Scientists

The burst of energy was likely triggered when an unusually large star wandered too close to the black hole.

Scientists have documented the most energetic flare ever observed emanating from a supermassive black hole, a cataclysmic event that briefly shone with the light of 10 trillion suns.

The new findings were published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Astronomy, with astronomer Matthew Graham of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) leading the study.

The phenomenal burst of energy was likely triggered when an unusually large star wandered too close to the black hole and was violently shredded and swallowed.

“However it happened, the star wandered close enough to the supermassive black hole that it was ‘spaghettified’ – that is, stretched out to become long and thin, due to the gravity of the supermassive black hole strengthening as you get very close to it. That material then spiralled around the supermassive black hole as it fell in,” said astronomer and study co-author KE Saavik Ford.

The supermassive black hole was unleashed by a black hole roughly 300 million times the mass of the sun residing inside a faraway galaxy, about 11 billion light years from Earth. A light year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).

The star, estimated to be between 30 and 200 times the mass of the sun, was turned into a stream of gas that heated up and shined intensely as it spiralled into oblivion.

Almost every large galaxy, including our Milky Way, has a supermassive black hole at its centre. But scientists still aren’t sure how they form.

First spotted in 2018 by the Palomar Observatory, operated by the Caltech, the flare took about three months to reach its peak brightness, becoming roughly 30 times more luminous than any previously recorded event of its kind. It is still ongoing, but diminishing in luminosity, with the entire process expected to take about 11 years to complete.

Because of how far away the black hole is located, observing the flash gives scientists a rare glimpse into the universe’s early epoch. Studying these immense, distant black holes helps researchers better understand how they form, how they influence their local stellar neighbourhoods, and the fundamental interactions that shaped the cosmos we know today.

Oct. 7 (UPI) — Three U.S.-based scientists won the Nobel Prize in physics for their work in quantum mechanics on a macroscopic scale, the Nobel Foundation announced Tuesday.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded British-born John Clarke (University of California, Berkeley), French-born Michel H. Devoret (Yale University and UC Santa Barbara) and American John M. Martinis (UC Santa Barbara) the prestigious award. It comes with a $1.17 million prize the three men will split evenly.

The scientists are being recognized for creating an electrical circuit system large enough to be held in the hand that demonstrated both quantum mechanical tunneling and quantized energy levels, or specific, measurable amounts of energy.

Tunneling is the ability for particles to move through a barrier. Once a large number of particles are involved, they’re typically unable to move through this barrier, also called a Josephson junction.

“The laureates’ experiments demonstrated that quantum mechanical properties can be made concrete on a macroscopic scale,” a release from the Nobel Foundation said.

Olle Eriksson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, applauded the work by the three scientists.

“It is wonderful to be able to celebrate the way that century-old quantum mechanics continually offers new surprises,” he said. “It is also enormously useful, as quantum mechanics is the foundation for all digital technology.”

Oct. 5 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 1918, Germany’s Hindenburg Line was broken as World War I neared an end.

In 1921, the World Series is broadcast on the radio for the first time.

In 1935, Ethiopia asks the League of Nations to act against Italy to halt Italy’s conquest of the country.

In 1947, President Harry Truman delivers the first televised White House address.

In 1955, the doors to the Disneyland Hotel are thrown open to the public.

In 1970, The Public Broadcasting Service, PBS, is founded.

In 1989, the Dalai Lama, who advocated non-violent struggle against Chinese domination of his homeland, Tibet, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1994, authorities said 53 members of a secretive religious cult called the Order of the Solar Temple were found dead — the victims of murder or suicide — over a two-day period in Switzerland and Canada.

In 2001, Barry Bonds hit his 71st home run, most by a player in one season, breaking Mark McGwire’s 1998 Major League Baseball record. The San Francisco Giants slugger finished the season with 73 homers.

File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI

In 2005, scientists announced that for the first time they were able to genetically sequence the strain of avian flu that was behind the 1918 pandemic that killed up to 50 million people worldwide.

In 2010, Faisal Shahzad, who left an explosives-laden vehicle in New York’s Times Square, planning to detonate it on a busy night, was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2023, a Russian strike on a supermarket in the village of Hroza, in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, killed dozens of people.

PORTLAND, Maine — Australian scientists tested the strength of bite-resistant wetsuits by allowing sharks to chomp the materials at sea and found that the suits can help keep swimmers safe.

Fatal shark bites are vanishingly rare, with less than 50 unprovoked shark bites on humans worldwide in 2024, according to the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History. But increased sightings of large sharks in some parts of the world have swimmers, surfers and divers looking for new ways to stay safe.

Scientists with Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, tested four bite-resistant materials and found they all reduced the amount of damage from shark bites. They performed the work by dragging samples of the materials behind boats and allowing white and tiger sharks to bite the samples.

The bites from such large sharks can still cause internal and crushing injuries, but the materials showed effectiveness beyond a standard neoprene wetsuit, the scientists said. The research found that the bite-resistant materials “can reduce injuries sustained from shark encounters,” said Flinders professor Charlie Huveneers, a member of the Southern Shark Ecology Group at Flinders and a study co-author.

“Bite-resistant material do not prevent shark bites, but can reduce injuries from shark bites and can be worn by surfers and divers,” Huveneers said.

There were small differences between the four tested materials, but they all “reduced the amount of substantial and critical damage, which would typically be associated with severe hemorrhaging and tissue or limb loss,” said Tom Clarke, a researcher with the science and engineering college at Flinders and a study co-author.

Chainmail suits to resist shark bites have existed for decades, but lack in flexibility for aquatic activities like surfing and diving, the scientists said in research published in the journal Wildlife Research on Thursday. Newer wetsuits can be designed to provide flexibility as well as protection.

The scientists tested the efficacy of wetsuit materials Aqua Armour, Shark Stop, ActionTX-S and Brewster. The scientists said in their paper that they found that all of the materials “offer an improved level of protection that can reduce severe wounds and blood loss, and should be considered as part of the toolbox and measures available to reduce shark-bite risk and resulting injuries.”

The promise of effective shark resistant wetsuits is encouraging for people who spend a lot of time in areas where there are large sharks, said Nick Whitney, a senior scientist and chair of the Fisheries Science and Emerging Technologies Program at the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life in Boston. That includes surfers and spearfishers, he said.

Whitney, who was not involved in the study, said it’s also encouraging that the materials are unlikely to make a person “feel invincible” and engage in risky behaviors around sharks.

