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Chairman Guthrie, Health Vice Chair Harshbarger, Congresswoman Miller-Meeks Lead Site Visit to Iowa Hospitals to Highlight Benefits of the Rural Health Transformation Program
The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest standing legislative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and is vested with the broadest jurisdiction of any congressional authorizing committee.
Sweden and WHO launch new long-term initiative to transform Ukraine’s health system
WHO and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) have launched a new multi-year cooperation project to support the long-term recovery and transformation of Ukraine’s health system. The new project, “Ukraine’s Health System Transformation Initiative: Strengthening Health Governance, Health Financing and Service Delivery for Long-Term Recovery”, was launched at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 in Gdansk, Poland on 26 June, and will run from June 2026 to 2029. Sweden will contribute approximately US$ 26 million (240 million Swedish krona) to support this project. This contribution forms part of Sweden’s broader support to Ukraine through the Team Europe approach, which brings together the European Union, its Member States, and key partners such as the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood and Enabel, and WHO as lead health agency, to support Ukraine’s recovery, reform agenda and European integration.“Ukraine’s health recovery cannot be measured only by what is rebuilt, but by whether people can count on the health system when they need it most. The scale of the task is immense, with health reconstruction and modernization needs estimated at US$ 19.4 billion over the next decade. Sweden’s US$ 26 million contribution to Ukraine’s Health System Transformation Initiative is a timely investment in the institutions, financing and services that will support Ukraine’s long-term recovery and European integration. WHO remains a trusted partner of the Government of Ukraine in advancing this process. I am deeply grateful to Sweden for its consistent support and partnership,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. More than 4 years of war have placed unprecedented pressure on Ukraine’s health system, creating 3 interconnected challenges. The first is responding to the immediate consequences of the war and the urgent health needs of the population. The second is recovering and modernizing health services today. The third is continuing reforms and aligning the health system with European standards in the context of Ukraine’s future accession to the European Union. The war has led to large-scale population displacement, an increasing need for trauma care and rehabilitation, and shortages of health workers. High out-of-pocket payments in Ukraine make access to health services more difficult. Around 46% of total health expenditure is paid directly by individuals, placing a significant financial burden on many households and underscoring the need for reforms in health financing. Older people, persons with disabilities, women, children and veterans continue to face the greatest difficulties in accessing health services. “Ukraine is demonstrating that health system transformation can continue even during war. Ukraine is also continuing to align its health system with European norms and standards. WHO is committed to supporting Ukraine on this journey. We provide technical support, help coordinate partners’ efforts and support the institutional changes needed to strengthen the system. We are grateful to Sweden for its support. Through this partnership, we can help Ukraine build a more resilient, accessible and people-centred health system,” said Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine. About the Health System Transformation InitiativeThe new initiative will support Ukraine through 3 interconnected areas: strengthening governance and coordination of health sector reforms through more inclusive coordination platforms and structured policy dialogue; transforming service delivery by reinforcing a primary health care-centred model that integrates family medicine, nursing and midwifery; and improving financial sustainability by supporting reforms that ensure the long-term viability of the national health system and reduce out-of-pocket payments for households. Overall, these reforms are expected to make the health system more coherent and easier to navigate, improve the quality and continuity of care, and ensure more equitable access to services, particularly for those who need them most. They will also support Ukraine’s progress towards a more modern health system aligned with European standards. “We are convinced that long-term recovery is not possible without strong, high-quality, person-centred health services that are accessible to everyone. Our partnership with WHO is designed to support deep and lasting systemic changes. Investments in human capital especially autonomous midwives, whose role for maternal, newborn and adolescent sexual and reproductive health cannot be understated, stronger governance, digital transformation and the financial sustainability of the health system are investments in Ukraine’s future. We are proud to support this process,” said Malin Perhult, the Head of the Ukraine Unit at Sida. Focus throughout implementation will be given to the most vulnerable population groups, including older people, women and children, and persons with disabilities, who have been affected by the war and face greater health-care needs. The initiative will be implemented in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the National Health Service of Ukraine, the Public Health Centre of Ukraine, regional authorities and international partners. This project will help Ukraine move towards a system where everyone can access the health care they need. It will strengthen primary care, make the health finance system more stable and predictable, and reduce the out-of-pocket costs that Ukrainians face when using health services. As a result, the Ukrainian health system will become more aligned with European standards and more sustainable in the long run.
