Nell Greenfieldboyce
@ngreenfieldboyce.bsky.social
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📥 257
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I’m a science journalist who is drawn to the transient and strange.
www.kqed.org/news/1208611...
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California Lawmaker Pushes Immunity for Stone Makers Amid Silicosis Epidemic | KQED
A federal proposal by California Republican Rep. Tom McClintock could block hundreds of silicosis lawsuits, as California workers suffer a deadly lung disease linked to engineered stone countertops.
https://www.kqed.org/news/12086113/california-lawmaker-pushes-immunity-for-stone-makers-amid-silicosis-epidemic
22 days ago
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When I started in science journalism 30 years ago, an experiment like this was talked about as some far off, theoretical sci-fi thing. Now it’s happening
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/s...
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In a First, Scientists Precisely Edit Human Embryo Genes
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/science/embryos-gene-editing-crispr.html
22 days ago
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Nell Greenfieldboyce
NPR
about 1 month ago
Over 550 men in California have fallen ill after cutting natural or factory-made stone countertops. But epidemiologists say this isn't just a California problem.
n.pr/4tRh1O0
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Thousands of U.S. countertop workers could have damaged lungs, safety expert says
Over 550 men in California have fallen ill after cutting natural or factory-made stone countertops. But epidemiologists say this isn't just a California problem.
https://n.pr/4tRh1O0
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This is a fascinating quantitative analysis of President Trump’s social media posts this year:
www.npr.org/2026/05/08/n...
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Trump's Truth Social lays bare narrow obsessions of an extremely online president
The bulk of the president's social media posts don't make news. But taken together they show what's on his mind as he leads the nation through war and domestic turmoil.
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/08/nx-s1-5749358/trump-truth-social-online-posts-iran-white-house-ballroom
about 2 months ago
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Here’s what happened when seismic events—both literal and political—simultaneously hit a famous icon of conservation and its scientist-caretakers
www.npr.org/2026/05/07/n...
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As federal scientists faced turmoil, the Devils Hole pupfish reached a crisis point
The Devils hole pupfish lives in just one spot in Death Valley. Wildlife officials have managed this iconic fish for decades, and last spring, just as the Trump administration was laying off all kinds...
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/07/nx-s1-5803173/devils-hole-pupfish-crisis-federal-science-trump
about 2 months ago
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on crows, conversations, and the after life…
lastwordonnothing.com/2026/03/25/i...
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I Don't Know What the Crows Are Saying - The Last Word On Nothing
It’s spring, I think it’s spring, yes really, it’s spring, and I have to stop myself from writing about juiced-up kids and hormonal robins and the flourishing minor bulbs, all sproinging all over the ...
https://lastwordonnothing.com/2026/03/25/i-dont-know-what-the-crows-are-saying/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPNDA5OTYyNjIzMDg1NjA5AAEezaa7pkcJul0xpbdrhRArIPNm-7SVn7dIFLT6f3WIw_gbGQeidiO1se4Stko_aem_OyjvzU2IrFkju5DEwjNU0g
3 months ago
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reposted by
Nell Greenfieldboyce
JHU Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships
4 months ago
Join us tonight at 6 PM at the JHU Bloomberg Center in DC for a conversation with BDP James Bellingham and NPR correspondent
@ngreenfieldboyce.bsky.social
about the future of marine technologies.
hub.jhu.edu/events/2026/...
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How Are Marine Robots Shaping Our Future? A Conversation with James Bellingham
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor James Bellingham discusses his latest book, <em>How Are Marine Robots Shaping Our Future?</em>, with Nell Greenfieldboyce, an NPR science correspondent and Krieger Sc...
https://hub.jhu.edu/events/2026/03/03/how-are-marine-robots-shaping-our-future-a-conversation-with-james-bellingham/
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Join us 3/3 for this free event on the future of marine robots!
www.eventbrite.com/e/how-are-ma...
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How Are Marine Robots Shaping Our Future?
