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Mark Herman

@markhermanmd.bsky.social
550 followers 626 following 12 posts

Dad, scientist, physician, other. Endocrine Chief, Houston, TX. All views and opinions are my own.

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Reposted by Mark Herman
Jay Shendure @jshendure.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
New preprint from Shendure Lab on Locus-Scale aka Long-@$$ MPRAs led by the amazing Abby McGee & @carinabiar.bsky.social Most MPRAs test ~300 bp fragments next to a promoter. But real enhancers are bigger, act combinatorially and from a distance. 1/n www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Bryan Roth @zenbrainest.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
DREADDs in humans--update: 3 clinical trials using hM4Di in humans registered in China. 2 for epilepsy and 1 for Parkinson's Disease. In our original paper we stated: "...We suggest that at least one of these designer receptors, hM4D, will prove useful for neuronal silencing in vitro and in vivo.."
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Theresa Kim, PhD, MS @tyk314.net · 30/01/2026
(2) K99/R00 PIs whose eligibility would have ended in 2025 are granted an extension through 02 or 03 2026. K99/R00 PIs whose eligibility would have ended in January-March 2026 are granted an extension through June/July 2026. These extensions will be automatically granted.
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-26-021: Notice of Temporary Extension of Eligibility for the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Notice of Temporary Extension of Eligibility for the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) NOT-OD-26-021. OD
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Theresa Kim, PhD, MS @tyk314.net · 30/01/2026
🧵Good news out of #NIH today. (1) NIH is extending #ESI and #K99/R00 eligibility to accommodate researchers whose eligibility would have ended during the previous shutdown. Take a look at NOT-OD-26-020. If your ESI status would have ended in 2025, you get an automatic extension through 2026/03/31.
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-26-020: Notice of Temporary Extension to Early-Stage Investigator (ESI) Eligibility Period
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Notice of Temporary Extension to Early-Stage Investigator (ESI) Eligibility Period NOT-OD-26-020. OD
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Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
www.texastribune.org/2026/01/26/t...
texastribune.org
Greg Abbott halts H-1B visas at Texas universities, agencies
The governor said public universities and state agencies may not seek new visas without permission through the end of the 2027 legislative session.
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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Just to simplify what we think happens: Blue light hits pigments in the retina of migratory birds that become 'little magnets' that respond to magnetic fields as light & dark patterns on their visual field. In gamer terms, it's a 'compass on their HUD', merged in with visual data.
nature.com
Magnetic sensitivity of cryptochrome 4 from a migratory songbird - Nature
Cryptochrome 4 from the night-migratory European robin displays magnetically sensitive photochemistry in vitro, in which four successive flavin–tryptophan radical pairs generate magnetic-field effects...
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Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
“Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program Prohibition: Effective January 25, 2026, individuals who are a current party to a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP) are not eligible to serve as a senior/key person on an NIH grant or cooperative agreement.” grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-26-018: NIHs Implementation of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2026
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: NIHs Implementation of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support for Due Dates on or...
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Diabetologia @diabetologiajnl.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Ahlqvist's machine learning-based #diabetes classification predicts onset of diabetic end-stage kidney disease at an early stage of diabetes, allowing clinicians to tailor intervention and prevention strategies to individual clusters link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🔓
link.springer.com
Diverse combination of factors associated with the development of diabetic kidney disease among data-driven diabetes subtypes: analysis of the J-DREAMS registry - Diabetologia
Aims/hypothesis Available methods for predicting the onset and progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) are not yet ready for clinical application. We used a Ja...
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Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Confirmation of the new triage line at 65-70% of proposals. Introduction of a new “competitive but ND” class to permit exception pay pickups.
Details on altered peer review including the new triage line for 65-70% of apps.
