Some personal news! In a few weeks, I'm starting a new job @nytimes.com, joining a science team that I've long admired, followed and envied. It's mylast day @washingtonpost.com - I'm so grateful for the 11 years I got to work with a cast of amazing colleagues. www.nytco.com/press/a-new-...

A New Reporter For Science | The New York Times Company

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The oldest-ever evidence of a plague outbreak, from 5,500 years ago, complicates our notions of hunter-gatherer lifestyles. wapo.st/43KFD07

What does it *mean* when AI solves a long-unsolved math proof? Terry Tao thinks of climbing vs. jumping. AI systems “are still largely ‘jumpers,’ who can reach heights that a human might not be able to reach in one go but do not ‘fail gracefully,’ and one often cannot salvage much." wapo.st/43DN2OL

For centuries, math has been a human endeavor. Does AI mean it’s over?

Math illuminates how traffic flows, how our cells build proteins and even how to speed up medical imaging scans. Some worry the academic discipline now faces an existential threat.

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Diabetes researchers, including the editor of a flagship journal, ejected from conference after criticizing Trump's "dismantling" of biomedical research wapo.st/49EYInR

Diabetes researchers ejected from conference after criticizing White House

The scientists, including the editor of a leading journal, were handing out copies of an editorial criticizing the Trump administration’s handling of biomedical research.

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This scientist learned he has a devastating brain disease. He set out to cure it. wapo.st/4u6nlkv

This scientist learned he has a devastating brain disease. He set out to cure it.

Jeff Carroll is part of a new effort to accelerate the development of targeted cures for a handful of neurodegenerative diseases.

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Really neat writeup by @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social of the new work showing that a Neanderthal from Chagyrskaya Cave, Russia, sat for a dental drilling almost 60,000 years ago. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2026...

A 59,000-year-old tooth reshapes what we know about Neanderthal dentistry

Neanderthals used rock drills to treat an infected tooth, according to a study that pushes back the earliest known evidence of dentistry by more than 40,000 years.

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Some 59,000 years ago, a Neanderthal developed a toothache. What happened next was, in many ways, astonishing. wapo.st/48WvYXj

A Neanderthal with a cavity opened wide for a stone drill

Neanderthals used rock drills to treat an infected tooth, according to a study that pushes back the earliest known evidence of dentistry by more than 40,000 years.

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This is in many ways a pretty depressing advance. Scientists identified a handful of potent antibodies that block measles - a basic science question that (until recently) was a bit moot because we eliminated it with a highly effective vaccine. wapo.st/4f8Aeqt

As measles roars back, scientists find antibodies that could offer protection

Scientists just took a step toward developing a therapy that could prevent someone from getting measles after they have been exposed.

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13 former NSF directors and National Science Board chairs sent a letter to the Senate expressing concern about the trajectory of the nation's $9 billion basic science funding agency, which they say is a hedge against "scientific surprise" - the breakthroughs that will occur in other countries.

NEWS: Trump ousts board that governs NSF, the nation's $9 billion science agency “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I’m writing to inform you that your position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated, effective immediately.” wapo.st/3P3DSY2

Trump ousts National Science Board members

Members of the independent board that guides the National Science Foundation said they received a notice from the White House that their position was being terminated.

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Why these treatments for one of the deadliest cancers are stirring such hope - lots of excitement for a growing "buffet" of pancreatic cancer treatments that are *finally* offering some hope against this grim diagnosis wapo.st/3OlCdNn

Why these treatments for one of the deadliest cancers are stirring such hope

Pancreatic cancer has stymied treatment advances for decades. Data from new clinical trials shows promise.

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Those of us doing research related to women’s health have been hit particularly hard by the govt’s sabotage of the NIH. I spoke to WaPo for this piece, as painful as it was to discuss the reality my lab is facing. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2026...

Where U.S. science has been hit hardest after Trump’s first year

The Trump administration has slashed the number of grants from the National Institutes of Health, with far fewer focused on women, cancer and mental health.

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Bhattacharya, Letai & other politicals at NIH keep trying to to say all at NIH is fine, because they spent the full budget last year. This well researched article from @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social explains exactly why many scientists are still struggling. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2026...

For U.S. medical researchers, shrinking labs and bare budgets are the new reality

The Trump administration has slashed the number of grants from the National Institutes of Health, with far fewer focused on women, cancer and mental health.

washingtonpost.com

Stowed away on Artemis II are tiny chips that could change medicine - tissue-chip 'avatars' of the astronauts aimed at elucidating the hazards of deep space radiation exposure wapo.st/3NVLbAJ

What exceptionally long-lived animal can teach us about how to age better - but this story could also just be called Nature is bonkers! (especially rockfish?) wapo.st/4lvPy1x

What Earth’s longest-lived animals can teach us about aging better

Inside the growing scientific quest to understand what creatures with the extraordinary ability to defy the ravages of time can teach us about making human aging better.

