Trump's DOJ claims 3 of NSF's efforts to broaden participation in STEM are unconstitutional. They are not. Goodbye to: -Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions -Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate -Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation

DOJ Declares 3 Race-Based STEM Programs Unconstitutional

The programs received about $104 million in federal funds this past year.

insidehighered.com

I wrote about a reason not to use generative AI in your writing that I haven't seen anyone talking about. Once I realized this, banning GenAI in our lab's writing became a no-brainer. Feel free to share, I think this is probably useful especially for trainees: www.carlsonlab.bio/thoughts/the...

The only reason you’ll ever need not to write with AI — The Carlson Lab

Over the last year, our lab has been developing a policy on AI use. To do this, we did three main things: We read a lot of academic publications and tech news. We set up an #ai channel on our la...

carlsonlab.bio

It is a sign of the total failure of our constitutional order that, a mere six years after we were all desperately praying for a miraculous scientific breakthrough to end the worst global pandemic in a century, that the President of the United States can do what he did today & face no consequences.

Our paper identifying a stop codon reassignment in Eggerthellaceae species found in mammalian guts is now out! Great collaborative effort with Pierre Chaumeil, Maria Chuvochina, and Phil Hugenholtz (@xrefugee13.bsky.social). www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour... @microbiologysociety.org

Stop codon reassignment to tryptophan in members of the bacterial phylum Actinomycetota

Reassignment of stop codons is a significant evolutionary event with recoding of UGA to tryptophan being previously identified in only three bacterial phyla, the Bacillota, Pseudomonadota and Verrucom...

microbiologyresearch.org

🚨 Job alert! 🚨 Join the faculty at UW–Madison Bacteriology! We have two faculty searches: • Asst Prof (Microbial Communities & Bioeconomy) • Asst / Assoc / Full Prof (Systems & Synthetic Biology) Check out the open positions and apply👇 #FacultyJobs #SynBio #Microbiology #Astrobiology #Evolution

New online! Eggerthella lenta: metabolism, pathogenesis and therapeutic implications

Eggerthella lenta: metabolism, pathogenesis and therapeutic implications

Nature Reviews Microbiology, Published online: 23 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41579-026-01344-5Advancing microbiome research beyond well-studied bacterial species is key to understanding the full functional diversity and potential of the human gut microbiome. In this Review, Turnbaugh and colleagues explore the unique metabolism and pathogenic potential of Eggerthella lenta, supporting the feasibility and utility of studying diverse human-associated bacterial species.

dlvr.it

Dear microbiome enthusiasts: I'm excited to be moving my lab to New York University this fall (& the NYU Institute for Engineering Health); with joint-appointment @isbscience.org I'm hiring a postdoc @ NYU to look at diet-driven evolution in the gut: apply.interfolio.com/189980 Please share! 🦠🤓

The costs of international student exclusion will be vast and permanent. It will harm all Conservative Americans and their children; it will harm all Liberal Americans and their children. It is the exact opposite of what our tech-driven economy needs. I summarize my research at @piie.com —>

The US is driving away international students at a long-term economic cost

For generations, students from around the world have fueled universities in the United States, their top destination by far. Those students don't just sustain a $43 billion export industry in higher e...

piie.com

One third of all PhD STEM workers in the US are immigrants who studied at a US university. Today the US Administration extended its efforts to slash high-skill immigration, undermining foreign students' trust that they can complete their degrees & work afterwards. My new piece at @brookings.edu —>

What does the new duration of status rule mean for international students and workers? | Brookings

Brookings guest authors break down a recent DHS rule change and what it means for US temporary visa holders and the broader economy

brookings.edu

A report on the ground from the ICE shooting in Biddeford that should make every parent in this country lose their minds:

OUR WORK IS NOT DONE. In unusual move, NSF issued a request for information on plan to conform grant policies to the proposed (unfinalized) OMB rule. Plan includes changes to grant termination provisions & disallowing publication costs. Comments due August 24. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; National Science Foundation Proposal/Award Information-NSF Guidance on Financial Assistance

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to renew and revise its collection for its financial assistance policies and procedures. In accordance with the requirements of the Paper...

federalregister.gov

Great inspiration from @hormiga.bsky.social. I’m working on mine this weekend. . .

Submit your OMB comment this weekend.

This one is important. It's due on Monday.

scienceforeveryone.science

Please watch his statement. This is horrific (the killing, the way the family found out, the reason for the killing, all of it), & was 100% preventable. My heart goes out to the family, friends, & community of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. Please call your reps so they know how unacceptable this is.

Headquarters@headquartersnews.bsky.social · last mo.

The son of the man shot and killed by ICE: I am Ronaldo Salgado, the oldest son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. He should've been picking up the last of his guys before heading to finish up construction. Unbeknownst to all of us, my dad had been shot inside his van by ICE agents in unmarked cars.

Are you sick of winning yet?

