iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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John Stott @jpsastro.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Had a UKRI funded grant proposal rejected at the "AI triage stage". "This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review." 🧪 #academicsky

I am writing to let you know that, unfortunately, your application was not successful.

Review process

As part of the initial triage of the 179 proposals submitted to this call, each was assessed using an AI-based review. Every proposal was read independently by several different AI models against the same seven criteria used to shape this call (including cyber security relevance, research quality and novelty, importance of the problem addressed, feasibility of the project plan, likely outputs and impact, value for money, and responsible research practice), with each model asked to give a score and a written justification with supporting quotations from the text. To guard against any one model's idiosyncrasies, we also ran a second, independent process in which different AI models debated the merits and weaknesses of each proposal before reaching a judgement, again against the same criteria. Scores from both processes were combined to produce an overall ranking.

This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review. Projects selected for funding were drawn from those that progressed to the full human review stage. We recognise that AI-assisted assessment is a new and evolving part of the review process, and we are continuing to evaluate how well it aligns with the judgements of human reviewers on this call. We will soon produce a document detailing our method, so that others can build upon it and improve it.

Feedback on your application

Your application was not selected to progress beyond the AI triage stage. To provide transparency on the outcome of this assessment, we are sharing below the scores (out of 5) from each of the two AI review processes described above, together with the mean score across the two processes.

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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The immediate threat of the EO seems to have passed, but the greater attack on science by this administration is almost certainly not over. Some good thoughts on what we should be doing. I would add: get organized. Build connections and community. Many voices are louder than one.

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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Child: This is my first time meeting a mayor. Mamdani: Wow, have you ever met a prime minister? Child: No Norway PM Jonas Gahr Støre: *walks over*

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Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

"Russell Vought..accused NIH of funding “woke” initiatives that went against Trump’s goals...Vought floated an additional review to Trump.. a potential commission to review NIH’s grants. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya...defended NIH’s grant-making process..Trump appeared open to Vought’s criticisms"

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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 14/09/2026

There's A LOT of ways the Trump admin is currently attacking & decimating American science. Here's a breakdown of what they are doing, and what you can do about it. 🧵

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Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 12/09/2026

The US President's new proposal to tax international students has been approved by the White House for release this week. It's an unprecedented $100,000 tax on int'l grads who stay to work after graduation on Optional Practical Training (most grads do), a crucial bridge to remaining by any channel.

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Abby Dernburg @adernburg.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Biomedical scientists - a reminder that NIH proposes to "improve" peer review by hiding impact scores from Program Officers and applicants, and binning applications into broad categories of "Most competitive,""Competitive," or "Not discussed." Please provide feedback before the October 13 deadline!

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Under pressure, the DOD just released the text of its secret 10-year agreement with the NIH. Here are the biggest revelations from the document 🧵

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Daniel Moser @dmoser.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Thousands of scientists and other citizens joined together to post comments on this proposal, and Congress took action. Now's the time for a similar effort to block the major changes proposed in peer review at NIH 🧪 grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

grants.nih.gov

NOT-OD-26-088: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review

NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review NOT-OD-26-088. NIH

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Colette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

BREAKING: OMB PROPOSED RULE IS PAUSED UNTIL DEC 11th. This is a direct result of OUR ACTIVISM! It's a critical step in the right direction AND the fight continues. NOW, it's time to revoke the rule. Email here: fight2win.standupforscience.net/campaign/rev... www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

theguardian.com

House passes funding bill to avoid shutdown before midterms

Continuing resolution to approve government spending until 11 December passes 370-48 and will now go to Trump

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Scott Bagley @bagphos.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

#chemsky 🧪⚗️ #chemchat boost: post a fun chemistry meme

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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 11/08/2026

”This latest deal takes it to almost $4bn of taxpayer money spent on killing offshore wind projects.” Trump continues to dump taxpayer dollars into gutting effective clean energy in favor of building more fossil fuel plants to line the pockets of his donors." Article: zurl.co/9V5th

zurl.co

Trump administration to pay German firm $1.22bn to cut offshore wind leases

Agreement with RWE is fifth deal Trump team has made with energy companies, offering payouts to give up projects

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American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology @asbmb.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

The proposed OMB rule could have lasting implications for federally funded research. Don't miss The Future of the OMB Rule: What Comes Next? on Thursday (7/39) at 11 a.m. ET to hear the latest on congressional activity. 💻 Free registration: ow.ly/cGnk50ZrAgQ #ScienceServersUsAll

ow.ly

The future of the OMB rule: What comes next?

