Hiten Madhani

Very excited to share our very exciting story on how misinherited chromatin affects individual cells to cause a behavior defect in C. elegans (a thread👇) www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Every university leader should read this.

Trump slashed funding for universities that helped create these vital drugs Medications that prevent HIV, shrink tumors and treat seizures were invented with government funding. At research universities, that money is now canceled or in jeopardy.

@altnih4science.bsky.social

A needed nomenclature for nucleosomes Keogh et al. propose a nomenclature to clearly and concisely describe the post-translational modifications, proteoforms, and nucleoforms that drive chromatin function. This communicates experimental n...

NUCLEOSOME NOMENCLATURE JUST FINE! WHY BE SO CRAZY! {[("H3meLIKEY2"])} www.cell.com/molecular-ce...

Psychiatrists call for RFK Jr. to be replaced as health secretary Two groups are calling for new leadership at HHS after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s actions on substance abuse treatment and mental health medications, among other issues.

Two groups are calling for new leadership at HHS after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s actions on substance abuse treatment and mental health medications, among other issues.

😱

Universities Must Reject Trump Admin "Loyalty Oath" Compacts The AAUP and AFT warn that the Trump administration’s offer to give preferential treatment to colleges and universities in exchange for allegiance to a partisan ideological agenda is entirely corrupt.

www.aaup.org/news/univers...

Nice day for a ride!

RFK Jr fires top NIH scientist weeks after she files whistleblower complaint Jeanne Marrazzo’s complaint reportedly involved the Trump administration’s hostility toward vaccines

The Trump admin has been targeting whistleblowers, from the #FEMA36 to the countless other patriotic public servants and scientists across NIH, CDC, NASA, and more who spoke out about the danger posed by the chaos in our federal agencies. This is an concerted, autocratic effort to silence dissent.

Page which has the handwritten red text: “This guy is the worst, most useless and unqualified HHS Secretary I have ever met. DO NOT TRUST HIM. He is an incompetent QUACK!” A picture of RFK Jr. with “Robert F Kennedy Jr.” written underneath it.

Today is October 3rd, another day where we are calling to #ImpeachtheQuack!

"Nearly impossible for NIH staff to do our jobs": Jenna Norton's speech for the Civil Servants Coalition At the Capitol, Monday 9/29

@jenna-m-norton.bsky.social ‘s speech at the Capitol on Monday.

“As a federal worker, I am here to tell you that every awful thing that would happen in a shutdown—shuttering programs that Americans rely on, damaging our economy, firing federal workers—all of this is already happening.”

Vibe coding: a new paradigm for biomedical software development - BioData Mining Advertisement

We introduce here the emerging concept of vibe coding, in which AI accelerates coding by converting natural language or abstract intent (a vibe) into functioning software modules, shortening development cycles biodatamining.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.... #vibecoding #bioinformatics #coding

Your data is lying to you. Here’s how technical artifacts distort biology—and how to see the truth. 👇
1/ Beautiful t-SNE? Shiny heatmap?
Look closer.
Technical artifacts can fake whole cell types.
Here’s where the ghosts hide.

a man wearing glasses is looking at the camera and saying let 's take a closer look . ALT: a man wearing glasses is looking at the camera and saying let 's take a closer look .

A thread with some interesting (at least to me) observations on multi-year funding, past and present...

1/8

Model organism databases face budget cuts and closures Beyond the crucial data they contain, these digital archives have provided an important space for academic communities to exchange ideas and resources.

Very nice reporting on the importance—and the vulnerability— of model organism databases

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

👇👇👇👇👇

Science and Democracy Under Siege This administration's first 6 months have been characterized by destruction, division, and chaos.

The data and evidence are clear. Over the past 8 months, the egregious actions of President Trump and his enablers have caused real harm to people and communities across the country.

