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Science is under attack in the US. The new administration is terminating existing grants, preventing the review of new grant applications, and threatening to cut the "indirect costs" paid to universities for research. It is also firing staff at the National Institutes of Health and other agencies, reversing efforts to make the scientific workforce more diverse and inclusive, pulling out of international bodies such as the World Health Organisation, and seeking to exert greater control over universities by threatening to withdraw federal funding for research.

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured a beautiful juxtaposition of the nearby protostellar outflow known as Herbig-Haro 49/50 with a perfectly positioned, more distant spiral galaxy. Due to the close proximity of this Herbig-Haro object to Earth, this new composite infrared image of the outflow from a young star allows researchers to examine details on small spatial scales like never before. With Webb, we can better understand how the jet activity associated with the formation of young stars can affect the environment surrounding them.

Politicians have mocked, belittled, and cut federally funded research for decades, but funding basic science has a long history of lifesaving discoveries.

National Institutes of Health officials have urged scientists to remove all references to mRNA vaccine technology from their grant applications, two researchers said, in a move that signaled the agency might abandon a promising field of medical research.

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How does a robot perform as a boss at work? The results of research by Polish scientists published in Cognition, Technology & Work suggest that while robots can command obedience, it is not as strong as in the case of humans. The level of obedience towards them is generally lower than towards human authority figures, and work efficiency under the supervision of a robot is lower. For employers and HR departments, this means the need to take the psychological aspects of implementing robots in the work environment into account - their perception as an authority figure, trust in them, and potential resistance to following orders, says Konrad Maj, PhD, from SWPS University, a psychologist and head of the HumanTech Center for Social and Technological Innovation.