My weekly update. Some good(ish) news. The pace of NIH grantmaking appears to be picking up. 1/4

BREAKING: The Epstein survivors are releasing this ad on this Super Bowl Sunday to send the message that they will not “move on” from the largest sex trafficking scandal in the world. #standwithsurvivors

#ComingUpOnTCM THE ABOMINABLE SNOW RABBIT (1957) Mel Blanc Dirs.: Chuck Jones, Maurice Noble 7:50 PM PT Bugs and Daffy try to tunnel to Palm Springs, but they end up in the Himalayas, where they meet the Abominable Snowman. 7m | Animated Short | TV-G #TCM #TCMParty

Omg, can you imagine having to film that battle scene in all the mud!?! How miserable! (Especially for the horses.) #TCMparty

These poor horses! (And other animals!) 😢 #TCMparty #ManInTheWilderness @benmank77.bsky.social

"This isn't the country I know!," says the citizen of the country that had someone in Congress recommending sterilization of "undesirables" only a century ago.

How 2026 is about to find me... #TCMparty #WomanInTheWilderness

#PRFB solicitation is published (NSF 26-504): www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

I want to go to there.

ALERT: Per letter sent by the Justice Dept, members of Congress can arrange to view the full Epstein files beginning Monday at 9am at Justice Dept headquarters in Washington

@hormiga.bsky.social They'll have an office hour soon to talk about all the things that can count as "AI." And there will be more info in the solicitation, certainly. So, we'll see how broad it really is...

Note that AI was part of the new PRFB track announced in 2024. www.nsf.gov/funding/info...

Now do EAR-PF, please. 😉 @volcanojw.bsky.social

Fresh of his #Grammy wins, Puerto Rican artist #BadBunny will take the stage for the #SuperBowlLX halftime show on Sunday. Here are some key facts about Puerto Rico, including the island’s relationship with the U.S. and how its population has changed. 🇵🇷🧵⬇️

Ramos' parents, originally from Ecuador, were set for their asylum hearing in late Feb. DHS abruptly moved it up to THIS MORNING. They are not in the U.S. illegally and have no criminal record. DHS is simply trying to end their asylum claims.

@raskin.house.gov and I led 69 of our colleagues in demanding that Trump keep this institution open. An attack on the Kennedy Center is an attack on history and culture across the country, setting a dangerous precedent.

The space agency’s current plan is to deorbit the space station in 2031 over the Pacific Ocean, where debris that survives the scorching reentry will fall into a remote, unpopulated part of the sea.

BREAKING: A young girl in immigration detention reportedly attempted to take her own life, at the same Texas facility experiencing a measles outbreak and where Liam Ramos was detained.

How administration priorities are shifting agency and program priorities and funding - an example. #NSF #PRFB #postdocfellowships

I wish I could say he wasn't a unicorn, but he is. Make kindness and humanity the norm, not the exception.

Dear anthropologists - in case you're considering it, this is not a "teaching moment" about the difference between apes and monkeys. It's just about racism. Period. #LunchTimePosts

New story in Research Professional News [from UK, gift link] www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-usa-... 1/2

Just like with Kilmer Abrego Garcia, the biggest sin any targeted immigrant can commit is winning battles — legal or PR battles — against the government, and they just won’t let those losses go

@benmank77.bsky.social Ah, yes, Michael Jordan - famed Wizards guard. 😄 #TCMparty #BugsBunny #LooneyTunes

Holy melodrama, Batman. #TCMparty #Picnic

I came here for the plot. The plot: #Picnic #TCMParty

William Holden was 36-37 (born 1918). Kim Novak was 21-22 (b. 1933). #Picnic #TCMparty

Holy shit: it's an RFP for the NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology (PRFB). Hello old friend www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

The "intelligent machine" used to destroy the rabbit was secretly controlled by the rabbit. #TCMparty #LooneyTunes #BugsBunny

California scientists: The Legislature is considering a bipartisan bill to create a CA version of the NSF: the California Foundation for Science and Health Research. It would be funded with a $23B bond measure on the Nov 2026 ballot. Sign on to support the bill here: www.fundCAscience.org

The National Science Foundation has indicated that, as of February 4, 2026, they are not yet prepared to announce their fellowship recipients. While the NSF stated that results might be released in the coming weeks, this delay places both job-seekers and hiring institutions in a difficult position.

@nbcwashington.com Thank you for covering #WalkForPeace! 🙏

As we start the think about F&27 appropriations, unpacking the FY26 budget may help set us up for next year. We need scientists to engage in the process now - to fight for appropriation law that doesn't just fund NIH but fights to protect science and democracy. open.substack.com/pub/sciencea...

😭

US to auction drilling rights for Alaska reserve on March 9 reut.rs/4qpvPSb

"Lost Science" is an ongoing series of accounts from scientists who have lost their jobs or funding after cuts by the current administration.

NIH announced that investigators whose ESI end date was in September, October, or November 2025 will have their ESI status automatically extended through March 31, 2026. zurl.co/VfmVM

"...OPM agrees that many positions involved in grantmaking do not determine or make agency policy. OPM will not recommend such positions for reclassification into Schedule Policy/Career." Will update if I hear anything concrete on how program staff will be categorized.

Final schedule F rule "will allow agencies to quickly remove employees from critical positions who engage in misconduct, perform poorly, or *obstruct the democratic process by intentionally subverting Presidential directives.*" (emphasis mine) public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-02375.pdf

Exclusive: Roughly 50,000 federal workers would be easier to discipline or fire under a new Trump rule that reclassifies swaths of the government workforce.

Note that NSF is running 1–2 months behind schedule because of the government shutdown cancelling most of its review panels, which were all rescheduled to late Dec. and Jan. Looks bad, but I would wait until worrying about the slow pace of awards.

Got a call from my eye doctor. "The doctor is not feeling well - can you come in earlier for your appointment so they can go home early?" MA'AM. NO.

Very bad news for CERN, it seems.

US NSF/GEO folks: if you/your students had GRFP applications that were returned without review, please send a note to [email protected] - they are logging and handling inquiries.

Are ACs happening? If an AC is/was scheduled for this week, will it/did they happen? #NIH

It is limited in statute with teeth. But only to FY25 levels (39%) - the same level that contributed substantially to a 25% decrease in new science funding from NIH last year. So it's not toothless but it is ineffective.

No more than FY25, which is a lot and still incredibly damaging. We have to stop using that language because it makes it sound like the problem is fixed. It is absolutely not.

Both chambers of Congress have now passed the FY26 minibus with NIH provisions. The President will sign. (1) $48.7 billion for NIH (2) Full IDC recovery (3) No more multi-year funding (4) No NIH reorganization, maintaining the current IC structure.

The greatest gift I can give you tonight is Ctrl+Shift+T.

LADIES, ARE WE SMILING? ARE WE HAVING FUN!?!? (The day will come when we'll allll be smiling for a very good reason. *cough* Can't come soon enough.)