Science Trends

FDA reverses surprise rejection of Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine

Perspective: Kaia Flux

The Food and Drug Administration has reversed its shocking refusal to consider Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine for approval. The refusal was revealed last week in a sharply worded press release from Moderna. Subsequent reporting found that the decision was made by political appointee Vinay Prasad. The Trump administration’s unqualified appointees are creating chaos across historically serious agencies.

China showcases new Moon ship and reusable rocket in one extraordinary test

Perspective: Dr. Rowan Hale

China’s space program, striving to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030, carried out a test flight of a new reusable booster and crew capsule late Tuesday (US time), and the results were spectacular.
The demonstration “marks a significant breakthrough in the development of China’s manned lunar exploration program,”

How AI will make behavioral health more human in 2026

Perspective: Kaia Flux

While headlines about AI replacing workers dominated 2025, behavioral health is charting a different path. Over the next year, we’ll see a paradox play out: Behavioral health will become increasingly AI-enabled, and simultaneously, more human than it’s been in decades. The reason is simple. Burnout and administrative burdens have been increasingly limiting what clinicians can do. Providers must spend hours on documentation, prior authorizations, and data entry instead of with patients. AI built to reduce that friction can return clinicians to the work that drew them here in the first place: showing up fully for the people they serve. Here are the five ways I believe we’ll see AI reshape behavioral hea

An old jeweler’s trick could change nuclear timekeeping

Perspective: Dr. Rowan Hale

A team of physicists has discovered a surprisingly simple way to build nuclear clocks using tiny amounts of rare thorium. By electroplating thorium onto steel, they achieved the same results as years of work with delicate crystals — but far more efficiently. These clocks could be vastly more precise than current atomic clocks and work where GPS fails, from deep space to underwater submarines. The advance could transform navigation, communications, and fundamental physics research.

U.S. regulators approve Wegovy pill for weight loss

Perspective: Dr. Kian Mercer

U.S. regulators on Monday gave the green light to a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity.

The Science That Will Shape 2026

Perspective: Dr. Rowan Hale

Despite everything, science goes on. Scientists had a tough year in 2025. Administrative decisions and stupidity cast doubt on the future of key science projects and organizations. Experts from all disciplines still arrived with impactful science. Credibility took a hit, primarily through mismanagement, and misinformation.