Alison Sheets

That's right. Worse than Pointless
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/o...

"The reason these aspects of our jobs have been so challenging to automate is that they rely on something even more precious than our time: namely, our capacity for scientific decision-making. It is worth considering what we lose when we cede that—and our agency—to machines."

Bethesda Declaration — STAND UP FOR SCIENCE Support NIH Staff Now!

I wanted to show support for these brave public servants and to allow others, including the scientific community, to join me. In partnership with @standupforscience.bsky.social‬, we have a way for you to do that... www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...

“Scientific knowledge is, fortunately, a public good, and as such, its benefits transcend international boundaries. But relinquishing its prominence in creating the future is nothing short of devastating for the United States.”

“Our calculations suggest that the proposed budgetary cuts to the NIH will create a social cost that is 16 times greater than the savings that the administration is attempting to achieve.”

ITS 👏🏼 BAD 👏🏼 FOR 👏🏼 BUSINESS 👏🏼

If you care about the prosperity and safety that the US scientific enterprise provides, please reach out to your representatives. This proposed budget isn’t a done deal yet.

Scientists,

I am asking us to do something that goes against our nature:

Step away from fine-grained, nuanced arguments. Zoom WAY out. Share the big picture. Don’t soften the seriousness of this moment with “xxx may be ok in xxx circumstances” talk.

It’s uncomfortable AND necessary.

I testified to a Senate committee about this in 2017 arguing that science is humanity's most important long-term investment. The goal of the reform movement is to identifying friction that interferes with making the most out of that investment.

My remarks: osf.io/preprints/os...

Restoring Gold Standard Science By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 7301 of title 5, United

The Trump administration just dropped an executive order, "Restoring Gold Standard Science" and there's lots to unpack. This EO reveals more about how the Administration will approach scientific integrity and science in regulatory contexts. Some initial thoughts. 🧵
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Systems are crumbling - but daily life continues. The dissonance is real If everything feels broken but strangely normal, the Soviet-era concept of hypernormalization can help

““What you are feeling is the disconnect between seeing that systems are failing, that things aren’t working … and yet the institutions and the people in power just are, like, ignoring it and pretending everything is going to go on the way that it has,””

www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-...

people need to internalize, very quickly, that federal research grants are a hypercompetitive contracting process not charity, and that what Uncle Sam gets in return for that money is American dominance in the future

LISTEN TO ME. *NOW* IS THE TIME TO CALL YOUR REP AND SENATORS. NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE, WHAT YOU DO, OR WHERE IN THE US YOU LIVE. I'M HERE BEGGING YOU.

#SaveNSF

Here are your talking points:

democrats-science.house.gov/imo/media/do...

We need you--every single one of you-- in the US to stand up, right now, and fight for NSF, NIH, USGS, NASA, USDA. Agencies Congress empowered to serve the public with impactful science and innovation. This is not a drill. This is our last stand. After this, there will be nothing left to fight for.

I grew up believing that we had learned the lessons of the German poem and Martin Luther King Jr's speeches. We would all speak out if we saw democracy threatened and the rule of law under attack.

I will always speak out against wrong. I will always stand up for democracy. I will not back down.

Activate climate’s ‘silent majority’ to supercharge action, experts say Making concerned people aware their views are far from alone could unlock the change so urgently needed

The majority of people —56% in the US!—are worried about climate change, but not activated.

Why not? Most feel helpless, hopeless, and don't know what to do. So more fear won't activate them. Rather, knowing what to do—and being invited to do it—will.

Where to start? With a conversation today. 🧵

“Knowing the world is a group project, and everyone has something to contribute.” From
@mjcrockett.bsky.social.

I couldn’t agree more.

I sincerely think that universities should suspend their productivity standards for scientists and ask them instead to hold town halls in schools, public libraries, museums, shopping malls, and anywhere else and communicate what is being lost with the collapse of the research ecosystem.

Contribution of vaccination to improved survival and health: modelling 50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization Since 1974 substantial gains in childhood survival have occurred in every global region. We estimate that EPI has provided the single greatest contribution to improved infant survival over the past 50...

Nothing will kill more children than the ongoing decimation of CDC, NIH, and USAID work to lift vaccine uptake in the US and world.

