If he wanted to, could RFK Jr. call on Americans to maximize their exposure to measles in a bid to reach herd immunity? Hypothetically speaking, yes, DOJ attorneys argue. A federal judge's inquiry gets at an interesting question on public health policy. www.statnews.com/2026/03/04/k...

~hypothetically~ if RFK encouraged people to get measles, would that be subject to review from a court? today a DOJ lawyer argued that it would not be — offering insight into the admin's thinking on its powers to remake public health policy www.statnews.com/2026/03/04/k...

Thanks @scifri.bsky.social for having me on to talk about federal research budgets. TLDL: Congress voted to reject the president's big science cuts, but the White House is slow to release those approved funds. 🧪 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

RFK Jr. says he wants Dunkin’ to prove drinking its iced coffee is safe: www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/04/n...

Last year, UnitedHealth Group disclosed 3,100 subsidiaries. This year? Just 10. The health care giant is paring back transparency right as its executives say they are embracing it. www.statnews.com/2026/03/04/u...

“Anyone in the country who relies on federal dollars is depending on the president to get that money ... And that’s a new thing.” The times identified 198 cases where the administration's funding disruptions were challenged — and had little effect www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

NEW: The *Independent* Autism Coordinating Committee will hold its first meeting on March 19 — the same day that the newly-reformed federal body, the *Interagency* Autism Coordinating Committee, will meet. What's this new group's goal? Read on. www.statnews.com/2026/03/03/a...

It's time to VOTE! #STATMadness is back! Our bracket-style contest to find the best innovation in science and medicine. Help us crown a new champ! Vote now: www.statnews.com/feature/stat...

A doozy of a quote in this profile of the "godfather of vaccines" by @helenbranswell.bsky.social, as he watches his field trend in the wrong direction “All I can say is that I’m beginning to regret having lived so long — because we’re going downhill,” www.statnews.com/2026/03/02/s...

In our latest coverage of the Trump administration and federal science budgets, @maxkozlov.bsky.social @dangaristo.bsky.social & I wrote about how the White House is stalling the release of monies approved by Congress. TLDR: it's not how things normally work. 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

hopefully you are morning roundsmaxxing so you can get the behind the scenes look at our science meetings from @theresagaff.bsky.social

At a Harvard lab in 2013, the Personal Genome Project had an odd request. There was a push to fast-track one person's tissue sample for genome sequencing, ahead of some that had been waiting for years. When the person's ID was revealed, uproar broke out:

My @rti.bsky.social colleague Ivy Estabrooke and I had the pleasure of discussing state funding of scientific research with @aniloza.bsky.social for his piece in @statnews.com. He details some initiatives we omitted when writing about this for @science.org last month. #sciencepolicy

amid uncertainty from the fed govt, states are toying around with the idea of implementing their own funding initiatives the moves feel necessary to researchers in those states, but some policy experts cautioned it could feed rhetoric about not needing federal $ www.statnews.com/2026/02/20/s...

So thrilled @lizzylawrence.bsky.social and @statnews.com have won a Polk Award for our coverage of the Trump Administration assault on science+health. I couldn’t be prouder of our powerful coverage and the many stories we were first on. What a team. www.statnews.com/american-sci...

Huge congrats to @lizzylawrence.bsky.social for winning a George Polk award for her unrelenting coverage of turmoil at the FDA over the past year. The STAT team was also recognized for our reporting on the Trump admin's impact on health and science. www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/s...

particularly proud to be part of STAT today, with the Polk awards recognizing the brilliance that is @lizzylawrence.bsky.social for her coverage of the FDA and to many of us for our coverage of the Trump administration — including American Science, Shattered www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/s...

@chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social & I on Bhattacharya also leading the CDC: As 16 of 27 of the IC's are led by acting directors, its top official will now have his attention split between two massive agencies www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/c...

Bhattacharya is set to be leading both NIH & CDC @sherylnyt.bsky.social reports www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/u...

BREAKING: FDA reverses course and will now review Moderna's flu vaccine, the company announced Wednesday www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/f...

Check out my latest piece in @hechingerreport.org ! First of many as an OpEd Project Public Voices Fellow

after a full day of oral arguments over the legality of changes to ACIP & the childhood vax schedule, federal judge decided not to make a ruling from the bench — asking for a response from DOJ lawyers to new info by next Wednesday www.statnews.com/2026/02/13/r...

Today marks one year as HHS secretary for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This passage comes from a @statnews.com story on the day of his confirmation last year. Needless to say, we have a much better picture of things now.

I’m at the Boston federal court this AM for a hearing on the suit from AAP and other groups challenging a slew of changes to vaccine policies – which could affect the forthcoming ACIP meeting and the change to the childhood vaccine schedule

If you've ever been excited to read a STAT story just to hit the paywall .... now's your chance to get a subscription for the low

Students and faculty have been baffled (and frustrated) as NSF turns back applications for its prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Those affected seem to mainly be in the life sciences. My latest for @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/n...

