Nature has published an analytical piece titled "US science in 2026: five themes that will dominate Trump's second year," framing 2026 as a defining year for American research policy.

The article, released through Nature's policy and news coverage, organizes the coming calendar year around five distinct themes that the journal expects will shape science in the United States throughout 2026.

What does the framing tell us?

The phrase "Trump's second year" anchors the analysis to the second calendar year of the current US presidential term. Administrations in their second year typically translate first-year executive orders and agency directives into binding budgets, regulatory rulemakings, and personnel decisions. The piece's framing signals that Nature expects this pattern to play out across at least five distinct areas of science policy in 2026.

Why "themes" rather than events?

By selecting "themes" as the organizing principle, Nature commits to tracking policy questions across an entire calendar year rather than covering discrete news events. The structure suggests the article will follow long-running policy threads, the kind of questions that begin in one administration and resolve in another, from the fiscal year 2027 budget cycle through regulatory deadlines and structural decisions inside federal research agencies.