Matthew A. Barnes
@drbarnes.org
He/Him/Él; Associate Professor at Texas Tech; environmental DNA, freshwater ecology, biological invasions; BA from Southwestern University; PhD from University of Notre Dame. Posts are mine alone and do not represent my employer or other affiliations.
Fauci accuses Rand Paul of having an "unhinged obsession with calling for my prosecution" and of making "repeated slanderous comments," then says "although it pains me to do so... under advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the 5th Amendment to refrain from answering your questions."
The GOP scapegoating attacks on Dr. Fauci, a spectacle designed to affirm the conspiracy theories of a brain-wormed base, are chilling. What scientist or public servant, in their right minds, will choose to put themselves on the line during the next pandemic or crisis? www.cnn.com/2026/07/29/p...
Dr. Anthony Fauci repeatedly invokes the Fifth in dramatic Senate hearing about Covid pandemic | CNN Politics
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the US government response to the Covid-19 pandemic, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, refusing to testify Wednesday just minutes into a Capitol ...
cnn.com
The shameful treatment of Dr. Anthony Fauci is not only agonizing to watch on his behalf, but also really dangerous for the USA in general, as it probably leads many scientists to question the value of sharing their expertise with the government.
I think people who do not work in media have trouble grasping how genuinely terrifying it is watching organization after organization (even those ostensibly held by entities able to fund them!) continually get carved down into nothing. Lights going out all over
Asher Elbein@asherelbein.bsky.social · 2w ago"Most of the affected employees were at National Geographic, both at the cable network as well as editorial and operations." 🫠
...and the recent OMB suggested revisions will make this even more transparent, unabashed, unscrupulous
tony romm@tonyromm.bsky.social · 2w agoNEW: In a stunning admission, the Trump administration admitted in court documents that it canceled billions in energy grants to states "based solely" on politics -- and whether that state was represented by Democrats and backed Harris in 2024. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
SCIENCE AND HEALTH IN AMERICA IS IN DANGER. Vought's OMB Proposal will put all federal grant funding into the hands of Trump's political appointees. Trump continues to spread climate-change denialism and tears down environmental regulations. 🧵
Why is the base R program the only software that gets included in the literature cited? Shouldn't every paper also include multiple "Gates et al." citations for Word, Excel, etc? (I'm asking this flippantly, of course, but I welcome thoughts on why some people treat R so special)
#WarOnScience #WarOnHealth #WarOnEthics
Paul Bleicher@pbleic.bsky.social · 2w agoAstonishing. RFK Jr. adds 8 members to a 6 member FDA advisory panel. 6 of them were sellers of peptides, and the 7th a compounding pharmacist. In an 8-6 vote with all 8 votes coming from these new panel members, the panel approved 4 peptides against the objections of FDA scientists.
Beyond being terrible guidance to give people on the specific issue… this is not how science works. A mountain of studies have failed to detect any link. That’s all the “ruling out the possibility” science can do.
Alicia Ault@aliciaault.bsky.social · 2w agoCDC has updated its vaccine safety pages. Now says: "The claim 'vaccines do not cause autism' is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism." Whoa #EpiSky #pediatrics #NeuroSky #PsychSky
Trade schools are wonderful institutions. But University of Houston is not a trade school. Texas students deserve better than this. www.click2houston.com/news/local/2...
University of Houston could remove nearly 40% of core curriculum courses under new Texas law
The University of Houston is considering removing nearly 40% of the courses currently offered in its core curriculum as administrators work to comply with a new Texas law that reshapes requirements fo...
click2houston.com
A name that needs to be remembered by every geneticist and molecular biologist: Dr. Mary-Dell Chilton. RIP. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/s...
Mary-Dell Chilton Dies at 87; Helped Create First Genetically Modified Plant
In 1982, she led the research team that figured out how to genetically alter plants, a discovery that would eventually transform global agriculture.
nytimes.com
This is a good summary of everything HHS Secretary RFK Jr. is doing both publicly and behind the scenes to destroy the US vaccination program. He even wanted to end requirements for the polio vaccine. He will not stop, and Republicans in Congress will continue to do nothing about it.
Inside RFK Jr.’s push to dismantle decades of U.S. vaccine policy
Insider accounts reveal the scale of the health secretary's ambitions to curb childhood immunizations and unearth a link between vaccines and autism.
reuters.com
28 years of cyclosporiasis testing Screwworms eradicated in the US in 1966. Measles eradicated in the US in 2000. All are back because of this science denying administration.
Too bad we can't study gender affirming care at public universities in Texas...
Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 3w agoHegseth now wants taxpayers to pay to give testosterone injections to troops to make them better warfighters.
while we talk about the RFK's Diarrhea 2026 stuff, don't overlook the fact that there's a dog food recall going on too. unfortunately we don't have a good spokesvehicle for the FDA anymore, so Good Housekeeping will have to do.
FDA Announces Nationwide Recall of Popular Dog Food
Check your dog’s food for safety.
goodhousekeeping.com
In recent years, FDA inspectors have uncovered disturbing lapses in facilities producing food bound for American supermarkets. Under the second Trump administration, inspections became their lowest since 2011, excluding the pandemic. (Published Nov. 2025)
Foreign Food Safety Inspections Hit Historic Low After Trump Cuts
The dramatic shift in oversight comes at a time when the U.S. has never been more reliant on foreign food, which accounts for the vast majority of the nation’s seafood and more than half its fresh fru...
propublica.org
The road goes on forever, and the party never ends
Dr. K. Lotterhos@drk-lo.bsky.social · 3w agoOUR 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...
Good for discussion of Clean Air Act, Environmental Justice in #NRMpolicy
Reuters@reuters.com · 3w agoElon Musk's xAI has installed more than double the number of gas turbines than it has publicly acknowledged to power its Colossus 2 data center project, without federal permits, and the pollution is hitting predominantly Black neighborhoods the hardest reut.rs/4bIghEm
341,699 comments as of yesterday. Today is the deadline. Your voice impacts the future of US research & science. Please submit a comment if you haven't already.
Maureen Barr@barrlab.bsky.social · 4w agoPosted 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.
Whoa, over a quarter million people (so far!) have left a comment on the egrgious openly fascist takeover attempt of the OMB. You can too! @standupforscience.net has instructions and everything you need. It's not hard, and it's critically important to science. fight2win.standupforscience.net
Stand up for Science
Stand up for Science
fight2win.standupforscience.net
elizabethginexi.bsky.social@elizabethginexi.bsky.social · 4w agoThe comment count as of Sunday July 11, 2026 1:05pm ET.
Texas Tech’s new chancellor promised to remake the university system’s curriculum. A new lawsuit alleges the overhaul has ensnared material including Plato’s Republic, Holocaust lessons and “factual information about race.” https://chroni.cl/3RtLg07
A Bombshell Lawsuit Points to an ‘Extraordinary System of Censorship’ at Texas Tech
An 84-page complaint offers a glimpse into how the system’s curricular-review process has operated behind closed doors.
chronicle.com
Depending on what side of history you find yourself on, this is the most damning/promising report yet www.chronicle.com/article/at-t...
A Bombshell Lawsuit Points to an ‘Extraordinary System of Censorship’ at Texas Tech
An 84-page complaint offers a glimpse into how the system’s curricular-review process has operated behind closed doors.
chronicle.com