Child survival rose 75% in the last 50 years. Vaccines account for 40% of that. Measles vax alone was 60% of the benefit. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

It’s all so overwhelming. There’s nothing I can do but offer to tell the stories of scientists affected by these actions, cuts and firings. If you want to tell your story for an illustrated portrait, I have here 20 science artists now volunteering - tell your story at bit.ly/faces_of_science.

The abolishment of the Department of Education & the continued reckless defunding of public education is a clear path to setting America back in technology, innovation, & competitiveness. Congress can & must stand up for the American people & stop the destruction of our federal education system.
8/

We are experiencing an assault on science unparalleled by anything I’ve seen in my life. It’s not one issue or another anymore, the entire institution is under attack by the most powerful individuals in the country.

This Friday, where will you be?

standupforscience2025.org

If you have experienced direct harm to your work/lab/job due to recent changes at US NSF, & are willing to share this on behalf of the Am. Society of Naturalists and NSF, please DM/ email me ASAP (this is time-sensitive) or submit story here sites.google.com/view/scienti...
Please share widely

A poster for the economic blackout on February 28. It is a big red Jack rabbit on an aqua blue back ground. It says economic blackout in hand done black type. There are two black speech bubbles. One says “don’t buy stuff Friday February 28th. The other says we have power. Below it says No Amazon, Walmart, target, gas food, gas. Below that it says OK small business, use cash. Designed by Martha Rich.

I made this the other night while procrastinating, mainly because I thought all the posts about the blackout were boring. It feels like there is momentum bringing people together!

Trump 2.0: an assault on science anywhere is an assault on science everywhere US President Donald Trump is taking a wrecking ball to science and to international institutions. The global research community must take a stand against these attacks.

US President Donald Trump is taking a wrecking ball to science and to international institutions. The global research community must take a stand against these attacks.

https://go.nature.com/4kd1vIu

Screen shot of the letter sent to the American Society of Naturalists membership, page 1

Screen shot of the letter sent to the American Society of Naturalists membership, page 2

Screen shot of the letter sent to the American Society of Naturalists membership, page 3

Screen shot of the letter sent to the American Society of Naturalists membership, page 4

Briefly putting on my hat as @asn-amnat.bsky.social President: The ASN Council has just distributed an updated message to the American Society of Naturalists members with information about actions that can be undertaken to advocate for science, and scientists, within the US:

A blue infographic gives a step by step guide on how to Skype a scientist. The steps are: 1) sign up on skypeascientist.com 2) pick a category of science your group would like to talk about (e.g. marine biology, chemistry, astronomy) 3) get a match via email 4) connect with your scientist, discuss your ur group’s needs and pick a time to chat 5) talk to your scientist!

Hi! We're Skype a Scientist! We're a free program that matches scientists with classrooms, scout troops, libraries, & other groups for Q&As all about science.

Get matched with a scientist for a virtual conversation! We have 30+ types of scientist & match weekly.
www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html

The foundations of America’s prosperity are being dismantled Federal scientists warn that Americans could feel the effects of the new administration's devastating cuts for decades to come

For decades, the US government has painstakingly kept American science #1 globally—and every facet of American life has improved because of it. The internet? Flu shot? Ozempic? All grew out of federally-funded research. Now all that's being dismantled. 1/ www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/21/1...

Cultivating allyship for a diverse, equitable and inclusive academia - Nature Human Behaviour We propose six actionable steps of allyship that researchers, faculty members and educators can engage in to foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive academia: listening to marginalized voices, challenging one's own biases, speaking up to include disadvantaged groups, speaking out to confront bias, advocating for inclusive policies and dismantling institutional biases.

The authors of a Comment article in Nature Human Behaviour propose six actionable steps of allyship that researchers, faculty members and educators can engage in to foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive academia. #Academicsky 🧪

Stand up for science poster featuring event details. Stand up for science is happening on March 7th in DC and nationwide. Find more information and other ways to get involved at www.standupforscience2025.org.

It’s time to #standupforscience2025 - We’re making our voice heard about the importance of the American science ecosystem, and want you to join us.

More information at www.standupforscience2025.org

#scienceforall #sciencenotsilence

This will start to filter through the community today but the Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Science Study section has been postponed to an unknown future date. The approvals at the highest levels that needed to happen for a federal review meeting to be held didn’t get done. 1/n