When your country can do medical experiments on other countries' babies, you have to ask the question, are you the baddies?

Stand Up for Science!@standupforscience.net · 3d ago

The CDC just re-opened a previously shelved study that would withhold the hepatitis B vaccine from children in Guinea-Bissau, despite decades of evidence showing it is safe and effective. This is a violation of human rights, using “science” to harm some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

Thanks for the nudge (and well said), @annaschapiro.bsky.social. Here's mine (a reshuffle of Anna's great points). Please submit something too! rfi.grants.nih.gov?s=6a2b1c22c3...

Anna Schapiro@annaschapiro.bsky.social · 14h ago

Comments due Tuesday! rfi.grants.nih.gov?s=6a2b1c22c3... Here is mine.

As best as I can tell, RFK Jr.'s latest antivax stunt runs counter to the WMA Declaration of Helsinki. Withholding HepB vaccination clearly does not meet any definition of clinical equipoise. Doing it anyway, overseas, is straight up colonialist medicine.

Melody Schreiber@melodyschreiber.com · 2d ago

BREAKING: The controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau is moving forward -- and here are the details on how it will take place: www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

It’s simply unimaginable that CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz has just bowed to RFK Jr. and approved funding for an utterly unethical clinical trial that will withhold the birth dose of HepB vaccine in Guinea Bissau. It is to be conducted by researchers accused of academic misconduct.

CDC Is Moving Forward With a Previously Shelved Controversial Hepatitis B Vaccine Study

“It’s a wholly unethical trial, and it shouldn’t be allowed,” says Dr. Paul Offit of Guinea-Bissau study

rollingstone.com

“The children who are randomly selected not to receive the birth dose of the vaccine, those who “lost the lottery”, face in their earliest days the risk of contracting hepatitis B, which can cause irreversible lifelong damage.” No words. I am speechless. This violates all ethical boundaries.

Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-Bissau

Recommended dose of hepatitis B vaccine will be withheld from thousands of newborns by Danish researchers

theguardian.com

If you are an NIH funded scientist and have not commented, you are agreeing that this change is a good idea. If, you, like me, think ditching peer review is a bad idea, take the 5 minutes and post a comment.

Coalition for Life Sciences@c4lifesciences.bsky.social · 2d ago

The deadline is approaching! NIH is proposing changes to how peer review is used in funding decisions and how outcomes are reported and they want to hear from you. Comments are due by October 13! Comment here: grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Trump and RFK jr. want to use your tax dollars to let children die from preventable diseases in Guinea-Bissau. Stand Up For Science says: NOT ON OUR WATCH!

4 reasons the Trump administration is attacking science. 🧵 This is still one of the most common questions I hear from people - but why!? Isn't science good for everyone?! So, here is my current thinking on why...

NEW: In March the White House released an FY27 budget request that zeroed out the National Science Foundation's directorate of Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE). For months it was unclear what would happen. Now, with FY26 over, the damage to SBE is coming to light. My reporting:

‘Complete devastation’: How NSF gutted its social sciences research

Agency body that funds sociology, linguistics, and archaeology studies in U.S. gave 90% fewer new grants this year

science.org

As news unfolds from Cornell to Epstein files, know that a different future is possible: One in which we each view violence against girls/women as *our* issue and take action. To explore your self-interest, check out Every 90 Seconds (even literally from this #Waukegan Public Library, IL!). #DVAM

If there’s one thing I hate, it’s paying big publishers for science that should be open. And thanks to Cam @camhostinar.bsky.social and the editors, now we don’t have to! Check out her new journal that is FREE to publish open access in!

Cam Hostinar, Ph.D.@camhostinar.bsky.social · 4d ago

I am pleased to announce the launch of our new diamond open access journal Psychology Across Development (accepting submissions starting today!). We are a lifespan developmental journal. (1/3) escholarship.org/uc/psycdev

I am pleased to announce the launch of our new diamond open access journal Psychology Across Development (accepting submissions starting today!). We are a lifespan developmental journal. (1/3) escholarship.org/uc/psycdev

Terrible news for higher education. This will effectively kill OPT, which is major incentive for international students. $70k fee university must pay. Seems like game over for OPT. Will go into effect after 30 day public comment and 60 day implementation delay.

Catherine Rampell@crampell.bsky.social · 5d ago

Trump admin's new rule adding prohibitively expensive new fees for "OPT"—temporary work authorization program for international students and new grads in the United States—is out. Would require colleges to pay $70,000 for year one. $30,000 for years two and three combined for STEM fields.

Trump corrupted America's most innovative institution, the National Science Foundation, by stealing $1.4B mandated by Congress for research. 🧪 🧵

Damn.

Erin J. Wamsley 🧠📈😴@wamsleylab.bsky.social · last wk.

The fiscal year is over. The dying Social, Behavioral, and Economic division of NSF ended up awarding 90 total grants this year, as opposed to ~700-800 in recent past years. Source: grantwitness.org/nsf/analyses...

It’s, um…interesting that the documentation req’d by disadvantaged folks to access social safety net programs - in the interest of “accountability” to ensure no improper use - is not req’d by the very politicians who rail about the need to be responsible with taxpayer dollars.

Karen Benjamin Guzzo@karenguzzo.bsky.social · 2w ago

STARES IN CONCUR: “House lawmakers spent $6.7 million of taxpayer money on meals and lodging last year — a 21 percent increase over 2024 — under a reimbursement program that doesn’t require them to provide receipts.”

Not enough people take seriously "funding delays"/"bureaucratic nonsense can kill people" but here it is right here. If I was mad when a patient died because it took a few extra months for lawyers to try to look for a legal basis for an international data transfer, I'm incandescent, now.

NIH funding cuts delayed a promising childhood brain cancer trial. Patients lost time they didn't have

A delayed clinical trial underscores the stakes of federal research funding cuts for children with DIPG, a deadly brain tumor with few treatment options.

cnbc.com

New coverage of the Trump administration's move away from housing first for folks experiencing homelessness: apnews.com/article/trum...

Trump’s shift from 'Housing First' is causing upheaval for homelessness programs and many they serve

The Trump administration is shifting federal policy and dollars away from the “Housing First” approach that has been at the heart of federal homelessness policy.

apnews.com

This is ridiculous. The only avenue for fellowships for international scholars has been the K99. It was already so hard to get, and now there is no way for them to come and train and build a career in the US. It will decimate our ability to recruit the best scholars around the world.

MagnoliaBouton@magnoliabouton.bsky.social · 2mo ago

NIH plans to block international researchers on visas from accessing key funding avenue: the K99/R00. Devastating news for the international research training community, who strongly contribute to US biomedical research. All will feel this great loss! www.statnews.com/2026/08/07/n...

*try* to log into things

The Great Pumpkin Papers 🎃🎃🎃@professormusgrave.bsky.social · 2w ago

As a professor, most of what I do is log in to things

A great overview of how the Trump admin cultivated fear inside NIH to force compliance, even with harmful, unethical & unlawful orders. Also covers origins of the Bethesda Declaration community. From my friend & co-organizer Dr. Wen-Ying Sylvia Chou. www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...

NIH Employees Lived in A Culture of Fear, So They Started Keeping Receipts

Sylvia Chou, former NIH program director, says “nobody’s OK” after massive disruptions to funding policies and infrastructure.

psychologicalscience.org

Please read this letter with important considerations for training the next generation of clinical trialists. Its powerful that so many organizations came together. Thanks to everyone involved. Consider commenting on the NIH RFI by the 9/30 deadline: grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

27 UNIHTED@27unihted.bsky.social · 2w ago

We joined The American Society for Clinical Investigation and more than 30 other organizations to support early career clinician scientists because we believe patients deserve to see steady development of new treatments far into the future.

Once again, I gotta say: you cannot treat anything you’re feeding into an AI as anonymous. There are enormous ethics implications for, e.g. referees who are clearly uploading others’ unpublished papers without consent, let alone health care professionals or law enforcement

Carl Zimmer@carlzimmer.com · 2w ago

Four days ago, a scientist was surprised by the news that Anthropic discovered new virus genes for making DNA. He says he’s been studying them for years—and feeding his data to Anthropic’s AI as part of his own research. Coincidence? Here’s my story. nyti.ms/3VSWayc

Hey, ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson here. I’m taking over the account to tell you about my new story. For months, I posed as a problem gambler on DraftKings to test the company's "responsible gaming" safeguards. Spoiler alert: They made me a VIP — and I lost $10K. Here's how it all went down. 🧵

I agree with some points, not all. 1. America's world leadership is slipping due to the continued assaults on science. 2. Meanwhile. China ramps up its R&D spending. Now, Beijing accounts for 1/3rd of the world's clinical-stage drugs. 3. The NIH budget should be increased.🧵 🧪 archive.today/DtX6y

Opinion | I’m a Republican senator. America needs more science, not less.

America should invest in NIH medical research, not retreat from it.

washingtonpost.com

Greatest trick AI leaders have pulled is convincing many people—especially influential people in govt, media, and business—that their software is intelligent, independent, yet never culpable. Humans build it, humans deploy it, but no one bears responsibility for the things that happen when they do.

Dr Abeba Birhane@abeba.blacksky.app · 2w ago

over the past few weeks several AI evaluation/cybersecurity experts have explained how what's happening is a result of human incompetence rather than "AI going rogue". I'm begging the media to show a shred of journalistic integrity and stop parroting what altman or amodei say

Send this to every university President in the country.

Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social · 2w ago

Trump is raging at news orgs for refusing to cover his reception of Xi after he banned three from the White House. The real lesson here: When institutions join together to resist his abuses of power it actually works, sending him into a helpless fury. New from me: newrepublic.com/article/2158...

One has to wonder if the NIH requiring a change in biosketch formats and releasing the new template just a week before one of their major submission deadlines is a feature or a bug?

A great overview of NIH science under Trump: www.npr.org/2026/09/24/n...

These 6 charts show how NIH research funding has been reshaped under Trump

Stories of science funding being cut, labs shutting down and scientists losing jobs have flooded the media under Trump's administration. These six graphics show how those changes have affected U.S. bi...

npr.org