Dan Gruner, Ph.D.

🏝️🐜A new study out by Dr. Evan Economo and colleagues reveals a decline in Fiji’s native ant species. With insects playing a crucial role in ecosystems, this research is key to understanding insect populations and guiding conservation efforts.🐜🏝️

"Health losses attributed to anthropogenic climate change," a brief communication in the journal Nature Climate Change. There's a map showing regions of the world, and pie charts of relevant studies as they apply to different health impacts like "heat-related deaths" and "maternal and child health"

🚨 NEW: Climate change is already causing 30,000 deaths per year - a global annual economic loss of $100-350B USD - but the true damage is probably 10x higher. Out TODAY in Nature Climate Change: the first systematic look at the science of "health impact attribution" 🔓 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The National Academies' response to the EPA's proposed removal of the endangerment finding is out today. It does not mince words about the effect of GHGs on the climate. Kudos to the authors.

Key paragraph below; you can read the whole thing here: nas.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?...

Disease prevalence in US states before & after vaccine introduction 🧪

From Edward Tufte & graphics.wsj.com/infectious-d...

Looking for a #postdoct for a NSF project integrating ecosystem productivity, hyperspectral remote sensing and airborne LiDAR to test prominent hypothesis of the effect of #biodiversity on #forest #productivity @fluxnetecn.bsky.social @ngaps.bsky.social Apply at: jobs.colostate.edu/postings/165...

How do scientists push back against autocratic, anti-science ideologies?

The "Anti-Autocracy Handbook: The Scholars’ Guide to Navigating Democratic Backsliding" provides some insights on what can be done, from lower risk to extreme risk groups:

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🔬🪲An approach for long term mgmt of #EAB has been to introduce parasitic wasps to the US for #biocontrol. The Gruner Lab monitors the effectiveness of this approach one log at a time.Watch as Estes debarks trees to assess the presence of EAB larvae & the extent to which they have been parasitized.🪲🔬

SCIMaP - Impacts of Federal Cuts to Science and Medical Research View Projected Impact of the FY2026 Budget Cuts to the NIH

NIH FY26 #SCIMaP scorecards are now available for

* All states
* All districts

The White House has shared its vision of priorities for this year and years to come. This vision comes with consequences for our health and innovation economy.

Explore and share: scienceimpacts.org/fy26

Had to try this out with insects and HOO BOY is this embarrassing.

Film poster for "Hunt for the Oldest DNA." Image courtesy of Tangled Bank and Handful of Films.

Biology's Sean Carroll's latest documentary won an Emmy for outstanding science documentary filmmaking!

The documentary follows an evolutionary biologist's quest to find DNA in 2-million-year-old soil from Greenland. Sean shared the challenges and triumphs of this project ➡️ go.umd.edu/hunt-DNA

Casey, this is an old post - November 2023. Not sure how it got back into circulation

This is getting some sudden reposts but please note it was November 2023

Also, sign up for PBS Passport! You pay what you want, money goes to your local station, and you get access to tons more great programming on-demand. help.pbs.org/support/solu...

Since April 4, #SCOTUS has issued 15 rulings on 17 emergency applications filed by Trump (three birthright citizenship apps were consolidated).

It has granted relief to Trump ... in all 15 rulings.

It has written majority opinions in only 3.

Today's order is the 7th with no explanation *at all.*

Subcommittee Markup of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations United States Senate Committee on Appropriations

🧪 BREAKING (good news): Senate subcommittee says NO! to Trump's proposed slashes to NASA & NSF funding.

Today, the subcommittee said to keep NASA + NSF funding at $33.9 billion, the same as in FY24.

See 7:15 below. Full Senate appropriations committee meets tomorrow about it.

🧵 1/3

Maybe this one will last a little longer?

Kilauea Caldera, Halema'uma'u crater, big island of Hawai'i, current status

Report: National Science Foundation headquarters to be taken over by HUD, displacing 1,800+ employees | ALXnow The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will reportedly take over the National Science Foundation (NSF) headquarters building (2415 Eisenhower Ave.), displacing more than 1,833 NSF emplo...

Callous and corrupt, this will deepen the devastating impact of this administration on basic science, scientists, and National Science Foundation staff, for whom there is NO plan www.alxnow.com/2025/06/24/r... 🧪

Do the authors understand irony? Or maybe that's their hidden point of publishing behind a paywall

How to protect your kids from mosquitoes and other bugs this summer NPR's A Martinez speaks with Dan Gruner, professor of entomology at the University of Maryland, about how to safely protect kids this summer from mosquitoes and other biting insects.

🌞 Summer is prime time for ticks & mosquitoes, but don’t let these pests deter you from your next outdoor adventure🏕️. #UMD entomologist, Dr. Dan Gruner shares w/ NPR's Morning Edition that it's perfectly fine to enjoy outdoor activities, just take precautionary measures.👇
www.npr.org/2025/05/28/n...

NCA6 Update April 28, 2025 Dear NCA6 Participants, Thank you for your participation in the 6th National Climate Assessment. At this time, the scope of the NCA6 is currently being reevaluated in accordance with the Global Change Research Act of 1990. We are now releasing all current assessment participants from their roles. As plans develop for the assessment, there may be future opportunities to contribute or engage. Thank you for your service.

Well, it's official. We just received notice that all authors on the Sixth National Climate Assessment have just been released from their roles.

The NCA is a vital, Congressionally mandated resource for our nation as we prepare for the impacts of climate change. This is a huge loss.

The iceberg headed toward the economy

If this wasn’t posted by @atrupar.com I would have thought it had to be a doctored screenshot. But…it’s not

🌏🧪

🧪🧬🦠🌎

Into a second year of a global mass bleaching event.
🌎🪸

What DEI threatens isn’t merit. It’s monopoly. Political science professor Hakeem Jefferson argues for DEI's importance to de-monopolizing universities.

A colleague at Stanford’s business school used The Stanford Daily to argue—poorly—against DEI. The piece was riddled with historical errors and left one searching for fact, so I broke my public writing hiatus to respond.

I hope you’ll read and share the piece.

stanforddaily.com/2025/04/22/w...

Happy to walk anyone through this. Our grants are proposed work. We often budget for things like salaries, student tuition, and equipment and consumables (in my field). We work on tight margins - we're often asked to "trim" or modify budgets because program officers try to spread the money.

i would never

NSF halts grant awards while staff do second review Action comes after DOGE team arrives at science agency

NSF halts grant awards while staff do second review | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...