To those in Salt Lake City for #ESA2026: I’m happy to chat about research or policy developments that you think Science’s news team might want to cover. I can also talk with anyone who might want to write a personal essay for Science’s Working Life section. Feel free to DM me.

An Ecuadorian biologist is accused of scientific misconduct, inflating species counts, mishandling animals, entering reserves without permission and potentially complicating the development of lifesaving snake antivenoms. For more than a year, I investigated him for @science.org:

Did this scientist go too far trying to save Ecuador’s wildlife?

Alejandro Arteaga’s efforts to identify and protect tropical reptiles and amphibians have entangled him in controversy

science.org

"I became the scientist I am because my supervisors and collaborators were willing to share ideas, resources, and mentorship. It is a strange feeling for me to see that culture threatened." #ScienceWorkingLife https://scim.ag/4mNW4Br

More inclusive journal policies ease author name changes on published papers These policies allow authors to change their names without public notification of any kind. #TransDayOfVisibility https://bit.ly/4qZMGeH

"Looking back, saying 'yes' to teaching was one of the most transformative decisions of my career. It didn’t just make me a better educator; it made me a better scientist." #ScienceWorkingLife https://scim.ag/4sE0Dk4

"In our culture, preferring an algorithm to a trainee feels like a betrayal of the academic mission." #ScienceWorkingLife https://scim.ag/4bjmEwT

As #AI shakes up science, this professor is wrestling with whether to give a new project to a graduate student or AI. Our latest @science.org Working Life essay. www.science.org/content/arti...

Why I may ‘hire’ AI instead of a graduate student

“It can competently perform a lot of the work I need immediately,” this professor writes

science.org

Career effects of preprints get mixed reviews from biomedical researchers Junior researchers are more likely to embrace preprints; grant reviewers and hiring committees express doubts. https://bit.ly/4ljsF1n

My latest: in an interview with @science.org, new NASA administrator Jared Isaacman promises a big uptick in lunar robotic missions, another potential Mars 2028 mission beyond comms, and continued support for earth science observation. (Sorry astro and helio folks, time went fast.)

NASA administrator talks to Science about studying the Moon, Mars—and Earth

Jared Isaacman says agency may accelerate lunar science program and could tackle a new Mars mission in 2028

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"There is perhaps no stronger evidence of the [Trump] administration’s objectives to reduce the quality of the US scientific workforce than its treatment of the [NSF]’s flagship Graduate Research Fellowship Program," writes H. Holden Thorp in a new #ScienceEditorial. https://scim.ag/4d0fi3N

Rejoice! It’s grad student recruitment weekend! Our Experimental Error columnist shares advice for making the most of graduate school interviews. #NewSciGen https://bit.ly/46IcSDg

NIH sent notice this week that it will no longer recognize a union of early career researchers on the basis that trainees aren't "employees." My latest for @science.org. www.science.org/content/arti...

NIH reneges on recognizing union for early career researchers

The biomedical research agency says trainees in its labs are not “employees”

science.org

"Losing my institutional email address felt like losing a small but vital piece of the scientist I had become." #ScienceWorkingLife https://scim.ag/3OGpS67

NSF's #GFRP has been embroiled in controversy over the past year. The agency released FAQs today in response to concerns that applicants have had proposals returned without review (RWR). It says there were about the same number of RWRs this year, but that comparison comes with a big asterisk.

"As a scientist, I was trained to seek evidence, test hypotheses, and adjust based on data. However, in the classroom, I was teaching without any feedback." Our latest @science.org Working Life essay—about an innovative teaching experiment. www.science.org/content/arti...

I wasn’t sure students were grasping my lessons—so I devised an experiment

“Science communication, like science, thrives on evidence and awareness,” this chemistry lecturer writes

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Are #openaccess fees that some journals charge authors too high? The Chinese Academy of Sciences, the world’s largest research institution, reportedly thinks so and plans to stop funding some, a move that could shake up #scientificpublishing. @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

Major Chinese funder to stop paying fees for 30 pricey open-access journals

Move comes amid effort to grow the country’s own journals

science.org

The evolution of the football helmet, a critical safety device, has accelerated in recent years, driven by concerns over the long-term effects of concussions, new concepts and materials, and data-driven test protocols. Learn more this week in Science: https://scim.ag/4rAjjjN

The 2026 budgets of individual science agencies may be lean, but Mitch McConnell once again lead Congress in earmarking big bucks for homestate university research facilities www.science.org/content/arti...

Lawmakers spend big on home state science projects

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, king of congressional earmarks, steers $165 million to his alma maters

science.org

"One bad year could kill one of our favorite scientific societies." In my latest story for @science.org, I explored how U.S. conferences fared over the last year amid concerns about an attendance slump. www.science.org/content/arti...

Trump slump? Attendance plummets at some science meetings, but others hold steady

Amid travel bans, a government shutdown, and funding crunches, 2025 was a turbulent year for U.S. scientific societies

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The US government lost more than 10,000 STEM PhDs last year, according to an analysis by Science of newly released OPM data, with 11 departures for every hire. And many OPM calls "voluntary" separations were probably pushed. www.science.org/content/arti...

U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office

A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies

science.org

Talk about a brain drain. The PhDs who left U.S. federal STEM or health jobs last year had >106,636 years of experience. More grim statistics compiled here: www.science.org/content/arti...

How many STEM Ph.D.s were lost from the U.S. federal government last year? My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive. www.science.org/content/arti...

"Research is messy. … Trying to protect students from that reality does them a disservice." On #InternationalDayOfEducation, take a look back at this Working Life essay on teaching students about scientific failure. https://scim.ag/4sTaQcH

"When the paper finally appeared in print, I was in no condition to rejoice." Our latest Working Life essay explores the burnout a scientist experienced after pouring himself into the pursuit of a Nature or Science publication. www.science.org/content/arti...

How chasing a high-impact publication nearly broke me

“Looking back, I’m not sure it was worth the sacrifice,” this scientist writes

science.org

Whatever Prototaxites was, it wasn't the Godzilla of Fungus. (Or any kind of fungus.) www.science.org/content/arti...

Bizarre 400-million-year-old fossil was an unknown life form

Enigmatic organism known as Prototaxites cannot be fungus, new analysis finds

science.org

"What we’re … seeing is the toll of the uncertainty." My latest story for @science.org—part of a package that explores how the U.S. scientific community has changed under Trump—includes new numbers on graduate enrollment and faculty hiring. www.science.org/content/arti...

I actually wrote something for a change: a look at how the US scientific community is trying to push back on Trump policy changes they oppose. | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

In the age of Trump, are U.S. scientists ‘bringing white papers to a gunfight’?

An unprecedented assault has forced researchers to rethink their advocacy tactics

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"I wish I could tell my grad school self it’s OK to feel out of your depth; even deans can feel that way." Our latest Working Life essay. @science.org @sciencecareers.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...

As a new assistant dean, I felt out of my depth—until I looked to my past for guidance

“I … knew any career growth would come with self-doubt and uncertainty,” this university administrator writes

science.org

"I was thrilled to be on an exchange semester overseas, but I saw it as just a detour from my imagined career path. I didn’t realize I was already pedaling toward a different life ..." Check out one of our top #ScienceWorkingLife essays of 2025: https://scim.ag/3Y573en

"… I share my story in the hope that others … will reflect on moments when trust mattered in their own career journey, and on the responsibility we each hold in ensuring that the next generation enters a scientific world where safety is actively protected." https://scim.ag/4sdMVof