Charles Jennings

John B. Gurdon, 92, Dies; Nobelist Paved Way for Cloning of Animals

He will be remembered for what is surely one of the most important expts in the history of biology.

It did not end well for Goebbels, nor for his six young children, who he killed with cyanide before his own suicide.

Ain't seen nothing yet - wait until those healthcare cuts kick in.

I could not have had a career in the US if this had been in effect when I transitioned to H1-B. (I'm from the UK and am now a US citizen, and have spent most of my professional career here, working in biomedical research.) It's hard to imagine a better way to deter future talent from coming here.

I like it that my Garmin dashboard makes my training hike today at Blue Hills look like a traverse of the Karakoram range.

I have an urge to start spouting about the Kirk assassination and what it means for the state of the US, but a voice inside my head is saying STFU, and that seems like wise advice, until we know more and have time to digest the awfulness and possible consequences.

Unconscionable: US plan to destroy $9.7 million of contraceptives MSF condemns the decision to destroy these critical medical supplies, which will have devastating consequences for the communities where we work.

The Trump administration spent $167,000 to destroy $9.7 million worth of birth control and other contraceptives that were supposed to go to low-income countries. Imagine hating helping so much that you’d actually spend money just to make sure others don’t get help.

Storrowing; truck strikes North Harvard Street overpass, police say - The Boston Globe A tow truck arrived to remove the mangled section, and crews used a leaf blower and brooms to clear debris, according a Globe photographer on the scene.

A classic Boston story!

It feeds speculation as to why WaPo is unable to draw the obvious conclusion. Why does it allow Trump the priviledge of the ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ criterion, rather than the balance of probabilities that most readers want? Of course we know the answer—WaPo is not the newspaper it once was.

The latest Nature index of global research output is striking. Among top institutions, almost all those that grew from 2023-24 are in China, and those that are declining are in the US and Europe. And that’s even before Trump...

This New Yorker cover deserves to be reposted at regular intervals.

David Baltimore, Nobel-Winning Molecular Biologist, Dies at 87

RIP - he was a giant even among Nobels!

Science Under Siege: A Talk With Peter Hotez and Michael Mann Lysenko comes to America

Excellent discussion from Krugman, Mann and Hotez about the triple threat to humanity: climate change, pandemics, and the rise of a well-funded anti-science movement that spreads disinformation and prevents our political system from responding to the other two threats.

Hmm...for that price it should have its own gravity generator in the center, rather than relying on Earth's gravitational field.

"Polio is Freedom" - great slogan for MAHA.

Federal judge rules that Trump administration unlawfully cut nearly $3 billion of Harvard’s research funding - The Boston Globe The decision found that the Trump administration violated federal laws and Harvard’s First Amendment rights in canceling the grants. The Trump administration is likely to appeal.

Judge: "...a review of the administrative record makes it difficult to conclude anything other than that [the government] used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country’s premier universities”

I hope that Pamela’s movie happens, and that Ben’s story can help to raise awareness and combat prejudice in the world of science and beyond.

We’ve been tracking the number of Americans who identify as transgender – soon, there will be no reliable way to measure them The federal government has erased gender identity questions from federal surveys. Researchers say it will cost them at least a decade’s worth of data.

It’s currently estimated that 2.1 million US adults identify as transgender, with higher rates in younger groups. But the Trump administration has recently directed the CDC to stop collecting data on gender identity, which will make it much more difficult to track these numbers in future.

The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. In this book, completed short...

And for more, see Ben’s book “The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist,’ written toward the end of his life and published posthumously.

YouTube video by Broad Institute Ben Barres: What do reactive astrocytes do?

Many of us remember Ben well, including his enthusiasm for research and outspoken support for gender equality in science. Both are on display in this lecture, given at the Broad Institute a few months before his death in 2017 from pancreatic cancer. I was in the audience—it was a remarkable event.

Pamela is an Emmy-nominated director and producer, whose movie about pioneering director Alice Guy-Blaché won many awards. She is committed to telling Ben’s story, and her project has support from prominent scientists, including Nancy Hopkins, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Tom Curran and many others.

Filmmaker Pamela Green is planning a movie about the late Ben Barres, transgender neuroscientist, world expert on glial cells, and an inspirational advocate for women and minorities in science. Pamela is seeking funds to finish her research and script – see fundraising trailer below.

Opinion | We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy Is Endangering Every American’s Health

A blunt warning from nine past CDC directors, who served under every president since Jimmy Carter.

True - but the geometry metaphor will need to be translated into language that is persuasive to the swing voters who will determine the outcome of the 2026 midterms.

Nuff said

After six months in ICE custody, Charlotte woman chooses voluntary removal to Honduras A 20-year-old Honduran woman who has lived in the Charlotte area for more than a decade will soon be removed from the U.S.

Since Trump is driving away our future nurses, who will look after MAGA voters in their declining years? Oh, and BTW, the local NPR station in Charlotte NC that reported this story just lost $800,000 and is laying off staff due to federal funding cuts to public media.

Trump Administration Live Updates: Health Secretary Tries to Oust C.D.C. Director, but She Refuses to Leave

Total chaos.

What, Exactly, Was That Cabinet Meeting?

I recall a story about Stalin—not sure if it’s true—that when he gave a speech everyone would stand and clap, and the applause continued for a long time, because whoever stopped first would be suspected of disloyalty and executed. Trump can’t do that (yet), but his minions behave as if he could.