Brendan Maher

Epstein files reveal deeper ties to scientists than previously known Latest batch of documents show researchers consulting the financier and sex offender on publications, visas and more.

Sorry for the preview pic in your feed, but we've posted a thoughtful story by @dangaristo.bsky.social that delves into the tangled web of relationships between Jeffrey Epstein and various scientists: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Yeesh! Anyway, it’s a great obituary. And worth sharing.

But does it help with learning? Fhat's the 2uestion!

How learning handwriting trains the brain: the science behind the cursive wars Handwriting requirements were cut from school curricula around the world. Now it’s looping back, riding on a wave of evidence.

In NJ and around the world, schools are reintroducing mandates to learn cursive writing. Does it make a difference? My colleague @marilenharo.bsky.social digs into the science.

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

Still from 'How much exercise do you really need?' shows reporter Lizzy Gibney being helped out by SCIENCE

Do not miss this fab video from our team 😂
youtu.be/jskktKzWfys

HHS wasn't worried about South Carolina's measles outbreak. It's now enormous. “CDC is not currently concerned that this will develop into a large, long-running outbreak," the agency said in December.

New from me: Last month I asked HHS about South Carolina's measles outbreak. They brushed me off, saying they weren't "concerned that this will develop into a large, long-running outbreak."

A month later, it's the biggest since measles was declared eliminated. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Longevity is in the genes: half of lifespan is heritable Understanding the genetic controls of ageing could lead to more therapies that forestall it.

Twin study power!!!! Genetics has a much larger role in how long a person lives than previously thought, according to a new analysis. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

AI chatbots are infiltrating social-science surveys — and getting better at avoiding detection A researcher has created a chatbot that is indistinguishable from human participants in online surveys. Some researchers fear that a workhorse of social science is now under threat.

Sneaky little bot. It said it was unable to quote the US constitution verbatim, when of course it could!!!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

I wonder this almost every day

What your breath says about the bacteria in your gut Metabolites in mouse and human breath correlate to gut-microbe populations and might be helpful in diagnosing disease.

The chemicals found in a person’s breath might reveal the identity of the microbes in their guts

go.nature.com/49TbAWP

Exclusive: key NIH review panels due to lose all members by the end of 2026 Thirteen of the agency’s advisory councils, which must review grant applications before funding is awarded, are on track to have no voting members.

Exclusive: key NIH review panels due to lose all members by the end of 2026 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Guinea-Bissau suspends a US-funded vaccine trial as African scientists question its motives Officials from the US Department of Health and Human Services, which funded the controversial study, say that it will proceed as planned.

For anyone following the on-again-off-again saga of the Guinea-Bissau hep B vaccine trial. The latest is that GB health authorities have SUSPENDED the trial.

@sciwriabdul.bsky.social tries to get to the bottom of it, here.

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

What your breath says about the bacteria in your gut Metabolites in mouse and human breath correlate to gut-microbe populations and might be helpful in diagnosing disease.

I love the photo my colleagues picked for this excellent story on a recent 'breathomics' study.

It's like an alternate Pink Floyd Dark Side cover!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

"Breathe ... breathe out the air. Your microbiome shows it's there"

Spotify Wrapped: War on Science edition

What happens if fewer children get vaccinated? Japan holds lessons for US As Robert F. Kennedy Jr slashes the US childhood vaccine roster, Japan is racing to make up for lost ground after decades of setbacks.

When US officials announced earlier this month that they were cutting down the childhood vaccination schedule, physicians and scientists wondered what to expect.
Japan has some hard-won wisdom to offer.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

US science after a year of Trump: what has been lost and what remains A series of graphics reveals how the Trump administration has sought historic cuts to science and the research workforce.

This immersive data visualization will help you comprehend the scope of historic cuts to grants and the research workforce:

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

By @maxkozlov.bsky.social Jeff Tollefson & @dangaristo.bsky.social, edited by @richmonastersky.bsky.social

(2/n) 🧪

How do vaccine cutbacks affect public health? Ask Japan As Robert F. Kennedy Jr slashes the US childhood vaccine roster, Japan is racing to make up for lost ground after decades of setbacks.

History is a great teacher.

In this piece our own @heidiledford.bsky.social looks at what we can learn from what happened in Japan when vaccine support was withdrawn and how the government is now working to reverse the effects 🧪
#MedSky

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

Don’t let Russell Vought trick Congress into destroying science by removing multiyear funding limits from the NIH funding bill.

How to improve vaccine uptake: a huge study offers clues Nature - An analysis of more than one million people in the UK found that two-thirds of people who were vaccine-hesitant during the COVID-19 pandemic went on to get vaccinated.

An analysis of more than one million people in the UK found that two-thirds of people who were vaccine-hesitant during the COVID-19 pandemic went on to get vaccinated

go.nature.com/4sKfBFk

Limit on multiyear funding of NIH grants is a sticking point in Senate budget talks A clause limiting the use of multiyear NIH grant funding has become a sticking point as the Senate appropriations panel finalizes the HHS spending bill

Pre-long weekend story:

Multiyear funding for NIH grants has become a sticking point in negotiating HHS’s appropriations package for 2026

www.statnews.com/2026/01/16/n...

US science in 2026: five themes that will dominate Trump’s second year The outlook has brightened for federal science budgets, but political appointees are likely to have a big say in how that funding is spent.

Here’s what US scientists and their global collaborators can expect in 2026. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

@nature.com commentary on @cp-cellmetabolism.bsky.social discovery that tumors hijack energy-producing organelles from immune cells to aid in infiltrating lymph nodes
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Great interview with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales in @nature.com today. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

About to get started on an edit. I just need to shut off this one little piece of my brain... www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How common is Alzheimer’s disease? First population-wide blood test holds surprises Nature - A study of blood-based markers for Alzheimer’s disease in Norway confirms earlier estimates, and may show how education level relates to risk.

“It is the kind of test that, in the wrong hands, could cause a lot of harm”

A study of blood-based markers for Alzheimer’s disease in Norway confirms earlier estimates

go.nature.com/3N7sLfg

Trump administration moves to cut off transgender care for children U.S. officials are proposing new restrictions that are designed to block access to gender-affirming care for minors.

“These rules are a baseless intrusion into the patient-physician relationship. Patients, their families, and their physicians—not politicians or government officials —should be the ones to make decisions together about what care is best for them.”
apnews.com/article/trum...

This is the best piece I’ve read so far on why the Guinea-Bissau RCT, in which a proven life-saving vaccine will be deliberately WITHHELD, is unethical

“When benefit is established, withholding an intervention is no longer neutral experimentation it becomes premeditated harm”

As the darkness closes in around us, this story warmed me, if but for a moment. It is very sweet and very worth your time.

The Nature Podcast festive spectacular 2025 Hear the biggest stories from the world of science | 17 December 2025

This wk's @nature.com podcast has
- ME on my heart-warming festive gifts piece 🎁
- A choir of scientists 🎤
- @bmaher.bsky.social on researchers who shaped science in 2025
- ME again, on our festive quiz w/ @shamini.bsky.social, @nickpetrichowe.bsky.social and Ben T 🏆

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

Hey. I think I’m on this one.