A recent study published in Science has made a significant breakthrough in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Researchers have discovered that a common intestinal fungus, Fusarium foetens, produces a molecule that reduces symptoms of NAFLD in mice. This finding has the potential to lead to new and effective treatments for the disease,…
Earth on The Soothsayer / page 4
A prominent tree researcher, Thomas Crowther, has been embroiled in a scandal at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) after an investigation revealed that he blurred personal and professional relationships in his lab and breached internal rules on financial and hiring compliance. The university has decided not to renew Crowther’s contract,…
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has terminated over 1,425 grants, and a proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 would cut funding for the NSF and the National Institutes of Health by 55% and 40%, respectively. This freeze on funding and the introduction of a new policy to screen grant proposals for alignment with NSF…
The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced a new policy that will end billions of dollars in funding to laboratories and hospitals outside the United States. This move is expected to imperil thousands of global-health projects and clinical trials on topics such as emerging infectious diseases and cancer. The policy change aims to…
Neuroscientists have made a groundbreaking discovery in understanding the brain’s process of fear extinction, a crucial step in treating conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Researchers have identified a specific brain signal in mice that triggers the overwriting of fearful memories once danger has passed. This breakthrough could lead to the development of new drugs…
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) is facing a crisis, with hundreds of research grants terminated and a 55% budget cut proposed by the Trump administration. The agency’s director, Sethuraman Panchanathan, has resigned, and staff members are being offered incentives to retire early. The NSF’s future is uncertain, with potential long-term consequences for US science…
A coalition of over 50 research teams in Brazil has conducted a massive experiment to replicate the findings of biomedical studies, with dismaying results. The teams were able to replicate less than half of the tested experiments, highlighting the need for stronger scientific practices in the country. The study’s authors are calling for changes to…
Researchers have found hundreds of cases where artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used in scientific papers without disclosure. This has raised concerns about the integrity of scientific research, with some experts warning that the use of AI without transparency could lead to inaccurate or misleading results. Publishers are scrambling to create guidelines for the ethical…
In a worldwide grass-roots effort, several research institutes in Germany are joining forces to save US science data sets that researchers fear could be deleted or decommissioned on the orders of the Trump administration. The move comes after the administration proposed to gut NOAA’s climate research programs and cancel contracts with Amazon Web Services, which…
Researchers have successfully stimulated human retinas to perceive a previously unseen blue-greenish hue, dubbed ‘olo’, using lasers and tracking technology. This breakthrough has the potential to create new colours and aid people with colour blindness. The method, dubbed Oz, works by controlling the precise doses of light delivered to each cell in the retina. Forecast…