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In this week’s edition of The Prototype, we look at the Administration’s proposed budget cuts for research, a company building a space-based quantum network, reversing antibiotic resistance and more. You can sign up to get The Prototype in your inbox here.
The Trump Administration’s new budget proposal for Congress features significant cuts to scientific research that go even further than the thousands of grants already gutted in the first few months of the Administration.
The proposal calls for an $18 billion reduction from the National Institutes of Health –about 37% of its current budget, despite recent findings that NIH grants fueled nearly $100 billion in economic activity last year, including support for over 400,000 jobs. It also calls for slashing nearly $4 billion from the CDC’s budget, as well as billions more from the Department of Energy and the EPA that directly impact research.
As had been suggested by earlier reports, the Administration’s proposal also calls for a 24% cut to NASA, including a 47% cut to its science budget. That includes portions of NASA’s satellite missions that monitor weather and natural disasters. “We urge Congress to swiftly reject this destructive proposal,” said nonprofit Planetary Society in a statement.
Meanwhile, the European Union is incentivizing American scientists to relocate. Earlier this week, it announced a half billion Euro incentive package to fund research projects with an aim of attracting foreign scientists. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also called on EU member nations to pledge at least 3% of their budgets to scientific research.
Stay tuned.
This Company Aims To Bring Quantum Computing To Space
Quantum computing company IonQ has signed an agreement to purchase satellite company Capella Space, a satellite data-as-a-service company with over a dozen satellites collecting imaging for its customers. The financial terms of the deal were undisclosed. The goal of the acquisition is for IonQ to develop a quantum computing network that operates in orbit and is encrypted by quantum key distribution, which would theoretically be impossible to hack.
The purchase builds on several deals that the $7.9 billion market cap IonQ has made in recent months, including acquisitions of quantum encryption company ID Quantique and quantum networking company Qubitekk as well as a partnership with Korean satellite communications company Intellian.
IonQ CEO Niccolo de Masi told me a few weeks ago that he wants to focus on both quantum computing and quantum networking, as both are important for building the foundation of future business. While quantum computing promises a number of advances, he noted one threat it poses is the potential ability to break conventional encryption the internet relies on, which makes the development of countermeasures essential.
“The future of civilization as we know it runs through quantum networking,” he said. “Whether it’s your bank, the military or just Amazon and e-commerce, none of this can work in a world where data and information is not safe.”
DISCOVERY OF THE WEEK: REVERSING ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE
Antibiotics are a miracle of modern medicine, but the bacteria underlying many common diseases have started to evolve resistance to them. A new study, however, suggests there may be a way around this. Researchers demonstrated that by combining antibiotics with an enzyme found in bacteria-killing viruses, it was possible to prevent meningitis from the antibiotic-resistant bacteria that caused it. The group plans to study the same technique against other bacteria next.
FINAL FRONTIER: STARSHIP GETS A GREEN LIGHT FOR FREQUENT LAUNCHES
The FAA has approved SpaceX’s Starship rocket to launch as frequently as 25 times per year from the company’s complex in Texas. This approval also includes 25 landings at the site. Both the first and second stages of the spacecraft have been designed to be reusable. The company has so far successfully landed the first stage but has not yet tried to land the second, which is intended to bring both cargo and astronauts to the Moon, Mars and beyond. So far in 2025, there have been two test flights of Starship, both of which ended with the second stage of the spacecraft blowing up.
WHAT ELSE I WROTE THIS WEEK
In my other newsletter, InnovationRx, Amy Feldman and I looked at Aetna’s withdrawal from the ACA exchanges, consolidation in the digital health sector, the new director of biologic drugs and vaccines at FDA, an M&A deal for radioisotopes and more.
SCIENCE AND TECH TIDBITS
My colleague Alan Ohnsman toured Waymo’s new factory in Mesa, Arizona, where the robotaxi company is turning Jaguar electric vehicles into ones that can drive themselves.
Independent research shows that advanced “reasoning” LLMs from OpenAI and DeepSeek are even more prone to generating wrong answers than previous models, sometimes up to 79% of the time.
Scientists developed a microbe system that’s capable of autonomously fixing cracks in concrete, which if scalable might be used to help maintain roads and buildings.
The substance that makes okra slimy can also remove microplastics from water, with a new study showing that it works better than conventional filter materials.
Science publisher Wiley is collaborating with Amazon Web Services to create AI agents that can make it easier for scientists to research published papers on a topic.
PRO SCIENCE TIP: BE SURE TO EAT, EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT ACTIVELY TRAINING
A new study of endurance athletes found that those who didn’t eat enough calories during the preseason had slower running times during the competitive season than those who ate enough. What’s more, not eating enough calories also caused fatigue and increased risk of injury in these athletes. So if you’re planning to start training for a long run or your pickup basketball season soon, go for seconds on that mac and cheese.
WHAT’S ENTERTAINING ME THIS WEEK
Earlier this week, I saw Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in concert for the first time. It was an absolutely tremendous experience. The show lasted over two and a half hours without a break and featured not only a significant percentage of the band’s new album Wild God (which I recommended here last October) but also hits like “Red Right Hand” and “Into My Arms.” It was one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen.
