Please share with anyone who cares about NSF support for graduate students and take 30 seconds to sign and leave a comment. The deadline for the 2025 Graduate Research Fellowship Program is about one month away and literally no one can apply. #NSFGRFP jasonjwilliamsny.github.io/grfp2025/

This is huge: “A drug that provides near-perfect protection against H.I.V. with shots just twice a year will be made available at $40 per patient annually in low- and middle-income countries, offering new hope… making lenacapavir a realistic choice in countries with constrained resources.”

New cures feel sudden, but the seeds were planted decades ago by basic scientists. Which seeds will turn into cures? Unpredictable looking forward, a straight line looking back. 🧪🧬 🧵

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin ✨ figured out what stars are made of ✨ when she was just 25. 🔭🧪 Her PhD thesis basically established the Harvard astro department — at a time when Harvard didn't officially allow woman students. I wrote this little profile to mark the 100th anniversary of her thesis:

Ed Kravitz passed away yesterday. He was a remarkable scientist and mentor- brilliant, curious, creative, and kind. I am grateful to have learned from him. His legacy will endure through his science and through the many people he inspired. We will miss you, Ed.

A true honor to perform “American Tune” with #PaulSimon and the incredibly talented students at Juilliard. As I said in the article, I remember first looking at the lyrics of “American Tune” and going “Oh, my God — did you write this yesterday?”

Translational ion channel research at its best. The 2025 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award goes to Michael Welsh, Tito González, and Paul Negulescu for their role in developing a novel drug treatment for cystic fibrosis.

This rule would have meant I couldn't do my Ph.D. in America. I did do it in America. Became a professor. 12 thriving U.S. labs are now headed by trainees from my research lab. Like me, they are all working hard to enrich American knowledge and society. With this self-harming rule, none of that.

"Pediatric Brain Cancer Trial Group to Be Phased Out" "A network of hospitals and cancer centers dedicated to early phase trials of novel treatments will no longer receive federal funding." 🎁🔗 Nina Agrawal for @nytimes.com

Very excited to share our most recent work on using de novo design to custom engineer a small peptide that can restore proper sodium channel function in disease … to be able to “write” proteins to do whatever we want them to do, is just remarkable …

We are deeply saddened to share that our friend and colleague Jim Hudspeth passed away on Saturday. We will remember and continue to be inspired by Jim’s integrity, his humility, and his unwavering commitment to discovery.

The Trump administration, seemingly determined to hobble the NIH, continues to devise new and insidious ways to politicize what has long been considered the crown jewel of US research. My latest for @opinion.bloomberg.com (🎁 link):

RFK Jr and HHS just ended all US supported mRNA vaccine development www.hhs.gov/press-room/h...

New Science story about multi-year funding and it potential catastrophic consequences www.science.org/content/arti... 1/n

New, from an anonymous NIH insider: Trump is being pushed to spend more NIH money. The White House is ordering NIH to do multi-year budgets for awards. This budget trick means fewer awards, fewer labs funded, and lower paylines for researchers. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/alert-the-...

DUH! A sparkling example of be careful what you wish for. UAB will be one of the hard hit academic research institutions. Republican senator Katie Britt of Alabama is freaking out. 🧪 www.politico.com/news/2025/07...

I signed the letter to support NASA! Consider adding your name.

Amazing news from the Senate Appropriations Committee: no cuts to NSF! “National Science Foundation (NSF): $9 billion for the NSF to maintain U.S. leadership in scientific research and discovery.“

No news on NIH yet because that's a different appropriations subcommittee. But the House is currently scheduled to markup NIH's budget during the week of July 21. See here: appropriations.house.gov/schedule

This is far from over, but it is good to see the Senate Committee’s appropriate response to the President’s budget proposal

New preprint in the lab combining what we like best: insects, love, chemistry and the olfactory system! 1/8 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

I spoke with Jade Hindmon, host of @kpbssandiego.bsky.social Midday Edition, about the consequences of the current administration’s cuts to science funding. Please share to help spread the word and raise awareness. www.kpbs.org/podcasts/kpb...

Seems a good time to invite Sen Britt to watch an NIH review panel (aka study section) analyze piles of grants over several days to identify the <10% that win funding. Applications that scientists spent months preparing, whose peers spent weeks poring through in advance of review mtg at NIH.

