Media release

From: Australian Science Media Centre

The Trump Administration went to war… against science

Throughout 2025, the Trump Administration delivered a series of body blows to global science and public health, beginning in January by withdrawing from the World Health Organization and ditching the Paris Climate Agreement, again. The moves prompted warnings that vital international partnerships - including with Australia - were being undermined.

Within weeks, sweeping restrictions placed on the US National Institutes of Health froze grants, halted major projects and disrupted global research networks.

Major cuts at other US science agencies followed, including the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), slashing environmental protections and climate monitoring.

Then, in March, Australian researchers with US funding were shocked to receive a survey demanding they declare whether their projects focused on diversity, equity and inclusion - all part of the Trump Administration’s ‘war on woke’.

That same month, noted antivaxxer David Geier was appointed to lead an investigation into the long-debunked link between vaccines and autism, and scientists worried that misinformation and conspiracy theories were becoming official US health policy.

In September, a politically reshaped CDC vaccine panel met to reconsider COVID-19 and routine immunisations, prompting concerns this could cause confusion among the public.

And controversy intensified as the administration suggested taking paracetamol during pregnancy might cause autism in kids and promoted an unproven ‘treatment’ for the condition – a drug called leucovorin. That was flagged as premature by Australian researchers.

Together, these moves represent a worrying shift by the USA, away from evidence-based research and towards politicised science and health policy. They have already affected international collaborations and global public health.

There were glimmers of hope among mounting climate gloom

It was another year defined by record heat and stressed ecosystems, but not without a few glimmers of good news.

In February, The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) confirmed 2024 was the hottest year globally, about 1.55°C above pre‑industrial levels. That puts the Paris goal of keeping warming below 1.5°C on very shaky ground. In Australia, 2024 was our second‑hottest year, on top of record ocean heat.

Sobering news on coral reefs reminded us what that warming means. In January, scientists reported “catastrophic” levels of bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), and by April there were warnings that over 80% of reefs worldwide had faced bleaching‑level heat since 2023.

On land, climate extremes included Cyclone Alfred, NSW flooding and widespread dust storms. In September, Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment warned we should expect more heatwaves, floods and fires, along with ongoing damage to our natural environments.

November brought a political curveball when the Liberal Party dumped its net‑zero‑by‑2050 target, leaving scientists worried about Australia’s climate direction. And days later, COP30 wrapped with a disappointing deal - no agreement to phase out fossil fuels, although rich countries did promise more funding for climate adaptation.

Shortly afterwards, the government’s new environmental laws passed the Senate. This was a long-awaited overhaul, but critics said they still fall short of what’s needed.

So far, so gloomy – but the year wasn’t 100% bleak. In October, global energy thinktank Ember announced that renewables had overtaken coal in electricity generation worldwide. And Australia’s Annual Climate Change Statement, released in November, found our emissions are nearly a third below 2005 levels, with renewables supplying more than 40% of our power.

So, despite all the bad news, there are encouraging signs that ditching fossil fuels is not just possible, it’s already well underway.

Extinct animals came back… to the headlines

2025 was a bumper year for extinct animals, driven largely by media-savvy US biotech firm Colossal Biosciences. The firm used a technique called gene editing – a bit like a pair of genetic scissors - to alter the DNA of the animals they presented to the media this year.

It wasn’t all Colossal - marsupial science had a moment in February when University of Queensland researchers produced the first kangaroo embryo using IVF. That work could potentially help bring back Australia’s extinct marsupials, including the Tassie tiger, or thylacine, an ongoing University of Melbourne project which is supported by Colossal.

March saw the company’s first big announcement – an adorable gene-edited ‘woolly mouse’, sporting some of the features that protected extinct woolly mammoths from the cold, like long, thick fur. Scientists acknowledged an impressive feat of gene-editing, but pointed out that the rodent had nothing to do with real mammoths.

Then, in April, Colossal claimed to have brought Ice Age dire wolves – made famous by TV show Game of Thrones - back from extinction. Again, experts immediately challenged the claim that the company had recreated dire wolves. Colossal had simply gene-edited grey wolves to resemble the long-lost species, making them larger and shaggier, they said, so this was not genuine de-extinction, just a modified wolf.

Perhaps the year’s boldest development came in July, when Colossal revealed it was teaming up with researchers in New Zealand to attempt to revive the extinct giant moa. The project aims to combine DNA data retrieved from real moa specimens with gene editing techniques in living bird species. But researchers warned that ecological and ethical questions have yet to be addressed.