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A recent @washingtonpost.com article features a new study led by ASHG Past President @sarahtishkoff.bsky.social, PhD. Read about her team’s findings on Neanderthal and modern human interbreeding and how social dynamics may have influenced these pairings. @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social

Neanderthal males and human females had babies together, ancient DNA reveals

When ancient humans mated, dad was a Neanderthal, mom was Homo sapiens.

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Deep in Antarctic ice, these particles can answer basic questions about the universe wapo.st/40v0xhX

Deep in Antarctic ice, these particles can answer basic questions about the universe

A dense network of sensors is looking for the fleeting footprints of neutrinos, the most mysterious in the pantheon of known particles.

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New: A comedian set up a fake ICE tip line as a joke. Then 100 calls flooded in: neighbors ratting on neighbors, a teacher reporting a kindergartener. Fans say the viral TikToks revealed deportation's "banality of evil." Conservatives say he should be in prison wapo.st/4kM4qbF

A fake ICE tip line reveals neighbors reporting neighbors

A Nashville comedian’s deportation hotline, set up as a joke, has gone viral among viewers who say it shows the “banality of evil personified” in the U.S. immigration crackdown.

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In medicine, prevention is pretty much always better than trying to undo damage. Scientists are trying to develop an Alzheimer's "clock" to flag people who have no symptoms now, but will soon -- and could benefit from early treatment wapo.st/4rmRETx

New approach roughly predicts when Alzheimer’s symptoms begin

The technique is not yet precise enough to predict a patient’s exact trajectory but could help find long-sought preventive treatment.

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@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social did an excellent job today of summarizing the research and key issues surrounding the idea of "sleeping on it" (Not A Myth) — Thank You Carolyn! wapo.st/4rqb1LF

Why your most creative ideas may come after a night of sleep

Got a problem? Science says you should sleep on it.

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To sleep, perchance to dream -- of a solution to a problem that has really been bugging you www.washingtonpost.com/science/2026...

Why your most creative ideas may come after a night of sleep

Got a problem? Science says you should sleep on it.

washingtonpost.com

FDA refuses to review Moderna’s application for first mRNA flu vaccine www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/... @rachelroubein.bsky.social

FDA won’t review Moderna application for first mRNA-based flu vaccine

The decision, which shocked company officials, comes as the FDA says it will take a stricter approach to federal vaccine approvals.

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Our second most read story right now comes from @markjohnpost.bsky.social, a Pulitzer-winning science reporter on our team, who announced he was laid off. Just the latest example of how he found the most fascinating areas of science to unpack beautifully www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

These patients saw what comes after death. Should we believe them?

Researchers have developed a model to explain the science of near-death experiences. Others have challenged it.

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No struggling newspaper ever saved itself by becoming a worse and less essential product. But what's happening today at the @washingtonpost.com is not just the latest devastating contraction of the news industry; it's the gutting of an American institution vital for a healthy society

im usually pretty decent at pushing through distractions to focus on the work but this is a pretty tough one to tune out ngl

A retiree wrote this email to a DHS attorney. Within five hours, DHS demanded Google turn over records for his account. A Kafkaesque form of domestic surveillance, intimidating Americans for lawful speech. New from us at the Post: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social

My @washingtonpost.com colleagues worked round the clock this weekend to expose the truth of what's happening in Minneapolis and bring urgent weather news to millions facing dangerous cold and snow. If you value this work, tell Jeff Bezos to #SaveThePost www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Federal agent secured gun from Minn. man before fatal shooting, videos show

A Washington Post analysis of videos sheds light on the encounter that left 37-year-old Alex Pretti dead.

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Scientists grew tiny models of our nasal airways, complete with mucus-secreting cells and cilia that beat rhythmically to understand how our bodies fight the common cold wapo.st/4qzFZQY

Why the same cold virus makes some people more miserable than others

A new study shows the intricacies of the cold virus and how it interacts with nasal airway cells, revealing why some people are hit harder than others.

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Rarity Public Benefit Corporation is trying to turn a UCLA cure for a rare disease into a medicine. The bottleneck now is not showing that it works, but another key part of the drug approval process — developing the commercial manufacturing. Great story by @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social 🧪

Scientists are inventing treatments for devastating diseases. There’s just one problem.

Gene therapy treatments for rare diseases are being developed, but getting them out of the lab has proved challenging.

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Investigators told the reporter that she is not the focus of the probe. The warrant said law enforcement was investigating a system administrator in Maryland who has been accused of taking home classified intelligence reports. https://wapo.st/4qULbi9