Elroy Air to Become Publicly Traded Company via Business Combination with Inflection Point-led SPAC
Elroy Air, Inc., a leading U.S.-based technology developer of autonomous heavy-cargo drones for defense, rapid response and commercial logistics, and Columbu...
Ann Blyth, Oscar-nominated 'Mildred Pierce' actress, dies at 98
Ann Blyth, Golden Age Hollywood star and Oscar-nominated 'Mildred Pierce' actress, has died at 98.
Politics Chat, June 25, 2026
A newsletter about the history behind today's politics.
Video of Tom Sandoval pushing ex's dad into firepit surfaces
Bravo alum Tom Sandoval is in the midst of another controversy after video surfaced showing an altercation with his ex and her father.
New Orleans Pelicans Exercise Karlo Matkovic's Third-Year Option
The New Orleans Pelicans have exercised Karlo Matkovic's third-year option.
Injury-hit Warrington dig deep to beat Catalans
Warrington overcome injury problems to move level on points with Leeds at the top of Super League with a gutsy win over Catalans.
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.
These Churches Are Putting Family Before Politics
Close to 70 percent of Black children in America are born to unmarried parents. Nearly half live with a single mother. Both figures are significantly higher than the national average and reflect the steep decline in marriage among African Americans since the 1960s.
Fulton County health officials notify Johns Creek High School community of possible tuberculosis exposure
Students and staff who may have had close contact with the individual will receive separate notifications and be offered free tuberculosis testing.
Merck KGaA to Acquire Bio-Techne for $11.3B, Expanding Life Science Tools Presence
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has agreed to acquire Bio-Techne for approximately $11.3 billion, the companies said today, in a deal designed to position the buyer as more of a leader across the life science value chain by expanding its presence in high-growth, next-generation life-sci markets with Bio-Techne’s tools, analytical technologies, and consumables.
12 arrested in South Florida in nationwide investigation into $6.5B health care fraud
Investigators say Medicaid and Medicare thieves in South Florida bilked taxpayers for $27 million for everything from fake therapy to medical equipment patients never received. Officials seized the stolen taxpayer money from Key West to Fort Pierce.
Trump Keeps Undercutting Republicans’ Message, Squandering His Own Trifecta
Divisions between the president and his party on Capitol Hill have muddled Republicans’ midterm pitch to voters, and have crippled the G.O.P. at what should be the peak of its power.
Honoring the best in small business
Fifth Street Renaissance, Resource One, Cured Catering, and ChangeBridge Consulting are all honored.
Microsoft Discovery Aims To Advance The Era Of Agentic Science
The cloud-based agentic AI platform aims to help human researchers overcome resource constraints and complex data challenges to accelerate science at scale.
http://democrats-energycommerce.house.gov/media/press-releases/pallone-opening-remarks-health-subcommittee-markup-15-bills
Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) delivered the following opening remarks today at a Health Subcommittee markup of 15 bills:
Health Subcommittee Markup of 15 Bills Addressing Illicit Drugs and Health Care Price Transparency
The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest standing legislative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and is vested with the broadest jurisdiction of any congressional authorizing committee.
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.
Tech: House Science advances AI bills
The House Science Committee advanced a bipartisan bill that would codify increasingly prominent artificial intelligence oversight work being done by the Commerce Department.
How Elifin is reshaping the commercial real estate playbook
Elifin is leveraging a decade's worth of proprietary commercial real estate data as well as artificial intelligence to reshape how properties are marketed, analyzed and sold. The Baton Rouge-based … Already an INSIDER? Sign in. Already an INSIDER? Sign in
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Health Care Professionals in New Jersey Ratify New Contract
Members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 152 who work at Cape Regional Physicians Associates (CRPA) in New Jersey have secured a powerful new collective bargaining agreement.