A Conversation with James Bellingham and Nell Greenfieldboyce
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-are-marine-robots-shaping-our-future-tickets-1981076838152?aff=oddtdtcreator
5 months ago
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reposted by
Nell Greenfieldboyce
NPR
5 months ago
The Washington Post embarked on severe cuts despite appeals by the newsroom to owner Jeff Bezos. The paper is to narrow its focus largely to politics and national security.
n.pr/4qAlWBj
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Bezos orders deep job cuts at 'Washington Post'
The Washington Post embarked on severe cuts despite appeals by the newsroom to owner Jeff Bezos. The paper is to narrow its focus largely to politics and national security.
https://n.pr/4qAlWBj
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reposted by
Nell Greenfieldboyce
invertebrate
5 months ago
reading about organisms that aren’t your specialty is like margins of the quorbus eplungulate, ploobular processes bent posteriorly towards the foobulum define term “eplungulate” - lacking plungae. synonym: thubulous
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Nell Greenfieldboyce
Geoff Brumfiel
5 months ago
EXCLSUVIE: The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules and shared them with the companies they're meant to regulate, without making the new rules publicly available. We've obtained a copy of the new rules and here's what we found.
www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
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The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules
The rewrite was done to speed up the construction of a new generation of nuclear reactors. Critics warn it could compromise safety and public trust.
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/28/nx-s1-5677187/nuclear-safety-rules-rewritten-trump
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100s of cases of serious lung diseases or deaths, and numerous lawsuits, in the kitchen countertop industry: debates over a ban on lawsuits or a ban on cutting "quartz" engineered stone...
#construction
#manufacturing
#jobs
#labor
#health
#medicine
#publichealth
#OSHA
www.npr.org/2026/01/14/n...
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Kitchen countertop workers are dying. Some lawmakers want to ban their lawsuits
Some safety experts want California to stop the cutting of quartz countertops saying it can't be done safely. Lawmakers, meanwhile, contemplate a ban on workers' lawsuits against quartz manufacturers.
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/14/nx-s1-5674884/kitchen-countertop-workers-are-dying-some-lawmakers-want-to-ban-their-lawsuits
5 months ago
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Deaths and cases of serious lung disease in the kitchen countertop industry continue to rise. In Calif., workplace health experts are now calling for a ban on cutting a popular material called quartz. But some companies instead want Congress to ban workers' lawsuits.
www.npr.org/2026/01/14/n...
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Kitchen countertop workers are dying. Some lawmakers want to ban their lawsuits
Some safety experts want California to stop the cutting of quartz countertops saying it can't be done safely. Lawmakers, meanwhile, contemplate a ban on workers' lawsuits against quartz manufacturers.
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/14/nx-s1-5674884/kitchen-countertop-workers-are-dying-some-lawmakers-want-to-ban-their-lawsuits
5 months ago
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What happened on January 6:
apps.npr.org/jan-6-archive/
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Jan. 6, 2021: A visual archive of the Capitol attack
NPR’s Jan. 6 archive brings together reporting, video, documents and testimony to show what really happened during the Capitol riot. Explore the timeline, cases and evidence behind the attack.
https://apps.npr.org/jan-6-archive/
6 months ago
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Today in honor of Susan Stamberg, RIP, I will be making her famous cranberry relish and stashing it in the freezer for tomorrow:
www.npr.org/2024/11/21/n...
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Mama Stamberg's relish faces its toughest critics: NPR staffers
Susan Stamberg returns with her annual love letter to the pink pile of Thanksgiving mush known as Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish.
https://www.npr.org/2024/11/21/nx-s1-5191853/mama-stambergs-relish-faces-its-toughest-critics-npr-staffers
7 months ago
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James Watson has died.
www.npr.org/2025/11/07/n...
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James Watson, who co-discovered the structure of DNA, has died at age 97
James Watson, who co-discovered the structure of DNA has died at age 97. He was a scientific superstar until he made racist remarks that made him an outcast.