July 30, 2026 | 11 a.m. Eastern

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Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 25/07/2026

Admirable clarity @science.org

The Trump administration hates academic science funding, full stop. They hate where that money goes, and they hate who it goes to. They want to keep all that money for themselves, to hand out to favored cronies who can help them get elected and to steer yet more money and more power back into their hands.

That’s it. That’s the story

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American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology @asbmb.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Jennifer Zeitzer of @faseborg.bsky.social and @nmrkaygee.bsky.social, chair of the ASBMB Public Affairs Advisory Committee, will lead the conversation! #ScienceServesUsAll

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Protein Society @proteinsociety.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

🎉 PS40 starts this weekend! Before you travel: ✅ Review the daily program ✅ Plan your schedule ✅ Follow us for live updates & contests ✅ Pack your curiosity! Safe travels to everyone heading to Boston, we can't wait to see you! 🧬 #TPS40

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tony romm @tonyromm.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

NEW: Artists, academics, city leaders, civil engineers, congressional lawmakers, doctors, housing experts and more are among the many critics of a White House push to subject $1T in federal grants to political review. In short, they say it would damage public services www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/u...

nytimes.com

White House Faces Stiff Pushback on Subjecting Grants to Political Review

Academics, city leaders and congressional lawmakers number among the thousands to urge the Trump administration to reconsider a plan to assert more control over grants.

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laurageorgi.bsky.social @laurageorgi.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Congress does make a difference sometimes. Way down in the OMB's announcement, they said Congress told them not to mess with Indirect Costs (limited time period), so they won't and don't comment about Indirect because they will ignore your comment.

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 13/07/2026

Imagine flying an aircraft almost straight into the center of a Category 5 hurricane. And one of your most trusted turbulence trackers is a small stuffed Muppet dangling wildly inside the cockpit. This is Kermit, Miss Piggy and Gonzo, NOAA's meteorological research planes.

nyti.ms

When Vital Weather Data Is Needed, Muppets Take Flight

“For the most part, the aircraft have their own souls,” said a pilot of the meteorological research planes, which are known as Kermit, Miss Piggy and Gonzo.

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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 13/07/2026

🚨 HEADS UP: If you haven't submitted a comment on the OMB proposal yet, there's still time - but it's running out! TODAY IS THE LAST DAY to push back against Russell Vought's attempt to give political appointees unprecedented control over federal research funding. Take Action: zurl.co/cY8HD

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Phil Plait @philplait.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Astronomers turned to public crowdsourcing to help them find brown dwarfs in space. It, um, worked. REALLY well. badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/citizen-sc... 🧪 🔭

badastronomy.beehiiv.com

Citizen scientists find over 3,000 nearby brown dwarfs

No kidding, that’s a lot of brown dwarfs

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Budd @n7eoj.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

It has been criminally underreported but Kelsey Pfendler has just rowed solo across the Pacific Ocean from the US coast to Hawaii in record time. A 2,400-mile unsupported journey in 43 days, 17 hours, and 55 minutes. Notably beating the Men’s record by 9 whole days.

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RCSB Protein Data Bank @rcsbpdb.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Love this graphical abstract for "The Ascent of Miniproteins" pubs.acs.org/doi/ful...

"The march of progress" graphic created using miniproteins

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Reposted by Kevin Gardner

Matthew Cortland (they) @matthewcort.land · 02/07/2026

🧪 New from @dataforprogress.org: Federal research grants are awarded on scientific merit judged by panels of scientists and outside experts. Trump has moved to change that. Voters don't approve. www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2026/7/...