“I also like it because it’s not relying on any impact on the shark’s behavior,” Whitney said. “It’s basically very, very simple. In the extremely rare event that you get bitten by a shark, this material will hopefully make you bleed less than you would if you were not wearing this.”

The researchers said the suits do not eliminate all risks from sharks, and precautions still need to be taken around the animals.

They are hopeful their research will help the public “make appropriate decisions about the suitability of using these products,” Huveneers said.

Whittle writes for the Associated Press.

AS the UK waves goodbye to summer, experts are urging people to take extra precautions to stay healthy.

As winter illnesses start to circulate, one virus parents are being asked to be especially wary of is RSV – as new evidence shows it can be just as risky to healthy babies as those born premature of with underlying health conditions.

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RSV, which stands for respiratory syncytial virus, is a common cause of respiratory infections in young children and accounts for around 245,000 hospital admissions annually in Europe. 

In some cases, it can lead to more severe respiratory issues like bronchiolitis and pneumonia, which can lead to hospitalisation, the need for oxygen or mechanical ventilation, and even death.

Researchers have now analysed data from more than 2.3 million children born in Sweden between 2001 and 2022 to find out who is at greatest risk of suffering serious complications or dying from an RSV infection

Almost all children will get RSV at least once before they’re two years old.

Premature babies and children with chronic diseases are known to be at increased risk of developing severe illness when infected with the virus.

And children under three months of age are also particularly vulnerable – although it hasn’t been entirely clear how common severe disease is among previously healthy children. 

As part of their findings, scientists from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden found the largest group among the children who required intensive care or were hospitalised for a long period of time were under three months of age, previously healthy and born at full term.

“When shaping treatment strategies, it is important to take into account that even healthy infants can be severely affected by RSV,” said the study’s first author, Giulia Dallagiacoma, a physician and doctoral student at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet.

“The good news is that there is now preventive treatment that can be given to newborns, and a vaccine that can be given to pregnant women.”

The NHS RSV vaccine programme was launched in England on September 1, 2024 offering protection to pregnant women from 28 weeks gestation to protect their baby and to older adults aged 75 to 79.

Several factors were linked to an increased risk of needing intensive care or dying by the researchers.

Children who were born in the winter, or had siblings aged 0–3 years or a twin, had approximately a threefold increased risk, while children who were small at birth had an almost fourfold raised risk.

Children with underlying medical conditions had more than a fourfold increased risk of severe illness or death.

“We know that several underlying diseases increase the risk of severe RSV infection, and it is these children who have so far been targeted for protection with the preventive treatment that has been available,” said the study’s last author, Samuel Rhedin, resident physician at Sachs’ Children and Youth Hospital and associate professor at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet.

“However, the study highlights that a large proportion of children who require intensive care due to their RSV infection were previously healthy.

“Now that better preventive medicines are available, it is therefore positive that the definition of risk groups is being broadened to offer protection during the RSV season to previously healthy infants as well.”

In the UK, if you’re pregnant, you should be offered the RSV vaccine around the time of your 28-week antenatal appointment.

If you’re aged 75 to 79 (or turned 80 after 1 September 2024) contact your GP surgery to book your RSV vaccination.

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Spotting RSV symptoms is important to help prevent serious complications.

Most people who get an RSV infection will only get cold-like symptoms, according to the NHS, including the five following signs:

• a runny or blocked nose
• a cough
• sneezing
• tiredness
• a high temperature – signs include your back or chest feeling hotter than usual, sweatiness and shivering (chills)

Babies with RSV may also be irritable and feed less than usual.

But if RSV leads to a more serious infection (such as pneumonia or bronchiolitis) it may also cause a worsening cough, shortness of breath, faster breathing, difficulty feeding in babies, wheezing, and confusion in older adults.

It’s important to note cold-like symptoms are very common in babies and children and aren’t usually a sign of anything serious.

They should get better within a few days.

There’s no specific treatment for an RSV infection as it often gets better on its own in one or two weeks.

If you or your child have mild RSV symptoms, there are some things you can do to help ease symptoms at home, including taking paracetamol or ibuprofen if you have a high temperature and are uncomfortable (giving children’s paracetamol or children’s ibuprofen to your child) and drinking lots of fluids.

But children and adults who get a more serious infection may need to be treated in hospital.

Whale songs are far removed from the singing that humans are used to. Unlike our musical sounds, those produced by whales are a complex range of vocalisations that include groans, clicks and whistles and that can sound like anything from the mooing of a cow to the twitter of a bird. These vocalisations can be so powerful that they can be heard as far as 10km (6 miles) away, and can last for half an hour at a time.

But while they may not be exactly dancing material, whale songs are critical for communication: between males and females during mating, or among a school of whales migrating.

For researchers, these complex sounds are a window into whale behaviour, even if humans don’t yet know exactly how to decode them.

The frequency of songs and their intensity can signal various things: an abundance of food, for example. In recent studies, however, researchers have been alarmed to find that blue whales, the largest whales and, indeed, the largest mammals on Earth, have stopped singing at specific times.

Their eerie quietness, scientists say, is a signal that ocean life is changing fundamentally. The most recent study, conducted by scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California in the US and published in February, examined three types of whales. Researchers found that blue whales, in particular, have become more vulnerable to this change.

What have researchers found, and where?

At least two studies between 2016 and 2025 have found similar behaviour: blue whales have reduced their singing for stretches of time.

The first study, conducted in the sea waters between the islands of New Zealand between 2016 and 2018, was led by scientists from the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University in the US. Over that period of time, researchers tracked specific blue whale vocalisations linked to feeding (called D-calls) and mating (called patterned songs).

Researchers used continuous recordings from underwater devices called hydrophones, which can log sounds over thousands of kilometres, and which were placed in the South Taranaki Bight – a known foraging spot for blue whales off the west coast of New Zealand.

They discovered that during some periods, particularly in the warmer months of spring and summer when whales usually fatten up, the frequency and intensity of sounds related to feeding activity dropped – suggesting a reduction in food sources. That decline was followed by reduced occurrences of patterned songs, signalling a dip in reproductive activity.

“When there are fewer feeding opportunities, they put less effort into reproduction,” lead researcher Dawn Barlow told reporters. The results of that study were published in the journal Ecology and Evolution in 2023.

Then, in a study published in the scientific journal PLOS One in February this year, researchers tracked baleen whale sounds in the California Current Ecosystem, the area in the North Pacific Ocean stretching from British Columbia to Baja California. Blue whales are a type of baleen whale, and the study focused on them, alongside their cousins, humpback whales and fin whales.

Over six years starting in 2015, the scientists found distinct patterns. Over the first two years, “times were tough for whales”, lead researcher John Ryan, of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California, noted in a press statement, as the whales, particularly blue whales, were found to be singing less. Over the next three years, however, all three whale species were back to singing more frequently, the study noted.

Why are blue whales singing less?

Both studies found one main reason for the reduction of whale song: food or, in this case, the lack of it.

It turns out that the research, conducted between 2015 and 2020, captured periods of extreme marine heatwave events that killed off krill, the small shrimp-like animals that blue whales feed on.

Those heatwaves are part of a looming environmental catastrophe scientists have been warning about: ongoing global warming marked by increases in global average temperatures, and caused by high-emission human activities, chief among them being the burning of fossil fuels.

Scientists say the world could soon reach a tipping point at which there will be irreversible change to the planet. Already, 2016, 2023 and 2024 have been recorded as the warmest years ever.

Why are food sources disappearing for whales?

Krill, which blue whales primarily feed on, are highly sensitive to heat and can all but vanish during heatwaves, the studies found. Their movement patterns also change drastically: instead of staying together, as they usually do, krill disperse when it is hot, making them harder for predators like blue whales to find.

Typically, when foraging, blue whales sing to others to signal that they have found swarms of krill. If there is no food to sing about, it makes sense that there will be no singing.

Heatwaves can also trigger harmful chemical changes in the oceans that encourage the growth of toxic algae, which causes poisoning and death to mammals in the oceans and sea birds, researchers have previously found, suggesting that blue whales are also at risk of being poisoned.

In the more recent study in California, researchers found that in the first two years when whales were singing less frequently, there was also a reduction in other fish populations.

Are blue whales more vulnerable than other whales?

The second period of three years witnessed a resurgence of krill and the other fish, along with more whale singing. When krill again declined, blue whales again sang less frequently, while singing from humpback whales continued, the study noted.

“Compared to humpback whales, blue whales in the eastern North Pacific may be more vulnerable due to not only a smaller population size but also a less flexible foraging strategy,” Ryan, the lead author of the California study said in a statement.

“These findings can help scientists and resource managers predict how marine ecosystems and species will respond to climate change,” he added.

It is likely, both studies say, that blue whales need to spend more time and energy finding food when it is scarce, instead of singing.

Are other animals changing their sounds?

Studies have found that climate change is altering the sounds of several other species as well. Nature-related sounds, such as birdsong from certain species, could disappear altogether in some places as warming temperatures alter animal behaviour. For example, some animals might move permanently away from their traditional habitats.

In New York, scientists found that over a century (1900-1999), four frog species changed their calling patterns, which males use to attract females for mating, and which are usually tied to the warming of spring and early summer. Over time, some frogs were calling about two weeks earlier than usual, researchers found, adding that it signified summer was arriving earlier.

Report finds extreme climate events linked to price hikes for rice, corn, cocoa, coffee, potatoes and other food items.

South Korean cabbage, Australian lettuce, Japanese rice, Brazilian coffee and Ghanaian cocoa are among the many foods that have been hit by price hikes following extreme climate events since 2022, a team of international scientists has found.

The research released on Monday cites, among other examples, a 280 percent spike in global cocoa prices in April 2024, following a heatwave in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, and a 300 percent jump in lettuce prices in Australia after floods in 2022.

In the vast majority of cases, the increase in prices came soon after heatwaves, including a 70 percent increase in cabbage prices in South Korea in September 2024, a 48 percent increase in rice prices in Japan in September 2024, and an 81 percent increase in potato prices in India in early 2024.

Other price increases were linked to drought, such as a 2023 drought in Brazil that preceded a 55 percent increase in global coffee prices the following year, and a 2022 drought in Ethiopia that came before overall food prices there increased by 40 percent in 2023.

The research, published by six European research organisations along with the European Central Bank, was released before the United Nations Food Systems Summit, which will be co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from July 27 to July 29.

“Until we get to net zero emissions extreme weather will only get worse, but it’s already damaging crops and pushing up the price of food all over the world,” the report’s lead author, Maximillian Kotz, from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, said in a press release.

“People are noticing, with rising food prices number two on the list of climate impacts they see in their lives, second only to extreme heat itself,” Kotz added, noting that low-income families are often the most affected when “the price of food shoots up”.

The report comes as the cost of living, including food affordability, has been a key issue for many voters heading to elections around the world in recent years, including in Japan, where the price of rice was on many voters’ minds as they headed to the polls this weekend.

Grocery prices were also key election issues in the United States and the United Kingdom in 2024 and in Argentina in 2023.

“In the UK, climate change added £360 [$482] to the average household food bill across 2022 and 2023 alone,” one of the report’s co-authors, Amber Sawyer, from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said in a press release.

“Last year, the UK had its third worst arable harvest on record, and England its second worst, following extreme rainfall that scientists said was made worse by climate change,” she added.

Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), governments have committed to cutting the global emissions that are driving the climate crisis by 2.6 percent from 2019 to 2030.

However, these commitments fall well short of the reductions scientists say are needed to stay within reach of a Paris Agreement target to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is expected to deliver a landmark advisory opinion on states’ legal obligations to address climate change on Wednesday, in a case brought by Vanuatu and backed by many Global South countries.

Experts from an Australian airline and the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre have been looking into the best ways to help beat jet lag – and it turns out that chocolate is one of the key elements

A sweet surprise awaits holidaymakers as researchers suggest that tucking into chocolate could be just the treat to boost your mood on long flights.

The recent study has revealed chocolate as one of the “key elements” in beating jet lag, particularly if it is filled with some spicy options like chilli.

Qantas, in collaboration with the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre, embarked on ‘Project Sunrise’ to investigate how certain foods could minimise jet lag during long-haul travel.

As Qantas gears up for their direct London to Sydney flights slated for late 2025, the findings of their study come at an opportune time. In 2019, Qantas conducted three research flights for Project Sunrise, tweaking meal times and leveraging specific dietary choices to help sync passengers’ biological clocks, including pairing proteins like fish and chicken with swiftly-digested carbs, alongside comforting delights such as soups and milky desserts.

