NLS journalist Ellen Delisio is our woman-on-the ground when it comes to covering life science news and trends in the U.S. 🇺🇸 We asked Ellen to pinpoint three major issues in the country right now.
Here is her take:
𝟭. 𝗖𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵
Frustrated and anxious research scientists are fleeing the U.S., driven by cuts to National Institute of Health grants, the main source of funding for research in the U.S. The brain drain is going both ways; scientists from other nations once eager to work in the U.S., now are going elsewhere, lured by ample and consistent funding.
According to Nature, between January–March, U.S. scientists applied for 32% more positions overseas than the previous year. Since Donald Trump took office in January 2025, nearly 8,000 research grants have been canceled or frozen and about 25,000 federal scientist and employees have been let go, reported Time magazine. This combined with a growing distrust of science by the public is making for an uncomfortable atmosphere.
In response, groups such as Stand Up for Science and Science for Good have arisen to rally support for science and promote education about the benefits of scientific research.
👉 Learn more about them in the recent article "Scientists fighting back": https://lnkd.in/dPnreSzS
𝟮. 𝗔𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀
Americans continue to view AI warily, with concerns coming from industry, government and the public. While Trump announced shortly after coming into office that he wanted the U.S. to achieve AI supremacy, scientists and others think the field is evolving too quickly and with no guardrails. According to a 2025 Pew poll, about 5x more Americans are concerned about AI as are enthusiastic about it. While some states and communities already have enacted measures to regulate AI, the Trump administration wants to eliminate them, saying they hinder AI advancement. Grassroots organizations are sprouting up across the country urging leaders to slow the AI roll out until more regulations are finalized. Among the public’s fears are that it will eliminate jobs, generate misinformation and diminish human creativity.
𝟯. 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝘃𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄
The growing anti-vaccine movement in the U.S. already has serious consequences. By late March 2026, the CDC reported 1,575 confirmed cases of measles, once nearly eradicated, across 32 states. Part of the reason for public skepticism about vaccines is that U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has no medical training, has questioned the safety of vaccines for years and has been outspoken in his views.
More parents of newborns reportedly also are declining vitamin K shots – given routinely to infants, to prevent heavy bleeding – erythromycin eye ointment to guard against blindness, and the hepatitis B vaccine usually administered shortly after birth.