Brendan Maher

I’m onto you!!!

Exclusive: ex-CDC director talks about why she was fired “I would never do that, as a scientist,” Susan Monarez says of being asked to approve changes to vaccine recommendations without knowing the details.

Y'all. This interview is sooo good. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Exclusive: ex-CDC director talks about why she was fired “I would never do that, as a scientist,” Susan Monarez says of being asked to approve changes to vaccine recommendations without knowing the details.

EXCLUSIVE: In her first interview all year, Susan Monarez, CDC director for only 29 days, tells me why Trump/RFK fired her and where this is all headed.

The CDC director is an “inherently political position, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be politically compromised”, she tells @nature.com.

How to get the best night’s sleep: what the science says Chuck the gadgets, the fads and the alarm. Circadian research reveals how important your body’s internal clock is to blissful slumber.

What does science have to say about getting a good night's sleep? Quite a lot, really. @lynnepeeps.bsky.social captures most of it nicely in this feature www.nature.com/articles/d41...?

The great university shake-up: four charts show how global higher education is changing More students than ever are studying across international borders, but where and what they learn is shifting.

Seismic shifts are afoot for universities in the US and worldwide. @dangaristo.bsky.social captures the trends in four telling graphics. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The great university shake-up: four charts show how global higher education is changing More students than ever are studying across international borders, but where and what they learn is shifting.

Against my better judgment, I contributed a feature about the state of global higher education to this package about the future of universities. No easy way to sum it all up—there's plenty of good news and bad news to be found—but the world is much bigger than the US its current problems.

It was the right decision.

I feel like any meal out of this lunchbox needs to be eaten while making ‘Taz-like’ noises (Abu-dab -gab-gob) and gesticulating wildly.

Scientists take on Trump: these researchers are fighting back Through lawsuits, grant tracking, whistle-blowing and more, resistance to the US war on science is growing.

I’m always inspired by the work of my colleagues @dangaristo.bsky.social @maxkozlov.bsky.social and @heidiledford.bsky.social But I’ve got to say that this one is special. 🧪🧵6/6 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

And we talk about how @audreydrotos.bsky.social @bnwolford.bsky.social and countless others are organizing to spread the word about the value of science that is being scaled back, and the impacts of that missing investment. 🧪🧵5/6

We talk about how @noamross.net and @scott-delaney.bsky.social started to gather deep information on all the science that was being unlawfully terminated. 🧪🧵4/6

We tell the story of @neuronikki.bsky.social who joined a national lawsuit to try and prevent NIH grant terminations. 🧪🧵3/6

Scientists take on Trump: these researchers are fighting back Through lawsuits, grant tracking, whistle-blowing and more, resistance to the US war on science is growing.

These are the scientists fighting back against the Trump administration’s cuts to NIH and NSF funding. www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪🧵2/6

Inspired by Fred Rogers, @nature.com asked readers to help us 'find the helpers' amid the crisis in American science. What emerged were inspiring stories of researchers, legal experts, data hounds and government scientists who are fighting the dismantling of the US research enterprise. 🧪🧵1/6

NEW: Don't ask too many questions, but...

NIH may not re-terminate the 900ish grants at issue in the main NIH lawsuits after all.

To the PIs of reinstated grants, SPEND NOW!

🧵 Here's what NIH is probably thinking. Bear with me:

Autism is on the rise: what’s really behind the increase? RFK Jr has vowed to find out what’s responsible, but scientists say he is ignoring answers from decades of research.

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

As Measles Exploded, Officials in Texas Looked to CDC Scientists. Under Trump, No One Answered. - KFF Health News Trump officials sowed fear and confusion among CDC scientists, slowing their response to the measles outbreak in West Texas. Cases surged and sparked new outbreaks across the U.S. and Mexico. Together...

“All this training and then we weren’t allowed to do anything.” kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

US Supreme Court allows NIH to cut $2 billion in research grants The decision will hinder lawsuits against grant terminations, legal specialists say.

If you, like me, are still trying to put last week's complex SCOTUS decision on NIH funding into context, this great story by my colleagues is a great resource 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

US Supreme Court allows NIH to cut $2 billion in research grants The decision will hinder lawsuits against grant terminations, legal specialists say.

Yesterday the Supreme Court issued a convoluted, 36-page emergency order about NIH grant terminations. Two main takeaways:
-$2 billion (not the government # of $780 million) in NIH grants will likely be re-terminated
-future legal challenges will be much harder

w/ @maxkozlov.bsky.social:

Hundreds of CDC employees receive permanent layoff notices Several employees said layoffs have added to anger that President Trump has not commented publicly since a gunman opened fire at CDC headquarters this month.

500–600 CDC employees just laid off.
This comes weeks after a gunman fired hundreds of bullets at CDC HQ, killing a police officer.

Trump has said nothing. Meanwhile, RFK Jr. is accused by 750+ health workers of spreading lies & dismantling public health. wapo.st/4mrA2DN
#BlueSky #MedSky #NewsSky

People are having fewer babies: Is it really the end of the world? Steep population declines in most countries are expected to have negative impacts over the next several generations, but adaptation is possible.

Why are people having fewer children? According to one source: "A lot of men are undateable. Truly undateable.” 😆 @lynnepeeps.bsky.social offers a great in-depth look at falling fertility rates around the world, and how to adapt.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Anyone else among us willing to admit that they first learned this from G.I Joe?

Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to improve the process of Federal

Well, this is a huge Executive Order power grab...

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

1/3

NIH Funding Delays Are Illegal, Government Watchdog Says Canceled and delayed funds didn’t follow the Impoundment Control Act, the GAO found.

NEW: The Trump administration acted illegally when NIH delayed and canceled billions of dollars in grants to scientists earlier this year, a top government watchdog said www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Here’s the HHS announcement cancelling 500 million of investments in mRNA vaccines.

www.hhs.gov/press-room/h...

Bill Gates says rising anti-vaccine sentiment in U.S. will exact heavy toll overseas Philanthropist Bill Gates expressed concern about the impact of growing U.S. vaccine skepticism overseas.

"Vaccine skepticism in the U.S. also kills more children outside the U.S. — because it transfers that skepticism — outside the United States.”
www.statnews.com/2025/08/04/b...

How political attacks could crush the mRNA vaccine revolution Drug makers are scrambling to navigate an ‘existential threat’ to a once-celebrated technology.

Sadly prescient reporting from May on mRNA vaccines (a Nobel prize winning technology) being maligned by the administration.

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

Critics of de-extinction research hit by mystery smear campaign Several researchers who have been critical of Colossal Biosciences’ plans to revive extinct animals say they have been targeted by online articles trying to discredit them

New Scientist's @sparkes.bsky.social was also trying to get to the bottom of these strange posts. www.newscientist.com/article/2490...

This company claimed to ‘de-extinct’ dire wolves. Then the fighting started. Colossal’s bold announcements have drawn criticism from many scientists, but the billion-dollar firm is not backing down.

Dire-wolf drama continues to unfold. A scientist who has been critical of the company behind some audacious de-extinction claims believes that it has been trying to undermine the credibility of its critics ahead of major announcements. The company denies involvement. www.nature.com/articles/d41...