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.
Fed's favored inflation gauge accelerated in May amid energy price shock
The Commerce Department PCE inflation report for May showed the Federal Reserve's favored inflation gauge rose higher amid the energy price shock caused by the Iran war.
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 …
AI for Small Business: The Quick-Win Approach
Voice of Business Blog Guest post from Greater Rochester Chamber member IT Insights of Rochester In 2025, 58% of small businesses report using generative AI tools, up from 40% in 2024 and 23% in 2023, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Adoption has grown quickly in just a few years and is now delivering…
Moody Center announces exhibition exploring math, science and tech rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems
Through a framing of North, Central and South America as interconnected regions, “Radiant Geometries: Vectors of Knowledge from the Indigenous Americas” brings together contemporary Indigenous and Latin American artists whose practices illuminate knowledge as a living technology, through which the mathematical, metaphysical and artistic realms converge.
Merck Expands Life Science Leadership with Planned $11.3 Billion Bio-Techne Acquisition
Merck Expands Life Science Leadership with Planned $11.3 Billion Bio-Techne Acquisition
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.
Around the MHS
This edition of news from around the Military Health System for the week of June 22-26, 2026, includes a vital partnership between Offutt Air Force Base and the American Red Cross, new Uniformed Services University research on stress fractures, and Naval Medical Research Unit EURAFCENT participates in a multinational readiness exercise.
Democracy’s Defenses, Democracy’s Undoing
A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.
LMC: Blue Star Shopping Center sees 40 percent surge in visits as redevelopment draws new restaurants, entertainment
Patrons are flocking to the new-look Blue Star Shopping Center in Watchung, fueling a surge in foot traffic that’s poised to continue with a growing slate of dining and experiential tenants.
Germany's Merck to buy Bio-Techne for $11.3 billion
Merck KGaA has agreed to acquire biotech firm Bio-Techne for $11.3 billion, the German science and healthcare firm said in a statement on Thursday.
Germany's Merck to buy Bio-Techne for $73 per share
Merck KGaA has agreed to acquire biotech firm Bio-Techne Corp for $73 per share in cash, the German science and healthcare firm said in a statement on Thursday.
Germany’s Merck to Buy Bio-Techne for $11 Billion
Merck KGaA offered $73 a share in cash to buy Bio-Techne, representing a 24% premium to the U.S. lab-tools supplier’s closing price Wednesday.
Is The G.O.A.T Debate Over?
Another Messi Masterclass leaves us wondering, is the GOAT debate settled for good? Master & Will debate it, and they launch an all-sport GOAT draft, All that being said about Lionel... could Kylian Mbappé catch the goal record as soon as this World Cup? We're joined by North-East football royalty, Argentine Julio Arca, and French football savant Erik Bielderman.
Dodgers Overcome Dalton Rushing’s Mental Struggles to Sweep Twins
The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday despite some struggles by catcher Dalton Rushing.
Amherst Chamber of Commerce hosts annual Business Expo
The 5th annual Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo was held tonight in the Amherst area, providing a venue for businesses to connect with community members.
Woman shot and killed by employee after altercation inside Ohio business, police say
A woman was shot and killed by an employee of a business in Euclid, Ohio, after an altercation, police said.
Trump-endorsed de la Espriella declared winner of Colombia presidential election
He defeated progressive lawmaker Iván Cepeda by 1 percentage point
Trump-endorsed de la Espriella declared winner of Colombia presidential election
He defeated progressive lawmaker Iván Cepeda by 1 percentage point
Mayor David Chait Attends Capital Health's Pride Flag Raising and Juneteenth Ceremonies
Hopewell Township, Mercer County, NJ - Throughout the month of June, Mayor David Chait was honored to join community members at both Capital Health's Pride Flag Raising Ceremony and Juneteen
Mercy Helps Position St. Louis as Global Gateway for Healthcare Innovation
Mercy continues to bring innovative thought leadership to the communities it serves and beyond. Dr. Damon Broyles, Mercy vice president of clinical innovation, informatics and precision medicine, recently shared insights and helped attract new companies to St. Louis’ nationally recognized healthcare industry as part of BioSTL.
