The Frontier

200 developments from 2025

  1. 001Self-driving cars are roughly 10x safer than human drivers in the same locations.
  2. 002It's quite easy to accidentally undo current AI alignment methods, e.g. by just training on some naughty numbers.
  3. 003AI systems discovered many critical 'zero-day' vulnerabilities in core code like OpenSSL – and also provided a patch.
  4. 004Artificial chimeras of bat coronaviruses, with up to 100% lethality, produced on purpose under BSL-2 conditions.
  5. 005The oldest baby in history: an embryo frozen in 1994 was brought to term and resulted in a healthy baby boy.
  6. 006AIs contributed to solving and formalising many open problems in research mathematics.
  7. 007The claimed link between fluoride exposure and lower IQ doesn't hold up.
  8. 008First detection of extraterrestrial glucose, and also the last missing ingredient for RNA (ribose).
  9. 009Diagnostics on a phone with no doctor needed.
  10. 010Approval of a strong non-opioid painkiller targeting a pathway specific to pain neurons.
  11. 011A new class of treatment for malaria: 97% cured and it shouldn't suffer existing drug resistances.
  12. 012Unreleased AIs won gold at IMO, ICPC, and IOI.
  13. 013Synthesis of hexanitrogen, the most energy-dense molecule ever.
  14. 014The 83% cut to USAID is on track to cause millions of additional deaths over the next 5 years.
  15. 015Proposed 40% cut to the NIH estimated to kill 50% of new treatments.
  16. 016Extreme poverty drops from 27% of India to 5% in one decade.
  17. 017You can now program human neurons entirely over an API.
  18. 018Murder rates worldwide have fallen 25% since 2000.
  19. 019We produce antimatter eight times faster than last year.
  20. 020Materials scientists warn of threat posed by AI-generated microscopy images.
  21. 021Automated acoustic monitoring of bird species with full natural language understanding.
  22. 022The cost to treat drug-resistant TB drops below $300.
  23. 023The last universal common ancestor arose in a surprisingly short interval of geologic time and was similar to modern bacteria.
  24. 024Several soundness bugs discovered in the Lean proof assistant kernel.
  25. 025First images of individual atoms interacting in a gas.
  26. 026Four countries eliminated trachoma, a disease that causes blindness.
  27. 027First human infant cured of a lethal genetic disease with a personalized gene therapy.
  28. 028First control over a single antiproton.
  29. 029Three new countries certified malaria-free.
  30. 030Nucleic Acid Observatory identified their first engineered virus in wastewater.
  31. 031First-in-human prime editing gene therapy cured an inherited immune disease.
  32. 032Maybe a majority of the Ukrainian drone arsenal is 3D-printed and metal printed.
  33. 033Five factors explain most of the genetic variance in common mental illnesses.
  34. 034Large effect for 5-MeO-DMT for treatment-resistant depression.
  35. 035For the first time in recent history, China's emissions might be falling.
  36. 036First evidence of a solar take-off in Africa.
  37. 037Two new Earthlike planets within 20 lightyears, one orbiting a G-type star.
  38. 038World's first thorium molten salt reactor is now operational.
  39. 039AIs reliably associate arbitrary numbers with very particular concepts (e.g., 87 → 'owl').
  40. 040Claude outperforms nearly all human competitors in basic hacking competitions.
  41. 041The American divorce rate has roughly halved since 2000.
  42. 042Last year's biannual HIV shot available in low-income countries, about $40/year.
  43. 043Patents also have a replication crisis.
  44. 044One in four social science papers is straightforwardly wrong.
  45. 045Trevogrumab could potentially prevent muscle loss in the sedentary.
  46. 046Highest-resolution image of an atom / first direct observation of moiré phasons.
  47. 047First superfluid molecule.
  48. 048EU eases its ban on GMO food, allowing newer gene editing techniques.
  49. 049There exists a large black market in scientific fraud.
  50. 050First practical muon beam.
  51. 051Just-in-time AI malware: software viruses using LLMs to self-modify.
  52. 052Pacemaker smaller than a grain of rice.
  53. 053Gene therapy for heritably high cholesterol (in mice).
  54. 054First real test of mitochondrial replacement therapy for mtDNA disease.
  55. 055First rollout of a gonorrhoea vaccine.
  56. 056Brain's most abundant receptor works quite differently than textbooks assume.
  57. 057New algorithm for computing the product of a matrix by its transpose.
  58. 058First pardon for a corporation, BitMEX.
  59. 059Interstellar object number three flew by.
  60. 060Progress on generalising modularity past elliptic curves.
  61. 061New algorithm for shortest-path finding, first faster than a sort.
  62. 062Long-awaited explanation for the mysterious success of the simplex algorithm.
  63. 063Global pandemic has apparently wiped out sea urchin populations.
  64. 064Blood cancer treatment nearly triples survival-without-progression, to 83%.
  65. 065First 2D metal sheet.
  66. 066First observation of the hexatic phase of matter (2D metal between solid and liquid).
  67. 067Chemical synthesis of artificial starch from CO₂ without cells.
  68. 068AI designs antibodies that can turn on or off membrane signaling proteins in many diseases.
  69. 069First 'x-ray transient' (star with periodic emissions in radio and x-ray).
  70. 070Most energetic neutrino ever observed smashed into the Mediterranean.
  71. 071Transcription factors bind to overlapping networks of weaker sites instead of single high-affinity sites.
  72. 072AI for antibiotic design.
  73. 073Observational follow-up on Covid vaccines shows a large decrease in all-cause mortality.
  74. 074AI proteins with massively increased mechanical strength; others survive 150°C.
  75. 075First patients treated with safer proton arc radiotherapy.
  76. 076CDC is likely to stop all testing on monkeys next year.
  77. 077Human chess grandmasters learned new useful concepts extracted automatically from AlphaZero.
  78. 078'NanoKnife' electrocutes prostate tumours instead of cutting them out.
  79. 079First antiviral against dengue fever, about 60% effective.
  80. 080First restoration of sight after macular degeneration using implants and special glasses.
  81. 081Insulin delivery through a topical cream (mice).
  82. 082Battery-free intracellular delivery patch for internal organs (mice).
  83. 083Timing of aerobic bacteria (3.2B years ago, before widespread photosynthesis).
  84. 084Reversal of 'ten years' of aging proxies in one month by manipulating one gene.
  85. 085One man bitten hundreds of times enables creation of extremely effective antivenoms.
  86. 086Natural experiment suggests shingles vaccine protects against dementia (3.5% absolute risk reduction).
  87. 087IgE vaccine protects against dangerous allergies (mice).
  88. 088New class of flu antiviral outperforms a flu jab.
  89. 089Tiny demo of 90% effective, one-dose malaria vaccine.
  90. 090Protein language model generates new 'superior' Yamanaka factors with much higher hit rate.
  91. 091First conversion of a human somatic cell into an egg cell which produced an embryo.
  92. 092In theory, you can detect quantum phenomena nondestructively via weird heat flows.
  93. 093CERN drove 105 trapped protons across campus in a truck.
  94. 094Retraction of 2022 'DIANA' fMRI paper claiming direct imaging of neuronal activity.
  95. 09540% of animal studies of brain bleeding had problematic images.
  96. 096Oldest protein ever sequenced is now 20M years (was 4M).
  97. 097You can just drain a haematoma through a needle rather than do brain surgery.
  98. 098One-time gene therapy curing haemophilia B approved in the US.
  99. 099New quantum algorithm computes topological knot invariants with applications to DNA, proteins, polymers.
  100. 100First systematic discovery of new families of unstable singularities in nonlinear PDEs.
  101. 101Phage patch on food might reduce food poisoning risk.
  102. 102Head injuries induce genetic damage similar to Alzheimer's.
  103. 103Tiny magnet-steered robot delivers medicine through arteries.
  104. 104Rising Internet access reduces prevalence of female genital mutilation.
  105. 105Two promising drugs to prevent secondary and post-surgical stroke.
  106. 106Challenge trial on a salmonella vaccine showed ~70% effectiveness.
  107. 107Massive de novo antibody design run yields 55 new binding antibodies.
  108. 108Candidate gene drive for eliminating malaria reduced parasite hosting from 80% to 30%.
  109. 109LHC currently produces 89,000 gold nuclei per second from lead-lead collisions.
  110. 110Sets containing line segments in all directions must have full dimension in 3D (Kakeya).
  111. 111De facto retraction of 2024 economics paper about AI speedups in materials science.
  112. 112Tiny number of people functionally cured of HIV; antibodies responsible may be identified.
  113. 113E. coli vaccine in Phase III human testing.
  114. 114'Bridge editing' as a possible replacement for CRISPR with less damage.
  115. 115New AI method for cryo-EM.
  116. 116DNA emits weak photons under specific conditions ('life glows').
  117. 117Scientists discover a new colour ('olo') with lasers into retinas.
  118. 118Mutating RuBisCO boosted plant growth by 50% when injected.
  119. 119Most realistic molecular picture of supercooled water to date.
  120. 120Tylos: exoplanet with extremely fast winds (Mach 27).
  121. 121Detection of hydrocarbons on Enceladus, possibly oxides and nitrides.
  122. 122Bacterium with possible causal role in major depressive disorder.
  123. 123Fine magnetic control of proteins, including a functioning qubit.
  124. 124Claim of first cellular microbe with no energy metabolism.
  125. 125Neutral-atom quantum computers start to take over.
  126. 126AI design of high-frequency electronic circuits faster than traditional methods.
  127. 127Various claims of automated AI scientists.
  128. 128New non-hormonal hair loss treatment may work in a month instead of a year.
  129. 129Skin cells turned into egg cells, possibly enabling gay couples to have biological children.
  130. 130Nematode survived frozen 46,000 years then resumed reproduction.
  131. 131New microscope using cheap continuous-wave laser instead of ultrafast femtosecond laser.
