Nature tracks funding pressure, AI use and biomedical advances

Major science developments span research funding, biomedical publishing and health innovation. The NSF is set to issue its lowest number of new grants in four decades while withholding $1 billion of its budget for a special White House project. A separate analysis found that 90% of biomedical papers published in December and archived in PubMed showed signs of AI help, a figure described as much higher than previous estimates of Large Language Model use.

Biomedical coverage includes promising results from a Moderna cancer vaccine that stopped melanoma returning, with potential relevance for other tumours, and research into how people live beyond 110 that points to an abundance of cancer-killing cells. Other items examine genomic newborn-screening studies, long-lived human brain organoids, a first-of-its-kind narcolepsy drug, and concerns over a draft South African law requiring scientists to register with an official body or risk prison.

AI remains a recurring theme across science and culture, from tools that help researchers code in quantum settings to systems that might identify research likely to produce patents. A book review argues that AI systems could make one of their most important contributions by designing new scientific instruments, reflecting the role of innovative tools in past breakthroughs.