Overall, scientists have welcomed Colossal’s ambition, but many argue that evidence-based progress matters more than headline-ready ‘revivals’.

Australia’s Monash IVF clinic delivered the unexpected, twice

This year, Australia was shaken by not one, but two major Monash IVF embryo-transfer stuff-ups.

The first surfaced in February, when the clinic discovered that a Brisbane woman had been implanted with the wrong embryo. Alarmingly, she went on to give birth to a stranger’s baby, completely unrelated to her. She hadn’t noticed anything awry, so the error was only discovered when she and her partner asked to access their remaining embryos and found one more than there should have been.

Then, in June, Monash IVF confirmed a second mix up at their Clayton laboratory. A patient had been mistakenly implanted with her own embryo instead of one from her intended, same-sex partner. Experts reacted with concern, warning the blunders could have far-reaching emotional and legal consequences.

Monash IVF publicly apologised and, following an independent review, its CEO resigned and the clinic implemented stricter safeguards. But, despite these moves, Victoria's Health Regulator imposed strict conditions on Monash IVF’s registration in November.

These mix-ups highlighted how even very tightly regulated treatments like IVF can go wrong, with potentially life-altering effects.

PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ showed up almost everywhere in Australia

This year saw fresh evidence that per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – the persistent ‘forever chemicals’ used in waterproof fabrics, non-stick pans and firefighting foams – are much more widespread in Australia than we thought.

In May, monitoring by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that more than 85 % of Australians aged 12 and over had detectable levels of at least three PFAS, including recently banned compounds such as PFOS and PFOA.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) responded in June by issuing  stricter drinking-water guidelines for four major PFAS.

By August, UNSW scientists reported that Sydney’s tap water contained at least 31 PFAS compounds – including 21 never before recorded in Australian drinking water, and some linked to firefighting foams.

PFAS were also found in wildlife. In October, University of Melbourne scientists reported that urban possums in greater Melbourne had 45 different PFAS in their livers, with average levels among the highest recorded globally in similar small mammals. The researchers said the possums are acting as “sentinels” for broader environmental contamination.

Then, in November, a federal inquiry into PFAS called for tougher national regulation, clearer rules around government responsibility and more monitoring, warning that Australia’s current system isn’t keeping up with the scale of contamination.

So, it seems PFAS are far more widespread than once thought – in water, people and wildlife. Experts say reducing exposure will require country-wide monitoring and cleanup efforts.

Cyber chaos unfolded as super funds and Qantas were hacked, and Optus failed catastrophically

Australia was rocked by a trio of cyber-attacks and failures in 2025.

In April, some of the country’s biggest superannuation funds suffered a coordinated cyberattack. Experts said the breach, likely achieved using stolen login details, showed cyber security at some funds was woefully inadequate. Some unlucky members saw their account balances drop to zero, and at least $500,000 was stolen.

Then, in July, our national airline Qantas suffered a major data breach when hackers broke into a third-party customer service platform. This potentially exposed the personal details of around six million customers, leaving many Australians worried about the safety of their online data.

The final blow came in September, when Optus experienced a catastrophic network failure during a firewall upgrade. The outage blocked hundreds of emergency ‘000’ calls across South Australia, WA and the Northern Territory. Tragically, three people died after failing to reach emergency services.

These were the biggest tech breaches and failures of the year, but data from the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) released in October suggested they were just the tip of the iceberg. The Centre said it had responded to more than 1,200 confirmed cyber-security incidents in 2024-25, an increase of 11% compared with the previous year.

South Australia’s algal bloom was the toxic tide of 2025

In March, South Australia was rocked when a sprawling harmful algal bloom erupted across Gulf St Vincent, Spencer Gulf and waters around Kangaroo Island, ultimately affecting around a third of the state’s coastline.

It started small, but quickly ballooned into one of the longest and most destructive marine events in Australian history.

By May, deaths had been reported among hundreds of species, from the tiniest marine creatures to sharks and rays. Shellfish farms were forced to close and health warnings for beachgoers followed, as irritating, toxin-laden foam drifted ashore, not to mention the carpet of rotting fish waiting to greet them.

Dive teams surveying sites in June revealed entire reef communities had been wiped out in places, with immobile species such as sponges, corals and razor clams hit particularly hard.

It was hoped cooler winter weather would finish the bloom off, but instead it persisted, leading some scientists to argue it should be declared a national disaster.

A major scientific twist arrived in November, when researchers confirmed the bloom was dominated by algae called Karenia cristata - never before recorded in Australia - along with several other Karenia species.