‘Blatant discrimination’: WNBA’s decision to punish Caitlin Clark sparks outrage
The Indiana Fever’s Monday night win over the Phoenix Mercury got chippy in the fourth quarter, with Fever star Caitlin Clark and Mercury veteran DeWana Bonner getting into an altercation that led to technicals being assessed to multiple players on both teams. Clark was one of the players hit with a tech, her fifth of…
Take 5: Career Advice from the Sports World
Kellogg faculty share lessons on how to get ahead in fiercely competitive fields.
Optimum Business, Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce announce small business program
Optimum Business and the Woodbridge Metro Chamber of Commerce announced the founding of the “Lifting up Small Businesses in Woodbridge, New Jersey.”
Follow the Money: Charting Private Health Insurance Cost Growth
Most Americans have health coverage through private (also called “commercial”) insurance. The prices for healthcare paid by private insurance are
Euclid business employee fatally shoots woman: Police
A male employee fatally shot a woman who came into the business and started an altercation with him, said Euclid police.
Men’s Health: Caring for the Body, Mind and Spirit
FORT POLK, La. — Seeking help is often viewed as a vulnerability in military culture, but healthcare providers at Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital are reframing it as a tactical strength. In observance of Men's Health Month, a BJACH family physician, a mental health provider and the hospital chaplain have partnered to deliver a unified message: peak military readiness requires actively maintaining the body, mind and spirit. From utilizing routine screenings to leveraging physical discipline to build mental resilience and cultivating a strong spiritual community, the team outlines actionable steps to overcome the physical, emotional and isolation barriers that uniquely impact men.
Fenway Sports Group wasn’t perfect, but it left the Penguins in a very good position
As the Penguins move into new hands, it's time to admit Fenway Sports Group was not the villain it was perceived by many to be.
A Year in, the Trump Administration is Exercising “Gold Standard” Suppression of Science
Rather than encouraging high quality science, the Trump administration is disingenuously invoking “gold standard science” as a means to suppress it.
Business is moving past the tech bro era and learning to value ‘real people, real places’
Also: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Sophie Cunningham Posts Cryptic Video After Heated Altercation vs. Mercury
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham isn't afraid to get her hands dirty on the hardwood, that's for sure. During the fourth quarter of Monday night's Fever-Mercury game, DeWanna Bonner and Caitlin Clark were at the center of a pretty intense altercation. Both players were assessed technical fouls ...
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.
Shrimporee entertainment lineup announced
As the City of Aransas Pass and Aransas Pass Chamber Of Commerce gear up for Shrimporee, the entertainment lineup has been announced for the annual event.
Pisgah Health Foundation opens 2026 grant cycle with $250K for 3 counties
Nonprofit organizations working to improve health and well-being across three Western North Carolina counties will soon be able to apply for new funding.
Caitlin Clark, DeWanna Bonner altercation leads to six technical fouls, frustration from Clark: 'It's ridiculous'
For democracy to survive, we must embrace our interdependence
Our mandate then was to gain independence. But in today’s hyperconnected world, it’s all about standing together.
Holland & Knight Health Dose: June 23, 2026 | Insights
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS issued a request for information RFI seeking input on implementation of new requirements for pharmacy benefit managers PBMs.
From soil to gut: why your gut health depends on the world around you
On this World Microbiome Day, we explore the One Health perspective: the idea that human, animal, and environmental health are not separate concerns but expressions of the same interconnected system.
Markets Recoil in Global Sell-Off Driven by Tech Stocks
Chipmakers led the way down in South Korea, where the main index crashed 10 percent. Stocks in Europe were lower and S&P 500 futures pointed to a sharp fall.
