DOGE-related federal funding cuts have sharply reduced salaries, lab budgets, and graduate support in academia. Researchers view the politically driven shifts in priorities as part of recurring systemic issues in U.S. science funding during administrative transitions. The impact on Federal laboratories has varied, with some seeing immediate effects and others experiencing more gradual effects. In general, there is rising uncertainty over future appropriations. Sustainable recovery may require structural reforms, leaner administration, and stronger industry-academia collaboration. New commentary underscores similar challenges, noting scaled-back graduate admissions, spending freezes, and a pervasive sense of overwhelming stress among faculty, students, and staff. This article addresses these issues for the analytical chemistry community.

Published in Food Chemistry, researchers from Jiangsu University of Science and Technology and Jimei University use near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and machine learning to tackle food adulteration and enhance quality control.

Top articles published this week include an interview series with Robert Ewing of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a news article on using infrared (IR) cameras to see invisible methane leaks, and an article about the role of vibrational spectroscopy in analyzing plant-based food products.

In Part II of our three-part interview with Robert Ewing, he reviews the results of the Nogales border test.

Researchers at Heilongjiang University have developed a rapid and accurate method for detecting sweeteners in food using Raman spectroscopy combined with a Random Forest machine learning algorithm, offering a powerful tool for improving food safety.

Experts explore the evolving role of CDMOs in semiconductor fabrication and why strategic partnerships are increasingly critical for process innovation and cost control.

Looking ahead, panelists discuss emerging technologies, new analytical frontiers, and future regulatory pressures shaping semiconductor manufacturing over the next decade.

The panel takes a deep dive into total chemical and gas management (TCGM) strategies, and the growing need for online, real-time monitoring to protect yield and safety.

Panelists discuss cutting-edge advances in monitoring ultra-pure water (UPW) purity, from ICP-MS to online pre-concentration, and the growing push for sub-ppt-level contaminant detection.

The panelists discuss the vital role of ultra-pure water (UPW) and recycled water strategies to support yield, safety, and environmental compliance.

The panel discusses how silicon (Si), silicon carbide (SiC), and gallium nitride (GaN) materials influence semiconductor design choices, yield challenges, and supply chain risks.

This episode takes a look at the evolving regulatory environment in semiconductor manufacturing, including stricter contamination standards and the challenges of global compliance.

The panelists consider non-destructive wafer analysis using TXRF and complementary methods, and how combining techniques enables advanced defect and contamination mapping.