CuriousMinds

Science in 2026: the events to watch for in the coming year

The rise of AI scientists, missions to explore the moons of Earth and Mars and a massive ocean-floor drill are among the developments set to shape research in 2026.

AI for science

Research powered by artificial intelligence made leaps this year, and it is here to stay. AI ‘agents’ that integrate several large language models (LLMs) to carry out complex, multi-step processes are likely to be used more widely, some with little human oversight. The coming year might even bring the first consequential scientific advances made by AI. But heavier use could also expose serious failures in some systems. Researchers have already reported errors that AI agents are prone to, such as the deletion of data.

Next year will also bring techniques that move beyond LLMs, which are expensive to train. Newer approaches focus on designing small-scale AI…

Why ultra-processed foods make teens eat more when they aren’t hungry

A Virginia Tech study shows that ultra-processed foods may influence adolescents differently from slightly older young adults. Participants aged 18 to 21 ate more at a buffet and snacked even when not hungry after two weeks on an ultra-processed diet. Because eating without hunger predicts future weight gain, these findings hint at a heightened vulnerability during late adolescence.

Rates of excess weight are climbing among young people in the United States.

An analysis published in The Lancet predicts that by 2050, about one in three Americans between 15 and 24 years old will meet the criteria for obesity, putting them at higher risk for serious health problems.

Many influences contribute to this trend, including genetics and low levels of physical activity, but diet plays a central role.

Dark energy might be changing and so is the Universe

New supercomputer simulations hint that dark energy might be dynamic, not constant, subtly reshaping the Universe’s structure. The findings align with recent DESI observations, offering the strongest evidence yet for an evolving cosmic force.

Since the early 20th century, scientists have gathered convincing evidence that the Universe is expanding -- and that this expansion is accelerating. The force responsible for this acceleration is called dark energy, a mysterious property of spacetime thought to push galaxies apart. For decades, the prevailing cosmological model, known as Lambda Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM), has assumed that dark energy remains constant throughout cosmic history. This simple but powerful assumption has been the foundation of modern cosmology. Yet, it leaves one key question unresolved: what if dark energy changes over time instead of remaining fixed?

Recent observations have started to challenge this long-held view. Data from…

Children's reading and writing develop better when they are trained in handwriting

Researchers explored how manual and keyboard practice influenced children's abilities in their reading and writing learning process. 5-year-olds were taught an artificial alphabet using different techniques, and the conclusion was that children who are trained with pencil and paper assimilate new letters and words better.

Today, it is common for children's classrooms to have digital resources to be used as tools for certain learning processes. For example, there are computer programs geared towards children who are learning to read and write. Since the exercises that they propose are to be done on computer, the students press keys and buttons, and do away with pencil and paper. To measure the impact of these typing-based methods, a UPV/EHU study made a comparison to analyse the effects of manual and keyboard training on children's skills. "As children write less and less…