cancer survivors
Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH, MPH, to work with Hispanics in South Texas Contact: Steven Lee, (210) 450-3823, lees22@uthscsa.edu Content provided by Cliff Despres SAN ANTONIO, June 25, 2026 – Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH, MPH, a cancer researcher at UT Health San Antonio, the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio, is […]
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.
Transcription by Ben Lerner wins Orwell prize for political fiction
Judging chair calls Lerner’s novel a ‘funny, brainy and timely’ study of our appetite for technology, while Karen Bartlett wins the nonfiction prize for The Escape from Kabul
Participating in heavy-contact youth sports, dropping out of sports linked to acts of violence
Contrary to popular belief, simply playing organized youth sports does not reduce the likelihood of committing violence in one’s lifetime, and in some cases, may increase it, according to a new study.The study, published online recently in the Sociology of Sport Journal, found that while most survey respondents — including those who played y...
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 ...
Tickled Apes Reveal the Rhythmic Roots of Laughter
A study of chimps, gorillas and other great apes, including human children, sheds light on how laughter has evolved.
Bluehost Launches Inaugural Market Study on State of Small Business AI Confidence in the U.S.
/PRNewswire/ -- Bluehost, the SMB business platform that millions of small businesses, developers, and agencies globally trust to run, grow and scale in the AI...
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 ...
Semi-communal 'compound houses' in Ghana affect how people participate in political activity
Could the precise architectural form of your residence influence how much you participate in politics? A new study by MIT scholars finds this to be exactly the case—at least in Accra, Ghana, where many ...
Living with a cat: the mental health impact scientists are only now discovering - Futura-Sciences
A Surprising Connection Between Cats and Schizophrenia? An Australian study has revealed an unexpected link between cat ownership and the risk of developing schizophrenia. Researchers analyzed 17 studies conducted over 44 years, spanning 11 different countries. Their conclusion? Living with a cat could actually double your risk of developing schizophrenia-related...
How architecture influences political activity
A new study in Ghana shows residents in semi-communal housing are more likely to vote, attend rallies, and take part in political campaigns, compared to people in more private forms of housing.
Latest COVID booster may offer bonus health benefit, study suggests
The latest COVID-19 vaccine (2024-2025) has been linked to fewer serious heart-related events among U.S. veterans. New research confirmed a small reduction in COVID-related cardiovascular events, or COVID-19-associated MACE, due to the vaccine.
New study reveals gaps in how mental health is measured in European Region
A new WHO/Europe study found wide variation in how research measures mental health in the WHO European Region, underlining the urgent need for standard monitoring.
Think 8 Hours of Sleep Is the Best for Your Cognitive Health? A New Study Suggests Otherwise
Research reveals a hidden genetic link that dictates exactly how your nighttime routine impacts your brain.
Scientists design 'tunable' biomolecules to probe how sugars behave
Sugars are not just a source of energy—they also play a crucial role in how cells communicate, how proteins interact and how materials behave in medicine and industry. But studying these processes is ...
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.
New DNA study of Neanderthals bolsters suspicions of human-driven extinction
Analysis of 27 genomes reveals more diverse, better-connected populations and challenges the idea that genetic decline caused their disappearance
Mom's Good Heart Health Lowers Risk Of Baby's Developmental Delays
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterWEDNESDAY, June 24, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Want to give your baby the best start in life? Then tend to your heart health, both prior to and during pregnancy, a new study says. Expectant mothers in worse heart health are more likely to have children who suffer ...
Science museum brings soccer tech to World Cup fans
Soccer & Technology from the FIFA Museum, in its North American debut in Vancouver, has drawn hundreds of fans to Science World to study the game's evolution as organisers aim to accelerate soccer's growth in ice hockey-mad Canada.
Early humans were bringing fire into caves 1.8 million years ago
A new study suggests early humans were using fire in South Africa’s Wonderwerk Cave as far back as 1.79 million years ago. Researchers found burned bones deep inside the cave, where natural wildfires could not have reached, indicating that fire was likely carried in and maintained by human ancestors. The discovery pushes back the timeline for fire use and reveals surprisingly sophisticated behavior long before humans could create fire on demand.
Most IVF ‘add-on’ treatments have no effect on fertility or remain unproven, study says
Review shows majority of procedures offered alongside standard IVF not backed by reliable evidence
People on GLP-1 medications are exercising less
A new study found that people using weight-loss drugs are doing less exercise, despite feeling healthier. Here's how muscle mass and bone density are affected.
Covid vaccine study the acting CDC director blocked is published in an outside journal
The findings suggest that Covid vaccines reduced the likelihood of severe illness last fall and winter.