Nora Newcombe

I’m done funding cruelty. Target cuts DEI, Amazon bankrolls this administration, and Home Depot lets ICE terrorize workers on their lots.
My money stays with small shops and people-first businesses. How about you? #WeAintBuyingIt

Congratulations!

Doctors respond to ‘data-free’ decision over menopause hormone therapy: ‘It’s not true’ Physicians say FDA panel conflated two issues and made baseless claims about unproven health benefits

Sigh, no surprise if you read Makary's book, but sad to see, again, no scientific discussion of an important issue
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Penn is testing beanies for NICU babies that block harmful noise and play parents’ messages Pamela Collins hopes the Sonura Beanie can help her son feel calm and connected to her, even when physically apart.

Inspirational story-- a startup that matters!
www.inquirer.com/health/penn-...

This Evidence Fundamentally Shifts the Debate About the HPV Vaccine - Absolutely Maybe We’ve had to wait a long time to get to this point. If cervical cancer develops after HPV infection, it will take…

We've had to wait a long time to get to this point! With this new pair of Cochrane systematic reviews, the weight of the evidence has tipped very heavily in favor of HPV vaccination.

My new post @plos.org absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/11/24/t...

#Vaccines

Pabst, Pamphlets and a Petition: A Harvard-Yale Tailgate in the Trump Era

Great piece on yesterday’s tailgate with Stand Up for Yale! www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...

Please sign and share our joint letter: crimsoncourage.fillout.com/yale-harvard...

#HYjointhefight #harvard #yale #academicfreedom #thegame

What enables human language? A biocultural framework Explaining the origins of language is a key challenge in understanding ourselves as a species. We present an empirical framework that draws on synergies across fields to facilitate robust studies of l...

Origins of language, one of humanity’s most distinctive traits, may be best explained as a unique convergence of multiple capacities each with its own evolutionary history, involving intertwined roles of biology & culture. This framing can expand research horizons. A 🧵 on our @science.org paper.🧪1/n

Pabst, Pamphlets and a Petition: A Harvard-Yale Tailgate in the Trump Era

Let’s all follow the Harvard-Yale example
Pabst, Pamphlets and a Petition: A Harvard-Yale Tailgate in the Trump Era www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...

Lisa Fazio led an insightful Town Hall titled “Current Threats to Psychological Science - What’s Going On & What You Can Do About It,” yesterday at #psynom25. The panel provided a clearer understanding of current threats to science, scientific funding, & pressures confronting US universities.

HCMF is now in January. So off cycle!

As autocratization proceeds in the U.S. and elsewhere, it's time for a stock-take. Where are we, where are we going? What works? What might work better? Nearly 6 months after we published the Anti-Autocracy Handbook sks.to/autocracy the SciBeh team is hosting its next big event ....


1/6

"Stop me if you've heard this before" dept:

Student-run independent college newspapers should be in the running for Pulitzers. This from @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

We are recruiting a lab manager/research assistant to start in early 2026! The successful candidate will conduct awake infant fMRI, meet cute babies, and join a fun team!

More details (e.g. responsibilities): soc.stanford.edu/people/#join...

Apply here: careersearch.stanford.edu/jobs/social-...

Sensory ratings across sensory modalities and semantic categories show blind people associate touch more strongly with (most) concepts than sighted people

New paper: Evidence of crossmodal compensation in the conceptual representation of blind people: while they share visual associations with sighted people, blind people more strongly associate concepts with touch direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...

I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.

Collective Action Is Essential for Universities in Current Political Climate In this Q&A, Richard Aslin shares his thoughts on the real meaning of “academic freedom” and why members of the higher education community have reason to be cautiously optimistic.

Inspiring Q and A with Dick Aslin! Look for more such content over the next few months from @psychscience.bsky.social
www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...

BREAKING: Stand up for Science endorses @aftynbehn.bsky.social (TN-07) for Congress. From speaking at our Nashville rally in March, to advocating for our health and hospitals, Behn is a fighter for science!

Tennessee — election day is December 2nd! In-person early voting runs from now until 11/26.

So sorry I won’t be in Denver for Psychonomics!

This Harvard Scientist Is Changing the Future of Genetic Diseases | Harvard Magazine David Liu has pioneered breakthroughs in gene editing, creating new therapies that may lead to cures.

Looking forward to meeting Liu at the spring awards at the Franklin Institute!
www.harvardmagazine.com/science/davi...

The Science of Visual Data Communication: What Works - Steven L. Franconeri, Lace M. Padilla, Priti Shah, Jeffrey M. Zacks, Jessica Hullman, 2021 Effectively designed data visualizations allow viewers to use their powerful visual systems to understand patterns in data across science, education, health, an...

I'm surprised I only came across it now, but this review on improving communication in data visualization is excellent.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

College journalism exposes the rot of ‘grown-ups’ | Will Bunch Newsletter Plus a history lesson on the real ‘Charlotte’s Web,’ and fascism,

You know what media is NOT bending the knee in the Trump era? College journalists! The Harvard Crimson's brutal takedown of the lecherous ex-prez Larry Summers is just the latest example of students showing a failing 'grown-up' media how it's done

My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...

As funding falters, young brain scientists rethink careers in research Research on brain disorders may slow as young neuroscientists struggle to find jobs and research grants.

Thanks to @npr.org for highlighting this story!
www.npr.org/sections/sho...

NIH grant cuts have disrupted hundreds of clinical trials, study finds The second Trump administration has been defined by widespread cuts to federal spending, including at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). | The second Trump administration has been defined by wid...

The second Trump administration’s deep federal spending cuts, including at the NIH, have halted at least 383 clinical trials, affecting more than 74,000 patients, according to a new analysis.
www.fiercebiotech.com/research/nih...

A rebuttal to NIH leadership's screed against pandemic preparedness. Dr. Angela Rasmussen joins Inside Medicine for a tag-team response to a poorly reasoned essay by NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and his deputy, Dr. Matthew Memoli.

Thorough response to Bhattacharya and Memoli's nonsense from @jeremyfaust.bsky.social and @angierasmussen.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/insideme...

Congrats @sjo09.bsky.social! Your trailblazing engram discoveries are unforgettable. So happy that the Peter Seeburg Integrative Neuroscience Prize is honoring YOUR Era's tour @sfn.org.

Rethinking measurement invariance causally Measurement invariance is often touted as a necessary statistical prerequisite for group comparisons. Typically, when there is evidence against measur…

Nice article by @dingdingpeng.the100.ci and @boryslaw.bsky.social: 'violations of measurement invariance imply that there are potentially interesting differences in the measurement process between the groups, which could warrant explanations in their own right.' www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Alexandria Retains National Science Foundation Headquarters Visit alexandriava.gov for more information.

Good news that National Science Foundation (NSF) is staying in Alexandria and hopefully the move not as disruptive www.alexandriava.gov/news-citywid...

BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!

We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org

Dedre Gentner awarded 2025 Benjamin Franklin Medal Professor recognized for ‘elucidating the unique power of human thought’

Congratulations to Dedre Gentner!
news.northwestern.edu/stories/2025...

‘A sigh of relief’: New malaria drug succeeds in large clinical trial As existing drugs falter because of resistance, the world gets a backup—but hard choices loom on how to use it

“This is a very important development,” says Dyann Wirth, a malaria researcher at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health who was not involved in the work. “We’ve been looking for this for a long time.”
🧪 #IDsky
www.science.org/content/arti...