Although spring monitoring showed the bloom declining along Adelaide’s metropolitan beaches, scientists have warned it may linger into summer.

Australia pulled the plug on social media for kids

Australia’s world-first social media ban for kids was a major topic of discussion in 2025, and we saw a growing body of research about how online life is affecting kids’ wellbeing.

The ban, scheduled to start on 10 December, requires social media platforms to block under-16s. September’s Age Assurance Technology Trial said this is not only possible, it can be done “privately, efficiently and effectively". However, not everyone was convinced, as Australian experts highlighted issues with privacy, security and the accuracy of age estimation.

Across the year, a raft of studies seemed to paint a pretty consistent picture: Posting on social media was linked to angry outbursts, digital pressures were found to strain friendships, and teens with mental health conditions were found to be on social media more than their mentally-healthy peers. Pre-teen use was tied to later depressive symptoms, and mental-health risks were found to be higher among kids who were given smartphones earlier.

And by late 2025, Australian research showed the time kids spend on social media has surged at the expense of other activities including reading and sport.

However, previous research has suggested social media can benefit kids, especially those with close families who use the platforms in moderation. And some Australian experts argued that a blanket ban risks isolating Australian youth. Meanwhile, international researchers arguing against bans said social media can actually encourage connection and improve digital skills.

In October, the Australian Connected Minds project launched. This will track how the ban affects teens’ wellbeing and phone use.

Despite the conflicting evidence, the government had already decided the risks outweigh the benefits last year, so Australia will forge ahead with its social-media crackdown.

We learned that the first ‘3-parent’ children in the UK are ‘full of life and possibility’

In July, Monash University and UK researchers reported that eight British children born after mitochondrial DNA transfer are all healthy and appear to be thriving, capping more than two decades of work on ‘three‑person IVF’.

Seven British women at high risk of passing on serious mitochondrial disease underwent a procedure called pronuclear transfer. This uses an egg with faulty mitochondria from mum that’s been fertilised. The parents’ nuclear DNA is removed and transferred into a donor egg with healthy mitochondria and its own nucleus removed. The resulting embryos carry their parents’ genes, but ‘borrow’ mitochondria from a donor egg.

Mitochondria are the body’s ‘energy factories’. Faulty versions can cause a range of health issues, including serious brain or heart problems, and can be life threatening.

The children, four girls and four boys, including identical twins, were healthy at birth, the researchers said, and five have had no medical problems since. Three have experienced some treatable health issues, but these were not caused by the procedure.

Tests found no or very low levels of disease‑causing mitochondria in five children, while in the others, they made up 5-16% of the total. While higher than hoped, this is still below levels usually associated with disease. The kids will be followed closely, especially the girls. Because we inherit our mitochondrial DNA from our mothers, they could potentially pass any faulty mitochondria to their own children.

Australia is already gearing up to follow suit. Maeve’s Law, passed in 2022, has opened the door for Monash University’s mitoHOPE trial, which will test mitochondrial donation locally.

DeepSeek shook up the tech world and spooked AI investors

We saw a surprising newcomer shake up the AI scene in 2025, Chinese chatbot DeepSeek, when its R1 model was released in January.

The move sent DeepSeek from complete unknown to headline news almost overnight, and left the tech world scrambling to catch up. By the end of January, it had already leapfrogged rivals to become the most downloaded free app on the US Apple Store.

DeepSeek’s honeymoon didn’t last long. By February, the Australian Government had banned the chatbot from all government devices, mainly because of fears that user data was being shared with the Chinese government. Cyber-security experts said this was a sensible move given how little we know about DeepSeek’s data storage and use.

But its success wasn’t hard to understand. DeepSeek delivered impressive results at bargain-basement prices, using a lot less computing power than existing chatbots, and challenging the dominance of established AI players.

It also arrived just as AI was flooding into everyday life, from offices to classrooms to smartphones, rapidly leading to a new phenomenon known as ‘AI fatigue, as workers became exhausted by the constant pressure to learn and use new AI tools.

And as poor quality, error-ridden AI-generated content quickly became widespread on social media feeds, ‘AI slop’ was declared the Macquarie Dictionary word of the year.

2025’s surge in AI was followed by the government’s new National AI Plan. Given widespread concerns about safety protections, many experts were surprised that this ignored previously proposed mandatory guardrails for the technology, instead relying on voluntary ones.

DeepSeek’s rise provided a snapshot of the promise and perils of AI in 2025 more generally. It is powerful and quickly became widespread, but many serious questions about trust, privacy and control have yet to be answered.