Respect and funding for science in the US are in danger: do sign the letter below to support the brave NIH folks ringing the alarm bell and please repost!

All of NIH funding to Northwestern University is frozen. This pause includes noncompeting approved funding, new and competing grants with fundable scores. No reimbursements for money already spent have been received since March. This situation is rarely reported so please Please get the word out!

Congratulations @don-b-arnold.bsky.social lab!

73% of mothers with kids under 18 are in the workforce. More than flowers or brunch, working moms need: -Paid family leave -Equal pay -Universal childcare (But get your mom flowers, too)

New Notice on No Cost Extensions (or lack thereof) grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Congratulations to the Arnold lab on a powerful new anterograde transsynaptic tracer - incredible tour de force! Looking forward to all the great science that will be done with ATLAS.

ChimeraX daily builds can predict small complexes of proteins, nucleic acids and small molecules using Boltz on your Mac, Windows or Linux computer without Nvidia graphics. www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/dat...

An example of what we in the NIH Intramural program can accomplish. Excited to share our latest paper in close collaboration with Nick Ryba's group. We examined how inflammation transforms representation in somatosensory neurons to cause pain. Lots of surprises here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Each type of touch neuron can detect specific sensations, such as vibration or temperature; together they generate our complex touch experience. www.quantamagazine.org/touch-our-mo...

Updated just now. Six pages so far. The breadth of destruction is staggering.

Ominous message on the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders (NIDCD) website:”Due to current HHS and NIH restructuring, the information provided on nidcd.nih.gov is not being updated and may not be available in the future. Please refer to nih.gov.”

UMASS IS RESCINDING ALL GRAD POSITIONS FOR THIS YEAR

If you identify as a Jewish member of the academic community, and are appalled by the actions being taken in the name of defending our community, please consider signing this letter (which can be done anonymously) and also sharing it with others: forms.gle/prnRbq69a6YN...

Defeatism is exactly what Trump, Vance, and Musk want us to feel.  They’d like nothing better than for us to give up, so they can have it all. Cynicism and hopelessness play into their fetid hands. Keep up the fight.

Los Angeles - Stand up for Science!

ORGANIZE!

Yep. I am having trouble as well...

Boston considering its traditional methods of protest against tyranny at @teslatakedown.com this morning #TeslaTakedown

Hundreds of NOAA employees are being fired by Trump and DOGE. The National Weather Service, which is part of NOAA, provides life saving weather forecasting in the US. A study found that for every $1 invested in NWS, it produces $73 in value to Americans. Again, this isn't about efficiency.

With this administration, the cruelty has always been the point. Randomly firing NIH and CDC scientists is terrible for EVERYBODY, firing them for 'poor performance' takes the cake. How can this be legal? What can we do? How can we help? Contact your representatives to voice your outrage at least.

A grassroots movement is calling on all Americans to abstain from shopping with major retailers tomorrow, February 28, as part of an “economic blackout.” I encourage you to join. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/boycott

Our latest findings on social behavior circuits is out: how does the brain responds to social isolation? Terrific work by @dingliu.bsky.social et al. uncovering a circuit with similar neural architecture as physiological needs (hunger, thirst, sleep..). Detailed thread soon. rdcu.be/ebo63

Two dueling sets of hypothalamic neurons—one that responds to isolation and one to reunion—help maintain a mouse's social homeostasis, a new study reveals. By @avaskham.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/social-behav...

Despite reports to the contrary there is still no movement on the #NIH federal register. No cursory notices = no study sections or councils can meet = no new or renewed funding. www.federalregister.gov/agencies/nat...

Ugh. Hate that this has happened. It is so stupid. Our lab will completely ignore this rollback, and will continue to emphasize the inclusion and consideration of both sexes in our proposed studies.

Some good-ish news from NIH “Federal Register notices for study sections run by CSR (but not those by ICs) will start being permitted again” As far as I know, the timing for this is not clear, but I will be checking the Federal Register.

“I have to decide...whether to take new students into my lab, and I don’t know if I can afford them,” said Rutgers prof @annikabarber.bsky.social "there are no NIH study sections...there is a six-month funding gap …That is going to close small labs.” @aaup.bsky.social @ruaaup-aft.bsky.social