Been wondering why NSF isn't spending most of its FY26 appropriation? A $1.5B tech initiative may be the reason. And big cuts to hundreds of research programs could be just the beginning of the bad news. www.science.org/content/arti...

A new NBER paper shows how hard it would be to measure whether young US scientists are voting with their feet to protest Trump's policies--or simply unhappy with their career prospects. www.science.org/content/arti...

New evidence of how biomedical research has become more political under Trump: New executive order reclassifying civil service science jobs as political hits NIH hard www.science.org/content/arti...

What Marcia McNutt didn't say in her State of Science farewell address this week at the National Academy of Sciences Sciencehttps://www.science.org/content/article/scienceadviser-octopus-mirror#scienceprudence

Democrats on the House select committee on China move away from panel's stance opposing any research collaborations with China in letter protesting Trump's firing of the National Science Board www.science.org/content/arti...

NSF uses staffing cuts to strip Inspector General's office of its ability to investigate research misconduct www.science.org/content/arti...

What if essentially all research collaborations with China were banned? There's a new bill before Congress that would do exactly that www.science.org/content/arti...

It's time "to inject" some science into Congress, says Jasmine Clark, whose primary election win in Georgia puts her on a glide path to the US House www.science.org/content/arti...

The political calculus behind whether NSF director nominee Jim O'Neill will testify before Senate HELP committee www.science.org/content/arti...

Microbiologist Jasmine Clark campaigned on her science background--and won. www.science.org/content/arti...

Here's what the US National Science Board wanted to say about competing with China before its members were fired www.science.org/content/arti...

Researching while Chinese: The full story of what is happening to Chinese postdocs--and faculty members--at the University of Michigan and Indiana University www.science.org/content/arti...

USDA says it's simply due diligence, but Indiana U. plant biologist who's been locked out of his lab thinks the US government is punishing him. www.science.org/content/arti...

"Panch" defends his former agency in debate over whether science is too conservative but says he won't comment on NSF's current leadership or the impact of Trump policies. www.science.org/content/arti...

Shirley Meng, a leader in developing next-generation batteries, explains why Trump's opposition to her passion triggered her move from U Chicago to Singapore; www.science.org/content/arti...

The FY27 budget process begins in earnest as a House panel proposes spending levels for NSF, NASA, NIST, and Census above Trump's request but below current budgets. www.science.org/content/arti...

Trump removes a thorn in his side by firing all 24 members of the National Science Board, NSF's oversight body. www.science.org/content/arti...

Is the GRFP at NSF back on track, or is this year's record class of graduate fellows only a temporary return to normal?https://www.science.org/content/article/nsf-names-record-number-graduate-fellows-rebounding-2025-dip

Trump requests the long-awaited successor to the NB Palmer. But $900 million isn't enough for an Antarctic research icebreaker. www.science.org/content/arti...

Wondering why NIH and NSF aren't making new grants? We explain what's happening at OMB. www.science.org/content/arti...

NSF leaders have just acknowledged what many scientists have long suspected: Presidential directives to boost AI and quantum have upended its traditional way of doing business. www.science.org/content/arti...

How the Trump administration blew up the upcoming one-and-only field test of the 2030 census www.science.org/content/arti...

Is Jim O'Neill a good fit for NSF?https://www.science.org/content/article/trump-s-nsf-pick-stranger-its-research-community

Some have speculated that Trump won’t be upset if the Senate votes down O’Neill as the agency’s 16th director. If that happens, the agency could be facing an extended period of interim leaders. 7/7

Last fall NSF announced a major reorganization, with career federal employees replacing academics on leave from their institutions as heads of its eight research directorates and its chief management officer, Micah Cheatham, taking on a larger role. 6/7

An independent agency with a budget of nearly $9 billion, NSF has been led for the past 10 months by Panchanathan’s chief of staff, Brian Stone. During that time, it has lost 40% of its PhD-level staff of senior managers and program officers. 5/7