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/07/nx-s1-5144654/james-watson-dna-double-helix-dies
8 months ago
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www.npr.org/2025/10/17/n...
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As hundreds of millions of birds head south, the invisible danger is glass
It's the peak of the fall migration season. This is when bird deaths from window collisions tend to spike, even though simple solutions can prevent this.
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/17/nx-s1-5571014/bird-migration-collisions-glass-buildings
8 months ago
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This hit me really hard today. She was a beautiful person and a real role model of a life well lived.
www.npr.org/2025/10/16/1...
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NPR 'founding mother' Susan Stamberg has died
Susan Stamberg, an original National Public Radio staffer who went on to become the first U.S. woman to anchor a nightly national news program, has died.
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/16/1184880448/susan-stamberg-obituary
8 months ago
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reposted by
Nell Greenfieldboyce
ryan cooper
10 months ago
TIL that for some people with irreparably damaged corneas, you can pull one of their teeth, drill a hole in it, install an artificial lens, sew it into their cheek (so tissue attaches), then pull it out and stick it in their damaged eye, and ... it works fine!?!
www.nbcboston.com/news/health/...
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Man, 34, is no longer blind after tooth is implanted in eye in 'crazy' surgery
Tooth-in-eye surgery sounds like science fiction, but it can help people with severely damaged corneas see again. A patient and his doctors describe what it's like.
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/health/man-has-tooth-implanted-in-eye-to-restore-vision/3807265/
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Farewell to the world's largest iceberg...
www.npr.org/2025/09/05/n...
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The world's oldest and largest iceberg will soon be no more
The iceberg, known as A23a, has been on a journey following the current into warmer waters for months. Now, it has begun the predicted and natural process of breaking apart, and eventually melting.
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/05/nx-s1-5527058/largest-iceberg-a23a-breaking-up
10 months ago
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New study uses millions of bird audio recordings to look at the effect of light pollution on hundreds of bird species around the globe:
www.npr.org/2025/08/21/n...
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Artificial light has essentially lengthened birds' day
Millions of audio recordings of hundreds of bird species have revealed that artificial light is making the birds wake up earlier and go to bed later.
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/21/nx-s1-5507165/light-pollution-bird-day-hour-longer
10 months ago
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Are you a fan of the Avatar movies? Well, scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope have just made a possible discovery that is right up your alley: a possible gas giant planet orbiting the nearby Sun-like star Alpha Centauri A
www.npr.org/2025/08/07/n...
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Scientists find a planet from the Avatar movies in real life
One of the brightest stars in the night sky seems to be orbited by a planet like Jupiter. The news is sure to cheer fans of the Avatar series, which centers on a moon that orbits a fictional gas giant...
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/07/nx-s1-5493270/planet-alpha-centauri-avatar-movies-gas-giant-habitable-zone
11 months ago
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Plans are being made to shut down the only two federal satellite missions that were designed and built specifically to monitor planet-warming greenhouse gases -- new reporting from my colleague Rebecca Hersher @rhersher.bsky.social
www.npr.org/2025/08/04/n...
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Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose
The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/04/nx-s1-5453731/nasa-carbon-dioxide-satellite-mission-threatened
11 months ago
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It was 10 years ago today that NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto, marking the first visit to the beloved dwarf planet. Here it is with its buddy Charon. It's a good day to reread my friend Tim Kreider's NYT essay "I❤️Pluto"
www.nytimes.com/2006/08/23/o...
12 months ago
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reposted by
Nell Greenfieldboyce
NPR
about 1 year ago
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has just released some of its first images. Its powerful new telescope will be able to quickly spot previously unseen astronomical objects.
https://n.pr/405DN8P
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The Vera C. Rubin Observatory's first images are stunning — and just the start
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has just released some of its first images. Its powerful new telescope will be able to quickly spot previously unseen astronomical objects.
https://n.pr/405DN8P
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Nell Greenfieldboyce
David Folkenflik
about 1 year ago
NEWS: NPR and three Colorado public radio stations sue Trump White House over effort to ban federal funding for NPR & PBS The lawsuit calls Trump's executive order "textbook retaliation" for protected free speech - threatening public radio My story:
www.npr.org/2025/05/27/n...
