Spotlight
NIH’s ongoing support of high-risk, high-reward research has led to a wide range of innovations that revolutionized science.
NIH works to turn scientific discoveries into better health for all. As the largest public funder of biomedical and behavioral research in the world, NIH is the driving force behind decades of advances that improve health, revolutionize science, and serve society more broadly.
Evidence of the varied, long-term impacts of NIH activities comes from a variety of sources, ranging from studies on specific health topics, to broader analyses of NIH as a whole. Explore the sections below to discover more about how NIH provides value for the public’s investment.
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Improving Health
ImageComposite graphic of health-focused imagery, with four groups of people in each of the four corners of the image surrounding a heartbeat monitor.Discoveries emerging from NIH-supported research have led to new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat illness, ultimately improving the health of the nation and the world.
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Revolutionizing Science
ImageComposite graphic of biomedical research imagery. This includes a brain, molecular and cellular structures, binary code, a petri dish, and scientists in lab coats with test tubes.NIH fuels the biomedical research enterprise—cultivating world-class scientists and catalyzing new scientific fields, tools, and resources that have changed how science is done.
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Serving Society
ImageComposite graphic of imagery representing society. This includes a crowd of people in the center, surrounded by images of a stock ticker, percentages, arrows and graphs.NIH-supported research leads to improvements in health that can bolster the economy, improve productivity, and reduce the costly burden of illness. NIH funding also supports jobs and innovations that advance the biotechnology sector.
Learn More About NIH
- Research Matters — weekly update of recent NIH research highlights
- NIH RePORT — reports, data, and analyses of NIH research activities
- NIH Clinical Trials — overview of NIH-funded clinical trials and how you can participate
- Celebration of Science: NIH Highlights — spotlighting remarkable advances from NIH-supported scientists
- NIH Home Page — learn how NIH and its 27 institutes and centers work
- NIH Catalyst — bimonthly NIH newsletter that showcases the scientific research conducted at the NIH
- NIH Record — biweekly NIH newsletter that covers issues of significance to NIH staff, contractors, and trainees
- NIH History Office & Stetten Museum — discover the scientific, legislative, and social history of the National Institutes of Health
NIH Research News
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Benefits of treating opioid use disorder in county jails
September 23, 2025 — Providing medications for opioid use disorder in jails led to lower rates of overdose, death, and reincarceration after release.
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Young woman lying on a sofa with her eyes shut.
Overactive immune responses in ME/CFS
September 23, 2025 — Scientists found signs of overactive immune responses in people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
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Dietary fatty acids may lead to a severe form of asthma
September 23, 2025 — Scientists found preliminary evidence that dietary changes could be a potential approach to prevent a severe form of asthma, called neutrophilic asthma.