The SAFE Sunscreen Standards Act seeks to revamp the FDA’s review process. Could it usher in more effective sunscreens?

“Too expensive to build, and it takes too long to build,” says Allison Macfarlane, former NRC chair, on the barriers to nuclear expansion.

🎧 This week on Entanglements, our hosts talk to two book authors about how artificial intelligence is deployed.

Specific data about H5N1 outbreaks on farms has generally been deemed confidential by state and federal officials.

The Trump administration wants nuclear power to produce 400 gigawatts by 2050. Companies like Westinghouse and TerraPower are investing in new reactor designs, but costs and timelines remain major hurdles.

Optimists see progress: companies like Kairos Power are already building demonstration plants, and DOE projects three SMRs running by next year. Others remain skeptical about costs and timelines.

Machine learning rewards uniformity over diversity. Languages that deviate from dominant norms get filtered out—not because they lack value, but because they complicate the algorithms and slow down processing.

Experts warn that weakening the NRC could compromise safety. “The thrust of those orders is to essentially strip the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of its independence,” said Edwin Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists. https://undark.org/2025/09/08/trump-nuclear-renaissance/

In May, President Trump signed four executive orders aimed at reviving nuclear energy in the U.S. by cutting red tape and reshaping the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Experts question whether deregulation can spark a "nuclear renaissance."

The American Academy of Pediatrics issues guidelines that shape child health nationwide. But critics say its conflict-of-interest policies fall short of global standards.

RFK Jr’s Vaccine Policies Could Undermine Coverage — and Trust

Only 8 percent of patients remain on GLP-1s after three years, according to a new review. A holistic approach may help.

Global AI activity concentrates in the US, China, and Western Europe. Countries in the Global South lack infrastructure to build their own models, creating dependency on foreign technologies that shape their public services.

The consequences are real. Official forms in Tamil Nadu reject valid surnames due to rigid formatting. Registrars in Peru refuse Indigenous names. Voice systems force users to mask their accents or switch languages entirely. 🔗: https://undark.org/2025/08/07/opinion-ai-language-inequality/

Should We Make Viruses More Dangerous – For Science?  Season 2 of Entanglements is live and for the first episode, our hosts talk to a microbiologist and a virologist about gain-of-function research.

Interview: In her new book, journalist Shoshana Walter takes aim at the nation’s drug treatment system and finds it sorely lacking.

Experts in flood mitigation see a national system decades behind. A disbanded FEMA advisory group was supposed to help.

Opinion: Asking the Wrong Questions About Antidepressants

🎧 This week on Entanglements, our hosts talk to a parent and an autistic journalist about how to focus research.

One adult oyster filters 50 gallons of water daily, removing nitrogen that would otherwise fuel toxic algal blooms. Thanks to a serendipitous lab accident, we now know how to help these natural water filters reproduce more effectively.

AI systems appear to know "everything," but that's a myth. Only 7% of the world's 7,000 languages are reflected in the data that trains these models, leaving 93% of human linguistic diversity digitally invisible.

🧵NASA isn't just about space missions. The agency's satellites collect 25 terabytes of Earth data daily, tracking air pollution, temperature changes, and disease patterns that have become crucial for public health research worldwide.

Warsaw uses 8 clams hooked to computers to monitor drinking water quality. When pollutants are detected, the clams close their shells, triggering an early warning system. It all traces back to an accidental Prozac spill in a college lab. 🔗: https://undark.org/2025/08/14/excerpt-prozac-clams/

Historically, cancer research has probed the drivers of the disease’s evolution. But some scientists are widening their scope to study patients who survive against the odds.  🔗: https://undark.org/2025/08/11/cancer-super-survivors/

A researcher accidentally dropped Prozac into a tank of clams and discovered they immediately started spawning. This lab mishap revolutionized a $108 billion industry and gave us new tools for environmental protection.

Researchers typically ask why people get cancer. What if they studied why some survive — or never develop the disease?

