;)

An exciting collaboration is underway. @thetransmitter.bsky.social is partnering with @neuromatch.bsky.social to serve the computational neuroscience community and help connect neuroscientists across all career stages. www.thetransmitter.org/neuromatch-p... #neuroskyence

make art! if it's the end of the world, you might as well make art! if it's not the end of the world, then the future will be better because people made art right now!

Think worked examples are the key to learning? Think again! In a large active-learning genetics class, students believed worked examples were most useful—but actual test gains came from prediction-based exercises. From Elise Walck‑Shannon, Washington University 👩🔬 www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/...

May every single human being on this planet be safe. May every single person be protected from harm. May we bring into being a time in which we are all free from those who do evil— together, speedily and in our days.

Most higher ed #BiologyEducation research is done at 4 year institutions even though most biology education in higher ed happens at #CommunityColleges. Presented by Noah Courtney at the @alleninstitute.org in the #OpenScience in Undergrad Educ symposium.

The amazing Carlos Goller speaking about #metagenomics at the @alleninstitute.org #OpenScience in Undergraduate Education Symposium! @rioscommunity.bsky.social

Sam Donovan delivers an awesome keynote at the Allen Institute #OpenScience in Undergraduate Education Symposium. A brilliant articulation of the Open Ecosystem as connections between networks, gateways, community, science ed reform, #OER, #OpenScience & #OpenEducation providers, and so much more.

Science is for everyone. Our Education & Engagement program empowers students, educators, and scientists to harness the power of real-world #OpenScience tools and data. 📽️ youtu.be/uDnCFnzDLec #EduSky #iTeachBio #Neuroskyence

Looking forward to day 2 of the Open Science in Undergraduate Education Symposium at @alleninstitute.org. So much great discussion about #openscience and #openeducation from @karencang.bsky.social Carlos Goller Davida Smyth Melissa Aikens @rpenton.bsky.social and many others.

The AAUP wholly condemns this punitive weaponization of federal grant funding. This attempt to discipline & control a university campus is a transparent hallmark of authoritarian rule & harshly violates the central mission of education to serve the public good. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/n...

In an unprecedented move, the US National Institutes of Health has begun mass terminations of research grants that fund active scientific projects because they no longer meet “agency priorities”. https://go.nature.com/4bpG2It

"Universities must be spaces of learning, not intolerance. It’s time to take action to protect and support the trans community."

This is very bad. “A panel of scientific experts that advises the Food and Drug Administration on vaccine policy — and has been the target of criticism from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — learned on Wednesday that its upcoming meeting to discuss next year’s flu vaccines has been canceled.”

Nothing runs like a Deere, but they don’t back down either.

NEWS: The FDA abruptly canceled its upcoming advisory committee meeting to select the strains for next year's flu shot. by @berkeleyjr.bsky.social

Abstract deadline extended to March 3 for consideration for a talk! (And still 4/1 for posters!)

#Neuroskyence students! We're brainstorming ways to support your development over this summer break, esp. given the changes in summer intern programs across our fields. What other opportunities would you like to see? Some ideas: undergrad-focused webinars, self-paced courses, challenges, etc.

The landscape of diversity and inclusion in science funding has shifted. David Barker explains how neuroscientists must adapt and take action or risk losing ground on all of the progress made. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/funding/adap...

imagine WANTING to receive two million emails

Transgender Youth Have Better Emotional Health After Taking Hormones, New Study Finds www.scientificamerican.com/article/tran...

i wrote about the impact of Trump’s DEIA shutdown across the sciences earlier this month. but i wanted to do a deeper dive into what it means to explicitly target accessibility — both for supporting scientists with disabilities & broader disability research itself: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/s...

Great write up at @thetransmitter.bsky.social on the seeming erasure of SABV in the new era of NIH. Gotta say The Transmitter is killing it the last few weeks, first to report on the Federal Register block and now this. Leading the charge! 💪 www.thetransmitter.org/policy/exclu...

STAT story is up about study section restart. www.statnews.com/2025/02/24/s...

Exclusive: NIH appears to archive policy requiring female animals in studies www.thetransmitter.org/policy/exclu...

Ever thought about writing for @thetransmitter.bsky.social? You should! It’s a great way to spread your message across the neuroscience community. Here’s how it works: 1️⃣ Read this: www.thetransmitter.org/editorial-po.... 2️⃣ Email a pitch: www.thetransmitter.org/contact-us/

Every liberal "paper of record": maybe the fascists have a point Eater: Know your rights

New York Times article now up on Federal Register stuff. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/s... 1/n

i can only assume this is a film about a 20-year journey to find a lost cat

ICYMI: I’m leading a constitutional amendment to undo Citizens United. After an election where a billionaire bought a seat as Shadow President, we must ensure our democracy is truly of, by, and for the people — not corporations and billionaire donors. truthout.org/articles/jay...

6/ Authoritarians often disguise political purges as ‘cost-cutting’ or ‘efficiency’ measures. They claim the purges about streamlining government but are done to consolidate power. This is what’s happening now. And it’s only the start.

4/ The hardest hit agencies are those that regulate industry, protect public health, and expand access to education. Meanwhile, conservative-leaning agencies remain largely untouched. If this were about efficiency, we’d expect an even spread. Instead, we see clear ideological bias.

The DOGE firings have nothing to do with “efficiency” or “cutting waste.” They’re a direct push to weaken federal agencies perceived as liberal. This was evident from the start, and now the data confirms it: targeted agencies overwhelmingly those seen as more left-leaning. 🧵⬇️

#Neuroskyence educators - looking for ideas on how to broach the topic of science funding with your students? @analog-ashley.bsky.social shared tips and ideas in @thetransmitter.bsky.social from educators, incl. our own @rpenton.bsky.social! 🔗 www.thetransmitter.org/how-to-teach... #iteachbio

Happy to contribute some teaching materials here. Grant criteria day was always a favorite--discussions were rich with thoughtfulness about how we do science, how we fund science, and how the students thought that could be improved.

National Science Foundation fired nearly 170 workers this morning in Zoom call. This included workers who had completed a 1-yr requisite probation and shouldn't have been included in termination but were suddenly told recently that the 1-yr should have been 2-yrs, revoking their permanent status.

NSF workers who didn't get fired this morning are sending angry emails to NSF management. Here's one of them:

Very important story:

🤦🏽‍♀️ “USDA says it accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is trying to rehire them” www.nbcnews.com/politics/dog...

Pretty sad. Just got the email that CZI is canceling the second round of Diversity Leadership Awards. Private industry will definitely not fill the hole that NIH and NSF are leaving. 😢💔

h/t to @thetattooedprof.bsky.social for pointing me to this: a great piece by CIC president Marjorie Hass www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

As a political scientist who studies countries that managed to stop the slide into authoritarianism, I can assure you that ***refraining from provoking the authoritarian*** is not how it works. Without further ado, I will now go tear out another chunk of hair.

I tell this story in class every year. Acetylated salicylic acid and got a better product. Tried the same approach with morphine two weeks later. I like to imagine Felix sitting at the back of meetings for the rest of his career saying “Have you tried acetylating?” and everyone rolling their eyes

Encouraging everyone with every fiber of my being to read this entire substack by @hcrichardson.bsky.social — it is, written in fact without doubt to be read in horror by those of us who believe in the principles and values of the United States of America. 1 of 2 open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...

My read on Severance: the moral separation modern capitalism urges us to adopt – i.e. that we can & should accept different ethical standards in business life vs. personal life – is actually a splintering of the self. Integrity doesn’t just mean honesty: it means wholeness.

Tapping the sign again

Bluetorial: The rationale for the “NIH” indirect cost “plan” is based on misunderstood (unintentional or intentional) accounting and math The value of real government transparency

Amidst all the terrible things, it's nice to have some good news - our paper on the architecture of fly taste circuits is published now! Led by Emory undergrad Sydney Walker and grad student Marco Peña Garcia. Paper here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... Summary here: devinenilab.org/news/connect...