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Part of the tactic involved increasing travellers’ tryptophan levels, an amino acid known for its sleep-inducing properties. Peter Cistulli, a professor of Sleep Medicine from the University of Sydney, conveyed optimism about the ongoing study, highlighting “clear signs” that the gastronomic strategy can alleviate some of the strain of extended air travel.

Researchers travelled on the aircraft and monitored 23 volunteer customers who were fitted with wearable device technology during the 20-hour flights as they followed specially designed menu, lighting, sleep and movement sequences.

The inflight trials involved tailored cabin lighting schedules to facilitate adaption to the destination time zone and integrating simple stretch and movement activities.

They also adjusted the timing of meal services to align the passengers’ body clock and encouraged waking and sleeping by using specific menu items including fish and chicken paired with fast-acting carbohydrates, as well as comfort foods like soups and milk-based desserts to encourage sleep.

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Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce has expressed excitement about the potential to reduce jetlag and transform international travel for all passengers.

“Given our geography, Qantas has a long history of using imagination and innovation to overcome the tyranny of distance between Australia and the rest of the world,” said Mr Joyce.

“Now that we have the aircraft technology to do these flights, we want to make sure the customer experience evolves as well, and that’s why we’re doing this research and designing our cabins and service differently.

Meanwhile, there are numerous tips and tricks available to combat jet lag and secure a decent amount of sleep on flights.

A woman’s ‘clever’ hack for better sleep on planes recently took the internet by storm, requiring just an armrest and a jacket. In her TikTok video, she demonstrates how she folds a jacket or blanket and uses the armrest to fashion a makeshift headrest, insisting that “it doesn’t matter if you have an aisle seat or a window seat it works everywhere”.

The comments section was abuzz with travellers commending the ingenious method, calling it “so smart” and “perfect” for lengthy journeys.

One commenter shared: “I’ve been doing this for years and it’s so much better than sleeping on the food tray”. Another traveller, who apparently had a less-than-comfortable flight experience, remarked wistfully: “This would’ve been helpful about 2 days ago,”.

Over the last several months, a deep sense of unease has settled over laboratories across the United States. Researchers at every stage — from graduate students to senior faculty — have been forced to shelve experiments, rework career plans, and quietly warn each other not to count on long-term funding. Some are even considering leaving the country altogether.

This growing anxiety stems from an abrupt shift in how research is funded — and who, if anyone, will receive support moving forward. As grants are being frozen or rescinded with little warning and layoffs begin to ripple through institutions, scientists have been left to confront a troubling question: Is it still possible to build a future in U.S. science?

On May 2, the White House released its Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget Request, proposing a nearly $18-billion cut from the National Institutes of Health. This cut, which represents approximately 40% of the NIH’s 2025 budget, is set to take effect on Oct. 1 if adopted by Congress.

“This proposal will have long-term and short-term consequences,” said Stephen Jameson, president of the American Assn. of Immunologists. “Many ongoing research projects will have to stop, clinical trials will have to be halted, and there’ll be the knock-on effects on the trainees who are the next generation of leaders in biomedical research. So I think there’s going to be varied and potentially catastrophic effects, especially on the next generation of our researchers, which in turn will lead to a loss of the status of the U.S. as a leader in biomedical research.“

In the request, the administration justified the move as part of its broader commitment to “restoring accountability, public trust, and transparency at the NIH.” It accused the NIH of engaging in “wasteful spending” and “risky research,” releasing “misleading information,” and promoting “dangerous ideologies that undermine public health.”

National Institutes of Health.

(NIH.gov)

To track the scope of NIH funding cuts, a group of scientists and data analysts launched Grant Watch, an independent project that monitors grant cancellations at the NIH and the National Science Foundation. This database compiles information from public government records, official databases, and direct submissions from affected researchers, grant administrators, and program directors.

As of July 3, Grant Watch reports 4,473 affected NIH grants, totaling more than $10.1 billion in lost or at-risk funding. These include research and training grants, fellowships, infrastructure support, and career development awards — and affect large and small institutions across the country. Research grants were the most heavily affected, accounting for 2,834 of the listed grants, followed by fellowships (473), career development awards (374) and training grants (289).

The NIH plays a foundational role in U.S. research. Its grants support the work of more than 300,000 scientists, technicians and research personnel, across some 2,500 institutions and comprising the vast majority of the nation’s biomedical research workforce. As an example, one study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that funding from the NIH contributed to research associated with every one of the 210 new drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2010 and 2016.

Jameson emphasized that these kinds of breakthroughs are made possible only by long-term federal investment in fundamental research. “It’s not just scientists sitting in ivory towers,” he said. “There are enough occasions where [basic research] produces something new and actionable — drugs that will save lives.”

That investment pays off in other ways too. In a 2025 analysis, United for Medical Research, a nonprofit coalition of academic research institutions, patient groups and members of the life sciences industry, found that every dollar the NIH spends generates $2.56 in economic activity.

A ‘brain drain’ on the horizon

Support from the NIH underpins not only research, but also the training pipeline for scientists, physicians and entrepreneurs — the workforce that fuels U.S. leadership in medicine, biotechnology and global health innovation. But continued American preeminence is not a given. Other countries are rapidly expanding their investments in science and research-intensive industries.

If current trends continue, the U.S. risks undergoing a severe “brain drain.” In a March survey conducted by Nature, 75% of U.S. scientists said they were considering looking for jobs abroad, most commonly in Europe and Canada.

This exodus would shrink domestic lab rosters, and could erode the collaborative power and downstream innovation that typically follows discovery. “It’s wonderful that scientists share everything as new discoveries come out,” Jameson said. “But, you tend to work with the people who are nearby. So if there’s a major discovery in another country, they will work with their pharmaceutical companies to develop it, not ours.”

At UCLA, Dr. Antoni Ribas has already started to see the ripple effects. “One of my senior scientists was on the job market,” Ribas said. “She had a couple of offers before the election, and those offers were higher than anything that she’s seen since. What’s being offered to people looking to start their own laboratories and independent research careers is going down — fast.”

In addition, Ribas, who directs the Tumor Immunology Program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, says that academia and industry are now closing their door to young talent. “The cuts in academia will lead to less positions being offered,” Ribas explained. “Institutions are becoming more reluctant to attract new faculty and provide startup packages.” At the same time, he said, the biotech industry is also struggling. “Even companies that were doing well are facing difficulties raising enough money to keep going, so we’re losing even more potential positions for researchers that are finishing their training.”

