This week we’re following the elimination of 57 US Forest Service research facilities, the bottleneck in NIH funding, and the Trump administration’s continuing efforts to slash federal research spending.
All but 20 of the US Forest Service’s 77 research facilities will close and its headquarters will be relocated from Washington, DC to Salt Lake City under a reorganization plan announced by the Trump administration. Critics assert that the loss of research capacity will directly affect the nation’s ability to manage forests pressured by heat, drought, wildfires, and other effects of climate change. [The Spokesman-Review]
The Trump administration is once again requesting steep cuts in science spending. While Congress large rejected proposed cuts in the 2026 budget, the administration is hoping to oversee major reductions in research spending in 2027, including a 55% cut to the National Science Foundation, a 23% cut to NASA, and a 12% cut to the National Institutes of Health. [AAAS Science News]
Halfway through the fiscal year, the National Institutes of Health has only obligated 15 percent of its funds. According to analysis conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges the agency has awarded 1,187 new grants, which is 63 percent fewer than the average awarded by this point over the past five fiscal years. Delayed funding discourages new research and disproportionately affects early career researchers, according to observers [Inside Higher Ed]
If every AI-written paper sounds like every other AI-written paper, there’s a reason. According to a new study, 70 different large language models, given open ended writing prompts, generated papers that were “frequently indistinguishable” stylistically and structurally, suggesting, the authors argued, the presence of a kind of “artificial hivemind.” [The Hechinger Report]
More colleges and universities are offering 3-year baccalaureates. These reduced-credit “applied” degrees, which require as few as 90 credits, cut time and cost for students pursuing career-focused (and often STEM-related) degree programs. Critics argue this fast-growing trend will created a two-tied higher education system that prioritizes vocational training over the liberal arts. (Hechinger Report)
