The fact that Epstein had ties to the scientific community is not news, but the enormous cache of documents released by the DOJ last week was still startling. It showed just how deeply Epstein was involved—how many were in his orbit, and how deeply involved he was with some research. My reporting:

Eg fellowships or lab positions exclusively for students of a certain race or gender. Under the current EOs this is seen as an illegal preference. The administration’s argument is that choosing someone based on their demographic instead of their skills violates civil rights laws.

NEW: An appellate court has just overturned a lower court and ruled that Trump's executive orders cutting DEI programs and funding are constitutional — as long as the government only targets things that are already illegal under civil rights laws. Read the full ruling below.

Bhattacharya testified that he's taking this issue seriously, but I just spoke with a researcher who had completed all the screening and was disinvited from NIAID's council *today*. NIAID's council is set to run out of voting members in October. No grants can be funded without Council.

Reporting this story in Cameroon, I met people who were blind because larval worms died in their eyeballs: NTDs cause immense suffering and disability. But they're preventable! And treatable! And eliminatable!

For the same reason that Indiana, which is virtually the same size as Massachusetts received nearly $349 million last year in farm subsidies, while Massachusetts got only about $9 million, 1/39th of Indiana’s boon.

lol. To entertain the possibility he's asking in good faith, the very simple answer is that Boston is one of, if not the, largest hubs in the nation for scientific research with several of the nation's top research institutions. From 2025 RePORTER data, I count 205 research orgs in MA vs 23 in IN.

I'm on Capitol Hill watching NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya testify to the Senate HELP committee. Thankfully I haven't been escorted out of this event (yet). Here's what I'm following. You can also watch live here: www.help.senate.gov/hearings/mod...

Sanders: Do vaccines cause autism to the American people? Bhattacharya: I do not believe the measles vaccine causes autism. Sanders: I didn't ask about measles. Do vaccines cause autism? Bhattacharya: I have not seen a study to suggest any **single** vaccine causes autism. (emphasis mine)

Top NIH leaders addressed my scoop that advisory councils are running out of voting members at the Reclaiming Science event (I'm now watching live stream). Memoli says NIH was 3 years behind in filling slots when he came in (but neglects to say NIH disinvited dozens of people about to join them).

This must be that radical transparency I keep hearing about.

I'm at the Willard Hotel where I've been denied entry and kicked out of the Reclaiming Science event with NIH director Bhattacharya & other top agency leaders. @jocelynkaiser.bsky.social and I registered for the event months ago yet were told capacity was full, even as they let in dozens of others.

Bhattacharya, a moment ago: "What you've been seeing in the press is that there have been funding cuts. There haven't been funding cuts. What there has been is a change in agency priorities." Our year in numbers begs to differ www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

An NIH source tells me that after this story was published, agency leadership held an emergency meeting about Council approval and is looking for ways to speed up the pipeline. "Better late than never?" the source says.

🚨 New from me: Grant review at more than half of NIH's institutes could be frozen by the end of the year. That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027. A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications. A short 🧵

If you / your lab / your institution rely on NIH funding, you need to read this and understand how this is one of many changes affecting you. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

This must be weird news to see if you’re one of the literally hundreds or even thousands of university administrators who preemptively censored faculty, scrubbed websites, changed the names of centers, etc.

NIH will no longer support studies that use human fetal tissue derived from elective abortions, citing advances in alternate methods. “It’s clearly a political decision, not a scientific one,” says Lawrence Goldstein, a neuroscientist at UCSD. By @heidiledford.bsky.social and Edward Chen

Covers of the 2 leading science journals this week @science.org and @nature.com www.science.org/content/arti... www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

🚨 New from me: Grant review at more than half of NIH's institutes could be frozen by the end of the year. That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027. A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications. A short 🧵

Personally, nothing affirms my decision to abandon Twitter more than the replies to @maxkozlov.bsky.social’s post there. The number of unhinged replies to something relatively straightforward is unreal. I really appreciate block lists and the nuclear block here. x.com/maxdkozlov/s...