This comes at a particularly bitter moment. Scientific capabilities are soaring, with new tools allowing researchers to examine single cells in precise detail, probe every gene in the genome, and even trace diseases at the molecular level. “It’s a pity,” Ribas said, “Because we have made demonstrable progress in treating cancer and other diseases. But now we’re seeing this artificial attack being imposed on the whole enterprise.”

Without federal support, he warns, the system begins to collapse. “It’s as if you have a football team, but then you don’t have a football field. We have the people and the ideas, but without the infrastructure — the labs, the funding, the institutional support — we can’t do the research.”

For graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in particular, funding uncertainty has placed them in a precarious position.

“I think everyone is in this constant state of uncertainty,” said Julia Falo, a postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley and recording secretary of UAW 4811, the union for workers at the University of California. “We don’t know if our own grants are going to be funded, if our supervisor’s grants are going to be funded, or even if there will be faculty jobs in the next two years.”

She described colleagues who have had funding delayed or withdrawn without warning, sometimes for containing flagged words like “diverse” or “trans-” or even for having any international component.

The stakes are especially high for researchers on visas. As Falo points out for those researchers, “If the grant that is funding your work doesn’t exist anymore, you can be issued a layoff. Depending on your visa, you may have only a few months to find a new job — or leave the country.”

A graduate student at a California university, who requested anonymity due to the potential impact on their own position — which is funded by an NIH grant— echoed those concerns. “I think we’re all a little on edge. We’re all nervous,” they said. “We have to make sure that we’re planning only a year in advance, just so that we can be sure that we’re confident of where that funding is going to come from. In case it all of a sudden gets cut.”

The student said their decision to pursue research was rooted in a desire to study rare diseases often overlooked by industry. After transitioning from a more clinical setting, they were drawn to academia for its ability to fund smaller, higher-impact projects — the kind that might never turn a profit but could still change lives. They hope to one day become a principal investigator, or PI, and lead their own research lab.

Now, that path feels increasingly uncertain. “If things continue the way that they have been,” they said. “I’m concerned about getting or continuing to get NIH funding, especially as a new PI.”

Still, they are staying committed to academic research. “If we all shy off and back down, the people who want this defunded win.”

Rallying behind science

Already, researchers, universities and advocacy groups have been pushing back against the proposed budget cut.

On campuses across the country, students and researchers have organized rallies, marches and letter-writing campaigns to defend federal research funding. “Stand Up for Science” protests have occurred nationwide, and unions like UAW 4811 have mobilized across the UC system to pressure lawmakers and demand support for at-risk researchers. Their efforts have helped prevent additional state-level cuts in California: in June, the Legislature rejected Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed $129.7-million reduction to the UC budget.

Earlier this year, a coalition of public health groups, researchers and unions — led by the American Public Health Assn. — sued the NIH and Department of Health and Human Services over the termination of more than a thousand grants. On June 16, U.S. District Judge William Young ruled in their favor, ordering the NIH to reinstate over 900 canceled grants and calling the terminations unlawful and discriminatory. Although the ruling applies only to grants named in the lawsuit, it marks the first major legal setback to the administration’s research funding rollback.

Though much of the current spotlight (including that lawsuit) has focused on biomedical science, the proposed NIH cuts threaten research far beyond immunology or cancer. Fields ranging from mental health to environmental science stand to lose crucial support. And although some grants may be in the process of reinstatement, the damage already done — paused projects, lost jobs and upended career paths — can’t simply be undone with next year’s budget.

And yet, amid the fear and frustration, there’s still resolve. “I’m floored by the fact that the trainees are still devoted,” Jameson said. “They still come in and work hard. They’re still hopeful about the future.”

A state funeral service is under way in Iran for about 60 people, including military commanders, killed in Israeli attacks, with thousands joining the ceremony in the capital, Tehran.

State TV showed footage of people donning black clothes, waving Iranian flags and holding pictures of the slain head of the Revolutionary Guard, other top commanders and nuclear scientists in the ceremony that started at 8am (04:30 GMT) on Saturday.

Images from central Tehran showed coffins draped in Iranian flags and bearing portraits of the deceased commanders in uniform.

The United States had carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last weekend, joining its ally Israel’s bombardments of Iran in the 12-day war launched on June 13.

Both Israel and Iran claimed victory in the war that ended with a ceasefire on Tuesday, with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei downplaying the US strikes, claiming Trump had “exaggerated events in unusual ways”, and rejecting US claims that Iran’s nuclear programme had been set back by decades.

The coffins of the Guard’s chief General Hossein Salami, the head of the Guard’s ballistic missile programme, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and others were driven on trucks along the capital’s Azadi Street as people in the crowds chanted: “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.

Salami and Hajizadeh were both killed on the first day of the war, which Israel said was meant to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme.

Mohammad Bagheri, a major-general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, as well as top nuclear scientist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were also killed in Israeli attacks.

Saturday’s ceremonies were the first public funerals for top commanders since the ceasefire, and Iranian state television reported that they were for 60 people in total, including four women and four children.

Authorities closed government offices to allow public servants to attend the ceremonies.

War of words

The state funeral comes a day after US President Donald Trump launched a tirade on his Truth Social platform, blasting Khamenei for claiming in a video address that Iran had won the war.

Trump also claimed to have known “EXACTLY where he (Khamenei) was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the US Armed Forces… terminate his life”.

He claimed he had been working in recent days on the possible removal of sanctions against Iran, but he dropped it after Khamenei’s remarks.

Hitting back at Trump on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X: “If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran’s Supreme Leader.”

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran, said Araghchi’s remarks were “a most expected reaction” to Trump’s social media posts.

“Many Iranian people regard him [Khamenei] as chiefly a religious leader, but according to the constitution, he’s not only that – he’s the political leader, he’s the military leader – he’s simply the head of state in Iran,” he said.

Serdar also said Khamenei’s position is not just the top of a hierarchy, but a divine role in Shia political theology.

“Not only in Iran, but across the world, we know there are a significant number of Shia who look for his guidance,” Serdar said. “Anyone who knows that would be meticulously careful not to publicly criticise him, and particularly not to accuse him of lying.”

No nuclear talks planned

There was no immediate sign of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the state broadcast of the funeral.

Khamenei, who has not made a public appearance since before the outbreak of the war, has in past funerals held prayers for fallen commanders over their coffins before the open ceremonies, later aired on state television.

