Nominate your work for this brilliant award for

✨✨preclinical null findings✨✨

www.ecnp.eu/awards/list-...

Neurobiologists Hack Brain Circuits Tied to Placebo Pain Relief Scientists have identified the brain circuits tied to placebo pain relief. Researchers have known that placebo effects can be a powerful treatment, yet the underlying neurological mechanisms have not ...

Excited to share our new study on how the brain generates placebo pain relief!

We developed a mouse model that recapitulates key features of human placebo analgesia, then used it to identify causal circuitry.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

today.ucsd.edu/story/neurob...

1/n

So depressing to look at NIMH and NCCIH- NINDS looks a bit better. NIDA also almost at 0.

A line grant of the cumulative numbers of awards for NIH from fiscal years 2021-2026. The curve for fiscal year 2026 lies below the other curves.

NIH and NSF Updates (using graphs from grant-witness.us)

NIH all awards (New and Non-Competitive Renewal, Type 1 and Type 5, consistent with what is shown on NIH Reporter)

The flattening MAY be due to the lack of an OMB apportionment, which has now been remedied.

1/5

This is figure 3, which shows the probability of emergence of different SARS coronaviruses in the presence of vaccination and co-circulating SARS-CoV-2.

A study in Nature Communications suggests that SARS-CoV-2 circulation and vaccination have generated widespread immunity against related sarbecoviruses, creating an immunological barrier to novel sarbecovirus emergence in humans. go.nature.com/4sDW5Kk #medsky 🧪

Another “finalist but not winner” grant today 😑

We spend under $50 billion a year on NIH…

We often think of survival as an individual act. But when facing hardship together, social groups may function more like a unified system than a collection of separate individuals.

We are excited to share our latest work @natneuro.nature.com studying collective social dynamics.

See: rdcu.be/e8LrV

Beautiful amazing work out today from @tararaam.bsky.social @honglab.bsky.social

Thanks to the Nature team for digging into this. Apportionment is one of those inside-baseball issues that I hoped never to need to learn about... But here was are.

NIH Director Bhattacharya signals an end to the affirmative action program for ESI Well, this is fascinating. Director Jayanta Bhattacharya went on the Why Should I Trust You podcast in an episode dated Feb 26, 2026 [h/t]. Around 59:00 he is answering the podcast host after she p…

NIH Director Bhattacharya signals an end to the affirmative action program for ESI drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2026/02/26/n...

Blackpool doctor not struck off by panel over 'one-off' rape - BBC News Dr Aloaye Foy-Yamah has his medical licence suspended for 12 months over the attack.

Another case of prioritizing a man’s potential over the safety of women: doctor doesn’t lose license bc he supposedly only raped one woman and he had glowing reviews from colleagues

La lumière, nouvelle méthode antidouleur chez les animaux.
It was great to collaborate with Guillaume Sandoz @univcotedazur.bsky.social @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social
and other colleagues on this exciting project
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

National media should really be covering the fact thay every major school, museum, and arts institution in the Twin Cities, and hundreds of local businesses are closed tomorrow to protest federal occupation.

Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.

NIH ends support for some human fetal-tissue research – dismaying scientists The US biomedical funding agency also hints at future restrictions on research involving human embryonic stem cells.

The NIH also hints at future restrictions on research involving human embryonic stem cells

go.nature.com/3YUZfwe

Exclusive: key NIH review panels due to lose all members by the end of 2026 Thirteen of the agency’s advisory councils, which must review grant applications before funding is awarded, are on track to have no voting members.

Thirteen of the US NIH’s advisory councils, which must review grant applications before funding is awarded, are on track to have no voting members

go.nature.com/4r6TiIp

PSA on Competitive, Not Discussed NIH proposal outcomes As you know, Dear Reader, the current and following rounds of NIH study section meetings have adopted temporary* new triage/streamlining rules. Previously, approximately half of proposals are Not D…

PSA on Competitive, Not Discussed NIH proposal outcomes drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2026/01/23/p...

I bet the AC is delayed and they just haven’t updated it?

Personalized Cancer Vaccines Are Almost Here—But Federal Funding Cuts Could Derail Them Vaccines based on mRNA can be tailored to target a cancer patient’s unique tumor mutations. But crumbling support for cancer and mRNA vaccine research has endangered this promising therapy

Personalized vaccines against cancer, made with mRNA technology, are showing promising results even five years after treatment. Go deep with our recent feature on what might come next for the technique

US federal agencies were gutted in 2025, losing ~20% of their staff relative to 2024.

On a call with NIH PO this morning - I knew NOSIs were no longer a thing, but wasn't aware they now have these "Highlighted Topics". Not clear how it exactly interfaces with funding and/or how you highlight alignment, but good to keep an eye on!

grants.nih.gov/funding/find...

Important story from Max Kozlov. Loss without replacement of council members is a serious concerns which could be a huge problem in the future, but this is uncertain.

a cartoon of spongebob with the words me when my tank is close to e Alt: a cartoon of spongebob with the words me when my tank is close to empty

Is anyone else having incredible angst about whether or not their labs will continue to be able to do science? I submit-revise-resubmit grants and hope upon hope something with get funded so I can continue to have a lab, but I get waves of panic and sadness over the current state of things. 😢🧬🔬

Dr. Zoe Donaldson — Stories of WiN studies the neural circuits that govern social bonding and social loss, and how variations in these circuits shape emotional outcomes

Our latest profile is here! Dr. Zoe Donaldson (@neurozoe.bsky.social) studies the neural circuits that govern social bonding & social loss, and how variations in these circuits shape emotional outcomes.

Follow the link to listen! #StoriesOfWiN #WomenInNeuroscience

storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...

Two weeks left to apply! MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences is seeking a tenure-track Assistant Professor, working with nonhuman animals in some way. Application deadline is Dec. 1. Full posting: academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30586

It’s that time of year for me to dust this thing off and encourage you to apply to be a Leading Edge fellow, this year named in honor of Zara Weinberg

Thrilled to share my PhD work showing dopamine and serotonin form a gas-brake system for reward has won Stanford's Sammy Kuo Paper of the Year Award!

I'm at #sfn25 presenting new work that uncovers a key circuit mechanism underlying this opponency. Stop by poster AA3 Monday morning to learn more!

Perfect! I’ll be at a social at the Hilton and can dip out! My number is still the same! If you don’t still have it I’ll dm you :)

Hey you’re here!!! Let’s grab a drink or food and catch up!!

At the pre #SfN @storiesofwin.bsky.social Symposium. Inspiring, entertaining, motivating, and encouraging to hear all these honest stories from these women scientists who truly are making an impact on their environment and science in general.