NATURE has done a terrific (if depressing) job of summarizing the devastating cuts to science during Trump's first year. At this point, only the willingness of the House and Senate to restore research budgets prevents scientific extinction. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Instead of doomscrolling your social media feed, scroll through this stunning visualization of the state of government support for science and research. You’re going to want to see the end, which provides a glimmer of hope for our futures. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Spotify Wrapped: War on Science edition

Trump has been in office for one year. We at @nature.com did a deep dive looking at the administration's disruption of science in numbers. Take a look—the numbers are staggering. By me, @dangaristo.bsky.social, Jeff Tollefson, @kimay.bsky.social, & help from @noamross.net @scott-delaney.bsky.social

A year ago, under a flurry of executive orders, it became clear that the second Trump administration was going to make dramatic changes on US science. Here's our 10,000 foot look at the damage. with @maxkozlov.bsky.social, Jeff Tollefson, and Rich Monastersky

One year into Trump's second presidency, how are science and medical research faring? Our @nature.com team breaks it down for you. (1/n) From @virginiagewin.bsky.social, learn about Layoffs ✅ Funding cuts ✅ Attacks on science ✅ www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪

Some analysis from @jeff-tollefson.bsky.social, @dangaristo.bsky.social and me US science budgets are being finalized — and the cuts likely won't be as dramatic as Trump would have wanted. But political appointees will now have a big say in how that funding is spent. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

🙏We need your help!🙏 Mass grant terminations are back, this time at SAMHSA. We're tracking terminations to support advocacy and possible litigation. Please report info on specific SAMHSA grant terminations here: grant-witness.us/submit-samhs... We'll have a tracker online ASAP. Spread the word!

Could mpox impact male fertility? One ominous finding — with all the caveats that this was done in rodents — is that the same strain responsible for the 2022 global outbreak persisted in the testes of mice for weeks after infection and caused tissue damage, impacting their ability to create sperm.

“Mpox viruses have caused two public-health emergencies in the past three years, so we need to be paying attention to it.” www.nature.com/articles/d41...

On delayed application review, the NIH grant terminations lawsuit appears to be headed for a settlement. Both plaintiffs and defendants have submitted a joint document outlining their agreement. Judge Young must sign off on it before it takes effect. Here's what it says and what all this means 🧵

Oh how generous of the NIH to suddenly be concerned about the scientific merit of the grants they cancelled

On delayed application review, the NIH grant terminations lawsuit appears to be headed for a settlement. Both plaintiffs and defendants have submitted a joint document outlining their agreement. Judge Young must sign off on it before it takes effect. Here's what it says and what all this means 🧵

This is how it’s done by @maxkozlov.bsky.social

Thanks @gregggonsalves.bsky.social for the mention! Just the lift I needed to carry forth the reporting energy into 2026. 🙏

Here's our reporting on the proposed dismantling of the jewel of US atmospheric science, @ncar-ucar.bsky.social. The plan is to break NCAR apart and disburse some parts to other locations (like the research aircraft fleet) and eliminate others. www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪 #AGU25 #climate

INBOX: Former NIAID director Jeanne Marrazzo is suing the Trump administration. She alleges the NIH violated her constitutional rights and illegally fired her after she blew the whistle on actions that jeopardized public health and violated federal law.

Attendance at US-based science conferences is bouncing around this year but generally down. #AGU25 has ~10k fewer this year! I explored these trends for @nature.com — including solutions to keep conferences local & productive: www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪

When should a paper be corrected? Last December, @elisabethbik.bsky.social and other sleuths began flagging papers by a prominent bioengineer, Ali Khademhosseini. They found over 80 with image issues. Khademhosseini and his colleagues have issued over 40 corrections, but avoided retractions.

Psychiatrists have long relied on diagnostic manuals that regard most mental-health conditions as distinct. Now a genetic analysis of more than one million people suggests that most major psychiatric conditions have common biological roots. For @nature.com:

Fired CDC director Susan Monarez is one of Nature's 10 people who shaped science in 2025. “I always challenge the status quo because that’s what you do in science,” Monarez told me. “You challenge it to try to do better, but you don’t compromise your moral and scientific integrity for expediency.”

The top 10 people of 2025 @nature.com who shaped science. Recognizes Dr. Susan Monarez, the CDC Director who was "fired for holding the line on scientific integrity" www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

!!! The Post obtained hot mic comments by the chair of RFK Jr.'s CDC vaccine committee. "We feel like a little bit like puppets on a string as opposed to really being an independent advisory panel" wapo.st/4atob4M

This thread and article is really quite something. "Notably absent were any academic researchers or clinicians." 👀

$80 for 6 bags of potato chips. What’s this, MAHA or “HAHA”? Like laughing. I’m available to explain further if need be

no collidial silver? how can i get the full RFK experience without the funni smurf serum

Americans need to eat fewer ultra-processed foods and more dubious powders

This is achingly beautiful and almost too painful to read in places (but you still should). The cruelty of cancer, the longing to be with your children — and the twist of fate, being RFK Jr’s cousin as he unwinds U.S. health research.