Want a younger brain? Exercise in your 40s may help.
Even if you’ve never worked out, starting in middle age — even with brisk walks — can have a bigger impact on your brain than you think.
Charles Leclerc explains why business ventures are helping his F1 career
Charles Leclerc says his growing business interests are making him more open-minded, but insists his focus remains firmly on becoming F1 world champion
Charles Leclerc explains why business ventures are helping his F1 career
Charles Leclerc says his growing business interests are making him more open-minded, but insists his focus remains firmly on becoming F1 world champion
Oklahoma soars past North Carolina in Game 3 to win MCWS
Oklahoma capitalized on North Carolina's uncharacteristic pitching struggles and got another clutch performance from LJ Mercurius out of the bullpen on its way to victory in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the Men's College World Series finals Monday night.
Caitlin Clark, DeWanna Bonner altercation leads to five techs, ejection
The Fever's 86-77 win over the Mercury descended into chaos in the fourth quarter, resulting in five technicals and an ejection.
Caitlin Clark, DeWanna Bonner altercation leads to five techs, ejection
The Fever's 86-77 win over the Mercury descended into chaos in the fourth quarter, resulting in five technicals and an ejection.
Want to age better? Researchers say 4-minute routine may help prevent dangerous falls
A Penn State clinical trial finds just four minutes of daily strength exercise can improve mobility, balance, and leg strength in older adults.
Is watching England play bad for your health?
Watching football is an emotional rollercoaster - but is it good or bad for your health?
With pending announcement on future of Sonoma State University athletics, litigation over elimination of sports reaches California Supreme Court
Litigation over SSU athletics has reached the California Supreme Court as campus leadership prepares to announce an update on the future of intercollegiate sports.
Atlanta businesses seeing benefits from international visitors, police presence during World Cup
World Cup fever is filling the stands at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but just outside the gates, local businesses are seeing the impact up close.
Chinese spaceplane releases object into orbit, according to commercial space surveillance
Chinese spaceplane releases object into orbit, according to commercial space surveillance China’s secretive spaceplane has released an object into orbit during its ongoing fourth mission, according to space surveillance firm LeoLabs.
'The View' uses Barbara Walters in on-air ad urging viewers to push back against FCC: 'Use your voice'
'The View' used Barbara Walters in a new commercial urging audience action against the FCC amid legal drama: 'Use your voice,' an ABC spot advised.
Digital Health Tools Are Reshaping Healthcare in the United States
/PRNewswire/ -- At least 12 percent of Americans now communicate with their healthcare providers about appointments, test results, and ongoing treatments via...
Kathryn Ann Meinders Digestive Health Institute Now Open, Transforming Oklahoma Healthcare
Digestive healthcare in Oklahoma took a gigantic leap forward Monday with the official grand opening of Mercy’s Kathryn Ann Meinders Digestive Health Institute.
Mobile health tops early RHTP funding trends
State rural health transformation programs aim to overcome high startup costs and allow rural providers to deliver complex care locally with remote ultrasound, RPM and other mobile health technologies, says one industry expert.
At ISC, JUPITER Shows What Exascale Science Looks Like
Europe’s first exascale supercomputer — running on NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchips — is mapping the brain, modeling climate, advancing 6G AI and breaking records in quantum computing simulation.
Women set pace for bringing the fruits of WSU research to market
The gender gap in research commercialization persists around the globe, but WSU's highest-impact discoveries stemmed from the scientific work of women.
Scientists say most people need more protein than current guidelines suggest
A new review suggests that doing more exercise and eating more protein than current minimum recommendations may help people stay stronger, sharper, and more independent as they age. The goal isn't building a beach body—it's extending healthspan and maintaining the ability to fully enjoy life for decades longer.
Lycoming College opens new exercise science academic program
Lycoming College is now offering an exercise science academic program, offering pathways for athletic training careers or pre-medical studies.
