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Trump signed the NIH’s budget into law on Feb. 3. Today marks the 30-day legal deadline for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to release the funding. Without this, the NIH cannot spend any of the newly appropriated research funding.  Last year, OMB revised a document called Circular A-11, nicknamed the Budget Bible, to…

Maryland is getting its first undersea internet cable, and it’s a monster. Amazon Web Services announced plans for “Fastnet,” a dedicated fiber optic system linking the state’s Eastern Shore to Ireland with enough raw power to stream 12.5 million HD films simultaneously. The project, set to be operational in 2028, represents AWS’s bet that customer…

Stoke, a rocket startup company, raised $510 million in Series D funding, the company announced last week. The new financing more than doubled the company’s total capital, which is now $990 million. Stoke plans to use the funds to “accelerate product development and expansion,” according to the press release.  In March, the company was selected…

Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for the creation of molecular structures with spaces large enough for gases and other chemicals to flow through. These structures are called metal-organic frameworks (MOF) and can be used to harvest water from the air, capture carbon dioxide,…

Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for immune system research that has contributed to medical advances in cancer and autoimmune treatments.  The researchers identified a class of cells called regulatory T cells and the genes that control them. Their work revealed how…

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Director Kim Budil announced today that Michael R. Anastasio is the recipient of the 2025 John S. Foster Jr. Medal. Anastasio is the only person to have served as director of both Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories The honor cites Anastasio’s four-decade role in U.S. stockpile stewardship, work…

Oak Ridge National Laboratory was named on 20 of the 2025 R&D 100 Awards, 17 as lead developer and three as co-developer.  The showing sets a new record for the lab, accounting for about one-fifth of all winners. Since the 1980s, ORNL has won more than 260 R&D 100 Awards Our sister publication engineering.com recently…

Kenvue shares tumbled more than 10% on Friday after a Wall Street Journal report revealed that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to link prenatal use of Tylenol, one of the company’s best-selling products, to autism in an upcoming federal report, a move that has rattled investors.  Kennedy is reportedly preparing…

R&D World has announced the winners of the 2025 R&D 100 Professional Awards. The honorees were selected by a panel of 54 prestigious industry experts from around the globe. The list of 2025 winners follows, along with highlights from their nomination letters. These winners will be formally awarded at the R&D 100 Awards Banquet at…

In this week of research and development (R&D) updates, we see early signs of demand for clean energy plummeting after emerging as one of the fastest growing sectors among industries, with jobs in wind and solar power benefiting from that upswing. The shift comes as new legislation threatens to reshape America’s energy landscape with far-reaching…

OpenAI has been awarded a $200 million contract to provide the U.S. government with AI tools and to “develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains,” according to the Department of Defense. The work, to be completed in Washington, DC, is estimated to be finished by…

The FDA has launched ‘Elsa,’ its new AWS GovCloud-based generative AI assistant. Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary reported the tool, rolled out “ahead of schedule,” is already cutting some scientific review tasks from “two to three days” down to “six minutes.” This agency-wide deployment of Elsa, a secure in-house Large Language Model (LLM), was also achieved…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) slid this week even as several companies rolled out big new R&D projects. For the week ending May 9, 2025, the index closed at 3,773.11, down 3.85% (–151.24 points). Sixteen of the 25 members fell. Eli Lilly & Co. was the biggest laggard (–10.81%) despite breaking ground on a huge…

With federal layoffs across various government agencies making the weekly news, one announcement deserves far more attention than it is receiving: staffing cuts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Amid a wave of reductions affecting civil servants in science, health, and environmental agencies, the NIH layoffs could quietly deliver a significant blow to the…

NASA has announced the elimination of its chief scientist position and the closure of several internal offices, including the Office of Technology Policy and Strategy and the agency’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) branch. According to Reuters, the move, which affects at least 23 employees, is part of a broader reorganization aligned with federal…

The Trump administration’s broad cuts to federal science budgets and staff are significantly impacting the U.S. research and development community. From National Institute of Health (NIH) labs to top-tier universities, scientists and engineers are facing stalled projects, hiring freezes, and growing uncertainty as efforts to reduce the federal workforce and suspend research funding take hold.…

Battery giant Duracell is moving its global Research and Development (R&D) headquarters to Atlanta’s Science Square Labs, marking a significant advancement for the region’s growing research and innovation landscape. The relocation, announced by real estate developer Trammell Crow Company (TCC), represents a major investment in battery technology and further strengthens Atlanta’s status as an emerging…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending March 7, 2025, closed at 4,106.42 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index dipped –1.37% (or -56.96 basis points). Seventeen RDWI members gained value last week from 0.08% (Stellantis NV) to 12.51% (Volkswagen AG). Eight RDWI members lost value the previous week from -0.25%…

Major investments, policy debates, and sustainability efforts are reshaping the semiconductor industry. TSMC’s $100 billion U.S. expansion carries geopolitical significance, while Broadcom’s strong earnings highlight AI’s growing role. Siemens is investing $285 million in U.S. manufacturing, adding to its long-term growth. Meanwhile, the CHIPS Act faces scrutiny, with Trump calling for its repeal. The Semiconductor…

President Donald Trump’s recent push to repeal the CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law in August 2022, has raised concerns about the future of U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. The act allocates $39 billion in subsidies and up to $75 billion in government-backed loans to strengthen domestic chip production. Proponents credit the measure with prompting high-profile…

Sandia National Laboratories, a cornerstone of U.S. national security engineering, has announced the appointment of Laura J. McGill as its 17th Laboratories Director. McGill, a seasoned leader with extensive experience in defense systems and nuclear deterrence, will assume the helm on May 1, 2025, succeeding James S. Peery, who will retire at the end of…

The R&D World Index saw gains this week, driven partly by a surge in Intel’s value amid significant developments across various sectors. Honda and Nissan have ended their merger talks, citing concerns over autonomy and decision-making, while GlaxoSmithKline consolidates its vaccine R&D in Cambridge, MA. Novartis is set to reacquire rights to a blood clot…

The battery industry is buzzing with activity as researchers explore alternatives like aluminum-ion and solid-state batteries, promising greater safety and sustainability. Toyota is preparing a battery plant in North Carolina for 2025, KORE Power has canceled a $1.2 billion Arizona gigafactory, and Octillion has opened a Nevada facility to meet demand. Nuvvon is advancing solid-state…

Fires sweeping through Los Angeles have caused extensive destruction, reducing over 10,000 homes to rubble and claiming at least 27 lives. However, the dangers do not end when the flames are extinguished. Post-wildfire hazards, including toxic chemicals, mudslides, household debris, and dispersed ash, continue to pose significant risks, according to Farshid Vahedifard, professor and Louis…

The Device Research Conference (DRC) has announced a Call for Papers for DRC 2025, the conference’s 83rd anniversary. The 83rd annual DRC will be held from June 22-25, 2025, at Duke University in Durham, N.C. The DRC brings together scientists, researchers, and students from many disciplines in academia and industry to share their latest research…