Research funding in the U.S. has been cut dramatically under the Trump Administration. As of November 2025, the National Institutes of Health saw about $2.3 billion in grants frozen or terminated. The National Science Foundation saw $700 million in funds cut, according to Science News.

MIT President Sally Kornbluth explained why research is critical.

“Anything that you see as part of your everyday modern life that has any sort of scientific or technological bent began as basic research, just scientists trying to understand. And almost all of that research in this country is done in universities,” she said.

Research has fueled medical advances, touch-screen technology, weaponry, even the GPS we all use to find our way. And all these advances take time and funding, much of which has been cut.

“That might not be felt tomorrow, it might not be felt in five years, but I'll tell you, it will be felt over the next decade for us, for our children, for our children's children, in terms of, you know, lost medical advances, in terms of lost technologies,” Kornbluth said.

To learn more about curiosity-driven research, go to curiositymission.org.

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