Aaron Schwartz/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

From vaccine sceptics at the heart of the US government to the continued global paralysis when it comes to climate action, science has been under siege in 2025. Those who believe in rationality and evidence must continue to fight back against the encroaching darkness – as we hope you agree New Scientist is doing – but also seek out the whimsy and wonder that comes from exploring the universe and everything in it.

Before we break out the party hats for the delightful celebration of science contained in our double holiday issue, it is worth reflecting on the threats we science-minded folk are facing. Wherever you turn, there are shocking examples of science being misused and abused this past year.

The gutting of US science under President Donald Trump cannot be ignored, even if you don’t live in the US (see, Donald Trump and Elon Musk put science on the chopping block in 2025). For decades, the nation has been one of the biggest funders of science in the world, to the great benefit of both the US itself and everyone else. That all changed this year. By taking an axe to US science (or, in the case of Elon Musk, a chainsaw), countless discoveries will go unmade, drugs untested and technologies undeveloped, leaving us all the poorer.

Of course, governments aren’t the only source of funding, but two stories from this year demonstrate the danger of leaving science at the whim of commercial interests. Regular readers of New Scientist will be familiar with Colossal Biosciences, a US company that claims to be in the business of “de-extinction” (see, De-extinction was big news in 2025 – but didn’t live up to the hype). Its most notable, or perhaps notorious, output this year were three genetically modified grey wolves named Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi.