researchers

The Trump administration is retreating from a proposed executive order that would have given the White House greater control over National Institutes of Health grants, according to Semafor. The plan, which drew criticism from researchers and science advocates, is now reported to be effectively dead after widespread pushback from the scientific and medical community.

The New York Times reports on the reasons behind China's skepticism toward international appeals for artificial intelligence safety cooperation. The piece examines how Chinese officials and researchers view Western-led AI safety campaigns, and what that divide means for global efforts to govern rapidly advancing AI systems. Details beyond the headline are limited.

Artificial intelligence is making law firms significantly more efficient, but corporate clients are now questioning why their legal bills have not dropped accordingly. The New York Times reports that clients expect savings from faster document review and research to be passed on to them, putting pressure on firms' traditional billable-hour models and sparking debate over who benefits from A.I.-driven productivity gains.

New reporting suggests India has warmed more slowly than many regions, but researchers caution this apparent slower warming may be deceptive. Pollution particles and cloud cover are believed to be masking the true extent of heat buildup across the country, meaning underlying warming could be far greater than surface temperature records indicate, with potentially serious implications for India's climate future.

A US Senate committee has voted to hold Anthony Fauci, the former top US infectious disease official, in contempt of Congress. The vote escalates a standoff with Republican lawmakers who have investigated his role in the federal response to Covid-19 and related research funding. Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for decades before retiring in 2022, has denied wrongdoing.

Researchers have detected a direct radio signal from a planet outside the solar system for the first time. The detection, reported by media outlets, marks a milestone in the search for planets around other stars, as radio emissions from exoplanets had previously only been theorized. Scientists say such signals could offer a new way to study magnetic fields and habitability of distant worlds.

AI researcher and Coursera co-founder Andrew Ng says fears that artificial intelligence could drive humanity extinct are 'science fiction'. He argues that speculation about existential AI risk distracts from concrete near-term issues such as bias, job displacement and concentration of power, and that regulators should focus on real harms of deployed systems rather than distant hypothetical scenarios.

A Brookings Institution researcher argues that the current AI buildout will amount to the largest infrastructure investment bet in United States history, surpassing previous eras of massive spending on railroads, highways, and telecommunications. The claim underscores the enormous scale of capital flowing into data centers, chips, and energy capacity to support artificial intelligence development.

Google has unveiled Project Suncatcher, a research initiative to place machine learning infrastructure in space, using solar-powered satellites to scale AI compute beyond Earth. Google published details and early findings on its research blog. The proposal is drawing attention for its ambition and for questions about cost, thermal challenges, and whether orbital data centers are realistic.

The Wall Street Journal profiles the AI 'doomers' — researchers and commentators who warn that advanced artificial intelligence could pose existential risks to humanity. The piece traces how their arguments moved from fringe concerns to mainstream influence, shaping policy debates, corporate safety teams, and public anxiety about runaway AI. The title quote suggests their core message: once transformative AI arrives, the world will fundamentally change and calm reassurances will no longer apply.

Researchers have compared anti-aging interventions to determine which ones genuinely alter biological age, the measure of how old the body functions rather than how long a person has lived. Reports highlight that only some treatments produced measurable reductions in biological age, while others showed no effect. The findings are drawing attention as interest grows in therapies that claim to slow or reverse aging.

Researchers have used artificial intelligence to interpret the chemical signals that tell cells in a developing embryo what type of cell to become, according to a report by Earth.com. The work suggests AI can help biologists read the molecular instructions that guide early development. Details beyond the headline, including the research team and publication, were not provided.

Researchers have found that everyday plastic cleaning sponges shed trillions of microscopic fibers during normal use, adding a previously underestimated source of microplastics to household wastewater and the environment. The finding suggests routine cleaning chores may be contributing far more plastic pollution than assumed, prompting discussion about safer alternatives and possible regulatory scrutiny of common sponge materials.

Researchers report the discovery of a molecular switch activated by stress that appears to drive depression, offering a possible biological explanation for how chronic stress leads to depressive symptoms. The finding could point toward new drug targets and treatments that work on the underlying mechanism rather than symptoms alone. Details of the study, including the researchers involved and where it was published, were not immediately available.

New research indicates Mercury is contracting more quickly than previous estimates suggested. The smallest planet in the solar system has been cooling and shrinking for billions of years, causing its crust to wrinkle and fault. The updated findings are drawing attention from scientists and space enthusiasts, prompting discussion about what the faster contraction reveals about the planet's interior and its ongoing geological evolution.

Physicists report new evidence that gravity behaves holographically, meaning it can collapse the dimensions of space, though the implications for reality remain unknown. The findings, reported by Quanta Magazine, touch on the idea that our three-dimensional universe may be encoded on a lower-dimensional surface. Researchers say they understand the math but not yet what it means for the nature of spacetime, and cosmologists are debating the consequences.

Scientists may have misinterpreted a geological clue dating back roughly 2 billion years, according to a new report highlighted by ScienceDaily. The finding suggests that assumptions about Earth's ancient history could need revising, with potential implications for how researchers understand the planet's early environmental and climate conditions. Details of the specific evidence and the scientific debate remain limited.

Researchers have identified a new potential treatment target for high blood pressure, a condition affecting over a billion people worldwide and a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The discovery could open the door to new drug development beyond existing blood pressure medications. Details of the findings and their clinical significance remain limited.

An AI researcher is warning that the real threat from artificial intelligence is not science-fiction robot uprisings but the gradual erosion of democracy, as automated systems and AI-driven misinformation weaken public discourse, institutions and trust in elections. The warning pushes back against sensational framings of AI risk, arguing that subtle damage to democratic processes deserves more urgent attention than Hollywood-style doomsday scenarios.