And they found that, while researchers produce far more papers after starting to use AI and the quality of the language used went up, the publication rate of these papers has dropped. The researchers began by obtaining the abstracts of everything placed in three major pre-publication archives between 2018 and mid-2024.

This year, quantum science and computing came up a lot. There have been broad claims that quantum science and engineering could one day help cure diseases, design new materials, optimize supply chains -- or help in other ways not yet fathomable.

The fate of the centers isn't sealed, since Congress ultimately has the power to assign funds. But until a decision is made, scientists are uneasy.

Work in fields such as health and medicine, the environment, engineering and technology innovation have put FIU on the map. And 2026 looks to be another blockbuster.

A year of mass federal grant terminations and sweeping policy changes to the nation’s research enterprise broke many scientists’ trust in the government. And those changes offer insight into what may come next year.

Famed weatherman Al Roker is urging the Trump administration not to follow through with its plan to dismantle a climate research facility in Colorado. Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought has targeted the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder,

Trump is far from the first president to be deeply skeptical of the academic research community. But his second-term actions have set a new precedent.

Whether space, health, technology or environment, here are the issues in science that the editors of Scientific American are focusing on for 2026