Research & Discovery

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

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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

The grant will bolster the Simons Observatory’s ability to gather data on black holes, gravitational waves, and exploding stars.

A new paper on superb starlings offers new data and insight on why they form social groups with non-relatives.

Columbia researchers have engineered bacteria to record their environment and then used deep learning to decode the patterns.

Cannabis use also puts teens at risk for poor grades, truancy, and trouble with the law, a new study found.

A new study addresses the question of whether people with both HIV and mpox would have worse treatment outcomes.

New research outlines a revolutionary approach for vulnerable populations to more easily receive welfare benefits. 

The school is using a multi-pronged approach to build a stronger mental health safety net.

The AI Institute for ARtificial and Natural Intelligence (ARNI) will ignite advances in AI and neuroscience.

A study of U.S. adults found that those who attended higher-quality high schools had better cognitive function decades later.

Counterintuitively, seas were rising around Greenland as it went through a cold period centuries ago.

Columbia engineers have designed a robot hand that uses sensing technology and machine-learning techniques to manipulate objects.

A new Columbia study examines a less-studied hypothesis about the links between biological aging and poor mental health.