Opinion: Only 7% of the world's 7,000 languages are reflected in the online material that trains AI systems. That means 93% of human linguistic diversity is digitally underrepresented. 

The backlash against traditional health authorities, said Columbia University medical historian James Colgrove, is unprecedented in recent U.S. history. “It’s been a very, very long time since we’ve been in a place like this,” he said.

Idaho is at the forefront of changes to vaccination policy and public health. What does that frontier look like?

The numbers are staggering: 59% of U.S. counties lack air quality monitoring sites, leaving more than 50 million Americans in "monitoring deserts." These gaps disproportionately affect rural areas and communities with higher poverty rates. 🔗https://undark.org/2025/07/04/wildfires-aqi-infrastructure/

The FDA was already struggling with inspector retention. Between 2022-2024, the agency hired 105 inspectors but lost about the same number. Of the remaining ~230 inspectors, one-third lack experience for independent foreign inspections.

Opinion: Instead of trying to extend the lives of a privileged few, we should invest in improving the lives of all people today.

Uri Manor's lab used $1.5M over two years to develop imaging tools for hearing loss research. When his grant was terminated in April, he worried about four trainees "whose careers now hung on a political whim." 🔗: https://undark.org/2025/07/11/interview-hearing-loss-grant/

More than 3,500 FDA employees were laid off in April but while inspectors kept their jobs, the support staff who make overseas drug safety inspections possible didn't. Nearly 70 coordination staff were cut, with only 1/3 brought back.

Ten years ago, atmospheric scientist Tracey Holloway would have called U.S. air pollution a huge success story. Then wildfire smoke from Canada turned Wisconsin's air hazardous in June 2023, erasing decades of progress.

"Things will be missed. We are going to have a lot less safe drugs," said former FDA inspector Patrick Stone about the impact of the layoffs on drug safety inspections.

"It's difficult to get inspections done. The pace has slowed down. You can't inspect as many sites," said a veteran drug inspector about the impact of support staff layoffs on overseas drug factory inspections.

Uri Manor, who has severe hearing loss, studies inner ear biology at UC San Diego. His federal research grant was canceled as part of DEI elimination efforts, forcing him to lay off staff from his dozen-person lab.

59% of U.S. counties lack air quality monitors, creating "monitoring deserts" mostly in rural South/Midwest. Counties with higher poverty rates and more Black/Hispanic residents are more likely to lack monitors. 🔗: https://undark.org/2025/07/04/wildfires-aqi-infrastructure/

UC San Diego scientist Uri Manor received a 5-year federal grant in 2023 to study hearing loss. After using $1.5M over two years, his funding was terminated this spring in DEI crackdown. He's now laying off trainees.

Just 10 years ago, U.S. air pollution was a success story. Now wildfires are "erasing the gains" from decades of emission controls, pushing air quality to hazardous levels hundreds of miles away.  🔗: https://undark.org/2025/07/04/wildfires-aqi-infrastructure/

As the U.S. and other countries cut funding for global health initiatives, what role will philanthropy take?

Opinion: What if MAGA Has a Point About Science?

Researchers have long advocated for a more systematic approach to environmental health, but funding may not hold.

Opinion: Conservative distrust of science helped set the stage for its dismantling. Can scientists bridge the partisan divide? 🔗: https://undark.org/2025/06/19/opinion-maga-science-divide/

For weeks, a major university quietly froze incoming NIH funding. The details — reported for the first time — show how universities are struggling with Trump administration policies and False Claims Act threats.

A new study offers more evidence linking frequent marijuana use to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Opinion: The Ripple Effects of Shrinking U.S. Science

RFK Jr. has said the U.S. should rid its food supply of synthetic ingredients. How would that affect public health?

After a federal journal asked researchers to remove demographic data from their tobacco use study, the scientists withdrew it entirely. One consequence of executive orders affecting scientific publishing.