O'Neill earned a bachelor’s degree in humanities in 1990 from Yale University and was a senior administrator at HHS under President George W. Bush. After leaving government in 2008 he managed a hedge fund and venture capital firm, both led by Thiel, and was CEO of the Thiel Foundation. 5/7

NSF’s most recent director, Sethuraman Panchanathan, resigned in April 2025 a year before his 6-year term ended. “I’ve done all I can,” he said at the time. Winning Senate confirmation could be a steep challenge for O’Neill, who lacks an advanced science degree and any research credentials. 4/7

One source who requested anonymity speculated that O’Neill was offered the NSF job as a consolation prize to placate Thiel, an influential Trump supporter. Another Thiel protégé, Michael Kratsios, is Trump’s science advisor, giving him a voice in the selection of the NSF director. 3/7

The reported nominee, Jim O’Neill, lost two jobs last week, one as deputy secretary of HHS and the other as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to media reports, NIH director Jay Bhattacharya, will also become acting CDC director. 2/7

Trump said to select Thiel protégé as NSF director President Donald Trump is planning to nominate a libertarian protégé of billionaire Peter Thiel with no research experience to be the next National Science Foundation director, according to reports today in the New York Times and elsewhere. 1/7

NSF's graduate research fellowship (GRF) program is designed to teach aspiring scientists how to write a winning grant proposal. So why are so many applicants being denied that learning experience? www.science.org/content/arti...

How hard is it for US research universities to improve their ranking? Almost impossible, says a new NSF report view.aaas.sciencepubs.org?vawpToken=OB...

We explain how shrinking the size and scope of the upcoming field tests for the 2030 census could result in a larger undercount www.science.org/content/arti...

The 2026 budgets of individual science agencies may be lean, but Mitch McConnell once again lead Congress in earmarking big bucks for homestate university research facilities www.science.org/content/arti...

The US government lost more than 10,000 STEM PhDs last year, according to an analysis by Science of newly released OPM data, with 11 departures for every hire. And many OPM calls "voluntary" separations were probably pushed. www.science.org/content/arti...

One year into Trump's second term, we parse the lasting impact of his policies and executive orders. Here's the first of a four-story package appearing this week. www.science.org/content/arti...

Why isn't Purdue talking about its new policy to halt graduate student admissions from China and other "countries of concern"? www.science.org/content/arti...

Trump's plan to slash indirect costs gets another drubbing in the courts--and in Congress www.science.org/content/arti...

Prending"minibus" would fund NSF, DOE and NASA science programs at roughly 2025 levels www.science.org/content/arti...

The National Science Foundation starts 2026 with a new management structure that affects every scientist with--or applying for--NSF funding. Here's what you need to know. www.science.org/content/arti...

As you celebrate the holidays, here are 10 things to know about the dramatic changes to how NSF does business. This story looks at merit review. The second part will explain the significance of NSF's new structure. www.science.org/content/arti...

NSF plans to streamline merit review to heal self-inflicted staffing wound www.science.org/content/arti...

A major reorganization and significant downsizing has left scientists wondering about the future of the US National Academies. www.science.org/content/arti...

And here's the GSA announcement of NSF's new digs: www.gsa.gov/about-us/new...

NSF announced today it is moving a half-mile down the street to be neighbors of the US Patent Office in Alexandria, Va. Here's our earlier story on the possibility. www.science.org/content/arti...

Republican spending plan for Census Bureau could shrink response rate on decennial census to 28% www.science.org/content/arti...

Conferees on Defense bill asked to jettison House language that would end US collaborations with Chinese scientists and former students back in China www.science.org/content/arti...

Study finds China's higher education boom led to expansion of US STEM masters programs www.science.org/content/arti...

Doing research in Antarctica was plenty hard before NSF cancelled its lease on its main ship, the Nathaniel Palmer. Read how scientists are coping. www.science.org/content/arti...