‘Truly amazing’: Octopuses ‘taste’ harmful microbes with their suckers Unique ability allows the animals to protect themselves and their offspring from decaying food and other material

Octopuses "taste" microbes in the environment using special receptors on their suckers, allowing them to protect themselves and their eggs from disease. My 🐙 story for @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Judge orders NIH to restore hundreds of grants cut under Trump William Young calls terminations illegal, berates agency for discrimination

"Have we no shame?” District judge William Young ruled that NIH must restore some cancelled grants, then berated the administration for the racial and gender discrimination behind the terminations. Now we wait for his full ruling -- and a likely appeal. @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Could Monday's court hearing result in hundreds of cancelled NIH grants being restored? Here's what we know so far -- and what's at stake. @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

AI predicted the next pope. Did it get it right? Researchers use algorithms to study political factions within the Catholic Church

An AI model tried its best to predict the next #pope, but there's just not enough data about the secretive #conclave process. My story in @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

More therapy dogs at conferences, please!

Never had to write [sic] that many times

I love how my transcription software, MacWhisper, faithfully transcribes my space heater and dog commands when I forget to turn the recorder off. (It's a great program tho and @jordi.bsky.social seems like a cool guy)

NIH freezes funds to Harvard and four other universities, but can’t tell them Move follows broader White House attack on Harvard funding and stop-work orders to contractors

The NIH is now halting ALL funds to Harvard and other universities, but grant managers can't tell them about it. So we at @sciencemag.org did instead. www.science.org/content/arti...

After ‘coding error’ triggers firings, top NIH scientists called back to work Neuroscience institutes tells 10 scientists placed on leave it’s working on a “long-term” solution to officially reinstating them

The NINDS scientists fired in the RIF are back at work - for now - after a "coding error" led to their accidental termination. HHS blames "broken systems left to us by the Biden administration." My story @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Lawsuit aims to overturn many NIH grant terminations Multiple groups and NIH-funded scientists challenge agency’s decision as arbitrary and capricious

"It’s kind of a textbook case of arbitrary and capricious.” A lawsuit alleges that NIH didn't follow proper procedure and was unconstitutionally vague when abruptly terminating >600 grants. My story @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Trump administration purges U.S. health agency leaders Reassignment letters come as reductions in force begin at NIH, FDA, and CDC

One high level HHS official shown the door told @science.org, “I couldn’t have worked with these asshats anyway.”

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'Bloodbath' at NIH and Elsewhere at HHS Begins Splinter is your home for news and opinions that challenge power in our political and economic system that's becoming more unhinged each and every day.

From a source at NIH who survived today's 1300 or so firings:

"Today has sucked big ass donkey balls."

Are terminations of NIH grants wasting billions of taxpayer dollars? DOGE argues killing grants saves money, but a Science analysis suggests more than $1.4 billion in sunk research costs may produce few results

"We spent all this money on this research and we’re not even going to be able to give taxpayers the outcomes." DOGE's cuts to NIH grants may save money on paper, but terminating studies without notice ultimately wastes money, our analysis shows. @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

They cite a statute that says they can legally cancel grants that "no longer effectuate program goals or agency priorities," which aren't all that well defined. Here's an example of a letter. bsky.app/profile/davi...

“Orchestrated assault”: New tsunami of NIH grant cuts hits South Africa hard Agency moves to terminate nearly 1000 awards, including programs involving “DEI”

Exclusive from me and Jon Cohen @science.org: NIH is terminating nearly 1000 grants in a series of batches. One, which conducts HIV and TB clinical trials in South Africa, was labelled as a "DEI" study that "harms the health of Americans." www.science.org/content/arti...

NIH to ax grants on vaccine hesitancy, mRNA vaccines Move reflects vaccine skepticism of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The NIH is cancelling dozens of grants involving vaccines, including a project that studied whether the COVID vax is safe for breastfeeding mothers. mRNA vaccine research is next on the chopping block. Story @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...