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NPR and Colorado public radio stations sue Trump White House
NPR and three Colorado public radio stations are suing the Trump administration over the president's executive order seeking to ban the use of federal money for NPR and PBS.
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/27/nx-s1-5413094/npr-public-radio-lawsuit-trump-funding-ban
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The debate over possible signs of life on planet K2-18b continues, with independent groups coming out with their own interpretations of the James Webb Space Telescope data....which do not support the original claims....
add a skeleton here at some point
about 1 year ago
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What a disturbing series of inter-species kidnappings says about boredom, innovation, and the role of randomness in culture:
www.npr.org/2025/05/19/n...
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Researchers puzzle over rash of baby monkey kidnappings
Young, male capuchin monkeys have started kidnapping the babies of nearby howler monkeys. Why? Maybe boredom.
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/19/nx-s1-5395983/baby-monkey-kidnappings-capuchin-howler-culture
about 1 year ago
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www.npr.org/2025/05/07/n...
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Humans still haven't seen 99.999% of the deep seafloor
Human eyes have only seen a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of the areas of the world that are covered by deep water. Scientists want to change how they explore these regions.
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/07/nx-s1-5387502/deep-seafloor-ocean-mapped-rhode-island
about 1 year ago
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reposted by
Nell Greenfieldboyce
Jonathan Lambert
about 1 year ago
One scientist "learned her two-year fellowship was being canceled in an email from NSF that she said misspelled the word "priorities." Her work no longer served those priorities, it said."
@ngreenfieldboyce.bsky.social
on the latest at NSF
www.npr.org/2025/05/02/n...
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Scientists reel as turmoil roils National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation, a major government funder of basic science research, is being shaken up with over 1,000 grants already terminated and the White House looking to halve its budget
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/02/nx-s1-5371720/national-science-foundation-budget-grant-cuts-turmoil
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reposted by
Nell Greenfieldboyce
Geoff Brumfiel
about 1 year ago
President Trump's "skinny" budget request absolutely eviscerates scientific research funding. The
@aaas.org
estimates the request would constitute an 82.5% reduction in research spending (and that's just the agencies named in the request).
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White House budget request "phases out the grossly expensive and delayed Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule after three flights" in favor of commercial systems. Also proposes killing lunar Gateway and Mars Sample Return.
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
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https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request.pdf
about 1 year ago
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Preliminary white House Budget request is out:
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
Just looking at NSF, if I'm doing my math right, it's a proposed $4.7 billion cut to the $9 billion agency. Also, an agency spokesperson said they axed another 344 awards
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https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request.pdf
about 1 year ago
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NSF spokesperson offers up "no comment" on Nature reporting that has agency has stopped funding new grants and existing ones. Today another 344 grants were terminated "that were not aligned with agency priorities"
about 1 year ago
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reposted by
Nell Greenfieldboyce
Carl Zimmer
about 1 year ago
Nature reports that the National Science Foundation has stopped awarding new grants and allotting funds to existing ones. All of them.
@colincarlson.bsky.social
says that unless the freeze is lifted, it “is going to destroy people's labs.” 2/10
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones
US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01396-2
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Nell Greenfieldboyce
NPR's Planet Money
about 1 year ago
When 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March, the fate of its vast genetic database became unclear. In today’s episode, we look at what might happen to the genetic data of 15 million 23andMe customers as the bankruptcy process unfolds.