The White House on Wednesday sent letters to nine of the nation's top public and private universities, urging campus leaders to pledge support for President Trump's political agenda to help ensure access to federal research funds. The letters came attached to a 10-page "compact" that serves as a sort of priority statement for the administration's educational goals - the most comprehensive accounting to date of what Mr. Trump aims to achieve from an unparalleled, months long pressure campaign on academia. The compact would require colleges to freeze tuition for five years, cap the enrollment of international students and commit to strict definitions of gender. Among other steps, universities would also be required to change their governance structures to prohibit anything that would "punish, belittle and even spark violence against conservative ideas." Colleges that sign the agreement would receive "multiple positive benefits," according to a letter included with the compact signed by Education Secretary Linda McMahon; Vince Haley, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council; and May Mailman, the White House's senior adviser for special projects. Colleges that agree would get priority access to federal funds and looser restraints on overhead costs. Signed compacts would also serve as assurance to the government that schools are complying with civil rights laws. Federal civil rights investigations have been used to halt much of the research funding that the administration has blocked so far this year.

I am astounded, disgusted, demoralized, & fed up

every single institution of our great nation is under siege by these grifters, scammers, liars, & idiots

they are sabotaging the greatest engine of progress, prosperity, and power that the world has ever known

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

Maria Leptin re-appointed as ERC President! 🇪🇺

ERC Vice Presidents said:

This is excellent news, ensuring continuity at a critical moment. On behalf of the Scientific Council, we thank Maria for her leadership & strong commitment that has taken ERC to new heights.

👇
erc.europa.eu/news-events/...

I would argue that supporting science (evidence-based thinking) is integral to this battle. #standupforscience

This is great. Thank you, @ramirez.house.gov for standing up for science and research — and health care, education, and freedoms too.

⚠️ Half of commercial antibodies miss their target!
So how do you pick the right one for your experiment?

Here’s the solution 👉
Antibody characterization data (all tested in KO cells) are now available at:
🔗 onlygoodantibodies.co.uk

Tested by @ycharos.bsky.social & @oga-community.bsky.social

Thanks for crunching the #!

How much of the discrepancy between project number and dollars spent can be attributed to type 4 awards?

Rest of world already pouncing.

@bloomberg.com @reuters.com #H1B
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Last day to comment - this proposed rule change on foreign students' stay will be disastrous for PhD students and programs. Please add your comments TODAY here: www.regulations.gov/commenton/IC...

According to news reports, NIH is on track to award nearly all of its FY25 budget. Program officers—working long hours despite staff losses—made it possible. Take a moment to thank your PO for their dedication.

Dear Director Bhattacharya: I attended the NIAID Council meeting online. I wanted to raise two points. First, I was disappointed that you sent a video of your presentation rather than showing up in person or, at least, attending live but virtually. You are missing out on important opportunities to interact with NIH staff and Advisory Council members. These individuals use their expertise and considerable time and energy to try to further the NIH mission. In addition, you are sending a signal about your priorities. This is especially true when you spend your time by appearing on The Glenn Show within a day. I realize that it was important to try to clean up the mess made primarily by President Trump at your press conference when he said repeatedly "Don't Take Tylenol!".

An email to Director Bhattacharya to start the day

1/6

CRISPR/Cas9-compatible plasmids enabling seven dominant genetic selection methods for the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans | Microbiology Spectrum Cryptococcus neoformans is the top-ranked World Health Organization priority fungal pathogen due to its widespread distribution and inadequate treatment options. Additionally, as a basidiomycete yeast...

Small side-project from my postdoctoral work with @hitenmadhani.bsky.social. We found that blasticidin S can select for Cryptococcus transformants, and made CRISPR-compatible plasmids for other existing markers. Now 7 dominant genetic selection methods in total!

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

This means individuals in the following statuses at the time of application are eligible: Undergraduate in the final (senior) year of a bachelor’s degree program Bachelor’s degree-holder with NO enrollment in a graduate degree program (non-degree graduate coursework allowed) Individual enrolled in a joint bachelor’s-master’s degree program with at least three undergraduate years completed First-year graduate student in their first graduate degree program with less than one academic year completed in the degree program (according to institution’s academic calendar) Individuals enrolled in joint bachelor’s-master’s degree programs are considered graduate students. For GRFP, joint bachelor’s-master’s degrees are defined as degrees concurrently pursued and awarded. Not be a current NSF employee. Applications that do not meet eligibility requirements will be returned without review as being ineligible for a fellowship.

2/2

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

NSF Graduate Fellowship announcement is finally posted!

www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

1/2