Science still made incredible > breakthroughs while under attack

IT WAS a tough year for science in the US. Thousands of research grants, including more than 3,800 from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation alone, were frozen or canceled. NASA was threatened with sweeping budget cuts.

- By F.D. Flam

Top scientists are leaving the US in search of better opportunities. And misinformation about vaccines and other important scientific matters continues to spread.

But despite these setbacks, scientists around the world produced amazing discoveries every day some of which made a big splash while others didn't get nearly the attention they deserved. Here's a sample of findings that were perhaps more significant than some of the major headline-makers.

OF DIRE WOLVES AND BUTTERFLIES

The spring of 2025 brought the attention-grabbing claim from Colossal Biosciences that it had "resurrected" dire wolves - a species that had been extinct for 12,500 years. Around the same time, a group of researchers published a report documenting a rapid decline in global butterfly populations.

The butterfly report matters because it shows that genetic engineering feats such as "de-extinction" are insufficient to stop the rapid decline of wild species of all kinds, because such efforts can't restore the ecosystems that support them. Butterfly populations have declined by 22% over the past 20 years. Pesticides are wiping out some species, while others are losing habitat and food sources to humanity's needs for homes and farmland.

This is part of a broader decline in insect populations worldwide, which means plants are losing pollinators and animals are losing an essential source of food.

Meanwhile, biologists continue to debate whether the dire wolves were really just genetically modified gray wolves. Whatever you call the three pups the company produced, they represent an impressive technological achievement and innovative fundraising effort.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we put that same effort and brainpower into inventing new, sustainable ways to grow food without crowding out or poisoning the insects we all depend on.

SUPER SMART HUMANS 30,000 YEARS AGO