Julian Damashek

Chinese Universities Surge in Global Rankings as U.S. Schools Slip

US higher education was a crown jewel, generating knowledge, wealth, prestige, and power unrivaled by anyone.

And the US is throwing it away, because Americans elected a govt ideologically opposed to truth, science, merit, and racial/gender equality, preferring to weaken the country to reduce that.

Here's the data:

Jan. 5, 2026 The rationale for the recent updates to the U.S. childhood immunization schedule is, at best, uncertain and sets a potentially dangerous precedent for public health. Whatever improvements may be needed to the process the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has followed in the past to update vaccine recommendations, it is unclear what scientific evidence led to these new guidelines. Protecting a country’s public health presents unique challenges that are specific to that country’s population. The prevalence of diseases in the U.S. is not the same as it is in other countries, and public health recommendations should be made based on the public health challenges faced by the American people. The changes by the CDC will reduce the number of recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11. This includes narrowing the recommendation for the flu, which has already contributed to the deaths of at least 9 children this season and a near record number of pediatric flu deaths last season. Vaccines are a safe and effective tool to prevent the spread of infectious disease and infection-related deaths, and they have saved and continue to save lives. While we concur with National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya that “science demands continuous evaluation,” that must occur with full transparency and input from the scientific community. The schedule changes weaken vaccine recommendations at a particularly critical time. It is crucial that expert consultation and a review of scientific evidence be included in the decisions that impact the health and safety of the country.

The @asm.org statement in response to the changes in the childhood immunization schedule:

asm.org/press-releas...

Phylogeny and ecology of MCR-encoding archaea

New paper out in Current Opinion in Microbiology: MCR-encoding (potentially methanogenic) Thermoproteota are widespread and transcriptionally active in diverse anoxic ecosystems! @dr-zj.bsky.social, Matthew Kellom & @emileyeloe-fadrosh.bsky.social. Funded by DOE BER program. tinyurl.com/2fsyxswj 🦠🧪

Nocardioides halotolerans, from Dastager et al. (2008).

The Nocardioidaceae: obscure bacteria that could be key to cleaning up some of the world's worst pollution.
varietyoflife.net/nocardioidac...

It took 9 years and 3 billion miles to get this shot.

Pluto’s icy Mountains.

Thankyou NASA ☺️

Higher levels of antibiotic resistance are less competitive: the hidden ecological cost of no-metabolic cost resistance Antibiotic resistance is often assumed to be constrained by fitness costs that limit the spread of highly resistant strains. Yet, many resistance mechanisms – including enzymatic antibiotic degradatio...

Higher levels of antibiotic resistance are less competitive: the hidden ecological cost of no-metabolic cost resistance

bioRxiv from Peter Yunker

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Sateliite image showing a flooding, sediment-laden river flowing into the ocean and producing a large plume. The landscape around the river is green, including agricultural fields, wetlands and grassland, and forest. Clouds cover large parts of the image.

Mouth of the Eel River, northern California, morning of Dec 22. Peak flow at Scotia, off this image to the south of the marker, was early on the morning of the 22nd, though it's currently rising again. Sentinel 2 image. I believe the Eel R basin still has highest measured sediment yield in the US.

some good climate/energy news:

* 96% of new US power capacity was carbon-free in 2024 (56 gigawatts!)

* 2025 included the first month ever when 51% of power on the U.S. grid was carbon-free

* The golbal trend is overwhelming: The world is now investing more $ in clean energy than fossil fuels

Sign posted in front of riverbank: “WARNING. Do not trust anyone. Do not leave your garbage.”

On a recent walk in Ossining 🤨

So happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth!
#protistsonsky 🧵

Archaeasalutations!! Archaea Power Hour is back tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10 AM EST / 4 PM CET!! Check your email for the Zoom link or sign up to join our mailing list here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…. Check out the two exciting talks we have planned for you:

The Department of Biology at @eastcarolinauniv.bsky.social seeks to fill a tenure-track faculty at the Assistant Professor level with expertise in evolutionary Biology! Come join us!

ecu.peopleadmin.com/postings/89839

Widely-distributed freshwater microorganisms with streamlined genomes co-occur in cohorts with high abundance - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Widely-distributed freshwater microorganisms with streamlined genomes co-occur in cohorts with high abundance

I am extremely happy to share our latest manuscript "Widely-distributed freshwater microorganisms with streamlined genomes co-occur in cohorts with high abundance". This project started back in 2021-2022 and after a long time, it sees the light today!

