#SciencePolicyArticle

In a new #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers report on a large-scale randomized controlled trial evaluating the impacts of classroom phone restrictions on student outcomes in India. The findings show that restricting phone use can support learning, particularly among lower-performing students. Learn more:

In a new #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers report on a large-scale randomized controlled trial evaluating the impacts of classroom phone restrictions on student outcomes in India. The findings show that restricting phone use can support learning, particularly among lower-performing students. Learn more:

In a new #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers look at Jamaica’s experience with 2025’s Hurricane Melissa as a case study that reveals how extreme weather and disaster spending can trap climate-vulnerable countries in a cycle of recovery borrowing and underinvestment in future climate resilience. Learn more:

Europe’s rules for proving environmental performance of battery technologies could reshape sustainability regulation far beyond the European Union, researchers report in a new #SciencePolicyArticle.

In a new #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers conducted an online experiment using an opt-in sample of 2,989 U.S. adult participants. Participants were randomly exposed to either a consensus-based or uncertainty-based CDC-style statement, and their responses were measured. They found that exposure to the uncertainty-based message increased perceived vaccine risks and uncertainty, reduced vaccination intentions, lowered trust in the CDC, and increased endorsement of science-denial strategies. These effects occurred regardless of participants’ political orientation. “Overall, the findings underscore the responsibility of public health institutions to communicate scientific uncertainty in ways that protect, rather than inadvertently weaken, population health,” write the authors. Learn more:

Drawing on a large-scale dataset of more than 12 million scientists, a new #SciencePolicyArticle reports that early-career scientists may be more inclined toward transformative breakthroughs, whereas seasoned researchers excel at synthesizing and extending existing knowledge.

LLM-assisted manuscripts exhibit more complexity of the written word but are lower in research quality, according to a new #SciencePolicyArticle that sought to evaluate the impacts of widespread use of generative #AI technologies on scientific production.

In a new #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers examine how Chinese companies have changed their use of scientific knowledge as U.S.-China tensions disrupt established technology networks.

In a new #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers investigate the fiscal impact of biodiversity loss and show that conservation investment can generate positive returns for profit-seeking investors. Learn more:

After rising for decades in the U.S., opioid overdose deaths have been declining dramatically since 2023, with the annual rate of fentanyl overdose deaths dropping by more than a third by the end of 2024. What’s behind this sudden decline? In this #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers evaluate the evidence for an international supply shock in fentanyl in 2023 and conclude that it could be responsible for the steep decline in overdose deaths.

LLM-assisted manuscripts exhibit more complexity of the written word but are lower in research quality, according to a new #SciencePolicyArticle that sought to evaluate the impacts of widespread use of generative #AI technologies on scientific production.

If the U.S. NIH budget had been 40% smaller—similar to cuts proposed in the FY2026 budget—how would that have affected the medicines we enjoy today? In a new #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers present an analysis of a hypothetical alternative history.

In a new #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers conducted an online experiment using an opt-in sample of 2,989 U.S. adult participants. Participants were randomly exposed to either a consensus-based or uncertainty-based CDC-style statement, and their responses were measured. They found that exposure to the uncertainty-based message increased perceived vaccine risks and uncertainty, reduced vaccination intentions, lowered trust in the CDC, and increased endorsement of science-denial strategies. These effects occurred regardless of participants’ political orientation. “Overall, the findings underscore the responsibility of public health institutions to communicate scientific uncertainty in ways that protect, rather than inadvertently weaken, population health,” write the authors. Learn more:

Climate policy has long fixated on how energy is produced, but a growing body of research suggests the real leverage lies in how it is used. In a new #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers argue that reshaping energy demand, through efficiency, electrification, and curbing excess consumption, could unlock faster, fairer progress toward net-zero goals.

Sustainability audits on cocoa farms may be more vulnerable to manipulation than previously recognized, say researchers in a new #SciencePolicyArticle, which presents a field experiment among more than 400 farms in Côte d’Ivoire. The authors show that a simple change—concealing key compliance information during inspections±can substantially reduce false reporting, offering a low-cost way to strengthen the credibility of sustainability certifications.

In a new #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers highlight the distinctive contributions of so-called “Pasteur quadrant researchers”—scientists who both publish and patent their research.

Europe’s rules for proving environmental performance of battery technologies could reshape sustainability regulation far beyond the European Union, researchers report in a new #SciencePolicyArticle.

After rising for decades in the U.S., opioid overdose deaths have been declining dramatically since 2023, with the annual rate of fentanyl overdose deaths dropping by more than a third by the end of 2024. What’s behind this sudden decline? In this #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers evaluate the evidence for an international supply shock in fentanyl in 2023 and conclude that it could be responsible for the steep decline in overdose deaths.

Climate policy has long fixated on how energy is produced, but a growing body of research suggests the real leverage lies in how it is used. In a new #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers argue that reshaping energy demand, through efficiency, electrification, and curbing excess consumption, could unlock faster, fairer progress toward net-zero goals.

In a new #SciencePolicyArticle, researchers investigate the fiscal impact of biodiversity loss and show that conservation investment can generate positive returns for profit-seeking investors. Learn more: