Tough year for science but advances continue
U.S. defunding of science has had a particularly damaging effect on climate and health research, but other countries – and the private sector – are pushing ahead with new advances
ASTRONOMY
James Webb Telescope reveals 29th moon of Uranus – just 10km wide
S/2025-U1
Vera Rubin Observatory, Chile promises best views yet of distant galaxies
SPACEFLIGHT
Annual record 299 orbital launches, including reusable launch vehicles Falcon-9 (left) and New Glenn, robotic moon landers
Odysseus – first private moon lander
PUBLIC HEALTH
Wolbito do Brasil mosquito factory breeds one million insects infected with harmless Wolbachia – blocking ability to spread harmful pathogens e.g. dengue fever
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Amid an AI boom, Chinese DeepSeek matches other large language models with fraction of hardware and energy
GENE THERAPY
Huntington’s disease successfully treated
Mutant messenger-RNA in cell produces toxic protein
Engineered mRNA injected into brain
Binds and destroys mutant mRNA
METAL ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS
Molecular  “sponges” revolutionise chemistry
Cavity
Can harvest water from air, capture CO2, store hydrogen safely
U.S. SCIENTIFIC INFLUENCE ON THE WANE?
Publications (000s)
Collaborative output (000s)
U.S.
China
U.S.-EU collaboration
U.S.-China
China-EU
250
500
750
1000
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
25
50
75
100
Sources: Nature, BBC, Nobel Institute
Pictures: Vera Rubin Observatory
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