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Die trägergestützten US-Kampfflugzeuge der nächsten Generation sollten eine deutlich höheren Reichweite erhalten, doch das ist nicht gelungen. (Flugzeug, Politik)
Das Deutschlandticket wird auch in den kommenden Jahren fortgeführt, wie aus dem Koalitionsvertrag hervorgeht. (49-Euro-Ticket, ÖPNV)
Das Deutschlandticket wird auch in den kommenden Jahren fortgeführt, wie aus dem Koalitionsvertrag hervorgeht. (49-Euro-Ticket, ÖPNV) Krisen wirksam begegnen – in diesem Workshop lernen IT-Fachkräfte, wie sich Business Continuity Management strukturiert aufbauen, IT-Notfallpläne entwickeln und Notfallübungen erfolgreich gestalten lassen. (Golem Karrierewelt, Sicherheitslücke)
Krisen wirksam begegnen - in diesem Workshop lernen IT-Fachkräfte, wie sich Business Continuity Management strukturiert aufbauen, IT-Notfallpläne entwickeln und Notfallübungen erfolgreich gestalten lassen. (Golem Karrierewelt, Sicherheitslücke) With billions in grants put on hold, targeted universities will see research crippled.
Shortly after its inauguration, the Trump administration has made no secret that it isn't especially interested in funding research. Before January's end, major science agencies had instituted pauses on research funding, and grant funding has not been restored to previous levels since. Many individual grants have been targeted on ideological grounds, and agencies like the National Science Foundation are expected to see significant cuts. Since then, individual universities have been targeted, starting with an ongoing fight with Columbia University over $400 million in research funding.
This week, however, it appears that the targeting of university research has entered overdrive, with multiple announcements of funding freezes targeting several universities. Should these last for any considerable amount of time, they will likely cripple research at the targeted universities.
On Wednesday, Science learned that the National Institutes of Health has frozen all of its research funding to Columbia, despite the university agreeing to steps previously demanded by the administration and the resignation of its acting president. In 2024, Columbia had received nearly $700 million in grants from the NIH, with the money largely going to the university's prestigious medical and public health schools.
“I expect that the government will follow all the rules and be fair and follow all the laws.”
In the last week, the US Space Force awarded SpaceX a $5.9 billion deal to make Elon Musk's space company the Pentagon's leading launch provider, and then it assigned the vast majority of this year's most lucrative launch contracts to SpaceX.
On top of these actions, the Space Force reassigned the launch of a GPS navigation satellite from United Launch Alliance's long-delayed Vulcan rocket to fly on SpaceX's Falcon 9. ULA, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, is SpaceX's chief US rival in the market for military satellite launches.
Given the close relationship between Musk and President Donald Trump, it's not out of bounds to ask why SpaceX is racking up so many wins. Some plans floated by the Trump administration involving SpaceX in recent months have raised concerns over conflicts of interest.
“If our usual approaches are not effective, other strategies must be used.”
Health experts took to one of the country's leading medical journals to pen searing rebukes of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s first weeks as the country's top health official—and they called upon their colleagues to rise up to fight the misinformation and distrust they allege Kennedy, a long-time anti-vaccine advocate, is fomenting.
From gutting federal health agencies and knee-capping critical local public health programs, to delaying a significant vaccine advisory meeting, hiring a discredited anti-vaccine advocate to conduct a vaccine study, ousting the country's top vaccine regulator, and undermining the response to the mushrooming measles outbreak in Texas that stands to threaten the country's measles elimination status—the researchers had no shortage of complaints.
In one article, pediatric infectious disease expert Kathryn Edwards of Vanderbilt University recounted the timeline of the measles outbreak, noting the missteps, missed opportunities, and controversial comments Kennedy made along the way. The rundown included his trivialization of the outbreak, failure to strongly advocate for vaccination, promotion of unproven treatments, like cod liver oil, and delayed responses from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which Kennedy controls.
Gemini 2.5 is starting to move beyond its experimental phase.
Google made waves with the release of Gemini 2.5 last month, rocketing to the top of the AI leaderboard after previously struggling to keep up with the likes of OpenAI. That first experimental model was just the beginning. Google is deploying its improved AI in more places across its ecosystem, from the developer-centric Vertex AI to the consumer Gemini app.
Gemini models have been dropping so quickly, it can be hard to grasp Google's intended lineup. Things are becoming clearer now that the company is beginning to move its products to the new branch. At the Google Cloud Next conference, it has announced initial availability of Gemini 2.5 Flash. This model is based on the same code as Gemini 2.5 Pro, but it's faster and cheaper to run.
You won't see Gemini 2.5 Flash in the Gemini app just yet—it's starting out in the Vertex AI development platform. The experimental wide release of Pro helped Google gather data and see how people interacted with the new model, and that has helped inform the development of 2.5 Flash.
“My loyalty is to this nation, the space agency, and its world-changing mission.”
WASHINGTON, DC—Over the course of a nearly three-hour committee hearing Wednesday, the nominee to lead NASA for the Trump administration faced difficult questions from US senators who sought commitments to specific projects.
However, maneuvering like a pilot with more than 7,000 hours in jets and ex-military aircraft, entrepreneur and private astronaut Jared Isaacman dodged most of their questions and would not be pinned down. His basic message to members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation was that NASA is an exceptional agency that does the impossible, but that it also faces some challenges. NASA, he said, receives an “extraordinary” budget, and he vowed to put taxpayer dollars to efficient use in exploring the universe and retaining the nation’s lead on geopolitical competitors in space.
“I have lived the American dream, and I owe this nation a great debt,” said Isaacman, who founded his first business at 16 in his parents' basement and would go on to found an online payments company, Shift4, that would make him a billionaire. Isaacman is also an avid pilot who self-funded and led two private missions to orbit on Crew Dragon. Leading NASA would be “the privilege of a lifetime,” he said.
Anti-deepfake bill raises concerns about censorship and breaking encryption.
An anti-deepfake bill is on the verge of becoming US law despite concerns from civil liberties groups that it could be used by President Trump and others to censor speech that has nothing to do with the intent of the bill.
The bill is called the Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes On Websites and Networks Act, or Take It Down Act. The Senate version co-sponsored by Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) was approved in the Senate by unanimous consent in February and is nearing passage in the House. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce approved the bill in a 49-1 vote yesterday, sending it to the House floor.
The bill pertains to "nonconsensual intimate visual depictions," including both authentic photos shared without consent and forgeries produced by artificial intelligence or other technological means. Publishing intimate images of adults without consent could be punished by a fine and up to two years of prison. Publishing intimate images of minors under 18 could be punished with a fine or up to three years in prison.
US-Präsident Trump reagiert auf die Unsicherheit an den Finanzmärkten. Nach der Ankündigung legen die Kurse von Apple und Tesla stark zu. (USA, Apple)
Die trägergestützten US-Kampfflugzeuge der nächsten Generation sollten eine deutlich höheren Reichweite erhalten, doch das ist nicht gelungen. (
US-Präsident Trump reagiert auf die Unsicherheit an den Finanzmärkten. Nach der Ankündigung legen die Kurse von Apple und Tesla stark zu. (