"In this episode, reporter Miryam Naddaf joins us to talk about the big science events to look out for in 2026. We'll hear about: small-scale AI models that could outcompete Large Language Models in reasoning, clinical trials of gene editing to treat rare human disorders, a sample collection mission from Phobos, and how changes to US policy by the Trump team are expected to impact science."
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"doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-04114-0"
Small-scale AI models optimized for reasoning may outperform large language models on complex cognitive tasks, shifting focus toward efficient, task-specific architectures and competitions. Clinical trials will begin using gene-editing techniques to treat rare human disorders, marking advances in therapeutic applications and ethical and safety scrutiny. A mission to collect samples from Phobos will attempt to return material that could illuminate Mars and small-body formation. Changes to US policy under the Trump administration are expected to influence funding priorities, regulatory approaches, and international collaboration, with potential impacts across research institutions and ongoing scientific programs.
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