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Ben-Sahra Lab @bensahralab.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Excited to share our latest work out today in @cp-molcell.bsky.social, revealing a molecular link between succinate dehydrogenase and purine synthesis, connecting two fundamental metabolic pathways. Huge congratulations to the first author, Mushtaq Nengroo! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... !
sciencedirect.com
Accumulation of succinate suppresses de novo purine synthesis through succinylation-mediated control of the mitochondrial folate cycle
The de novo purine synthesis pathway is fundamental for nucleotide production, yet the role of mitochondrial metabolism in modulating this process rem…
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Stephen Turner @stephenturner.us · 23/10/2025
redquack cran.r-project.org/web/packages... #Rstats pkg to transfer REDCap data to a database, specifically optimized for DuckDB
cran.r-project.org
redquack: Transfer 'REDCap' Data to Database
Transfer 'REDCap' (Research Electronic Data Capture) data to a database, specifically optimized for 'DuckDB'. Processes data in chunks to handle large datasets without exceeding available memory.…
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Reposted by Mark Herman
Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
Exposure to sugar early in life: a natural experiment among >63,000 @uk_biobank participants: rationing of sugar was associated with less cardiovascular risk in adulthood www.bmj.com/content/391/...
bmj.com
Exposure to sugar rationing in first 1000 days after conception and long term cardiovascular outcomes: natural experiment study
Objective To examine whether exposure to sugar rationing during early life is associated with a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular outcomes in adulthood. Design Natural experiment study. Settin...
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Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
The benefit of Ozempic (semaglutide) for protection from major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) is independent of weight loss magnitude and baseline adiposity, likely related to the GLP-1 anti-inflammatory effect thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
Semaglutide and cardiovascular outcomes by baseline and changes in adiposity measurements: a prespecified analysis of the SELECT trial
The cardioprotective effects of semaglutide were independent of baseline adiposity and weight loss and had only a small association with waist circumference, suggesting some mechanisms for benefit bey...
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Daniel Drucker @danieljdrucker.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Sweetening the diet with artificial sweeteners reveals in a clinical trial that prolonged consumption of S&SEs in a healthy diet is a safe strategy for #obesity management #weightloss #microbiota www.nature.com/articles/s42...
nature.com
Effect of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers on weight management and gut microbiota composition in individuals with overweight or obesity: the SWEET study - Nature Metabolism
The SWEET project is a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial that shows that long-term consumption of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers improves body weight control and elicits beneficial gut microbiota changes in adults with overweight or obesity.
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Bart Deplancke @bartdeplancke.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
🧵1/ Excited to share our new paper introducing a new #singlecell assay: scTF-seq, a high-throughput single-cell approach to explore how transcription factor (TF) dose shapes cell identity and reprogramming outcomes. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41... Big congrats to the entire team @EPFL & @SIAT_China
nature.com
Dissecting the impact of transcription factor dose on cell reprogramming heterogeneity using scTF-seq - Nature Genetics
This study introduces single-cell transcription factor (TF) sequencing, a single-cell barcoded and doxycycline-inducible TF overexpression approach that reveals dose-sensitive functional classes of TFs and cellular heterogeneity by mapping TF dose-dependent transcriptomic changes during the reprogramming of mouse embryonic multipotent stromal cells.
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Duke University School of Medicine @dukemedschool.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
A new study from Duke, led by Jonathan Campbell, PhD, reveals that pancreatic alpha cells do more than produce glucagon — they also generate GLP-1, a hormone that boosts insulin and regulates blood sugar. 🔗 Read more: medschool.duke.edu/news/alpha-cells…
Two individuals, one in a lab coat and gloves, working together in a laboratory setting.Person standing by a window with arms crossed, reflecting on a glass surface next to them.
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I-75 Scientist @flscitriguy.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Reminder starting in October NIH NOFOs won’t be posted in the Guide for grants and contracts. Tips on how to search for opportunities & set up a subscription for custom searches here: grants.nih.gov/news-events/...
grants.nih.gov
New Tool to Explore NIH Grant Opportunities | Grants & Funding
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From the Labs at Baylor College of Medicine @bcmfromthelabs.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Baylor @bcmhouston.bsky.social and associated institutions awarded grant to establish the Houston #Nutrition and #Obesity #Research Center @markhermanmd.bsky.social www.bcm.edu/news/baylor-...