During the 12 days before the ceasefire, Israel claimed it killed about 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while hitting eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites.

Iran fired more than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted, but those that got through caused damage in many areas and killed 28 people, according to Israeli figures.

The Israeli attacks on Iran killed at least 627 civilians, Tehran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education said.

After the US strikes, Trump said negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme for a new deal were set to restart next week, but Tehran denied there were plans for a resumption.

CAPTAIN COOK’S ship, HMS Endeavour, which the adventurer used to explore Australia, has been identified after a 250 year long mystery.

The vessel was the first European ship to reach Eastern Australia, in 1770, and went on to circumnavigate the main islands of New Zealand.

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It was then sold, renamed the Lord Sandwich and was last seen in the US in 1778, during the American War of Independence.

During the war, the ship was scuttled (intentionally sunk) to create a blockade to prevent French ships from entering the harbour and supporting the American forces. 

And it has now been confirmed that a shipwreck off Newport Harbour, Rhode Island, USA, called RI 2394, is in fact the HMS Endeavour.

In a new report the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) announced the verdict, after 25 years of studying the wreck.

“This final report is the culmination of 25 years of detailed and meticulous archaeological study on this important vessel”, said museum director Daryl Karp.

“It has involved underwater investigation in the US and extensive research in institutions across the globe.”

“This final report marks our definitive statement on the project.”

The ship was hard to identify because anything that would have been of value, such as a bell, would have been stripped from the boat before it was intentionally sunk.

However, experts were able to determine that the shipwreck is the lost ship by comparing it with plans for the Endeavour.

For example, they discovered timbers which matched with the placement of the main and fore masts of the ship.

Additionally, measurements from the wreck corresponded to those taken during a 1768 survey of the ship.

Analysis of the ship’s wood also revealed that it had come from Europe, which is consistent with records show that the Endeavour was repaired there in 1776.

ANMM archaeologist, Kieran Hosty, said: “We’ll never find anything on this site that screams Endeavour. You’ll never find a sign saying ‘Cook was here’. 

“We will never see a ship’s bell with Endeavour crossed out and Lord Sandwich inscribed on it.

“We’ve got a whole series of things pointing to RI 2394 as being HMB Endeavour. 

“The timbers are British timbers. 

“The size of all the timber scantlings are almost identical to Endeavour, and I’m talking within millimetres – not inches, but millimetres. 

“The stem scarf is identical, absolutely identical. 

“This stem scarf is also a very unique feature – we’ve gone through a whole bunch of 18th-century ships plans, and we can’t find anything else like it.”

However, the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project previously said the identification is “premature” and has not yet ruled out that the Endeavour could be another shipwreck .

Only 15 percent of the ship remains and researchers are now focused on what to do to preserve it.

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The biggest temperature increases were recorded in the Middle East, West Asia, northeast Russia, and north Canada.

This year, the world experienced its second-warmest month of May since records began, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has said in a monthly bulletin.

Global surface temperatures last month averaged 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period, when humans began burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale, C3S said.

The latest data comes amid mixed momentum on climate action globally, with China and the EU reducing emissions as the Trump administration and technology companies increase their use of fossil fuels.

“Temperatures were most above average over western Antarctica, a large area of the Middle East and western Asia, northeastern Russia, and northern Canada,” the C3S bulletin added.

At 1.4C above pre-industrial levels, May was also the first month globally not to go over 1.5C (2.7F) in warming in 22 months.

“May 2025 breaks an unprecedentedly long sequence of months over 1.5C above pre-industrial,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of C3S.

“Whilst this may offer a brief respite for the planet, we do expect the 1.5C threshold to be exceeded again in the near future due to the continued warming of the climate system,” Buontempo said.

The increased temperatures were particularly felt in Pakistan’s Jacobabad city in Sindh province, where residents grappled with extreme temperatures in the high 40s, which sometimes reached 50C (122 F).

The soaring temperatures followed another heatwave last June that killed more than 560 people in southern Pakistan.

“While a heatwave that is around 20C might not sound like an extreme event from the experience of most people around the world, it is a really big deal for this part of the world,” Friederike Otto, associate professor in climate science at Imperial College London, told reporters.

“It affects the whole world massively,” Otto added. “Without climate change, this would have been impossible.”

In a separate report released on Wednesday, the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research collaboration said Greenland’s ice sheet melted 17 times faster than the past average during a May heatwave that also hit Iceland.

Mixed momentum on climate action

The latest data comes amid mixed progress on climate change action.

United States President Donald Trump has promised to “drill, baby, drill” during his presidency, even as his country faces increasingly severe weather events, like the fires that tore through California’s capital, Los Angeles, late last year. Emissions from technology companies are also surging, as expanding use of artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres drives up global electricity demand, according to a recent report from the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

New analysis by the climate reporting site Carbon Brief found that China’s emissions may have peaked, as the country increased electricity supplies from new wind, solar, and nuclear capacity and reduced its reliance on coal and other fossil fuels.

“China’s emissions were down 1.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025 and by 1 percent in the latest 12 months,” Carbon Brief reported last month.

“If this pattern is sustained, then it would herald a peak and sustained decline in China’s power-sector emissions,” it added.

The EU also announced last week that its 27 member states are well on track to meet their goal of a 55 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

“Emissions are down 37 percent since 1990, while the economy has grown nearly 70 percent — proving climate action and growth go hand in hand,” said Wopke Hoekstra, the EU’s commissioner for climate, net zero and clean growth.

In the Caribbean, leaders met recently to plan ways to restore the region’s mangrove forests, which help prevent climate change and protect from rising sea levels and intensifying storms.

A TEAM of scientists claims to have debunked one of Jesus Christ’s most famous miracles — saying the Son of God may not have fed 5,000 people with just five loaves and two fish after all.

Instead, researchers believe it could have been a freak natural event in Israel’s Lake Kinneret — known in the Bible as the Sea of Galilee — that brought a massive haul of fish to the surface for easy collection.

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The story of the “Feeding of the 5,000” is told in all four Gospels, where Jesus is said to have blessed a small amount of food and miraculously distributed it to feed a vast crowd.

But in a 2024 study published in Water Resources Research, scientists monitored oxygen levels, water temperature, and wind speed across Lake Kinneret — and say they discovered evidence of sudden mass fish die-offs caused by unusual weather patterns.