If you're not reading @lizzylawrence.bsky.social's stories on the FDA, you are missing out. Today's scoop is that agency staff were poised to evaluate Moderna's flu vaccine application but were overruled by Vinay Prasad, who refused to review the submission. www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/m...

Not to detract from the rest of Mark's point, but a recurring theme from reporting last year I encountered was the damage done by uncertainty. Without long term assurances, PhD offers were rescinded, new grants were scaled back at NSF & NIH. At Harvard people left before the grants came back.

BREAKING: @lizzylawrence.bsky.social reports that CBER director Vinay Prasad overruled career #FDA staff and unilaterally decided to refusal to accept #Moderna 's #flu vaccine submission. www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/m...

Breaking: The FDA refuses to review Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine www.statnews.com/2026/02/10/f...

“I don’t know that this is going to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back in any one scenario,” one expert told me re: the latest ASPS and AMA statements on gender-affirming surgery. “The pressure [medical institutions] are already facing is substantial.” www.statnews.com/2026/02/10/m...

The National Cancer Institute will begin studying ivermectin's ability to kill cancer cells, @rachanadpradhan.bsky.social reports www.statnews.com/2026/02/10/i...

Another outstanding layer of inclusive excellence for tonight’s Benito Bowl! Love that she took her shot via insta, and it led to interpreting his concerts and now the Super Bowl! www.kqed.org/arts/1398631...

OPM finalized its schedule F proposal — which could makes thousands of federal workers easier to fire scientists are worried it could make federally funded science less ambitious and chase away top talent away from govt jobs www.statnews.com/2026/02/06/n...

Thorough overview of Epstein's connections to researchers — and how it is all connected to the broader issue of misogyny in the sciences www.theverge.com/2019/9/19/20...

This is just devastating. A third of staff being let go from one of our country’s most important and storied watchdog organizations. My heart goes out to everyone who lost their job today. www.cnn.com/2026/02/04/m...

Peak 99% Invisible defense of the emdash in light of LLMs copying high quality human-written, emdash-laden writing 99percentinvisible.org/episode/658-...

Doctors nationwide are seeing patients avoid care amid ICE crackdowns, sometimes with dire consequences. Health providers are now employing pandemic-era tactics to keep care accessible. How immigration policy is changing American health care: www.statnews.com/2026/02/03/i...

SCOOP: Palantir's AI has been deployed at HHS since last March to audit grants, grant applications, & job descriptions for anything related to "DEI" or "gender ideology" The goal was to ensure compliance with 2 of Trump's executive orders: www.wired.com/story/hhs-is...

Science friends, this week's briefing is squarely in your wheelhouse. Please read & share the 🧵. Even better, dig into the briefing unbreaking.org/blog/this-we... & follow the reporters we rely on like @aniloza.bsky.social @maxkozlov.bsky.social @dangaristo.bsky.social @amymaxmen.bsky.social

Tenuous funding for biomedical research has some first-year Ph.D. students struggling to find labs -- and questioning their future career plans. My latest for @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/01/30/f...

HHS just added 19 members to the committee that advises Kennedy on autism. As I reported last week, it's heavy on MAHA allies. (Link to new members below.) www.statnews.com/2026/01/23/k...

Bill Foege was a public health legend. His loss is profound, particularly at this time. That he died at the end of the week in which the US withdrew from #WHO & the chair of ACIP mused about whether polio & measles vaccination are still needed — no words. www.statnews.com/2026/01/25/w...

@mmolteni.bsky.social, reporting from Minneapolis at a vigil for Alex Pretti, the VA nurse killed by ICE "Through layers of bundled down and wool they hugged each other. Beneath ski goggles, tears streamed." www.statnews.com/2026/01/26/a...

News: HHS is stacking a key federal committee on autism with members who align with health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s claim that childhood vaccines can cause autism. The group met Thursday, despite no prior public notice about the gathering. www.statnews.com/2026/01/23/k...

Important new story by @aniloza.bsky.social on pulse oximeters and their performance on darker skin. This area continues to frustrate researchers. www.statnews.com/2026/01/12/p...

More news on the NIH front from @mmolteni.bsky.social NIH advisory committees, which serve as the second stage of review for grants, are operating with quite a few vacancies — threatening the agency's ability to spend its money going forward www.statnews.com/2026/01/22/n...

Reading this story reminded me of this story, from 2024, where we interviewed folks from India who had more recent memories of polio (incl @disabilitystor1.bsky.social @madhupai.bsky.social & @bhadeliamd.bsky.social) because the vaccine was available there later www.statnews.com/2024/12/27/p...

NCI director Anthony Letai sat down with @angusrohan.bsky.social to talk about the state of the institute He claimed the NCI is more stable than outsiders think and defended the administration's anti-DEI moves www.statnews.com/2026/01/22/n...

Congressional appropriators have largely pushed back on Trump's proposals for the NIH: -Slight budget increase -No changes to indirect cost payments -Limits use of multiyear funding to FY25 levels (NOT FY24) From @jonathanwosen.bsky.social & I www.statnews.com/2026/01/20/n...