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How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank : Planet Money
Reporter Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi's Aunt Vovi signed up for 23andMe back in 2017, hoping to learn more about the genetic makeup of her ancestors. Vovi was one of over 15 million 23andMe customers who…
https://buff.ly/n79Ijgw
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More NSF grants got the axe--over 700 cancellations today, on top of the numerous cancellations about a week ago. This comes the day after NSF director Sethuraman Panchanathan abruptly departed, as the agency reportedly faces the possibility of losing half of its budget to cuts
about 1 year ago
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After a week of studying claims of possible signs of life on planet K2-18b, the "overwhelming consensus" of astronomers: it was way over hyped. One re-analysis suggests there's too much noise in the data to really find anything. The original researchers seem unconcerned
www.npr.org/2025/04/25/g...
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New analysis casts doubt on 'biosignatures' found on planet K2-18b
Researchers using data from the James Webb Space Telescope recently announced they had detected biosignature gases on planet K2-18b. A new analysis of the same data casts doubt on the earlier findings
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/25/g-s1-62610/biosignatures-k2-18b-james-webb-exoplanet-doubt
about 1 year ago
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reposted by
Nell Greenfieldboyce
Jenna McLaughlin
about 1 year ago
My story breaking this news exclusively was 7K+ words and had almost all of this in it, and more:
www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...
add a skeleton here at some point
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Nell Greenfieldboyce
KCUR (Kansas City's best news source)
about 1 year ago
Several U.S. regional climate centers shut down Thursday — including those in the Midwest, Great Plains and South — after their federal funding from NOAA ran out. Here's why you should care:
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Regional Climate Centers shut down abruptly this week. Here's why it matters
The closure of four of the six Regional Climate Centers across the U.S. occurred after funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ran out. A recent report stated that the Trump a...
https://www.kcur.org/news/2025-04-18/regional-climate-centers-shut-down-abruptly
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Nell Greenfieldboyce
Lisa Fazio
about 1 year ago
Can confirm that my NSF grant "How False Beliefs Form & How to Correct Them" was cancelled today because it is "not in alignment with current NSF priorities" Shocking that understanding how people are misled by false information is now a forbidden topic. Our work will continue but at a smaller scale
add a skeleton here at some point
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Nell Greenfieldboyce
STAT
about 1 year ago
#BREAKING
: NIH said to have halted awarding of new grants to more top universities
www.statnews.com/2025/04/18/n...
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NIH said to have halted awarding of new grants to more top universities
Universities whose NIH funding has been frozen may face further strain as the agency holds off awarding new grants to at least a half dozen of them, according to an internal email.
https://www.statnews.com/2025/04/18/nih-halts-grants-to-universities-with-frozen-funds-harvard-columbia-northwestern-cornell/
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NSF now cutting grants it says are "are not aligned with agency priorities": ending projects specifically aimed at boosting DEI in STEM...also projects on combatting "misinformation".
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
Know of an award that's cut? I'm on signal nellgfb.11
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Updates on NSF Priorities
https://www.nsf.gov/updates-on-priorities
about 1 year ago
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reposted by
Nell Greenfieldboyce
Hansi Lo Wang (he/him)
about 1 year ago
My latest
@npr.org
story: A brain drain at the Census Bureau is roiling the federal agency in charge of producing
#2030Census
results, job numbers and other key statistics as the Trump administration continues to slash the federal government
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Brain drain at Census Bureau has employees warning about the country's statistics
Staff departures and survey cuts are roiling the federal agency in charge of producing census results, job numbers and other key statistics as Trump officials continue to slash the U.S. government.
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/17/nx-s1-5349435/us-census-bureau-data-decennial
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Things are getting really real down at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory....
add a skeleton here at some point
about 1 year ago
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Here's NPR's take on the news about planet K2-18b and what folks in the astronomy community have to say about it.
www.npr.org/2025/04/16/n...
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Are there signs of life on alien planet K2-18b, or is it just a lot of hot air?
The James Webb Space Telescope may have detected life-associated gas in the atmosphere of a far-off planet. The news is being greeted with both enthusiasm and skepticism.
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/16/nx-s1-5364805/signs-life-alien-planet-biosignatures-exoplanet
about 1 year ago
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