Research & Discovery

This page highlights the astonishing amount of scientific discovery happening at Columbia, one of the world’s leading research universities. 

Research and discovery logo
twitter icon
@ColumbiaScience

Follow Columbia Science on X

Clockwise from top left: An iceberg stranded on a submerged rock in northwest Greenland (Karl Zinglersen); homo erectus crania from the Turkana Rift (John Rowan); a mosquito feeding (Alex Wild); a shell of thick gas and dust (red) expelled from the outer layers of a star as its core collapses into a black hole. The inner regions show a heated ball of gas (white) continuing to fall into the central black hole. (Keith Miller, Caltech/IPAC - SELab)
Columbia University Discoveries in 2025-26 to Know About

Here are some of the top scientific research findings of the past academic year.


 

RECENT STORIES

A delegation of researchers traveled to Washington, D.C., as Congress considers its 2027 budget.

The findings suggest climate models may overstate the long-term carbon sink provided by forests.

Researchers took sides in a Zuckerman Institute debate that marked the launch of a new center for cognition and reasoning.

Columbia Climate School experts explain what El Niño is and what we can expect if a true “super” El Niño develops.

The Institute enables medical investigators to move discoveries from bench to bedside more efficiently and with greater impact.

After a family history of cancer, a former New York City law firm partner takes on BRCA2 research at Columbia.

Even what many Americans consider moderate drinking is linked to an increased risk of death, disability, and chronic disease.

Professor Raju Tomer and colleagues have developed a new design that lets inexpensive microscopes match or beat costlier systems.

When the universe was just 850 million years old, this voracious black hole was already surprisingly mature, a new study finds.

The findings raise the prospect of future Alzheimer’s drugs that could help stop the disease at its source.

A new targeted therapy nearly doubled survival in patients in a landmark trial.

Urban communities isolated by roadways and traffic patterns are associated with more schizophrenia-related hospital visits.