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There has long been talk of a mismatch between the number of awarded doctorates and available academic jobs. But facing recent cuts to science funding, some universities have reduced their Ph.D. admissions. Experts wonder about the short and long-term effects those shifts will have on science-at-large.

Spring and summer are usually an all-hands-on-deck time of year for field-going scientists. This year, however, they are grappling with uncertainty regarding funding, labor, and logistics. “I don’t know what I’m going to do on Day 1,” said one Forest Service aquatic biologist.

In “The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue,” climate activist Mike Tidwell explores the myriad impacts — emotional, physical, spiritual — of the climate crisis on the people, and the trees, who inhabit his block in suburban Washington, starting with a mysterious plague that felled 1,200 trees over two years.

Last week, the Trump administration released its “Make America Healthy Again” Commission report, which HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said harnesses “gold-standard” science, citing more than 500 studies. But seven of those studies don’t appear to exist at all.

The bestselling 2021 book “The Dawn of Everything” set out to retell the story of human history, proposing that humans have always been driven to adopt different lifestyles and forms of social organization. C. Brandon Ogbunu explores the relevance of the book’s message to the current political moment.

Jay Bhattacharya, a prominent critic of the U.S. medical establishment, is now the director of the National Institutes of Health, the country’s premier biomedical research agency. What does he want from his new role? And what is he willing to compromise?

Between 7 and 15 percent of the population occasionally hears voices, according to some studies — and about 75 percent of them live otherwise normal lives. An unusual collaboration between scientists and psychics to study high-functioning voice hearers could transform the treatment of auditory hallucinations.

The FDA will encourage new clinical trials on the widely used vaccines before approving them for children and healthy adults. The requirements could cost drugmakers tens of millions of dollars and are likely to leave boosters largely out of reach for hundreds of millions of Americans this fall.

The Trump administration announced plans to roll back and delay standards that limit certain forever chemicals in drinking water. But under the Clean Water Act, wastewater treatment plants have the authority to help control the spread of PFAS pollution. It’s time they start using it.

RFK Jr. has been critical of antidepressants, and experts now worry that the MAHA Commission could wage a war on SSRIs despite decades of study. But a small group of researchers have long questioned the quality of research in this field. Why, after decades in use, are the benefits and risks of some antidepressants still so hotly debated?

In March, the Trump administration cut at least 230 HIV-specific grants and reduced the number of HIV branch offices overseen by the CDC. With a proposed budget that further reduces HHS spending, experts are concerned that recent progress on curbing HIV infections could be reversed.

Reorganizations at the EPA will likely gut the agency’s fundamental program for research on the health risks of toxic chemicals. Known as IRIS, the program exists solely to collate the best available science on which to base potential new regulations.

In “More Everything Forever,” Adam Becker details a multitude of flaws in the grand designs of high-technology pioneers and other future-focused thinkers to transform the world to come, targeting not only their aspirations for space colonization, but also their claims for AI and the need for endless growth.

Many U.S. public schools run drills to prepare students for what to do if they’re confronted with an active shooter. But such drills show little evidence of preventing violence and can cause stress, which itself can be harmful. Could monitoring students’ social media be a better alternative?

Trump’s executive orders are affecting how journals operate. Some researchers have raised alarms, claiming political interference when language related to gender and equity has been flagged. How will these trends affect the scientific literature? And what does that mean for vulnerable populations?

For years, health advocates have tried to stop SNAP funds from being spent on soda. Now, as the MAHA movement has prioritized the issue, four states so far have moved to ban soda from the program. But some point to incentivizing healthy eating as a more effective method than restrictions.

When it comes to cancer treatments, experts say that new therapies are beginning to surpass challenges that immunotherapies and other previous approaches couldn’t, providing safer, more targeted delivery directly to tumors.

In her new book, “The Age of Diagnosis,” neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan examines what she regards as an “overdiagnosis epidemic,” in which patients receive medical diagnoses that are technically correct but do not necessarily benefit them. One result is agonizing treatments that patients don’t really need.

A debate is taking place within forensic science: Should scientists be immersed in a crime scene — forming hypotheses to be tested and directing evidence collection — or kept separate from it to avoid bias? The lack of a unified vision for the field may make it more difficult for justice to be served.

Many public health experts have long criticized the World Health Organization, particularly for the agency’s slow response to certain global health crises. But even these observers say that the latest pushback against the agency has gone too far.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently shifted $500 million from a pandemic preparedness fund to a single nascent flu vaccine development program. But that vaccine relies on old technology and is just one of scores of similar efforts. The move has confounded scientists, who say NIH should diversify its investments.

A new study adds to the growing body of evidence linking the drug to negative cardiovascular outcomes. In this case, relatively young and healthy cannabis users were more likely to experience heart attacks and strokes.

Many experiments have shown how the GI tract and its resident bacteria coexist in an intimate relationship that keeps us healthy. One striking example of the crucial role of gut flora is a treatment called a fecal microbiota transplant, used to cure a virulent form of hospital-acquired diarrhea.

What will a significantly smaller American scientific enterprise look like? C. Brandon Ogbunu writes that shrinking research funding will have negative effects across many parts of the scientific world, including changing the way that scientists publish their work and the sorts of science that they conduct.

The science on PFAS incineration is relatively nascent, which leaves concerned citizens in limbo. Most research and regulation have focused on the compounds’ presence in water. But few studies have examined their prevalence — and potential health risks — in air.