Outbreak of diarrhea-causing parasite grows to more than 1,000 cases

Michigan is experiencing its largest outbreak of a parasitic infection that causes severe diarrhea. Nearly 1,000 people have been diagnosed with cyclospora as of Wednesday, though no deaths have been ...

apnews.com

Ryan Marino, MD@ryanmarino.bsky.social · 12mo ago

CDC is no longer surveilling outbreaks caused by campylobacter, cyclospora, listeria, shigella, vibrio and Yersinia. What could go wrong?

In case anyone ever questions whether the current US administration has hurt science…small data point…but I’ve had one bacterial genome sitting at Genbank waiting to be cleared for 7 months with little to no response on their end

From Dolores Huerta's statement this past March medium.com/@dolores_hue...

Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social · last mo.

this dynamic described by jenny racicot is, as i understand it, very common among progressive women in maine. they’ve been put in an impossible position and feel like they’re tanking platner’s campaign when in reality he did that on his own by being a violent and reckless person.

🚨 HEADS UP: If you haven't submitted a comment on the OMB proposal yet, there's still time - but it's running out! There are only 8 days left to push back against Russell Vought's attempt to give political appointees unprecedented control over federal research funding. Take Action: zurl.co/DhKYY

Meet SpudCell, a synthetic cell made from lifeless ingredients that feeds, grows, divides, and experiences selection. If it doesn't have all the hallmarks of life, it has a lot! Here's my story. Gift link: nyti.ms/4vCbTih

NEW: Is there a 'crisis' of public trust in science? It can feel that way — with attacks on research in the US and growing rejection of vaccines. I investigated for @nature.com - and found some surprises. My feature article is out today and a short🧵here www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Have people stopped trusting science? The data tell a surprising story

Some say there’s a global crisis of trust — but research reveals where the real problems lie.

nature.com

Mary-Dell Chilton, NC biochemist who revolutionized agriculture, dies at 87 www.newsobserver.com/news/local/a... #PlantScience #PlantBiotech 🧪

Mary-Dell Chilton, NC biochemist who revolutionized agriculture, dies at 87

The late biochemist from Southern Pines transformed agriculture by creating the first genetically modified plants.

newsobserver.com

I haven't seen any coverage on this! Time to submit another comment! www.regulations.gov/commenton/OM...

Jeffrey Mervis@policyhound.bsky.social · 2mo ago

If someone doesn't like your research grant, the US government may soon be able to help them sue you. www.science.org/content/arti...

Glad to see this story and coverage of an important paper. www.statnews.com/2026/06/17/n... 1/16

NIH diversity programs doubled undergraduates’ odds of getting a Ph.D., 20-year study finds

A new study found that two diversity-oriented programs supported by the NIH doubled the odds that an undergraduate would earn a Ph.D.

statnews.com

You may have heard about the OMB rule change that will put politics over federal grants. However bad you think it is? It's probably worse. Thanks to @theverge.com for letting me report this one out. There is still time to comment. bit.ly/4v2X4nQ

The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it

“Everyone will be affected, not just scientists. Every community in the country.“

bit.ly

I do not think there is sufficient appreciation for how catastrophic yesterday’s decision in Slaughter is for this country. As Justice Sotomayor said in her dissent and she intoned from the bench yesterday, “today the majority reshapes our Govt.”

This is like doctors trying to prevent sick people from entering the hospital.

Terry McGlynn@hormiga.bsky.social · 2mo ago

More than 1600 of my STEM colleagues in the UC want to fix the math literacy crisis by bringing back the SAT/ACT testing requirement. Aren't professors supposed to teach when students need to learn? #academicsky scienceforeveryone.science/dont-become-...

"Right now, in some underfunded lab, a scientist is chasing a question that sounds pointless...a century of experience says that funding people to do this work is a good bet. If we stop making that bet, we will pay for it in cures no one will know to miss."

Victor Ambros@vambros.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A column by Jeff Coller: “The Science That Turned Lizard Venom Into GLP-1s Is Under Attack” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/20/o...

"Program managers would normally rush to inform potential and current grantees about such dramatic changes. But the memo tells program managers to keep their mouths shut. 'This information is highly confidential...Please do not communicate anything to PIs.'” www.science.org/content/arti...

Exclusive: NSF slashes research programs to support new tech initiative, insiders say

Unexpected shift in funds has meant sharp drop in grants this fiscal year

science.org

NSF's grantmaking is miserly when compared to recent years, but when compared it to the historical record, we see it's a radical break from the long-term consensus of investing in scientific innovation. grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... #NSF 🧪

The NSF is on Track for its Worst Year in Generations – Grant Witness

Throttling of science funding is utterly unprecedented and radical when compared to the past 50 years.

grant-witness.us

Interesting article by Glass et al. on using metabolic modeling to find new antibiotics for the vaginal microbiome.

Nature Microbiology@natmicrobiol.nature.com · 2mo ago

Out Now! Genome-scale metabolic modelling identifies vaginal microbiome members as potential probiotics #MicroSky

Out Now! Purine bias in bacterial genes is driven by runaway transcription #MicroSky

Purine bias in bacterial genes is driven by runaway transcription

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 15 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02389-1Purine bias is critical for gene expression in bacteria, preventing premature transcription in species that exhibit runaway transcription.

go.nature.com