Katie Langin

As U.S. shutdown drags on, ‘it’s just one blow after another’ Federal researchers confront growing uncertainty about future

Federal researchers are confronting growing uncertainty about their future, as the 10-day-old shutdown of the U.S. government is now poised to extend into at least next week. https://scim.ag/4n1uy22

Science teachers scramble as U.S. climate resources vanish As government websites go dark, some nonprofits are trying to fill the void

As government websites go dark, educators across the country have been reworking lesson plans and searching for reliable sources of up-to-date scientific information. https://scim.ag/46Vlwxu

An illustration of a person standing at the top of stairs that end, with text: To increase diversity in STEM, a foot in the door isn’t enough. We need better support.

“The program showed me I was capable of doing neuroscience research, but it didn’t give me a feeling that I belonged.”

Read this story about an undergraduate student in a program for students with underrepresented backgrounds: https://bit.ly/4gC03hu #DEI #STEMCareers

U.S. scientists gird for yet another government shutdown Political impasse to hobble research agencies—and perhaps enable layoffs

Here we go again.

www.science.org/content/arti...

Illustration of five diverse adults in professional attire, each holding a document, in a collaborative discussion.

Why scientists should take more coffee breaks

Grad students should make time for casual conversations with peers, this Ph.D. student writes. #NationalCoffeeDay https://bit.ly/4nyTOOe

‘Completely shattered.’ Changes to NSF’s graduate student fellowship spur outcry The announcement comes months later than usual, leaving many would-be applicants stranded

Today was a hard day for Ph.D. students who found out that they can no longer apply for NSF's prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship Program. "Devastating“ was how one student described it to me. #GradSchool #NSFGRFP

www.science.org/content/arti...

‘Completely shattered.’ Changes to NSF’s graduate student fellowship spur outcry The announcement comes months later than usual, leaving many would-be applicants stranded

NSF today released instructions for the next round of applicants to its Graduate Research Fellowship Program. A key group—second-year Ph.D. students—is no longer eligible, and students who are still able to apply will face an unusually narrow timeframe. https://scim.ag/3KlQkQk

A week later and prospective applicants are still awaiting the instructions for this year's #NSFGRFP. I checked in with NSF today and was told "I don’t have anything for you at the moment." #GradSchool

Delays, uncertainty plague NSF fellowship for graduate students After an unusual award process this year, applicants for next year are waiting for overdue guidelines

"We are so very late that many students will not be able to apply this year."

My latest story—about frustration over delays for NSF's graduate research fellowship program. #NSFGRFP #GradSchool @science.org

www.science.org/content/arti...

House panels charge U.S. National Academies with producing partisan studies Pending spending bill urges agencies to find other sources of scientific advice

Despite its 162-year-history of service, congressional Republicans tell federal agencies not to seek the advice of the National Academies. www.science.org/content/arti...

An illustration of a man falling out of a piece of paper, with text that says: How an academic betrayal led me to change my authorship practices.

How an academic betrayal led me to change my authorship practices

“Every cleaned data set, debugged script, and refined figure deserves acknowledgment,” this researcher writes. #AcademicChatter https://bit.ly/4fPwA38

Pushed out by Trump, New Jersey ecologist launches bid for Congress Megan O’Rourke hopes to be a voice for science, also touts her blue-collar roots

Pushed out by Trump, New Jersey ecologist launches bid for Congress | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

How a Ph.D. is like riding a bike This researcher struggled in grad school—until he embraced it as a time for learning

New in @science.org a really helpful metaphor for many life stages!
How a Ph.D. is like riding a bike | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

might they be willing to speak with me for a story? if so, they can reach me at klangin@aaas.org

Exclusive: NIH suspends dozens of pathogen studies over ‘gain-of-function’ concerns Trump executive order leads to pauses on U.S.-funded research into TB, influenza, COVID-19, and other diseases, dismaying some scientists

Exclusive: NIH suspends dozens of pathogen studies over ‘gain-of-function’ concerns | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

‘It’s a nightmare.’ U.S. funding cuts threaten academic science jobs at all levels “There is a lot of pressure to essentially leave the country or not pursue research,” one Ph.D. student says

“Everywhere funding is short.”

