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The latest episode of Trial Balloon is live. Aging politicians, the backlash against AI data centers and the political costs of the war with Iran. Join now to continue reading. Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more. If you’re already a member, sign in to your account.

If changing the clocks twice a year drives you crazy, you might finally be getting some good news. Continue reading…

On primary night in June, democratic socialist wins in New York congressional races garnered national attention, but lower down on the ballot, a quieter sea change was taking place in Brooklyn. Reform-oriented candidates with the New Kings Democrats and Brooklyn Can’t Wait flipped eight of nine contested district leader races, bringing their coalition to 22. […]

The post Brooklyn Reformers Set to Oust Embattled Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn appeared first on The City Reporter.

“President Trump is betting that reimposing the blockade on Iran and revoking its right to sell oil will throttle the regime’s economy and convince it to release its hold on the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran is betting it can hold out,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The danger is, in the short term at least, […]

“Democratic challengers in several key U.S. House races put up massive fundraising numbers in the second quarter, closing some of the GOP’s cash advantage in battlegrounds across the country,” Politico reports. ”Seven of the 10 best-fundraising House candidates across competitive districts were Democratic challengers… All seven outraised the GOP incumbents they are facing in the […]

A new particle detector called PLATON could replace millions of tiny detector components with a single block of light-producing material. Using a light-field camera, highly sensitive photon sensors, and AI, it reconstructs particle paths in fast, detailed 3D. Simulations suggest it could match or surpass today’s best detectors while being far easier to scale. The technology may also lead to sharper PET medical scans.

A large laboratory study found that many commonly used sweeteners can directly change the growth of gut bacteria. Researchers identified more than 100 cases in which sweeteners behaved differently when combined with medications, caffeine, or flavorings. The combination of isosteviol and the antidepressant duloxetine was especially disruptive, reducing beneficial bacteria and overall microbial diversity.

Researchers have created self-destructing living plastic that uses engineered bacteria to completely break itself down when activated. The material degrades in just six days without creating microplastics, offering a potential new solution for single-use plastic waste.

A new experimental treatment may have found a way to outsmart glioblastoma’s toughest defense: the blood-brain barrier. Researchers used sugar-coated nanoparticles to ferry genetic instructions that restore a key tumor-suppressing protein directly into brain cancer cells. In mouse studies, the therapy increased median survival by 50% while shrinking tumors without noticeable damage to other organs.

A distant Sun-like star appears to have devoured one of its planets, leaving behind a surprising chemical fingerprint. Researchers found an unusually high concentration of lithium, a strong sign that planetary material was mixed into the star. Careful comparisons with dozens of similar stars confirmed the signal is highly unusual, and scientists think a massive brown dwarf companion may have helped send the planet on its fatal plunge.

Scientists have identified a hidden feedback loop that may explain how Earth has regulated its climate for tens of millions of years. As sea levels rose and fell, they changed how much phosphate reached the open ocean, affecting marine life and the amount of carbon buried beneath the seafloor. That burial removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping cool the planet.

A powerful new AI tool has uncovered what could be one of the biggest integrity problems in modern science. After analyzing 2.6 million cancer research papers published between 1999 and 2024, researchers identified more than 250,000 studies with writing patterns resembling papers suspected of being produced by fraudulent "paper mills."

An ancient sea worm may hold the secret to a whole new category of natural materials. Its jaws combine proteins and metal ions in a way that gives them metal-like strength and unusual mechanical behavior, yet they still differ from traditional metals. Researchers believe these "bio-metals" could open new directions in materials science while revealing just how sophisticated nature's designs can be.

An international study found that finerenone slows kidney function decline and reduces the risk of serious kidney and cardiovascular complications in people with chronic kidney disease who do not have diabetes. The results could open the door to a much-needed new treatment option for the majority of CKD patients who have long had limited choices.

A drug originally developed for spinal cord injury may offer a fresh approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease. In mouse studies, KCL-286 repaired dangerous DNA damage, reduced inflammation, and targeted multiple disease-related pathways instead of focusing on just amyloid or tau. Since it has already cleared an initial human safety trial, researchers believe it could move more quickly into Alzheimer’s clinical testing.