  132. 132Demo of non-volatile memory faster than the fastest volatile memory.
  133. 133Electric vehicles now last as long as petrol ones.
  134. 134First known polyhedron that can't tunnel through itself.
  135. 135Bees 'empathise' with each other (affective contagion).
  136. 136Original evidence for cognitive dissonance theory is not evidence for it.
  137. 137Wild chimps ingest alcohol equal to a pint of lager a day.
  138. 138AI generator for antibodies against specific protein targets.
  139. 139First lab-grown salmon now available, about $12 extra.
  140. 140AI simulator for thousands of molecules that runs well on a MacBook.
  141. 141Ideas might not be getting harder to find.
  142. 142Unknotting number is not additive under connected sum.
  143. 143New theory of summation using hyperreals for divergent sums, developed for ethical applications.
  144. 14429th moon of Uranus discovered, 6 miles wide.
  145. 145First aurora images on Neptune.
  146. 146Old harmonic-analysis conjecture falsified by a teenager.
  147. 147AI-designed antivenoms for a snakebite with only expensive treatment currently (mice).
  148. 148First time a brain region was turned back on after vitrification (mice).
  149. 149Generative biology: 285 new phage viruses from a DNA language model.
  150. 150Bonobos have compositional language.
  151. 151Spiral galaxies rotating opposite to ours are 50% more common than same-direction ones.
  152. 152Genetic design of new flowers is now a viable hobby.
  153. 153First test of 'second law of black hole dynamics' via gravitational waves (no violation).
  154. 154First BCI that generalises across people without tuning.
  155. 155The philosopher's stone: theoretically scalable method for synthesizing gold.
  156. 156First commercial company to breed tritium fuel.
  157. 157Tiny pancreatic cancer vaccine trial (n=16) with good results.
  158. 158Progress in mirror symmetry program: criterion for rationality of cubic fourfolds.
  159. 159Infrared contact lenses allow people to see in the dark, including with eyes closed.
  160. 160Fentanyl vaccine entering human clinical trials (mouse data so far).
  161. 161World's first thermodynamic computing chip is ready for prototyping.
  162. 162First successful transplant of a non-human lung into a human.
  163. 163Scalable evaporation-based solar desalination.
  164. 164Some wolves are pollinators.
  165. 165Genetic explanation for how cuckoo eggs mimic multiple host species' eggs.
  166. 166First European farmers disappeared in continent-scale violence ~5000 BCE.
  167. 167First decipherment of a pre-Islam Eastern South Semitic script.
  168. 168Smart pattern detector for enzyme cleavage sites in proteins.
  169. 169Hundreds of US gov medical datasets altered silently without changelog.
  170. 170Neanderthals had large-scale bone marrow processing industry 125,000 years ago.
  171. 171Ice can get slippery without melting, via spontaneous mechanical stresses.
  172. 172Extra information from exotic positronium in PET scans may be possible.
  173. 173Galaxies may add measurable foreground contamination that challenges current cosmology interpretations.
  174. 174Ozempic reverses epigenetic markers of ageing by 3 years (speculative).
  175. 175Some spiders build scarecrow spiders against predators.
  176. 176Ancient DNA reveals previously unknown human branch, the Takarkori (modern Libya).
  177. 177Proof that quantum proofs are more powerful than classical proofs in one sense.
  178. 178Hypothesis that long covid is an acquired autoimmune disorder is being tested.
  179. 179Attempt to separate psychopharmacological effects of DMT from hallucinogenic effect.
  180. 180Proposal to nuke ocean floor to pulverise basalt and accelerate carbon sequestration.
  181. 181First transplant of cloned islet cells into a patient, doing well after a year.
  182. 182First clinical trial for a cure for any prion disease.
  183. 183We might use particle accelerators to turn nuclear waste into tritium fuel.
  184. 184First recorded xenoparity in the wild (animal giving birth to offspring of different species).
  185. 185Ozempic-like drug reduces aging markers in mice.
  186. 186In areas with toxic natural fluoride, children have lower IQ (doesn't generalise).
  187. 187BDNF may be a fast-acting depression treatment.
  188. 188Signs of low-temperature redox reactions in a Mars rock.
  189. 189First QI stellarator design that could be used in a full-scale fusion plant.
  190. 190Progenitor cells counter aging in primates.
  191. 191New gene therapy (AMT-130) with putative 75% slowdown in Huntington's progression.
  192. 192Attempt to derive dark energy from string theory.
  193. 193Native Americans may have originated partly in Japan, arriving 20,000 years ago.
  194. 194Tooth-regrowing procedure enters human trials.
  195. 195Circulatronics: microscopic brain implant (immune cells + electronics) you can inject (mice).
  196. 196Claimed quantum advantage in a complicated physics task.
  197. 197Micronozzles could triple proton energies of laser accelerators.
  198. 198Dark photons: maybe you don't need wave–particle duality.
  199. 199Very weak indicator of life spotted outside the solar system.
  200. 200Claim that a bacterium causes schizophrenia.