THE WEEK OF APRIL 6, 2026

NSF plans cuts to core science programmes to fund White House initiative

A proposed clawback of already distributed research funds comes as the US agency struggles with a squeezed budget and a backlog of grant applications.

Trump’s Plan for Science: More Money for A.I., Less for Universities

Michael Kratsios, President Trump’s science adviser, proposed overhauling how the government funds research. Democrats said Mr. Trump’s actions had weakened science.

Trump’s Plan for Science: More Money for A.I., Less for Universities

Michael Kratsios, President Trump’s science adviser, proposed overhauling how the government funds research. Democrats said Mr. Trump’s actions had weakened science.

Trump’s Plan for Science: More Money for A.I., Less for Universities

Michael Kratsios, President Trump’s science adviser, proposed overhauling how the government funds research. Democrats said Mr. Trump’s actions had weakened science.

Trump’s Plan for Science: More Money for A.I., Less for Universities

Michael Kratsios, President Trump’s science adviser, proposed overhauling how the government funds research. Democrats said Mr. Trump’s actions had weakened science.

Seth Bannon on Twitter / X

There are some exceptionally good ideas here for reforming and accelerating science.Some of my favorite proposals:Apply the scientific method to science funding (track applications, reviewers, funding decisions, and outcomes, then experimentally test which grantmaking methods… https://t.co/Q0JmqTBPYm— Seth Bannon (@sethbannon) July 22, 2026

ATScience 2026

A full-day exploration of AT Protocol for science, education, and open knowledge. A side event to AtmosphereConf 2026 @ Vancouver, March 27, 2026

What’s Wrong with NIH Grants?

“Science is fundamentally different than remodeling a kitchen”

Spending deal comes with a bonus: Blocking political control of grants

Congress pauses the OMB's attempt to rewrite how research is funded.

The Rise of Large Language Models and the Direction and Impact of US Federal Research Funding

Federal research funding shapes the direction, diversity, and impact of the US scientific enterprise. Large language models (LLMs) are rapidly diffusing into scientific practice, holding substantial promise while raising widespread concerns. Despite growing attention to AI use in scientific writing and evaluation, little is known about how the rise of LLMs is reshaping the public funding landscape. Here, we examine LLM involvement at key stages of the federal funding pipeline by combining two complementary data sources: confidential National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) proposal submissions from two large US R1 universities, including funded, unfunded, and pending proposals, and the full population of publicly released NSF and NIH awards. We find that LLM use rises sharply beginning in 2023 and exhibits a bimodal distribution, indicating a clear split between minimal and substantive use. Across both private submissions and public awards, higher LLM involvement is consistently associated with lower semantic distinctiveness, positioning projects closer to recently funded work within the same agency. The consequences of this shift are agency-dependent. LLM use is positively associated with proposal success and higher early-stage publication output at NIH, whereas no comparable associations are observed at NSF. Notably, the productivity gains at NIH are concentrated in non-hit papers rather than the most highly cited work. Together, these findings provide large-scale evidence that the rise of LLMs is reshaping how scientific ideas are positioned, selected, and translated into publicly funded research, with implications for portfolio governance, research diversity, and the long-run impact of science.

Banff 2025, Open Science Meeting — Continuous Science Foundation

We’ve got to a big idea—and now it’s time to get practical. CSF is looking for curious, committed individuals to help us tackle some of the toughest (and most exciting) questions around how to make Composable Science real.

IOSP 2026: Institute of Open Science Practices (space) | nanodash

An event, a community, and a coordinating institute for the people building, using, and advancing the infrastructure open science depends on. IOSP 2026 is the third edition, held 12-15 October 2026 in Leiden: the Poortgebouw of the University of Leiden and GO FAIR host 12, 13 and 15 October, while 1…

Director Michael Kratsios on Twitter / X

In response to @POTUS's call for a revival of America's scientific enterprise, today I’m releasing Science: A New Golden Age.This report is a blueprint for renewing American scientific leadership for the 21st century. pic.twitter.com/ikM6pX2ndP— Director Michael Kratsios (@mkratsios47) July 21, 2026