By slashing teams that gather critical data, the Trump administration has left the federal government with no way of understanding if policies are working — and created a black hole of information whose consequences could ripple out for decades.

In recent years, crowd control has become more of a science than an art, as recreation researchers have nudged the field toward more evidence-based approaches. Using various methods, a growing body of research is analyzing how to minimize human impact on public lands while maximizing accessibility.

Over the past decade, spurred by personal testimonies, autism researchers have increasingly examined how women and girls have eluded diagnosis by adopting two broad strategies — camouflaging and masking — in an attempt to better fit in with neurotypical peers and family members.

Advocates argue that the proposed reforms — which come after decades of steady, bipartisan-supported growth in funding for biomedical research — will cut administrative costs and other perceived bloat. This, they argue, will ultimately direct a bigger share of science spending toward actual science. Many scientists aren’t buying those arguments.

For decades, climate disasters were seen as the burden of poor nations. But the wildfires in Los Angeles and other catastrophes in the Global North prove that no one is immune. Adaptation, which could mean entire populations relocating, cannot replace mitigation as the main response to climate change.

A proposed rule from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would change the definition of “harm” to an endangered species, effectively allowing such activities as logging and oil drilling to be approved even if they harm protected plant and animal habitats.

More than half of the calories consumed in the U.S. are from highly processed foods, which often contain synthetic ingredients. The new head of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has said the U.S. should rid its food supply of these additives. What impact would such bans have on public health?

There is a long history of linguistic breakthroughs by researchers who have raised great apes in language-rich environments. But the first words and signs of humans’ closest relatives have stirred up relatively little fuss in both the scientific literature and the media. Why aren’t they more celebrated?

Fieldwork is vital to scientific research. But difficult conditions at remote research sites can increase workers’ vulnerability and put them under physical, mental, and emotional strain. A shift in the culture is needed to improve field workers’ access to mental health resources and support systems.

Scientists have long debated the scale of intentionally set fires, particularly in the woodlands of eastern North America. And a dust-up over a 2020 journal article on prescribed burning illustrates the debate’s nuances.

Officials have asked staff at the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program to draft a rule that will drastically reduce data collection. Climate experts expressed shock and dismay at the move. “It would be a bit like unplugging the equipment that monitors the vital signs of a patient that is critically ill,” one said.

Lobotomies left thousands of patients disabled in the 1950s. But with advances in treatment, some surgeons now say that, for a small group of patients, removing brain tissue can help patients with OCD and other disorders. But other experts are hesitant to recommend the procedures without more data.

In “A History of the World in Six Plagues,” science historian Edna Bonhomme investigates the racial and class inequalities, and the injustices of confinement, that have hampered official responses to cholera, Ebola, AIDS, Covid-19, and other epidemics.

The impending bankruptcy of genetic testing company 23andMe prompted worries about consumers’ personal data being sold. It has also raised the argument that genetic data shouldn’t be treated as assets for generating profit but rather as biospecimens that require individual consent before being bought or sold.

Apps that help track health information, provide diagnostic assistance, and facilitate care may have benefits, but with a patchwork of regulations, there’s potential for harm. Experts say more oversight is needed.

Academic surveys suggest that as many as one in five preteens in the U.S. now take melatonin at least occasionally, and that some younger children consume it multiple times per week. Companies and influencers increasingly market the hormone online. The trend has unsettled many childhood sleep researchers.

In Washington state, The closely-spaced deaths of two cougars who tested positive for the H5N1 avian flu suggest the virus is likely more widespread than thought. “There’s just so much about this virus and the epidemiology and disease ecology of it that we don’t understand,” one wildlife veterinarian said.

Even among the most durable migratory bird pairings, sexual exclusivity is rarely part of their relationship. One of the most remarkable evolutionary strategies is brood parasitism, or the sneaking of eggs into other birds’ nests in an attempt to steal parental care.

More than five years ago, the Covid-19 virus reached U.S. shores. Talking about the pandemic has become overwhelming, writes columnist C. Brandon Ogbunu. But now is the time to extract meaningful lessons from the ordeal that can be applied to other infectious disease scenarios, and to science and society as a whole.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration supports everything from emergency preparedness to weather apps to climate science. Many meteorologists say that recent reductions in funding and staffing will make it difficult for the federal agency to carry out its mission.

The move — along with the CDC’s explanation — is a sign that the nation’s top public health agency may be falling in line under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of vaccines.

Some experts say the online abuse of children is rampant, and that police and lawmakers need more tools to catch perpetrators. Now, researchers in several countries are training artificial intelligence systems to help prevent predatory conversations. Will the tools work?

In “Ends of the Earth,” popular science writer and paleontologist Neil Shubin travels north and south to explore the frontiers of polar research, as well as the extraordinary biological adaptations of plants and animals and what today’s rapidly changing arctic environment can tell us about the planet’s future.

A recent drop in the number of opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. has puzzled researchers. But results from a recent study on drug addiction suggest how to keep that downward trend going: by engaging diverse local coalitions to take the lead in addressing the challenges in their communities.

Researchers are, by and large, dubious of efforts to demonstrate a genetic basis for racial or ancestral-group differences in intelligence. The current tools, they say, simply aren’t equipped to explain such complex traits. But there’s no guarantee that this state of affairs will hold forever.