Strong winds sweeping across the lake, they say, can churn the water and cause an “upwelling” of cold, low-oxygen water from the bottom, which kills fish and sends them floating to the surface.

According to the researchers, to anyone watching from the shore, it would look like fish were suddenly appearing by the thousands — creating the illusion of a miracle and allowing them to “be easily collected by a hungry populace”.

The team believes this could explain the Gospel passage where Jesus tells his disciples — after a fruitless night of fishing — to cast their nets on the other side of the boat, suddenly hauling in a bounty.

However, Biblical scholars aren’t buying it.

Critics slammed the theory for missing the point entirely, pointing out that no fish were caught during the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

The article on AnsweringGenesis.org hit back, saying: “Jesus simply took the five loaves and two fish, thanked God, broke the loaves, handed everything to his disciples, and the disciples handed the food out. No fish were caught!”

According to Matthew 14:13–21, Jesus “saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

When his disciples told him to send the people away to find food, he replied: “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”

After blessing the five loaves and two fish, the Bible says: “they all ate and were satisfied.

“And they took up 12 baskets full of the broken pieces left over.”

Despite the backlash, the researchers argue that understanding how fish may have mysteriously appeared in huge quantities doesn’t take away from the spiritual message of the event — which many see as symbolic of generosity and faith.

Still, religious sceptics say the study adds weight to theories that Jesus’ wonders may have had natural explanations — while believers insist some things just can’t be explained away by science.

It comes after a stunning AI-generated video claims to reveal the true face of Jesus Christ — using images based on the mysterious Turin Shroud.

Believers say the Shroud of Turin was the burial cloth wrapped around Jesus after his crucifixion.

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Now, photos of the ancient linen have been processed through Midjourney, an AI image generator, to create a realistic image and video of Christ.

The video shows Jesus blinking, smiling, and praying — potentially as he did before his crucifixion around 33AD.

He appears with shoulder-length brown hair, a beard, brown eyes, a straight nose, and high cheekbones.

His skin tone is pale, which has sparked debate among academics and online.

Last year, The Sun also used AI to recreate the Son of God’s appearance.

The Gencraft tool was fed the prompt “face of Jesus based on the Shroud of Turin” and returned images of a man with hazel eyes, a gentle expression, a neat beard, clean eyebrows, and long brown hair.

Under his weary eyes, signs of exhaustion were visible.

Many researchers agree that the man wrapped in the Shroud appeared to be between 5ft 7in and 6ft tall, with sunken eyes and a full beard.

The markings on the cloth also show what some believe to be crucifixion wounds — including injuries to the head, shoulders, arms, and back, consistent with a thorn crown and Roman whips.

The Bible recounts that Jesus was scourged by Roman soldiers, crowned with thorns, and forced to carry his cross before dying in agony.

May 30 (UPI) — Scientists at the University of Concepción in Chile have developed the world’s first patented probiotic designed to prevent gastric cancer. The oral supplement is 93.6% effective and targets Helicobacter pylori, a key bacterial factor in the disease.

The probiotic forms a protective coating along the stomach lining, preventing the bacteria from attaching when contaminated food or water is consumed. The supplement is approved for use starting at age 8 and also functions as an immunobiotic, helping regulate the body’s immune response.

Chilean biochemist and Ph.D. in biological sciences Apolinaria García led the research, using Lactobacillus fermentum as the base of the probiotic compound.

Gastric cancer is among the most common cancers worldwide and ranks as the fourth-deadliest. Often called a “silent killer,” its early symptoms are difficult to distinguish from more common and benign digestive conditions.

Helicobacter pylori is found in about half the global population and is linked not only to gastric cancer but also to precursor conditions such as stomach ulcers and MALT lymphoma.

In the United States, the American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 30,000 new stomach cancer cases will be diagnosed in 2025, with more than 10,000 deaths expected.

In Latin America, countries such as Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia report some of the highest incidence rates and lowest survival rates for gastric cancer, said Dr. Patricio Mardónez, president of Chile’s National Health Network.

He noted that countries like Japan and South Korea have significantly reduced mortality through widespread early detection and screening programs.

“Regionally, what was once a cancer seen mostly in people over 65 is now being detected in patients under 50,” Mardónez said.

While the exact causes behind the rise in gastric cancer diagnoses among younger people are still under investigation, several hypotheses have been proposed.

Changes in diet and lifestyle may be contributing, including increased consumption of highly processed foods high in sodium and low in fresh fruits and vegetables. Sedentary behavior and obesity are also risk factors, along with prolonged use of medications such as proton pump inhibitors (PPI), commonly prescribed for acid reflux.

As the Trump administration cut billions of dollars in federal funding to scientific research, thousands of scientists in the U.S. lost their jobs or grants — and governments and universities around the world spotted an opportunity.

The Canada Leads program, launched in April, hopes to foster the next generation of innovators by bringing early-career biomedical researchers north of the border.

Aix-Marseille University in France started the Safe Place for Science program in March, pledging to welcome U.S.-based scientists who “may feel threatened or hindered in their research.”

Australia’s Global Talent Attraction Program, announced in April, promises competitive salaries and relocation packages.

“In response to what is happening in the U.S.,” said Anna-Maria Arabia, head of the Australian Academy of Science, “we see an unparalleled opportunity to attract some of the smartest minds here.”

Since World War II, the U.S. has invested huge amounts of money in scientific research conducted at independent universities and federal agencies. That funding helped the U.S. to become the world’s leading scientific power — and has led to the invention of cellphones and the internet as well as new ways to treat cancer, heart disease and strokes, noted Holden Thorp, editor in chief of the journal Science.

But today that system is being shaken.

Since President Trump took office in January, his administration has pointed to what it calls waste and inefficiency in federal science spending and made major cuts to staff levels and grant funding at the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, NASA and other agencies, while slashing research dollars that flow to some private universities.

The White House budget proposal for next year aims to cut the NIH budget by roughly 40% and the National Science Foundation budget by 55%.

“The Trump administration is spending its first few months reviewing the previous administration’s projects, identifying waste, and realigning our research spending to match the American people’s priorities and continue our innovative dominance,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said.

Already, several universities have announced hiring freezes, laid off staff or stopped admitting new graduate students. On Thursday, the Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, though a judge put that on hold.

Research institutions abroad are watching with concern for collaborations that depend on colleagues in the U.S. — but they also see opportunities to poach talent.

