Christmas fucking miracle right here

The Senate version of the NIH appropriations bill has language that limits the use of multiyear/upfront funding. Please call your Senators and Representatives to make sure it is in the final bill. We must stop the brain drain in our research workforce before it's too late.

Alphas

"Bhattacharya also persuaded Vought’s office to slow the rollout in 2026 of a plan to award all NIH multiyear grants as a single lump sum—only 50% of grants will follow that policy immediately." To be fair, this was good, advocating for the forward funding to be only 50%.

Sad news for her family, friends, colleagues and all who knew her from the online science community.

"In particular, they persuaded HHS to renew scientists on term-limited appointments who were to be laid off." This is likely untrue. The major switches about renewals came after media exposure. That includes myself. It also includes the 12+ neuroscience PIs at NINDS. After @durbin.senate.gov ...

Trump and MAGA love to say Bill Clinton was at Epstein Island. Here is what Bill Clinton says.

Oh did pissing off Canadian drinkers with stupid tariffs have the predictable consequence?

Thought of the day drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/12/22/t...

And, because you're always just one or two failed funding cycles from ruin, you're constantly asking for more money than you actually need, and then you get the grants and need to hire people, and then later you don't want to fire them, and on it goes. 2/2

I'm convinced large labs are a survival mechanism in a hypercompetitive funding environment. You need the critical mass to write the big papers that allow you to get the next round of funding. 1/2

Botox

#TobRegSky #PedSky #MedSky #EpiSky #addictionsci #policysky #polisky 🛟 🫁💊🧪 FDA authorized On! mint, tobacco and wintergreen products. Of course, Altria continues selling unauthorized flavors.

So sad. Vw has been screwing this up since 2001 www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-rel...

This is grounds for firing and for being cancelled as a scientist. Total violation of professional obligations under research ethics.

Teaching is an act of resistance. Learning is an act of resistance.

When I'm feeling particularly hopeless about the future of professoring as a profession, I try to remind myself: That's what they want. They want us to not want to be professors anymore.

Council membership is entirely out of the IC's hands. Entirely

This is literally a fake fight. Maybe a dozen landed punches a round combined.

So not cool. Makes it very hard to be able to hear discussions for all applications when they are spread around.

GM has enough T32s that ours have been grouped into 2 panels. That’s somewhat helpful. all the Ks now reviewed through CSR and not IC specific panels is going to be something interesting too….

So you guys understand, this is incredibly important for program officers. We are worried about having enough applications to fund. For T32s in particular, these were normally reviewed at the ICs. Now at CSR. I had 4 applications that would normally have been discussed and scored that weren't.

We were told at study section there will be an administrative note to the applicant stating competitive ND. There was a vote to certify which applications will receive this designation

All study section members know which applications received competitive ND, because we have to vote on who does

When danger reared its ugly head, He bravely turned his tail and fled. Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about, And gallantly he chickened out.

Drinking age child suspiciously interested in where her aged Ps plan to be out carousing tonight. #NoPicsRule

It's listed at the end as an administrative note.

This whole thread on what’s happening at the New School should terrify anyone with any vested interest in the survival of higher education in this country. I fear other schools aren’t far behind…

I agree, very likely 70% extends beyond just these 2 cycles. I wonder if the competitive but not discussed folks will resubmit or instead do an A0.

SRO told me that competitive/ND would be listed on the summary statement.

We are starting to see the first #NIHGrant review outcomes of competitive but not discussed. So of course it’s time to bench race strategy. I thought I saw it stated somewhere that the designation would not be on the summary statement.

Good idea!

Don’t think I’ve found them all, TV appearances are harder to find bsky.app/profile/hypo...

NSF is about to dismantle NCAR at Russell Vought's direction to protect the fossil fuel industry. It's hard to communicate just how much NCAR does, so let's take a look: I've never worked at NCAR, and I've worked with NCAR researchers once ever. What scientific discoveries has NCAR made possible? 👇

New Reuters story on NIH institute director searches www.reuters.com/business/hea... 1/3

This is an important article by @katherinejwu.com on the destruction of infectious disease research - and the man behind it. As someone in the ID field reliant on US federal funding for our research, know that once the next pandemic happens, we won't be around. www.theatlantic.com/health/2025/...

And this will drive him *crazy*.

California leads the way. Again. www.gov.ca.gov/2025/12/15/g...

Subjected to Daddy’s Home 2 by the fam for our heartwarming Christmas movie selection.

I can't imagine revealing to the whole world in 2025 that I got a PhD and still don't understand that there are economic forces more powerful than my own individual choices and merits that shaping whether I get a TT job.

NSF now planning to let POs largely decide what gets funded, and to send PIs reviews that are only 3-5 sentences long. They don't have to use outside reviewers (except maybe 1) and don't have to convene panels. (1/5)

Hungary rejects fascism, millions call on the corrupt Orbàn regime to fall. #3E

You have to admire the Broncos and Chargers for hiring top-tier coaches and building programs that could challenge the Chiefs rather than just turtling like the rest of the AFC East generally did during the Belichick/Brady dynasty

It's clear from the article that ICE is *miserable* here. They're freezing their asses off and being harassed everywhere they go. Property managers aren't allowing them access to rental properties and people know their rights and aren't letting them in. KEEP IT UP.

The quack Miranda warning is under attack. Of course.

Bore yourself with my talk at the Dengue Endgame meeting. Good for insomnia. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAof...