Remember when NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya said there were no banned words and NIH Program Officers were making them up? Here’s the proof he lied: apnews.com/article/cali... I know, Jay Bhattacharya lying is not news. But it’s still really validating to have the admission.

White House admits it used keywords to kill billions worth of California research grants

Federal agencies that terminated more than a thousand research grants at the University of California last year admitted that they used keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy and COV...

apnews.com

New White House plan for science and technology released yesterday www.whitehouse.gov/releases/202... 1/9

OSTP Director Releases Landmark Report and Recommendations for Renewing American Scientific Discovery

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Michael Kratsios

whitehouse.gov

Most of my letter:

Maureen Barr@barrlab.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Posted my comments opposing OMBs proposed rule. It was so easy, using this great letter writing tool of @faseborg.bsky.social www.faseb.org/science-poli... Did you submit yours yet? The deadline is soon - July 13. This is essential to save science and research in the US.

Cilia and Centrosome 2026 Meeting Update: We have extended the abstract deadline until June 23! Submit yours today to join a fantastic scientific program!

📢 Good news: the abstract deadline for the FASEB Conference on Cilia and Centrosomes has been extended to June 23. If you missed the original deadline, there’s still time to submit your abstract and join us in Washington, DC, August 2–6. events.faseb.org/event/cilia-...

The ADA called the cops on attendees--one of them a former ADA president--for distributing reprints of an article pulblished in the ADA's flagship journal. "Failing to meet the moment" is starting to feel like the understatement of the century when it comes scientific organizations in the US.

Dimitri Drekonja, MD, MS@dimitridrekonja.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Shame on the American Diabetes Association- ejecting scientists from the meeting for distributing copies of an editorial critical of NIH funding cuts. Kudos to these scientists for standing up for science and resisting censorship 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Now to go check the IDweek code of conduct page…

Big congratulations to our winners: Smilla-Maria Koy (1st), Chandrama Ghosh (2nd), and Anthony Rabaté (3rd)! Check out their breath-taking micrographs and the rest of the Top 15 entries in the stunning poster attached. The future of cilia research looks beautiful. 📸 #Cilia2027

Holden Thorp is an institutionalist. He's been a university chancellor, provost, now EiC of Science. When institutionalists pull the fire alarm, we listen, because the call to action he issued this week exposes the dire nature of the threat we are facing. 1/ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Another red alert for American science

Although research has bipartisan support in the US Congress, and trust in science is above 75% across the country, the Trump administration seems as determined as ever to mortally wound the nation’s s...

science.org

🚨 Abstract deadline is Monday for the FASEB Conference on Biology of Cilia and Centrosomes (Aug 2–6, Washington, DC). We have an outstanding lineup of speakers spanning cilia, centrosomes, signaling, development, neuroscience, and disease. Submit your abstract at events.faseb.org/event/cilia-...

Excited to share our new paper in Science Advances on the proteome of neuronal primary cilia. We found that neuronal cilia are enriched in postsynaptic signaling proteins, including mGluR5, GABAB receptors, GPR158, ion channels, and transporters. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Slow but steady: Molecular mechanisms controlling #microtubule growth in #centrioles and #cilia. New review from Saishree S. Iyer and Anna Akhmanova @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social: rupress.org/jcb/article/... #Biochemistry #Cytoskeleton

Only 102 public comments so far on the biggest threat to publicly funded science in my lifetime. Please comment if you can. I know this sounds like "vote harder" but we have to keep fighting www.regulations.gov/document/OMB...

“What OMB is proposing is not a reform of grants management,” Elizabeth Ginexi, a former program officer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), writes in a Substack post. “It is a vehicle for complete political control of science … ” www.science.org/content/arti...

White House seeks to tighten political oversight of grantmaking

Sweeping proposed rule, now open for comments, would also restrict foreign collaborations and remove federal funding for open-access fees

science.org

Thank you for writing a perfect tutorial on how to write effective comments for the proposed changes to OMB. I posted my comments.

elizabethginexi.bsky.social@elizabethginexi.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Calling all Scientists! Research Administrators! Deans! Fans of Science! No one is coming to save us. Here is your assignment. I have written a step by step, easy to understand "how-to" document to help you comment on the proposed OMB rule. elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/what-we-ne...

It’s truly astonishing to see how comprehensively the US government is tearing down every part of the system that has made it up until now a world-leading power in science, research, and technological development. The entire world will suffer from this wanton destruction.

Dan Vergano@danvergano.bsky.social · 3mo ago

White House proposes new rules giving political appointees final approval of research grants These proposed Office of Management and Budget regulations would render the federal research grant review process opaque www.scientificamerican.com/article/whit...

Summary of Key Changes in OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule. Russell Vought is going destroy American Science. elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/summary-of...

Summary of Key Changes in OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule

Russell Vought is going destroy American Science

elizabethginexi.substack.com

Saishree S. Iyer and Anna Akhmanova @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social review the mechanisms controlling plus-end elongation of centriolar and ciliary #microtubules, revealing shared principles. rupress.org/jcb/article/... #Centrioles #Cilia #Cytoskeleton

Only two more weeks to submit abstracts for the FASEB Cilia and Centrosomes. Abstract submission deadline is June 8. Submit an abstract and come share your exciting science with the community! events.faseb.org/event/cilia-...

Sharing this screen grab from a friend at NIH (with permission). This is a checklist program officers have to complete before a grant can be awarded. The first question: "Is this grant All Clean/Clear in the NIH Text analysis Tool?" 🧵1/3

I came here in 1975. I'm a Nobel Prize-winning scientist born in Germany during WWII, came here in 1975 thinking there was no way fascism could take hold in this country. I was wrong. I don't not want to be book-ended by two fascist regimes. We will stand up and set things right.

Kristian G. Andersen@kgandersen.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Choice words from Dr. Szostak here. And while I am no Nobel Prize-winning scientist, I identify with the same quandary as an immigrant, moving here in 2009 and (proudly) becoming a citizen in 2023. I, too, don't recognize that country anymore 😢🇺🇸🧳🛫. newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/im-a-nobel...

Our flagship conference celebrating everything centrosomes and cilia returns this year and it promises to be another exceptional scientific event in the beautiful city of Lausanne, 1–4 September. 👉 Abstract submission+registration deadline 1 June Don’t miss the opportunity to share your research 🤩

Getting excited about the upcoming #centrosome conference in Lausanne! Get your abstracts ready 👇

“Asked how the cuts have affected science, one [researcher] said, ‘This is like asking, how do you think dropping an atomic bomb on New York City will affect the future of Broadway musicals? This is a generational loss of innovation, technology, and economic power.’” 🔗 archive.ph/2026.02.12-1...

hilzoy@hilzoy.bsky.social · 7mo ago

@bostonglobe.com Why no gift links? Not even one? In any case, this is depressing: www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/09/m...

Ever wanted to hold a cilium in your hand? 🧬✨ Here is a look at how I’m using CiliaBuilder in @UCSFChimeraX to generate accurate 3D prints of centrioles and cilia. Perfect for teaching or lab displays! Watch the process: youtu.be/IKnnp3ovptQ #CryoEM #CellBio #ChimeraX

The EMBO Workshop "#Centrosomes: From fundamentals to diseases" in #Lausanne, Switzerland, 1–4 September 2026 will highlight the advances in the field of centrosome #research. Register now! Deadline: 1 June https://meetings.embo.org/event/26-centrosomes #EMBOCentrosomes #EMBOevents #conference 🧪

In August, NIH institute and center directors received this document entitled "Achieving NIH Mission: Leveraging Funding Policies". 1/6

For this who are unaware, the reason NIH now posts these data habitually on the data book site is… Jeremy Berg. He pioneered this openness as NIGMS Director.

Jeremy Berg@jeremymberg.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Since there is some discussion that NIH institutes should not simply use paylines to determine which grants to fund, I thought I would share some old data. These are plots of funding probability fas a function of percentile score for 9 institutes. 1/7

Whoa - neuronal ciliary proteome! Tons to dig into here - different from kidney cilia proteome (perhaps unsurprising) and enriched for many postsynaptic proteins, strengthening previous suggestions of cilia as postsynaptic signaling structures. @nachury.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

In situ Proteomics Unveils Specialized Domains for Extrasynaptic Signaling on Neuronal Cilia

Neuronal cilia have emerged as crucial signaling hubs, yet their molecular composition and integration with synaptic communication remain poorly understood. Using a newly developed Arl13b-TurboID mous...

biorxiv.org

Congrats @dutcherlab.bsky.social! Richly deserved. We need more cilia peeps in high places.

WashU Ciliopathy Research Group@wu-ciliopathygroup.bsky.social · last yr.

Major congratulations to our fearless leader and team captain Susan Dutcher @dutcherlab.bsky.social for being elected to the National Academy of Sciences! 🙌 Another big win for #cilia biology!!

How do cells keep their cilia “clean” and functional? Our new study uncovers a conserved mechanism for retrieving polyubiquitinated proteins from #cilia – a process essential for cellular signaling and health. #cellbiology #ciliopathy #ubiquitin #IFT 🧵👇 1/n

A conserved mechanism for the retrieval of polyubiquitinated proteins from cilia

The temporospatial distribution of proteins within cilia is regulated by intraflagellar transport (IFT), wherein molecular trains shuttle between the cell body and cilium. Defects in this process impair various signal-transduction pathways and cause ciliopathies. Although K63-linked ubiquitination appears to trigger protein export from cilia, the mechanisms coupling polyubiquitinated proteins to IFT remain unclear. Using a multidisciplinary approach, we demonstrate that a complex of CFAP36, a conserved ciliary protein of previously unknown function, and ARL3, a GTPase involved in ciliary import, binds polyubiquitinated proteins and links them to retrograde IFT trains. CFAP36 uses a coincidence detection mechanism to simultaneously bind two IFT subunits accessible only in retrograde trains. Depleting CFAP36 accumulates K63-linked ubiquitin in cilia and disrupts Hedgehog signaling, a pathway reliant on the retrieval of ubiquitinated receptors. These findings advance our understanding of ubiquitin-mediated protein transport and ciliary homeostasis, and demonstrate how structural changes in IFT trains achieve cargo selectivity. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Sara Elizabeth O'Brien Trust Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded through the Charles A. King Trust Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program, , 8460873-01 Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, https://ror.org/05j95n956, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), , R01GM141109, R01GM143183

biorxiv.org