Thank fuck gothamist.com/news/nyc-may...

Zohran Mamdani is elected NYC mayor, defeating Andrew Cuomo in historic win

New York City voters elected Mamdani as the first South Asian and the first Muslim mayor in the city’s history.

gothamist.com

To explore how geological and climatic shifts shape species diversity in the Neotropics, Dias 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭. applied molecular techniques to study the dynamics of the nectar-feeding bat 𝙂𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙜𝙖 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙖 🦇 Read more: buff.ly/h1QzmSb #Batappreciationmonth #Bats #TaxonomyTuesday @batgirlsusan.bsky.social

Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, dies aged 91

Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, dies aged 91

Jane Goodall Institute says ‘tireless advocate’ for natural world died in California during US speaking tour The world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91, her institute has said. The Jane Goodall Institute announced that she had passed away of natural causes while in California as part of a US speaking tour. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Our bat immunoglobulin comparative analysis paper is now live! Full-text read-only link here, but I can also send the paper to anyone who wants it: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...

For months, people have been asking me whether I still trusted gov’t data. My answer was always the same: The stats agencies faced longstanding challenges, some of which Trump was making worse. But there was no sign of political meddling. I can’t say that anymore. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/b...

Trump, Claiming Weak Jobs Numbers Were ‘Rigged,’ Fires Labor Official

nytimes.com

What’s embarrassing about the DOE report is that it’s the same climate denier (we used to call them skeptics) talking points from when I was in grad school three decades ago. Can’t these deniers come up with something fresh?

Scientists slam Trump administration climate report as a ‘farce’ full of misinformation

Experts say the report being used to justify the mass rollback of climate regulations has many claims based on long-debunked research

theguardian.com

Completely mad that the Smithsonian is going to stop supporting the Biodiversity Heritage Library on 1 January 2026. Every old ass taxonomic description, dating back to the 17th or 18th century even, I have read and still read is through here. Someone please give it a new home.

Trevor A. Branch@trevorabranch.bsky.social · last yr.

Foundations: please step up and take over the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). This is an absolutely essential scanned archive of all of the old journals and books from the 1500s to about 1920. Has been indispensable for my research. about.biodiversitylibrary.org/call-for-sup...

In an unconscionable decision, the Smithsonian Institute has decided to no longer support the Biodiversity Heritage Library from 1 Jan 2026. Please someone step up and take it over.

Trevor A. Branch@trevorabranch.bsky.social · last yr.

Foundations: please step up and take over the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). This is an absolutely essential scanned archive of all of the old journals and books from the 1500s to about 1920. Has been indispensable for my research. about.biodiversitylibrary.org/call-for-sup...

This is the problem many of us have with SCOTUS' ruling It doesn't allow Trump to do all of this, but his regime is going to act like it does SCOTUS is fully aware of this and did it anyway

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last yr.

Trump claims the SCOTUS ruling paves way for -- ending birthright citizenship -- ending sanctuary city funding -- suspending refugee resettlement -- "freezing unnecessary funding" -- no tax dollars for transgender surgeries

i feel relieved about the results but also please please please continue this momentum into the fall and remember that cuomo and adams are the fucking worst apnews.com/article/andr...

Zohran Mamdani declares victory in NYC's Democratic mayoral primary as Cuomo concedes

Zohran Mamdani has declared victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary after Andrew Cuomo conceded the race in a stunning upset.

apnews.com

Leave it to OG resistors @altnps.bsky.social to be out in front calling YAY for this huge freaking WIN. Trump is reeling. The NIH is roaring back. Join the fight www.standupforscience.net/summer-fight... - because HERE WE COME! #StandUpForScience #SummerFightForScience #SaveNIH #HereWeCome

Summer Fight For Science 2025 — STAND UP FOR SCIENCE

standupforscience.net

Alt National Park Service@altnps.bsky.social · last yr.

A win! A federal judge has ordered the government to restore hundreds of NIH grants slashed by the Trump administration, ruling the cuts were discriminatory against minorities and LGBTQ individuals. The judge said he’d have to be “blind” not to see the discrimination and declared the cuts illegal.

What I learned today is that the @nytopinion.nytimes.com doesn’t believe in young people of color in leadership. Time and time again people tout “seniority” and “experience”. 75 years ago, there were no women of color elected in NY. Where is “seniority” or “experience” to come from for us?

This is something that most people will miss, because they're not in the profession and haven't ever really thought about historical knowledge is produced. But it's an incredibly important point.

Alex Brown 🇵🇸 (they/them)@bookjockeyalex.bsky.social · last yr.

Relatedly, if you haven't been in an archives you have no idea just how much historical material is not online, not even a digital record of it. An LLM cannot research data it doesn't have. It can't even extrapolate where to find that material.

Based on crowd-sourced records of No Kings Day event turnout, and extrapolating for the cities where we don't have data yet, it looks like roughly 4-6 million people protested Trump across the U.S. yesterday. That's nearly 2% of the U.S. pop! Mobilized anti-Trump resistance is exceeding 2017 levels

"No Kings Day" protests turn out millions

Our unofficial estimate is that around 4 million people attended a protest event yesterday. Anti-Trump resistance is outpacing 2017.

gelliottmorris.com

This is journalism malpractice 101, and it should be taught in J-schools as such. What in bloody hell does "widely accepted mean"? It's not "widely accepted". It's true. The other alternative is false. Full stop.