For my latest story, I spoke with U.S. academics who are bracing for a major downsizing of the science workforce amid funding cuts. NSF's own numbers are stark. @science.org

www.science.org/content/arti...

Scientists identify culprit behind biggest-ever U.S. honey bee die-off USDA research points to viruses spread by pesticide-resistant mites, indicating a worrying trend

Between June 2024 and January 2025, a full 62% of commercial honey bee colonies in the U.S. died, the largest on record. USDA efforts were slowed by funding cuts and layoffs. Now, USDA scientists have finally identified a culprit. But it may be too late. www.science.org/content/arti...

Should grant applicants judge competitors’ proposals? Unorthodox approach gets two real-world tests Distributed peer review enlists more researchers in the process, but some may lack expertise

If getting a research grant required scoring applications from your competitors, would you apply? New evidence on this novel method, “distributed #peerreview,” at #Metascience2025. @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

EPA employees accuse Trump officials of undermining the agency’s mission “Declaration of Dissent” denounces partisan messaging, rollback of environmental regulations, and dismantling of science office, among other concerns

Hundreds of employees at the EPA released a “Declaration of Dissent” today, accusing EPA officials of politicizing the agency and undermining its core mission to “protect human health and the environment.” scim.ag/4lB937S

new orca skincare routine dropped! read my latest article in @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

U.S. researchers are speaking up for science in local newspapers Through two grassroots efforts, more than 80 op eds have been published in news outlets across the country

"There’s a rhetoric that what we do is wasteful."

My latest story—about scientists writing op eds in their hometown newspapers, a grassroots effort organized by
@sciencehomecoming.bsky.social and others.

www.science.org/content/arti...

Dozens of active and planned NASA spacecraft killed in Trump budget request Proposal would end nearly all new major science missions

Breaking from @science.org: The Trump administration wants to kill off a host of active and healthy NASA climate and planetary spacecraft. It would be a "leaner, more focused" agency, they say -- and one far less capable of studying the Earth and exploring space.

Final NSF budget proposal jettisons one giant telescope amid savage agencywide cuts Trump’s 57% proposed cut to agency would drop grant success rates to 7% and gut education and training

Trump's detailed vision for NSF's 2026 budget is not a pretty picture. www.science.org/content/arti...

An illustration of a woman hanging from a parachute made of words. The headline says: As a laid off postdoc, I turned to a side hustle—and found a new career

"Sometimes good can come from a path redirected." #ScienceWorkingLife scim.ag/4kCjozZ

Trump officials take steps toward a radically different NSF Efforts to shrink staff, budget, and focus have alarmed members of Congress

For those having a hard time following all the changes to NSF by the Trump administration, here's a wrapup of the past week's momentous events--and what they mean for the agency. www.science.org/content/arti...

Trump’s ‘fear factor’: Scientists go silent as funding cuts escalate Many worry about retribution. But for others, speaking out is worth the risk

"The lived experience of a scientist right now is terrifying."

Story by @science.org's Warren Cornwall—about the fear of retaliation permeating the scientific community.

www.science.org/content/arti...

U.S. climate data websites go dark Lapse may be temporary, but draft budget plans would eliminate service

U.S. scientists, state policymakers, farmers, and others who depend on up-to-date climate data on Thursday confronted an information blackout from federal regional climate centers across much of the country.

Trump seeks to end climate research at premier U.S. climate agency White House aims to end NOAA’s research office; NASA also targeted

BREAKING from @science.org: The Trump admin is seeking to kill nearly all climate research at NOAA, its climate science agency.

Its near-final budget proposal would end all NOAA research labs, academic institutes, and regional climate centers. And it wants to fully end the NOAA Research division.

Sexual orientation, gender options cut from U.S. Ph.D. graduate survey After adding questions to a key survey last year, the U.S. National Science Foundation is reversing course

"It sucks."

After adding questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to a key survey of Ph.D. graduates last year, NSF is reversing course. My latest for @science.org.

www.science.org/content/arti...

Trump administration fires staff for flagship U.S. climate assessment Move could open the door to using high-profile report to attack climate science

@science.org confirms that yesterday the Trump admin wiped out the technical staff of the U.S. National Climate Assessment and the Global Change Research Program. When USGCRP's acting director, who is on a time-limited contract, leaves, it will leave the congressionally mandated office empty.