Global tensions ‘weaponising’ science funding, minister warns www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

Are AI tools eroding the very skills a PhD is meant to build? I wrote about this for @newsbynature.bsky.social and the approaches doctoral candidates take to this tech revolution.

Momentum is building for a Brics bloc telescope network to track transient cosmic events. @astrosibs.bsky.social has the story for Research Professional News www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

@nature.com CAREER @lindanordling.bsky.social How money, politics and technology are redefining the PhD experience in 2025 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

New or starting a #STEM #PhD soon? Soak up the hindsight from those who've gone before. The best pieces of advice from @nature.com 's 2025 global PhD student survey. Expertly curated by @lindanordling.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Could an African ‘eBay for data’ that allows researchers to advertise their data and specimens to other users cut the continent's dependence on repositories in the Global North? Read about ADBEx, the tool that aims to do just that. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

AI slashes African ethics review times from months to weeks www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

Some relief for medical researchers hit by US federal funding cuts in South Africa: South Africa unveils funds for research hit by US cuts www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

South Africa to tighten oversight of foreign university staff numbers amid concern that locals are losing out on academic jobs. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

"Bioinformatics infrastructure is as essential as a lab. But it’s often invisible or taken for granted," Nicola Mulder told me this week, speaking about Africa's new bioinformatics institute, ABI. Interview here: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

Four entities reporting to South Africa’s science department pay their chief executives above Department of Public Service and Administration guidelines Full story in link below www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

Just over a week left to participate in Nature magazine's survey of PhD students in STEM. Active doctoral students anywhere in the world can participate, and a lucky two will win cash money! You gotta be in it to win it. Link straight to the survey: survey.walr.com/R540ZC?sampl...

South Africa's HSRC offers 90% discount on selected stock to shift costly print runs in "unprecedented" sale Free to read: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

Heartbreaking story about Sudan's trashed scientific legacy. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

NIH foreign policy changes expected to cause ‘chaos’ www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-worl...

This week, SAMRC president Ntobeko Ntusi told me international research funders have made substantial pledges to help South Africa plug gaps caused by US grant cuts. However, the support is conditional on government matching investments. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

Pick a disease -- any disease... Global aid cuts raise polio resurgence fears www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-worl...

African science leaders unite to amplify continent's global voice www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

Unbelievable quote from USDHSS. But what's believable has shifted a lot in the last months. “the COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.” www.nature.com/articles/d41...

'They really should make a darkly satirical TV show about these absurd, degenerate, unpleasant people. Call it The White Potus.' I love you Marina www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Any AI-related recruitment horror stories from scientists on here? Especially interested if you feel your CV/cover letter/application was rejected by an AI "sorting hat". DM me or email [email protected]

US aid cuts have stopped research projects in their tracks—here's what some global health funders are doing in response. #USAID #Wellcome #EDCTP3 #aidcuts Global health research funders rally as Trump’s cuts bite www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-worl...

Super story by @sciwriabdul.bsky.social—as usual! ‘We have to become self-reliant’: African scientists respond to dramatic U.S. aid cuts | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Science journalist friends, I am available for interviews, as are the leaders of several of these societies and the UCS leadership team. 🧪 DMs open, or whysharksmatter at gmail.

USAID has axed funding for HIV/Aids organisations across South Africa — a decision that stands to have devastating consequences for medical research, disease prevention, support for key populations and community-based testing and tracing. www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025...

A non-final version of the African Innovation Outlook (the fourth of its kind) was published last week. It suggest some ways to fill the widening R&D data gathering gap in Africa. "African R&D tracking falters as draft report calls for reform" www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

Can someone in Kenya demystify this for me? How big is this problem of 'unlicensed/unauthorised' research and why aren't researchers getting the required licenses/authorisiations? www.nacosti.go.ke/2025/02/17/n...

Global vaccine alliance Gavi's got a funding replenishment conference coming up in March. But fears that UK and US could scale back support come at a really bad time for Africa's ambitious plan to manufacture its own vaccines. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

Looking at #Gavi's uncertain funding outlook and wondering what will happen to the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator #AVMA launched last June... @amref.bsky.social do you have a take? #USAID #cuts #FDCO

Brilliant story www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/h...

@ahri-news.bsky.social director Willem Hanekom says the current funding upheaval in global health means diversification is sorely needed. His suggestion? Get Global South philanthropists together to fill the gap. Full story by me: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

Pandemic science 'too reliant' on the US. The US government funds 60 per cent of all R&D into diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines needed to prepare the world against future pandemics. Full story by Sibusiso Biyela for RPN 👇 www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

Bullying is rife in academia/research. But what happens when you are on the receiving end of a bullying accusation? I delved into this for Nature career's new 'Agony Aunt' column. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Health Programs Shutter Around the World After Trump Pauses Foreign Aid www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/h...

The US aid freeze waiver excludes activities: abortions, family planning, conferences, non-essential administrative costs, gender or diversity programmes, and transgender surgeries. It might therefore not include certain HIV prevention services. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

I had a great chat this week with Rein Treptow, who just finished his PhD at Stellenbosch University's CREST centre on how best to track and analyse R&D funding flows in South Africa. Lots to read and ponder in his thesis! Full Q&A available here: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

How are my African #HIV and #health researchers doing with the US aid/NIH funding freezes? Are you guys coping?

Looking for a new job in science? Maybe in a different country...? This is how to ace those 'cold emails' that are a surprisingly efficient way to land new positions. My latest for @Nature's careers desk. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

It can be challenging to report the doublespeak of the Trump administration, but the dots are pretty easy to connect. Here's a short news story about the aid freeze. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

When the Trump administration says some US aid is "not aligned with US interests" and "antithetical to American values"—what is he talking about? www.whitehouse.gov/presidential....

Egypt crowned Africa's R&D spending king by @wipo.int analysis estimating spending trends from 2000-2023 www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

If you are an lab leader/academic group head—what was the best opening sentence in an email you've received from people wanting to work in your team? What was the worst? #postdocs #academiclife #earlycareer

True words.

Thank you Sanlam for increasing my gap cover benefit limits by 5.2% while increasing my premium by 13.9%!! What an absolute farce...

The fourth feature drawing on data from Nature's 'hiring in science' survey conducted earlier this year distills out the top tips and tricks jobseekers can use to land their next job. My favourite tip? Don't slag off former employers in job interviews. More here: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Nice to read about ways to address the burning dumpster fire that is our plastic fantastic addiction... www.nature.com/articles/d41...

News that surprises noone. But also, I fear that the market punishes fact-checking. Punters are drawn to rumour and 'what nobody else is telling you'. I have had a hard time getting on board with social media news anchors. Who are the good ones? www.theguardian.com/media/2024/n...

“Editors are the quality assurance drivers of the entire knowledge enterprise. Yet they’re assumed simply to be filing clerks.” Prof Keyan Tomaselli outlining earlier this week why "hidden labour" like peer review needs recognition. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-afri...

A colleague of mine wrote about the X-odus to Bluesky for academics. Will it lead to more silo thinking? For me, right now, I'm just enjoying a little more kindness. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

First post on bluesky! Check out my latest Nature hiring survey story about the top questions science recruiters like to ask and how to answer them. (Yes, 'Where do you see yourself in five years' is one of them). www.nature.com/articles/d41...