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Ardem Patapoutian @ardemp.bskyverified.social · 18/09/2025
Apparently, chimpanzees consume equivalent of 1-2 standard alcoholic drinks per day in the wild via fermented fruit!! (h/t Nick Villarino) www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Ethanol ingestion via frugivory in wild chimpanzees
Natural daily consumption of dietary alcohol by chimpanzees suggests human attraction to alcohol may come from our ancestral diet.
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Nature Metabolism @natmetabolism.nature.com · 16/09/2025
RESEARCH | 🧪 @jessicab-felix.bsky.social , S Hartig et al @bcmfromthelabs.bsky.social N-acetylaspartate from fat cells regulates postprandial body temperature
bit.ly
N-acetylaspartate from fat cells regulates postprandial body temperature - Nature Metabolism
Aspartoacylase expression in white adipose tissue regulates circulating levels of N-acetylaspartate, which in turn modulates plasma pyrimidine levels and regulates postprandial body temperature.
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Matthew Aguirre @aguirre404.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
Thrilled to share the second half of my PhD work here! We show how data on expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) relates to the structure of gene regulatory networks (GRN). Much of the GRN / eQTL picture is unmapped, but what we do have says a lot… (1/) doi.org/10.1101/2025...
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MitoCarriers @mitocarriers.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
Our review on the peculiar properties of mitochondrial carriers of the SLC25 family out: portlandpress.com/biochemj/art...
Characterised members of the human SLC25 mitochondrial family. Members of the mitochondrial carriers are shown in rainbow (blue to red) cartoon and surface representations with their primary substrates shown in sphere representations to scale. Only one paralogue is shown.
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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
www.tmc.edu/press-releas...
tmc.edu
TMC Broadens Support of Houston Start-Ups with the Launch of Innovation Labs @ TMC - Texas Medical Center
(Houston) – Texas Medical Center (TMC), the largest medical complex in the world, today announced the launch of Innovation Labs @ TMC – a state-of-the-art 34,000 square feet laboratory and life scienc...
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Raffi Melkonian @rmfifthcircuit.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
An underrated form of social media is European travel bloggers coming inexplicably to Houston and then attempting to walk across 12 lane highways only to discover that there are no sidewalks or any other ways to get to any destination on foot once you get outside the city center.
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thewilliamslab @thewilliamslab.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
New #DiabetesBio Featuring! 1. Adipose fibrosis 2. GCKR & PNPLA3 in liver metabolism 3. Spotlight on Dr. Barbara Kahn (2025 Renold Award) 🎙️Libsyn: shorturl.at/DPEs3 ▶️ YouTube: shorturl.at/K40c1 🎧 Spotify: shorturl.at/slyKl 🍏 Apple Podcasts: shorturl.at/wT3j0
shorturl.at
DiabetesBio
DiabetesBio co-hosts Darleen Sandoval (University of Colorado), Kirk Habegger (University of Alabama-Birmingham), and Kevin Williams (UT Southwestern) interview authors of editor-selected biomedical r...
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NEJM.org @nejm.org · 13/07/2025
In 15 patients with primary aldosteronism, baxdrostat (a second-generation, nonimidazole aldosterone synthase inhibitor) resolved or reduced the severity of hypertension, excessive aldosterone production, and hypokalemia. Full SPARK study results: nej.md/40Js1kz #ENDO2025
A figure showing the changes from baseline in systolic blood pressure (SBP), plasma aldosterone–renin ratio (ARR), and serum potassium level for each patient.
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Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology @natrevgastrohep.nature.com · 02/07/2025
#gastrosky #medsky #immunology
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The American Society for Clinical Investigation @the-asci.org · 26/06/2025
Understanding the predictors of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease— ASCI member Peter Crawford & team suggest ketogenesis serves a protective role in MASLD-MASH progression via processes other than fat oxidation: buff.ly/f26w63M
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Christophe 🔬 Leterrier @christlet.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
Great nod to the photography work of Bernd and Hilla Becher
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NEJM.org @nejm.org · 21/06/2025
In the ACHIEVE-1 phase 3 trial, the oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist orforglipron significantly reduced the glycated hemoglobin level over a period of 40 weeks in adults with early type 2 diabetes. Full trial results: nej.md/4ngEZ36 #ADASciSessions
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Mark Herman @markhermanmd.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
Thousands gather at Houston City Hall for No Kings protest as nationwide movement takes center stage www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
houstonchronicle.com
Thousands gather at Houston City Hall for nationwide No Kings protest movement
The Houston demonstration is one of several planned in the region throughout the day in opposition to President Donald Trump's policies.
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Dr. Tanya Harrison @tanyaofmars.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
If you are a researcher whose federal funding has been terminated, the Spencer Foundation is offering rapid response grants to close the gaps. Application deadline is June 13: (h/t to @agu.org's Planetary Sciences Section newsletter for the info!) www.spencer.org/research-gra...
spencer.org
Research Grants
Our research grants are not designed for applicants to respond to a specific request – they are what you, scholars in the field, think we need to know more about. The goal of all of our research...
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Mark Gongloff @markgongloff.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Donald Trump and Elon Musk have left Houston, Tampa, New York and other major cities without head meteorologists just ahead of what will be another busy hurricane season This is straight-up life-threatening malpractice (h/t @lisamjarvis.bsky.social ) www.cnn.com/2025/05/02/w...
A map of the contiguous 48 states titled:
Thirty National Weather Service offices are without a chief meteorologist
Some of these offices issue forecasts for major population centers such as New York City, Houston and Cleveland. Several are prone to hurricanes and tornadoes.
Callouts include: 
Upton, NY - Covers New York City and southern Connecticut
Tampa, FL - Hard hit by Hurricane Milton in 2024
Houston, TX - All management positions vacant
Paducah/Louisville/Jackson, KY - Nearly the whole state of Kentucky is covered by forecast areas without leadership
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thewilliamslab @thewilliamslab.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
Powerhouse episode of #DiabetesBio is out! Catch up w/ #MikeRickels of #DiabetesCareOnAir, hear from 2025 Banting Medalist #SteveKahn, and get the scoop from #ADA Sessions Chair #MarkAtkinson. Plus, 75 years of NIDDK shorturl.at/uUOjv YT shorturl.at/Q3cE6 🍎 shorturl.at/Mrz3L 🎧 shorturl.at/iExmL
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erica cheng 鄭伊澄 @ericacheng.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
impact update: apparently, a couple of Houston bakeries/dessert shops are DMing each other about the crazy prices they're seeing after reading this. It's a more widespread problem than we think!
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Dr. Jeffrey Millman @jeffreymillman.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
NIDDK is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year by releasing a collection of articles highlighting the advances made. I am happy that I could contribute to one on advances in cell replacement therapy. Check it out! diabetesjournals.org/diabetes/art...
diabetesjournals.org
Advances in Cell Replacement Therapies for Diabetes
Islet cell replacement therapies have evolved as a viable treatment option for type 1 diabetes complicated by problematic hypoglycemia and glycemic labilit
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Eric Fauman (he/him) @ericfauman.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
The most famous heuristic in mapping gwas snps to genes is "it's usually the closest gene". But only slightly less well-known is this: consider the colocalized phenotypes. That is, a genetic variant seldom disrupts exactly one phenotype. What else does tugging on that thread do?
