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Gain-of-Function Research Is More Than Just Tweaking Risky Viruses – It’s a Routine and Essential Tool in All Biology Research
Updates to current oversight are not unreasonable, but blanket bans or additional restrictions on gain-of-function research do not make society safer. Gain-of-function experiments are not inherently risky or the purview of mad scientists. In fact, gain-of-function approaches are a fundamental tool in biology. Misunderstanding the term “gain of function” as something nefarious comes at the cost of progress in human health.
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New Genetic Study Finds SARS-CoV-2 Originated in Wildlife Trade
There is no scientific consensus on the origins of COVID, but the Trump administration is treating the speculative lab leak theory as a given. The administration claims that the lab leak theory has been “confirmed,” even though it is no more than a mere conjecture. In fact, the most recent study, published Wednesday, lends support to the zoonotic spillover theory.
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Apprentices Needed: Construction Shortages Threaten American Growth
U.S. plans for new factories, new tech hubs—even new homes—are about to crash into one very inconvenient fact: Not enough people work in construction to turn those plans into actual, hammer-and-nail reality. Not even close.
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Vocational Training Can Play a Greater Role in National Security
We talk a lot about resilience and preparedness. But these goals aren’t met solely through top-down directives or university research hubs. They rely on a skilled workforce—one that’s ready to respond across sectors, jurisdictions and threat types. That workforce is increasingly trained not in lecture theatres, but in registered training organizations.
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What Rare Earth Elements Are and Why They Matter
Rare 17 earth elements are critical to many industries—used in electric motors, medical imaging and diagnostics, oil and gas refining, and computer and phone screens. These elements have become a hot political issue, says an Earth Sciences professor.
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AI Model Predicts Lightning Wildfires with 90% Accuracy
Israeli researchers use seven years of weather and satellite data to predict future wildfires caused by lightning strikes.
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Coming This Summer: Record-Breaking Heat and Plenty of Hurricanes
Forecasters are predicting higher temperatures across the U.S. and up to 10 hurricanes. Cutting federal programs could leave people even more vulnerable.
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The Battle for Pentagon Acquisition Policy: Tradition Versus New-and-Cheaper
The weapons that get bought in larger or smaller quantities, or are launched or cancelled, will indicate whether US President Donald Trump’s administration will strengthen long-range deterrent forces, order a retreat under his Golden Dome missile-defense system, or spend four years trying to blend incompatible visions of industrial and technological strategy.
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U.S. Senate Committee Advances Kelly's Critical Minerals Bill
A bill seeking to improve America’s mineral supply chain is heading to the U.S. Senate floor. The Critical Mineral Consistency Act of 2025, introduced by Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, would remove disparities between separate critical materials lists from the Department of Energy and Department of Interior. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the bill last week.
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How the U.S. Can Mine Its Own Critical Minerals − without Digging New Holes
Critical materials are the tiny building blocks powering modern life, yet the U.S. depends heavily on imports for most critical materials. Could the U.S. mine and process more critical minerals at home?
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How California’s Farmers Can Recharge the Aquifers They’ve Drained
Agriculture requires a lot of water. In the drought-stricken Central Valley, researchers have found a win-win for growers.
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Low-Power Sensors Could Last 10 Years, Providing Surveillance, Security
Researchers at Sandia have spent the last three years developing an ultra-low-power chemical sensor to detect sarin and other chemical warfare agents or gaseous industrial toxins, aiming to protect the public and warfighters.
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Deep Sea Mining is the New Front in Pacific Competition
Recent developments reflect the rise of renewed great-power resource rivalry and the race for critical minerals, which underpin digital infrastructure and green energy.
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Exploring New Frontiers in Mineral Extraction
The minerals found in the deep ocean are used to manufacture products like the lithium-ion batteries used to power electric vehicles, cell phones, or solar cells. In some cases, the estimated resources of critical mineral deposits in parts of the abyssal ocean exceed global land-based reserves severalfold. Professor Thomas Peacock’s research aims to better understand the impact of deep-sea mining.
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‘The West Will Lead’: Utah, Idaho, Wyoming Team Up on Nuclear Energy Development
Utah state leaders are taking the next steps in their efforts to make Utah a major nuclear energy development hub and a “national leader” in developing next-generation energy technology, reaching beyond state lines to do it.
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The long view
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”
A Brief History of Federal Funding for Basic Science
Biomedical science in the United States is at a crossroads. For 75 years, the federal government has partnered with academic institutions, fueling discoveries that have transformed medicine and saved lives. Recent moves by the Trump administration — including funding cuts and proposed changes to how research support is allocated — now threaten this legacy.
Bookshelf: Preserving the U.S. Technological Republic
The United States since its founding has always been a technological republic, one whose place in the world has been made possible and advanced by its capacity for innovation. But our present advantage cannot be taken for granted.
Autonomous Weapon Systems: No Human-in-the-Loop Required, and Other Myths Dispelled
“The United States has a strong policy on autonomy in weapon systems that simultaneously enables their development and deployment and ensures they could be used in an effective manner, meaning the systems work as intended, with the same minimal risk of accidents or errors that all weapon systems have,” Michael Horowitz writes.
Ukraine Drone Strikes on Russian Airbase Reveal Any Country Is Vulnerable to the Same Kind of Attack
Air defense systems are built on the assumption that threats come from above and from beyond national borders. But Ukraine’s coordinated drone strike on 1 June on five airbases deep inside Russian territory exposed what happens when states are attacked from below and from within. In low-level airspace, visibility drops, responsibility fragments, and detection tools lose their edge. Drones arrive unannounced, response times lag, coordination breaks.
Shots to the Dome—Why We Can’t Model US Missile Defense on Israel’s “Iron Dome”
Starting an arms race where the costs are stacked against you at a time when debt-to-GDP is approaching an all-time high seems reckless. All in all, the idea behind Golden Dome is still quite undercooked.