More than 7.2 million Americans now live with Alzheimer’s disease — that’s greater than the populations of Houston and Los Angeles put together. 

The number keeps climbing, and not just because the science is so complex.. 

For decades, research has been boxed in by groupthink, mostly fixated on a single theory: that clumps of amyloid plaque in the brain drive the disease. 

Despite billions of dollars spent on research, no new drug targeting plaques has stopped or reversed Alzheimer’s. 

Meanwhile, researchers with different ideas about what really causes the disease were often shut out.

Things got worse when it came out that a landmark study supporting the plaque theory might have manipulated images. That shook trust and exposed how fragile the foundations of accepted “science” can be.

Even now, our scientific system still struggles with this kind of narrow thinking.

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Your Rundown for Wednesday, August 20, 2025...

The Fresh “Eyes” Research Desperately Needs

RFK Jr., now head of Health and Human Services, publicly slammed the old “plaque-centric” approach and accused research institutions — mainly university hospitals — of prioritizing the wrong projects. 

The Alzheimer’s Association and others pushed back, pointing out that despite bureaucratic stumbles, the last decade did see new investments in alternative research tracks. 

Still, the back-and-forth shows just how deeply politics, funding and scientific priorities are tangled.

But here’s the surprising twist: artificial intelligence (AI) may offer the shakeup this field desperately needs.

Unlike traditional research teams, AI plows through massive piles of data and can spot things scientists miss — especially when everyone keeps looking in the same direction. 

Already, AI models are helping scientists find new “hidden” patient groups that might actually benefit from treatments previously written off. That could be game-changing for clinical trials and drug development.

Of course, AI isn’t perfect — it learns from imperfect people — but it’s one of the most promising tools for breaking this cycle of rinse-and-repeat failure.

• On July 23, 2025, President Trump rolled out his “Winning the AI Race: America’s AI Action Plan” — which aims to accelerate breakthroughs not just in industry and defense, but specifically in health care and medical research.

The policy cuts red tape, increases investment in American AI infrastructure and encourages private-sector partnerships so that the U.S. — not competitors like China — pioneers the next generation of life-saving technologies.

The answer to Alzheimer’s, for example, probably won’t be found by doubling down on yesterday’s mistakes. It’ll come from opening up the research and learning from past missteps. 

For patients battling Alzheimer’s and other devastating diseases, the Trump administration’s AI plan means more resources, fewer biases and bureaucratic hurdles plus a clear focus on unleashing new tools that put American families first.

Market Rundown for Wednesday, August 20, 2025

S&P 500 futures are down 0.10% to 6,425. 

Oil is up 1% to $63 for a barrel of WTI. 

Gold is up 0.75% to $3,383.10 per ounce

And Bitcoin’s up 0.40% to $113,680.