Austin Peña

The 80-year recipe stoking America’s Prosperity:

1) Free-market capital investments in brilliant ideas…
2) enabled by Engineering Innovations…
3) based on Science Research in Universities…
4) funded by Grants from the US Government.

It’s time more people understood this.

The pact of the federal govt with universities was not a handout. It was a strategic decision to boost US leadership in technology, defense, and health. And it paid dividends. In tech, internet, in cancer drugs (for example), No other sector has invested in high risk high reward ideas like US govt.

Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.

🔔BREAKING🔔

The NSF has frozen all research grant awards—cutting off life-saving science midstream and demanding ideological screenings for future funding.

This is censorship disguised as oversight.

Here’s how you can help us spread the word ➡️🧵(1/3):
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

New images could change cancer diagnostics, but ICE detained the Harvard scientist who analyzes them Without scientist Kseniia Petrova’s expertise, no one can fully unlock the data’s potential, putting crucial advancements in early cancer detection at risk.

Almost every line of this story would have been simply unbelievable a few months ago:

—Pioneering cancer researcher;
—*Arrested* at airport in Boston;
—Now indefinite ICE detention in Louisiana;
—"Crime": not declaring some frog-embryo samples for research.

Read it.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger | CNN Dr. Ardem Patapoutian says he watches “with deep sadness as the United States’ remarkable scientific enterprise, which took generations of hard work and national investment to build, faces a concerted...

Published an op-ed for @cnn.com: “Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger.”
A personal reflection on what’s at stake as science funding gets slashed. I’d be grateful if you could amplify both in and beyond the science world.
www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h...

NSF slashes prestigious PhD fellowship awards by half US National Science Foundation announces lowest number of Graduate Research Fellowship Programme recipients in 15 years.

The hits just keep coming. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

It appears this is the fourth worst back to back day for the DJIA in American history with a two day combined -8.65% loss, only trailing the 1929 crash, 1987 Black Monday, and the 2008 crisis.

Those trying to understand the tariffs as economic policy are dangerously naive.

No, the tariffs are a tool to collapse our democracy. A means to compel loyalty from every business that will need to petition Trump for relief.

1/ A 🧵 to explain his plan and how we fight back.

It’s stunning to me that the New York Times did not put the story on the bloodbath at the NIH, CDC, and FDA on its front page this morning.

Collecting my thoughts at the end of one of the worst days of my life...

At NIH, > 1300 people were RIFed. These range all across the board from institute directors to low level administrative staff.

Communication staff and procurement appear to be hardest hit as anticipated from the HHS plan

1/n

‘Chaos and Confusion’ at the N.I.H., the Crown Jewel of American Science Senior scientists at the National Institutes of Health fear that research on conditions like obesity, heart disease and cancer will be undermined by President Trump’s policies.

“It really is quite chilling,” one of the scientists said. “They are controlling information, causing chaos, disrupting everyone, keeping us off-balance.”

“Whatever people are reading in newspapers, it’s 10 times worse,” the scientist added. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/h...

From 2010 to 2016 (latest data I have ), NIH research contributed to EVERY drug approved by the FDA

Why BYD Keeps Shocking the World The Chinese carmaker says it can charge EVs in 5 minutes. Can America ever catch up?

The question is no longer if EVs are going to dominate the future. That’s fairly obvious. The question is now if the US is going to have any role in that market. Right now, it’s not looking promising. heatmap.news/electric-veh...

Scientists COULD pursue careers that pay WAY more, but CHOOSE to get paid less to help people, subsidizing the cost of scientific advancement. Great “trade” for Americans…

“You don’t take these jobs that pay worse and have insane hours and are really stressful unless you care about helping others”

NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.

NIH is the best investment there is.

www.forbes.com/sites/michae...