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

UMass Amherst Microbiology is hiring a tenure-track virologist. Come work with me! 🦠🧪
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...

New week-new episode of the #MattersMicrobial podcast!! Dr. Roxanne Beinart of the University of Rhode Island joins the #QualityQuorum to chat about the work her group does on deep sea chemoautrophic communities & symbioses! Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord?

youtu.be/mERRJOuEsB4?...

Photo of a red bridge over a small river, with a clear reflection of the bridge, sky, and riparian foliage.

Wow it’s been a busy few months. I live in New Paltz now! And work in Kingston! It’s the first fall in 7 years where I’m not panic-prepping courses!

I love undergrads and miss some parts of academia, but not others. And I’m super excited about my Riverkeeper projects (both new and continuing)!

Global Patterns and Environmental Drives of Nitrite/Nitrate‐Dependent Anaerobic Methane Oxidation Across Natural Ecosystems

🔗 buff.ly/Q8O6xbM

A novel mobile genetic element with virus-like characteristics is widespread in the world's oceans www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

🚨4yr Technical Assistant Position on #Microbial Activities in #Marine #N-Cycling🦠🧪👩‍🎓🔬

Join me @univie.ac.at @dome-vienna.bsky.social
Part of our ERC Synergy #RECLESS looking at microbes in marine oxygen minimum zones

Apply by Oct 15, start March 2026!

-> ucloud.univie.ac.at/index.php/s/...

Just out: metagenomics with internal standards yields phylogenetically resolved genome ("~cell") counts of bacteria, archaea, and photosynthetic eukaryotes per L of seawater, over the AMT29 Atlantic transect, via "single copy" genes (recA, radA, psbO). Compares with microscopy and flow cytometry.

As Universities Cede to Fascism, Faculty Must Refuse to Follow Once upon a time, universities sought to be spaces where critical thought was championed, diversity was celebrated, and academic freedom was valued. Since the Civil Rights Movement, many universiti…

In my latest blog post I lay out some things we as faculty can do to ensure that higher education remains an incubator that prepares future generations for a multiracial democracy as opposed to an incubator for Trump's fascist agenda. Check it out!
educationallinguist.wordpress.com/2025/07/24/a...

Congratulations 🎉 now on line at @isme-microbes.bsky.social : Comparative genome analysis reveals broad phylogenetic and functional diversity within the order #Nitrospirales
Linnea Kop et al
#microbiology @ribesresearch.bsky.social (RIBES) icw
@univie.ac.at academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

Love this new minireview in J. Bacteriology by @archaeal.bsky.social and colleagues:

"Laboratory-based studies must be grounded in nature, not the other way around."

And we should focus on members of Earth's dominant microbes from key environments as models.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Green Bank Observatory, one of the most powerful telescopes in the world, is facing an apocalyptic budget cut request (-70%, and the NSF recommends shutting it down). Here's how you can help save this miracle of science and engineering: www.gogreenbankobservatory.org/take-action/

a large, white dish antenna telescope in the distance between the rolling hills. The trees in foreground and background are both golden amber as well as green.

US Friends!

The Green Bank Observatory (GBO) is a vital instrument in the global #RadioAstronomy network (incl. pulsar science), and it is under threat with the proposed funding cuts.

Please take action to keep it open: www.gogreenbankobservatory.org/take-action/

Pls share! 🔭📡🧪

📸 GBO/AUI/NSF

Latest on Texas Hill Country flood tragedy Chantal makes landfall in South Carolina

I have spent the last 24 hours looking at media reports and social media posts about the Texas Hill County tragedy and being appalled by the level of misinformation I am seeing. I have tried to put together an updated, more reasoned summary I hope you'll read.

open.substack.com/pub/balanced...

Mysterious life form found on ship that docked in Cleveland Scientists have dubbed the tar-like substance ShipGoo001.

University of Minnesota Duluth’s research vessel grows a mysterious goo, and when the captain finds it during repairs, he scoops up a glob of it and takes it back for analysis.

“Hey, we work for scientists. We have people who do things,” he says.

BIG VIBES.

Evening sun over an Adirondack lake, with silhouetted trees in the background.

Best conference camp every summer! #NEMPET25

Logo for GeoFutures program.

We are accepting applications for the GeoFutures program. The program provides mentoring & travel support for geoscience undergrads attending the 2025 @sacnas.bsky.social conference. Priority app deadline 06-16-25 @cientificolatino.com @official-bweems.bsky.social environment.uw.edu/about/inclus...