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Ming Tommy Tang @tommytang.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
8 Resources to study Transcription factor binding, enhancers and histone modification distribution  1. ENCODE www.encodeproject.org/
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Kevin Hall @kevinh-phd.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
After 21 years at my dream job, I’m very sad to announce my early retirement from the National Institutes of Health. My life’s work has been to scientifically study how our food environment affects what we eat, and how what we eat affects our physiology.
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Carles Foguet @cfoguet.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Our work on metabolic reaction fluxes as amplifiers and buffers of risk alleles for coronary artery disease is finally out in @molsystbiol.org ! www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.... A short thread on our key findings 🧵👇
embopress.org
Metabolic reaction fluxes as amplifiers and buffers of risk alleles for coronary artery disease | Molecular Systems Biology
imageimageUsing genetically predicted metabolic reaction fluxes, the authors identify reactions that can amplify or buffer the effect of coronary artery disease (CAD) risk alleles on disease susceptib...
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Tamar Haspel @tamarhaspel.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Now HERE'S an interesting study. Gets at a burning diet q: Can macronutrient ratios affect energy expenditure? Til now, the answer from research has been "yes, but only a little." Here's a study where *decreasing* protein ups energy expenditure a whopping 20%. www.nature.com/articles/s42...
nature.com
Dietary protein restriction elevates FGF21 levels and energy requirements to maintain body weight in lean men - Nature Metabolism
Dietary protein restriction in healthy, lean men elicits an increased energy intake to maintain body weight, which is driven, at least in part, by FGF21-mediated alterations to adipose tissue mitochon...
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
And now back to our regularly scheduled "Data and Concern" segment...
media.tenor.com
a pikachu holding a pokeball with the words now back to the show on the bottom
ALT: a pikachu holding a pokeball with the words now back to the show on the bottom
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Christoph Handschin @c-handschin.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
What are good #biomarkers of #aging? Exciting data on plasma proteomics, epigenetic clocks and other molecular parameters might supplement existing biomarkers of health, morbidity and mortality in the future. However, at the moment, good clinical data from large and heterogeneous... 1/3
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Extending my grant update this morning. Here are data limited to new and competitive renewal applications. The Pause is dead, Long live the Pause...
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Confirmed (by many sources) news about 50 NIH Study Sections being allowed to announce meetings in the Federal Register. As usual, MANY more questions than answers... 1/2
media.tenor.com
a muppet news anchor says " and now a muppet news flash " while holding a piece of paper
ALT: a muppet news anchor says " and now a muppet news flash " while holding a piece of paper
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Evan @evan7257.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
My son's life was saved by medical research. Trump wants to slash it. | Opinion www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/lett...
houstonchronicle.com
Trump wants to slash medical research funding. It saved my son's life.
Trump's funding cuts at the National Institutes of Health will hurt life-saving medical research across the country.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Some good-ish news from NIH “Federal Register notices for study sections run by CSR (but not those by ICs) will start being permitted again” As far as I know, the timing for this is not clear, but I will be checking the Federal Register.
media.tenor.com
a man in a red suit and tie is holding a piece of paper that says breaking news on it
ALT: a man in a red suit and tie is holding a piece of paper that says breaking news on it
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Soragni:Lab @alice.soragnilab.com · 24/02/2025
The NIH continues to be fully halted. 11/11 study sections canceled today, which includes the study section my grant was meant to be reviewed at. This is never ending and so damaging. www.csr.nih.gov/RevPanelsAnd...
csr.nih.gov
Review Dates
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Wondering if your study section cancelled? I update this sheet daily. As of today, 56/124 study sections that should have met since Jan 2, 2025 have "not met as scheduled." docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com
2025 Study section tracking
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Daniel Gorelick @danielgorelick.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
My colleague @rnareylab.bsky.social wrote this editorial for her hometown area newspaper. Well done & more please! www.heraldbanner.com/opinion/colu...
heraldbanner.com
Why federally funded science matters to Texas | Columns | heraldbanner.com
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