NPR@npr.org · last yr.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apparently embraces the outdated "miasma theory" of disease instead of the widely accept "germ theory" of disease, which may help explain some of the actions he's been taking.

"Sources said the administration is specifically considering a full termination of federal grant funding for the University of California and California State University systems." Pure vandalism. This could never happen in a country with functioning checks and balances.

Trump preparing large-scale cancellation of federal funding for California, sources say | CNN Politics

The Trump administration is preparing to cancel a large swath of federal funding to California, an effort which could begin as soon as Friday, according to multiple sources.

cnn.com

Folks, the House advanced the disastrous reconciliation bill, with the destructive 10-year State Ban against regulations for AI intact! We now MUST mobilize our calls to the Senate! Call today! If you need a script the post below offers a fantastic alternative! We only have one chance! Lets go!

Creative Rights Coalition@crcadvocacy.bsky.social · last yr.

The House just advanced §43201 (Sub. C, Title IV), AKA the 10 year ban on state AI laws: thehill.com/homenews/hou... It's now time to reach out to your Senators! Wondering how? See: 5calls.org/issue/ai-reg... Or feel free to use the card below.

I never want to hear again, in my lifetime, that the GOP is concerned about meeting the challenge of rising China in global economic & geopolitical competition.

Catherine Rampell@crampell.bsky.social · last yr.

Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Scientists must push back against the threat of rising white nationalism and the dangerous and pseudoscientific ideas of eugenics https://go.nature.com/4jGqiUc

Eugenics is on the rise again: human geneticists must take a stand

Scientists must push back against the threat of rising white nationalism and the dangerous and pseudoscientific ideas of eugenics.

go.nature.com

Last week, President Trump removed key protections from a marine protected area that's home to coral reefs, whales, sea turtles, and countless fish. My op-ed for @us.theconversation.com explains why that's bad and we should not do that. theconversation.com/trump-is-str... 🧪🦑🌎🐟

Trump is stripping protections from marine protected areas – why that’s a problem for fishing’s future, and for whales, corals and other ocean life

America’s marine protected areas help fish populations thrive. Trump’s plan to open them to industrial fishing may ultimately harm the fishing industry itself.

theconversation.com

Universities like mine are limiting hiring, travel, and other spending using federal funds because of the fear of things like this. It's basically impossible to do science, whether NSF takes back funding or not.

National Science Foundation Terminates Hundreds of Active Research Awards (Gift Article)

The agency targeted grants focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as research on misinformation.

nytimes.com

It's Fustilarian Friday, so here's the latest statement from NSF's director, trying to dodge the news cycle. www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...

Updates on NSF Priorities

nsf.gov

This is a WILD list of data to disappear. I was braced for climate stuff, but not, like, shoreline maps and coastal bathymetry

Jenna C. Hill@chillocean.bsky.social · last yr.

NOAA just announced a long list of datasets that are going away🧪⚒️🌊: www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/docume... Download what you need asap and send comments to: ncei.info@noaa.gov

NOAA just announced a long list of datasets that are going away🧪⚒️🌊: www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/docume... Download what you need asap and send comments to: ncei.info@noaa.gov

Always inspired by fellow trainees like @fleabrained.bsky.social creating opportunities for the next generation. Feeling powerless lately in the context of national news but focusing on the power that I DO have to continue opening doors for undergrads www.thetransmitter.org/community/as...

As federal funders desert mentorship programs for marginalized students, trainee-led initiatives fill the gap

Grassroots organizations, led by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, are stepping up to provide neuroscience career training and guidance for students from marginalized backgrounds—and…

thetransmitter.org

Most folks don't understand how many things were made possible by federal research funding (e.g., Google). Here are 50 of them, and it barely scratches the surface. (The list is from 2020 and, ironically, includes Tesla.)🧪 stacker.com/stories/busi...

50 inventions you might not know were funded by the US government

Stacker compiled information on 50 inventions funded by the United States government using government and scientific reports, and news articles.

stacker.com

This really is their goal: a country where every right is contingent, not absolute, and therefore everyone has to toe the line or risk being thrown in a hole in a foreign country.

Sky Marchini@sky.skymarchini.net · last yr.

jd vance just tweeted this "What process is due" the fucking constitution

This is an *independent nonprofit group* whose affairs Musk is trying to meddle in with DOGE. His rationale seems to be that any nonprofit that receives any federal funding is fair game to go after.

Vera Institute of Justice@vera.org · last yr.

On April 11, Vera received an email from DOGE staff, requesting a meeting to discuss “having a DOGE team assigned to the organization.” Via @washingtonpost.com: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

No biggie. This man is temporarily in charge of, and Trump wants to put him permanently in charge of, one of the two United States Attorney’s offices that handle the most national-security matters. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

“It’s amazing that others in this room underwrote electing a man who, in the last week, single-handedly destroyed all of American science. It’s amazing how much good science you can destroy with $320 million and RFK Jr, very fast.” — Seth Rogen’s censored remarks presenting the Breakthrough Prize