Wisconsin’s Medicaid work requirements: Here’s what to know
An estimated 63,000 Wisconsinites could lose BadgerCare Plus as the state prepares to implement new federal Medicaid expansion work requirements next year.
Opinion: We should restrict gambling marketing to protect youth
If we are going to permit online gaming and sports betting in our state, this is the least we can do to protect Michigan youth from misleading, coercive ads.
Opinion: We should restrict gambling marketing to protect youth
If we are going to permit online gaming and sports betting in our state, this is the least we can do to protect Michigan youth from misleading, coercive ads.
Veteran Middle East CEO says business in the region isn’t retreating—it’s resetting
Also: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Not All Heat Is Equal: Sauna and Hot Tub Affect the Human Body in Different Ways
University of Oregon scientists discovered why sitting in hot water feels like moderate exercise.
Katy Growth Tracker: New Restaurants, Entertainment Expansion and 348-Unit Apartment Project
Several commercial and residential development projects are moving forward across the Katy area, including new restaurants, an entertainment venue expansion and a large apartment community planned in Jordan Ranch.
Chipotle and Cava are thriving as consumers prioritize value
Chipotle and Cava are thriving as consumers shift spending to perceived restaurant winners, focusing on quality over cost amid a "K-shaped" economy.
Gossip: Jackson hopes to remain at Chelsea
Striker Nicolas Jackson will not push for a move away from Chelsea as he aims to impress new manager Xabi Alonso in pre-season. (Football Insider)
NVIDIA Vera Rubin Delivers World-Class Supercomputers for Science
With 7 Exaflops of AI for Science and 5 Petaflops of Native FP64 Performance, Vera Rubin Packs TOP500 Supercomputing in a Single RackNews Summary: NVIDIA Vera Rubin accelerates the world's ...
22nd annual Car-B-Que classic cruise-in returns June 22 with food, entertainment, games, raffles and music
OGDENSBURG — The St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce will host its 22nd annual Car-B-Que, a classic cruise-in and family event featuring food, entertainment, games, raffles and music. The …
Early Hamilton County business focused on agriculture, survival
When the Frigidaire plant closed its operation in Webster City in 2011, it was feared this was the demise of the county seat of Hamilton County. But the early years of prosperity were not built on an operation like Frigidaire. The earliest advertisers in the Daily Freeman Journal in 1857 were land agents, mercantile stores […]
DCCA expands pathway for mental health professionals ahead of July 1 launch
The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is preparing for the July 1 implementation of Act 93, which creates new provisional licenses for associate psychologists, associate marriage and family therapists, and associate mental health counselors.
'Out of hand': Paraguay coach Alfaro vents at World Cup's business elite
Paraguay's outspoken coach Gustavo Alfaro took aim at football's business elites on Sunday, accusing them of commercial intrusion on the World Cup and sidelining fans with exorbitant ticket costs in a sport that has its roots in poverty.
MASTER CLASS: Tap in to the power within to make healthy choices
Intention is a very powerful psychological attribute contributing toward any behavior change. Without an intent to change, there's almost zero chance it will occur – especially with respect to health behaviors. This week, I'll present some tips for maximizing intention in an effort to make good behaviors "stick." Plus, I'll introduce an exercise that fits perfectly into physical activity program.
As lakes turn brown, trout and bass decline while pike and walleye thrive
Freshwater lakes across North America and Europe are becoming noticeably browner, reducing underwater visibility and reshaping fish populations. Research found that several popular sport fish, including trout, bass, perch, and whitefish, tend to decline in darker waters. Meanwhile, walleye and northern pike often become more abundant because they are better adapted to low-visibility conditions. The shift could change both lake ecosystems and the fishing experience for millions of anglers.
FULL SHOW: Inside INdiana Business 6/21/26
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New Mercy digestive health institute aims to change GI care in Oklahoma
In a little over a week, the new Kathryn Ann Meinders Digestive Health Institute will open to patients. Mercy said it’s the only comprehensive GI health care center within a 500-mile drive.