“There are threats to science … south of the border,” said Brad Wouters of University Health Network, Canada’s leading hospital and medical research center, which launched the Canada Leads recruitment drive. “There’s a whole pool of talent, a whole cohort that is being affected by this moment.”

Academic freedom

Universities worldwide are always trying to recruit from one another, just as tech companies and businesses in other fields do. What’s unusual about the current moment is that many global recruiters are targeting researchers by promising something that seems newly threatened: academic freedom.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this month that the European Union intends “to enshrine freedom of scientific research into law.” She spoke at the launch of the bloc’s Choose Europe for Science initiative, which was in the works before the Trump administration cuts but has sought to capitalize on the moment.

Eric Berton, president of Aix-Marseille University, expressed a similar sentiment after launching the institution’s Safe Place for Science program.

“Our American research colleagues are not particularly interested by money,” he said of applicants. “What they want above all is to be able to continue their research and that their academic freedom be preserved.”

Imminent ‘brain drain’?

It’s too early to say how many scientists will choose to leave the U.S. It will take months for universities to review applications and dole out funding, and longer for researchers to uproot their lives.

Plus, the American lead in funding research and development is enormous — and even significant cuts may leave crucial programs standing. The U.S. has been the world’s leading funder of research and development — including government, university and private investment — for decades. In 2023, the country funded 29% of the world’s R&D, according to the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science.

But some institutions abroad are reporting significant early interest from researchers in the U.S. Nearly half of the applications to Safe Place for Science — 139 out of 300 total — came from U.S.-based scientists, including AI researchers and astrophysicists.

U.S.-based applicants in this year’s recruitment round for France’s Institute of Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology roughly doubled over last year.

At the Max Planck Society in Germany, the Lise Meitner Excellence Program — aimed at young female researchers — drew triple the number of applications from U.S.-based scientists this year as last year.

Recruiters who work with companies and nonprofits say they see a similar trend.

Natalie Derry, a U.K.-based managing partner of the Global Emerging Sciences Practice at recruiter WittKieffer, said her team has seen a 25% to 35% increase in applicants from the U.S. cold-calling about open positions. When they reach out to scientists currently based in the U.S., “we are getting a much higher hit rate of people showing interest.”

Still, there are practical hurdles to overcome for would-be continent-hoppers, she said. That can include language hurdles, arranging child care or elder care, and significant differences in national pension or retirement programs.

Brandon Coventry never thought he would consider a scientific career outside the United States. But federal funding cuts and questions over whether new grants will materialize have left him unsure. While reluctant to leave his family and friends, he’s applied to faculty positions in Canada and France.

“I’ve never wanted to necessarily leave the United States, but this is a serious contender for me,” said Coventry, who is a postdoctoral fellow studying neural implants at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

But it’s not easy to pick up and move a scientific career — let alone a life.

Marianna Zhang was studying how children develop race and gender stereotypes as a postdoctoral fellow at New York University when her National Science Foundation grant was canceled. She said it felt like “America as a country was no longer interested in studying questions like mine.”

Still, she wasn’t sure of her next move. “It’s no easy solution, just fleeing and escaping to another country,” she said.

The recruitment programs range in ambition, from those trying to attract a dozen researchers to a single university to the continent-wide Choose Europe for Science initiative.

But it’s unclear whether the total amount of funding and new positions offered could match what’s being shed in the United States.

A global vacuum

Even as universities and institutes think about recruiting talent from the U.S., there’s more apprehension than glee at the funding cuts.

“Science is a global endeavor,” said Patrick Cramer, head of the Max Planck Society, noting that datasets and discoveries are often shared among international collaborators.

One aim of recruitment drives is “to help prevent the loss of talent to the global scientific community,” he said.

Researchers worldwide will suffer if collaborations are shut down and databases taken offline, scientists say.

“The U.S. was always an example, in both science and education,” said Patrick Schultz, president of France’s Institute of Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology. So the cuts and policies were “very frightening also for us because it was an example for the whole world.”

Larson, Ramakrishnan and Keaten write for the Associated Press.

VAPING is more addictive than nicotine gum and has a “high potential for abuse”, experts warn.

A study by West Virginia University in the US found that young people enjoy vaping more than chewing gum, which makes it more addictive.

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E-cigarettes were originally invented to help smokers quit tobacco and reduce their risk of cancer.

However, use of the gadgets rocketed in people who never smoked and has become an addiction in its own right.

The study tested the effects of e-cigs and nicotine gum in 16 current or former smokers aged 18 to 24.

They had no nicotine overnight and then chewed gum for 30 minutes or used a vape in the morning, before answering questions about their cravings.

Lower cravings & higher satisfaction

Results showed that people who used vapes rated their cravings and withdrawal feelings significantly lower than gum users, and rated their personal satisfaction higher.

This suggests the e-cigs have a stronger effect which may make it easier to get hooked.

Study author, PhD student Andrea Milstred, said: “Today’s electronic cigarettes have great potential to produce addiction in populations that are otherwise naive to nicotine.

“This often includes youth and young adults.”

The British Government plans to outlaw disposable vapes and crack down on the flavours that are allowed, in a bid to make them less appealing to teenagers and young people.

Writing in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, Ms Milstred suggested vaping might be more addictive than gum because it uses a form of nicotine that does not taste as bitter or harsh.

What are the new vape laws?

Ministers have pledged to crackdown on poorly regulated vapes and e-cigarettes following an explosion in the number of teenagers who use them.

New rules for manufacturers and shopkeepers are expected to come into force in late 2024 or early 2025.

They are set to include:

• Higher tax rates paid on vapes increase the price and make it harder for children to afford them
• A ban on single-use vapes in favour of devices that can be recharged
• A ban on colourful and cartoonish packaging that may appeal to youngsters
• Tighter controls on flavourings and a ban on unnecessarily sweet or child-friendly ones like bubblegum and candy
• More regulation on how and where they are displayed in shops, potentially putting them out of sight
• Harsher penalties for shops caught selling them to under-18s

The ban on disposable vapes is part of ambitious government plans to tackle the rise in youth vaping.

A report published by Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) last June found 20.5 per cent of children in the UK had tried vaping in 2023, up from 15.8 per cent in 2022 and 13.9 per cent in 2020.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt also announced plans to impose a tax on imported e-cigs and manufacturers, making vapes more expensive.

The duty will apply to the liquid in vapes, with higher levels for products with more nicotine.