Are there any laboratory or university research news outlets that focus on fast, readable coverage of new discoveries?

Yes — if you want fast, readable coverage of new research findings from universities, labs, and research institutes, there are quite a few good options. Here are some of the better-known ones:

General research/news outlets

• EurekAlert! — A major press-release distribution service from the AAAS; lots of university and lab discoveries, often very current.
• Phys.org — Covers science broadly and is usually quick to post readable summaries of new studies.
• ScienceDaily — Aggregates research news from universities and journals in an easy-to-skim format.
• The Conversation — Articles written by researchers and academics, often timely and accessible.

University- and lab-focused sources

• MIT News
• Stanford News
• Harvard Gazette
• UC Berkeley News
• Max Planck Society News
• NASA Science / NASA News
• NIH News Releases
• National Science Foundation (NSF) News

These are especially useful if you want primary institution coverage rather than general science journalism.

Journal / publisher news sections

• Nature News
• Science News
• Cell Press news/spotlights
• AAAS / Science news
• PNAS news features

These tend to be a bit more editorial than university press releases, but still quick and readable.

If you want faster-than-articles updates

• RSS feeds from university newsrooms
• Google Scholar alerts
• PubMed alerts
• X/Twitter or Bluesky accounts for specific labs, departments, or journals
• Research portals like ResearchGate or bioRxiv/medRxiv for preprints

If you want, I can also give you:

1. a short list of the best 10 sources,
2. biology/medicine-specific outlets, or
3. news outlets that are especially good for physics/astronomy/materials science.