Brendan Harley

Illinois universities roll back DEI initiatives amid Trump attacks The UI system and Northwestern agreed to scrap programs meant to uplift students and faculty from marginalized backgrounds.

new: universities—in illinois and across the u.s.— are falling in line amid president donald trump's attacks on higher education.

@dmbrown-tboy.bsky.social on the death of diversity on college campuses:

Graph of award probability of R35 and R01 from NIH factbook as a function of review rank percentile. As is apparent, 2025 is a significant departure, with lower award probabilities at all scores <40 and significant departures from norm, where even being in the top 10% is no longer a nearly certain indicator of success. Data source: https://report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/report/302

The data is in: the NIH goalposts have shifted.

What were once almost certain fundable scores have become coin flips and what used to be likely grants have become aspirational, leading to fewer awards.

Another manifestation of how HHS policies have led to fewer awards and less science.

Disability accommodations are a rare thing that actually trickles down. You like curb cutouts? Auto-opening doors? Jar openers? Ramps? Hand rails? YOU’RE WELCOME

Even as an abled person you use disability accommodations every single day.

Supporting accommodations actually helps everyone.

FDA’s controversial vaccine chief will exit agency next month | CNN The US Food and Drug Administration’s head of vaccines and biologic medicines will leave the agency at the end of April, a spokesperson confirmed to CNN on Friday.

Vinay Prasad has been an a noxious influence on public health and drug regulation. Good riddance. UCSF should not take him back. He should wander in the wilderness forever. www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/h...

“Every step of the way we have seen the power of collective action, united across rank, position and title, in order to strengthen our institution and deliver the best possible education for our students,” said Marsha McCartney, UAKU’s co-lead negotiator 🎉🎉🎉

“Trans children are perfect.”

Six federal scientists run out by Trump talk about the work left undone | CNN Federal data shows the NIH lost about 4,400 people — more than 20% of its workforce. Scientists say the departures harm the U.S.’ ability to respond to disease outbreaks, develop treatments for chroni...

The number of people employed at the NIH is at its lowest level in at least two decades.

Hear from six scientists run out by Trump and the work they left behind on cancer research, tick-borne diseases, and more.

Me + @k-hought.bsky.social @kffhealthnews.org for @cnn.com www.cnn.com/2026/03/05/h...

Current NIH leadership want you to think they are using rigorous, consistent & scientific processes to screen studies to align them with agency priorities.

But the process that they have put down on paper is a sham.

It’s important to know NIH is not following its own guidance. Here’s why:

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The U.S. Is Launching a Regulatory Assault on Drone Users New restrictions try to shield ICE from being watched from above.

MAGA is trying to claim the sky for itself - which means that other legitimate drone users, including journalists reporting on ICE abuses, are being shut out.

My latest for Foreign Policy:

foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/12/u...

Utah! What are you doing?!???

All you folks who are not vaccinating your kids, you are endangering so many other people.

Also: many of us Gen. X and older might not have sufficient titers if we got our OG measles vaccine.

Time for a booster if yer titers have dropped.

You don’t want measles.

On sabotage of our young scientists, by @holdenthorp.bsky.social @science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

If I get one more email about Claude or whomever the fuck.

1. I wanna read my own shit.

2. I wanna write my own shit.

3. I wanna pay an editor to talk me through my own shit.

4. I don’t want that AI bullshit. If you don’t use it, you lose it. And I want to hold my brain as long as possible.

Rebecca is starting her lab as a UCSF Sandler fellow in August 2026; folks at #Dros26 interested in host-parasitoid interactions should try to catch her at the meeting to find out about available positions: www.tarnopollab.org/people

Neither did Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the nation’s top diplomat.

The video of a United States Senator joining the violent removal of U.S. marine from a hearing and hideously breaking his arm in a door is an example of what has been unleashed in this country. They’re tapping in to get in on the violence.
And then he bragged about it on X later.

... and whose intentions are cruel.

This is entirely unsurprising with a 'No stupid rules of engagement' mantra

RFK Jr. wants Dunkin’ to prove drinking its iced coffee is safe - The Boston Globe The warning comes as Kennedy is leaning heavily into his agenda to improve American diets.

This moron has no idea how much of a third rail this is. If he goes through with a public fight with Dunkin he will never live this down. In the words of my people "fuck ya motha."

Delays in awards and funding calls worry NIH-funded researchers Many programs may be pushed into the next fiscal year, and some could face funding gaps

"The biomedical research community is facing the prospect of major funding disruptions again this year." www.science.org/content/arti...

Looking forward to an article about all the Black women scientists who thrived despite Epstein and friends best efforts to shove us out of the field including by not offering us funding that our competitors were getting

how is the only correct answer on a campus Title IX training program for a situation involving (non-violent) interactions between two people the "delegate the handling of the situation to the police" answer?

i know! that interview is giving vibes that are ...not... good

This is a strange 'bar' to celebrate.

A post from Jason Locasale quoting Paul Thacker complaining about a Nature story from Max Kozlov using data from NIH Reporter that I posted on my Bluesky account.

Apparently Jason Locasale and Paul Thacker have a problem with using publicly available data from NIH Reporter about the number of new and competitive renewal grants from fiscal year 2026 compared to previous fiscal years because I first posted it.

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Pete Hegseth’s Crazed, Angry Tirades on Iran Give Dems a Big Opening It’s not enough for Democrats to say Trump’s war rationales haven’t been fully explained. The problem is that they are patently false.

Pete Hegseth's crazed rants at reporters reveal that Trump's rationales for attacking Iran are incoherent, confused, and based on lies. Dems don't have to take refuge in criticizing Trump's war on purely procedural grounds. They can go much harder. 1/

(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2072...

They've been talking like that about trans people for awhile now.

This is a graph of the death of US science.

I'm begging my fellow politicians, Illinoisans, and Americans to realize that right now, we aren't fighting over policy or political party.

We're fighting over whether we're going to be a country rooted in empathy and kindness — or one rooted in cruelty and rage.

Got a tip? Got a tip for Science’s news department? Our reporters would like to hear from you. Here are ways to contact us.

@policyhound.bsky.social and I have sent NSF an email asking for more information. If anyone has knowledge of what's going on behind the scenes you're welcome to contact us. My Signal ID is klangin.48. You can also email the news department through an encrypted email: www.science.org/content/page...

UNC-CH Will ‘Scrap’ New Recording Policy, Chancellor Says The move comes less than three weeks after the controversial rules were enacted.

UNC-Chapel Hill will “scrap” a policy that would have allowed administrators to secretly record professors, Chancellor Lee Roberts said Friday. The move comes less than three weeks after the controversial rules were enacted.

www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...