I think the scientific term is “allergy cell”

Massive budget cuts for US science proposed again by Trump administration Budget proposal would also curb federal payments for scientific publishing.

BREAKING: In response to huge cuts in Trump's budget request, NSF is shuttering its SBE directorate. Staff will be transferred to other parts of the agency and "grants that align with Administration priorities" will be maintained.

That & more w/ @maxkozlov.bsky.social & @edwrdchen.bsky.social

You need to make AI guidelines for your lab Here's why you should, and how to start

“first drafts of Results, Discussion, and Introduction should be the trainee’s own work. AI can help with grammar…tightening prose…critiquing the logic of an argument you’ve already made. But the hard part of forming the argument needs to be yours.’ blekhman.substack.com/p/you-need-t...

I was just talking to a friend today about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library - new books every month, totally for free, for kids ages 1-5.

My son was part of the program - this is a copy of the letter that came with his last book, right after his 5th birthday.

He couldn’t think, eat or recover — and no one knew why Doctors were stumped by an Oregon man’s deterioration. Then an infectious disease specialist had an aha moment.

🧪 intriguing slightly macabre read for ID physicians, public health folks, or the the simply host microbe curious 🔬🧫 wapo.st/4twprKU

US Scientists Sequence 1,000 Genomes From Measles, a Disease Long Eliminated With Vaccines - KFF Health News This week, the CDC began to publish long-awaited data that will reveal the extent of measles’ comeback. While applauding the science, researchers say the Trump administration has done little to contai...

🔔Exclusive: CDC just posted a tranche of genomic data from measles.

1,000 genomes have been sequenced, so researchers expect an answer to the elimination question within the month.

"That we're even talking about this is nuts," said @kgandersen.bsky.social

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

“I think it’s incredibly important to do whole genome sequencing for outbreaks,” Andersen said, “but we shouldn’t need to do this for measles in the first place, because we have an extremely effective and safe vaccine.”

States Pay Deloitte, Others Millions To Comply With Trump Law To Cut Medicaid Rolls - KFF Health News The One Big Beautiful Bill Act will add red tape and restrictions for those seeking Medicaid and SNAP benefits. And the costs to update computer systems that determine eligibility for those programs w...

States are paying contractors millions to comply Trump's laws to cut food stamps & care.

"These benefits...can mean the difference between someone obtaining medical care & having enough to eat—or going without."

By @rachanadpradhan.bsky.social kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Screenshot from Climate reanalyzer website

Screenshot from Climate reanalyzer website

🧪 Please show this Climate analytics / #DataViz website to anyone who doesn’t think climate change is real or to who says, “even if it is real, it isn’t anything to worry about” climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_dai... #ClimateChange

Screenshot of historical vs current year sea surface temperatures, by year, monthly. See https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_daily/?dm_id=world2

Global “heat map” of sea surface temperatures. See: https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_daily/?dm_id=world2

Please show this website to anyone who doesn’t think climate change is real or to those who say, “even if it is real, it isn’t anything to worry about” climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_dai... #ClimateChange

A graph from the from page of the NIH Reporter website showing the number of extramural awards award by month for fiscal years 2022-2026. The curve for fiscal year 2026 lies below the other curves.

My NIH update

Let me start by saying again how glad I am that NIH is now posting these curves on the Reporter front page.

It is satisfying that leading by example from outside has led to this change and (I hope) reflects a commitment for NIH_leadership™ to hold itself accountable for this.

1/6

This 1990 speech by Carl Sagan is timely times two:

#war #climate

Fate of Argentina’s disappeared remains ‘open wound’ as more victims identified Fifty years after the military seized power and disappeared 30,000 people forcibly, some families are finding closure

'They were looking for her father, Mario Alberto Nívoli, 28, an electrician and leftwing activist.

The men searched the house, beat Mario and tied his wrists. They stole all but a handful of the photographs in the house, and dragged Mario away to a waiting car.

He was never seen again.'

Translation of a New York Times’ Real Estate Article for Those Living Without a Trust Fund “When Guy Partnerman and Lady Millionaire purchased a brownstone in the most Brooklyn-themed neighborhood of Brooklyn, there was only one drawback: the home ...

"When Guy Partnerman and Lady Millionaire purchased a brownstone in the most Brooklyn-themed neighborhood of Brooklyn, there was only one drawback: the home was too beautiful."
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/tra...

CDC vaccine adviser Malone steps down to avoid ‘drama’ Robert Malone, an ideological ally of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is stepping away from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee follo...

“Robert Malone, an ideological ally of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is stepping away from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee following a court ruling that effectively nullified the panel.”

✍️ Ariel Cohen / Roll Call

"Pacific Northwest old-growth stores more carbon per acre than any terrestrial ecosystem on the planet."

There are five hours left to leave a public comment against clearcutting our old growth.

morethanjustparks.com/oregon-old-g...

I did not have much time. Here is my comment.

Google Has a Secret Reference Desk. Here's How to Use It. 40 Google features to find exactly what you need, the alternative search engines that do things Google won't, and the reference desk framework underneath all of it.

Very enlightening, and not just about Google. Google Has a Secret Reference Desk. Here's How to Use It. open.substack.com/pub/cardcata...

Harrowing and essential reading. Gift 🔗: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Save PEPFAR to Save Lives! The President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is one of the most successful global health programs in history. Launched in 2003 by President George W. Bush, the program is being quietly dism...

I just wrote a @theactionnetwork.bsky.social letter: Save PEPFAR to Save Lives! . Write one here: actionnetwork.org/letters/save...

Thanks!

🧪 “He liked to be right, but he was quick to admit when he was wrong.” www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/s...

How Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda Risks a Resurgence of Deadly Childhood Plagues The health secretary is spreading doubts about vaccine safety and considering changes that could prompt manufacturers to flee the U.S. market. History has shown how plagues from the past can roar back...

Vaccines were once so uncontroversial that McDonald’s restaurants put the childhood immunization schedule on their tray liners.

Now, as the U.S. government sows doubt, preventable diseases could come roaring back.

Matt Ridley gave the inaugural "NIH Scientific Freedom Lecture Series" earlier today and I just wanted to run through some of the main claims he made - you'll be unsurprised to learn that almost all of them are false.

Here's his summary slide - let's start there.

🧵👇

Michael Bishop, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1989: Official Lecture YouTube video by Nobel Prize

Very sad to hear of the passing today of our UCSF colleague Mike Bishop at the age of 90. A legendary and inspiring figure. He also led UCSF as Chancellor. Have a listen to his Nobel lecture. youtube.com/watch?v=CDv7...

David Botstein, Gene-Mapping Pioneer, Dies at 83

David Botstein was one of the giants of genetics and genomics, and my mentor, colleague and friend for more than 40 years. I’m sad that he is gone, but his larger-than-life persona comes through here. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/s...

🧪 if anything will save our species, it’s in the wilderness 🌊 ✨ 🌲 🌙 www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/old-...

Bravo! 🐜

Associate Senior Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Molecular Microbiology The Department of Biology conducts research and teaching in many subject areas such as ecology, evolutionary biology, organismal biology and molecular biology. A total of approximately 300 people curr

Associate Senior Lecturer/Assistant Professor position in Molecular Microbiology available at Lund University, Sweden:
lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

A point of contrast.