(The Center Square) – Agencies across the federal government are developing data centers across the United States and implementing AI technology in health research after the announcement of President Donald Trump’s AI Action Plan on last week.

The AI action plan includes more than 90 federal policy actions aimed at rolling back environmental regulations, increasing domestic data center outputs, and integrating AI into operations.

“This plan galvanizes federal efforts to turbocharge our innovation capacity, build cutting-edge infrastructure, and lead globally, ensuring that American workers and families thrive in the AI era,” said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

While the plan did not lay out a specific budget to develop AI, some moves inside the administration showcase how the administration is partnering with industry to develop AI centers and using it in health research.

The Energy Department named the Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Kentucky, and Savannah River Site as locations for private partnerships to build AI centers.

Each site is located on federal land and owned by the government. The Energy Department will open each site for private development and investment in AI.

“DOE looks forward to working with data center developers, energy companies, and the broader public in consultation with states, local governments, and federally recognized tribes that these projects will serve to further advance this important initiative,” said the department.

The AI action plan proposes eliminating “red tape and onerous regulation.” This includes allowing federal agencies to limit funding to states where AI regulations “may hinder the effectiveness of that funding or award.”

Legislatures in Idaho, Tennessee and Kentucky have not passed laws limiting data center development in the various states. However, South Carolina passed a regulatory change in April that increased price rates for electricity for large users, like data centers.

The South Carolina legislature has also looked at implementing a tax incentive limit on data centers, with the goal of preventing rate hikes for residents.

The regulations in Idaho, Tennessee, Kentucky and South Carolina could point to how the Trump administration expects states to regulate AI as its plans to develop data centers across the country.

The Energy Department will take submissions from private industry to further develop AI on the sites in Idaho, Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina and could select partners by the end of the year, a department press release said.

Golestan Radwan, chief development officer of the United Nations Environment Program, warned against the rapid development of AI data centers.

“We need to make sure the net effect of AI on the planet is positive before we deploy the technology at scale,” Radwan said.

While the energy industry braces to develop AI, the National Institutes of Health announced development of an AI agent that can analyze gene sets to help researchers understand complex molecular data.

The AI agent, GeneAgent, analyzes molecular data and helps scientists draw conclusions about how different diseases and conditions affect groups of genes individually and together.

A news release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the AI agent “can lead to a better understanding of how different diseases and conditions affect groups of genes individually and together.”

In the statement, NIH recognized that AI is prone to “hallucinations” where content can be false, misleading or fabricated. The department said it tested the agent on more than 1,000 gene sets in preexisting databases to give the AI agent a genetic baseline with which it can analyze future gene sets.

Two human experts manually reviewed 10 randomly selected gene sets evaluated by GeneAgent to see if its self-review capabilities worked and found that 92% of GeneAgent’s decisions were correct.

Previous studies of AI’s impact on the health care landscape assert that the tool can save billions in research and development costs. 

“The ability to reduce workflow and refocus most of a doctor’s attention on providing outstanding patient care has been made possible by systems that use AI and better data management,” wrote a team of NIH scientists. 

The research team has also verified GeneAgent’s analysis of mouse melanoma cells as part of the testing process.

“GeneAgent was able to offer valuable insight into novel functionalities for specific genes,” the news release said. “This could mean knowledge discovery for things such as potential new drug targets for diseases like cancer.”

(The Center Square) — The Department of Justice recently released a memo to recipients of federal funding, warning them that programs involving diversity, equity and inclusion are unlawful discrimination. 

The nine-page memo clarifies that federal anti-discrimination laws apply to programs that involve discriminatory practices, including DEI policies. Organizations that receive federal funding are subject to federal anti-discrimination laws and must ensure that their programs do not discriminate against race, gender, religion and more, the memo added. 

“This Department of Justice will not stand by while recipients of federal funds engage in illegal discrimination,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This guidance will ensure we are serving the American people and not ideological agendas.”

Robert Kelchen, a professor in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, in an email to Inside Higher Ed, said the enrollment process is already challenging for colleges and universities.

“The only truly safe ways to admit students right now are to admit everyone or only use standardized test scores,” Kelchen wrote. “Being an enrollment management leader has always been tough, but now it’s even more challenging to meet revenue targets and satisfy stakeholders who have politically incompatible goals.”

The new guidance memo emphasizes the major legal risks associated with programs that take part in discrimination.

“The very foundation of our anti-discrimination laws rests on the principle that every American deserves equal opportunity, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, or other protected characteristics,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. 

To help entities avoid violations and the revocation of federal grant funding, the memo concludes on page 8 with recommendations on best practices:  

“Ensure Inclusive Access, Focus on Skills and Qualifications, Prohibit Demographic-Driven Criteria, Document Legitimate Rationales, Scrutinize Neutral Criteria for Proxy Effects, Eliminate Diversity Quotas, Avoid Exclusionary Training Programs, Include Nondiscrimination Clauses in Contracts to Third Parties and Monitor Compliance, Establish Clear Anti-Retaliation Procedures and Create Safe Reporting Mechanisms.”

“Entities are urged to review all programs, policies, and partnerships to ensure compliance with federal law, and discontinue any practices that discriminate on the basis of a protected status,” the memo concludes. “By prioritizing nondiscrimination, entities can mitigate the legal, financial and reputational risks associated with unlawful DEI practices and fulfill their civil rights obligations.”

(The Center Square) − The Gulf of America’s “dead zone” has shrunk significantly this summer, with scientists measuring a hypoxic area of just over 4,400 square miles — roughly a third smaller than last year and far less than the long-term average, federal officials announced Wednesday.

The dead zone, a stretch of oxygen-depleted water that forms annually off the Louisiana and Texas coasts, is caused primarily by excess nutrients washing into the Gulf from the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin.

This year’s zone, measured during a July 20–25 survey aboard the research vessel Pelican, was 4,402 square miles — 21% smaller than NOAA’s early-season estimate and the 15th smallest on record, according to NOAA-supported scientists from LSU and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.

“This year’s significant reduction in the Gulf of America’s ‘dead zone’ is an encouraging sign for the future of this area,” said Laura Grimm, acting NOAA administrator. “It highlights the dedication and impactful work of NOAA-supported scientists and partners, and serves as a testament to the effectiveness of collaborative efforts in supporting our U.S. fishermen, coastal communities, and vital marine ecosystems.”

The measured area is equivalent to roughly 2.8 million acres of bottom habitat temporarily made unavailable to marine life such as fish and shrimp due to low oxygen levels.

That marks a 30% drop from 2024, when the zone spanned a massive 6,703 square miles — more than 1.3 times the long-term average and nearly 3.5 times larger than the target goal of 1,930 square miles set by the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force.

Despite this year’s improvement, the five-year running average remains high at 4,755 square miles—still more than double the federal benchmark.

Dead zones emerge when excess nutrients — mostly nitrogen and phosphorus from upstream agriculture and wastewater — fuel algae blooms. As algae die and sink, their decomposition consumes oxygen in bottom waters. Without sufficient oxygen, marine species must flee or perish.

In 2024, the area west of the Mississippi River experienced heavy hypoxia with extremely low oxygen readings and little water mixing, according to NOAA.

“The stratification of warmer surface water over cooler, saltier bottom water was strong enough to prevent oxygen replenishment,” researchers wrote in a followup report.

Some bottom waters saw oxygen drop across the lower five meters of the water column.

Even with relatively low chlorophyll readings — indicating modest live algae near the surface — researchers noted high concentrations of degraded algae and organic detritus near the seafloor, still enough to drive significant bacterial oxygen consumption.

The Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force, a coalition of federal and state agencies, has worked for over two decades to reduce nutrient pollution flowing into the Gulf. The EPA established a dedicated Gulf Hypoxia Program in 2022 to accelerate these efforts.

“The Gulf of America is a national treasure that supports energy dominance, commercial fishing, American industry, and the recreation economy,” said Peggy Browne, acting assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Water. “I look forward to co-leading the work of the Gulf Hypoxia Task Force to assess evolving science and address nutrient loads from all sources.”

So far, nitrogen loading from the Mississippi River has not declined since the 2001 adoption of the Hypoxia Action Plan, scientists noted. NOAA’s June 2025 forecast, which had predicted a dead zone of 5,574 square miles, was based on U.S. Geological Survey nutrient data from spring river flows and fell within model uncertainty ranges.

NOAA’s Coastal Hypoxia Research, Ocean Technology Transition, and Uncrewed Systems programs are working to improve monitoring and prediction tools. This year, several autonomous surface vehicles were deployed alongside ship-based crews to compare mapping methods.

Researchers said ASVs may provide a more cost-effective way to track dead zones in the future. NOAA also partners with the Northern Gulf Institute and Gulf of Mexico Alliance to expand observational capabilities and state-level technical support.