Bar chart of polling data from Data For Progress.
Title: Voters Want Scientists, Not the President's Team, Deciding Which Research Gets Funded.
Description: When it comes to deciding which proposals for scientific research get federal funding, which of the following comes closer to your view, even if neither is exactly right?
Response Options:
A) Decisions should be made by panels of scientists and experts based on scientific merit — research funding is too important to leave to political considerations.
B) Don't know
C) Decisions should be made by the president's team — elected leaders should direct how taxpayer money is spent on research.
All likely voters — 70% chose A, 8% chose B, 22% chose C
Democrat — 83% chose A, 5% chose B, 11% chose C
Independent / Third party — 78% chose A, 10% chose B, 12% chose C
Republican — 52% chose A, 9% chose B, 39% chose C

June 26–28, 2026 survey of 1,182 U.S. likely voters.

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American Society for Cell Biology @ascbiology.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

White House draft regulations could reshape federally funded research, including peer review and international collaborations. Learn what's proposed and why it matters. Comments due July 13. www.ascb.org/science-policy/white-h…

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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 27/06/2026

When they said, "wear a suit," I just assumed… Find a public pool near you at nycgovparks.org.

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Marshall @captain-exoplanet.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

June 27, 2006: I graduate from Astronomy Camp at the University of Arizona after a visit to the then-incomplete Large Binocular Telescope June 27, 2026: I obtain the first light spectrum on the iLocater spectrograph, one of the second generation of LBT instruments 🔭🪐 #exoplanets

A slightly dark and grainy photograph of a teenager with long dark hair accepting a graduation certificate and poster from a white-haired man. Both are wearing white "Astronomy Camp 2006" t-shirts. They are standing at the front of a classroom which is filled with other people, many in the same t-shirts.

A selfie of a smiling bearded white man wearing a "The Ohio State University Department of Astronomy" hoodie. He is standing in front of a giant telescope, much larger than a house, a huge frame of red and silver metal with a giant circular mirror visible at right.

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Kevin Gardner @nmrkaygee.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Excellent NYT opinion piece highlighting the past scientific contributions of something many Americans know – the Lewis & Clark expedition – to parallels in modern day science, including the need for proper support of long-term, ambitious aims. Free link: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/28/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Trump Could Learn a Thing or Two From Thomas Jefferson

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Magnetic Resonance News @nmr900.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Professor Lewis E. Kay @lek-lab.bsky.social University of Toronto/SickKids, has been promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest level of the Order of Canada, for his pioneering biomolecular NMR research, and training a new generation of scientists www.gg.ca/en/appointme... #NMRchat 🧲

gg.ca

Order of Canada Appointees – June 26, 2026

Companions Michael Andrew Fox, C.C. Burnaby, British Columbia and New York, New York, United States of America

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Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

OVERSIGHT HEARING - OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET 🧪 Tuesday 10 am June 30, 2026 appropriations.house.gov/schedule/hea...

appropriations.house.gov

Oversight Hearing - Office of Management and Budget

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American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology @asbmb.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

OMB has proposed major changes to the rules governing federal research grants. Comments are due July 13. ASBMB's new guide explains what's in the proposal, why it matters, and how to submit an effective public comment. Read more: www.asbmb.org/advoca... #ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates

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Karolin Luger @nucleosomepolice.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Please share this gift article from The New York Times with friends, family, sceptics, and People who think that studying weird things is a waste of money. Then follow up with meaningful discussion about what I call 'free range science'. Free without subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/20/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | The Science That Turned Lizard Venom Into GLP-1s Is Under Attack

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Kevin Gardner @nmrkaygee.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Outstanding NYT opinion piece by @jmcoller.bsky.social that succinctly and clearly makes the case for NIH- and NSF-supported fundamental research. Great piece of writing that highlights much of what’s at stake in current research environment

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Hemry, Local Bartender @bartenderhemry.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Shift drink: Reflecting Pool 1oz rum 1oz mezcal .75oz lime .75oz honey barspoon matcha muddled mint

The described cocktail in a coupe glass. It's very algae lookin

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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Non-scientist mutuals - did you know that Project 2025 is coming for scientific research? Your tax $ fund foundational, long term scientific research! Proposed changes would have political appointees, instead of scientists, make funding decisions. Bad idea... docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.com

Submit an OMB Comment! (Please.)

SAVE AMERICAN SCIENCE (Please! 💜 Annika @annikabarber.bsky.social) What are the proposed changes to scientific grant review and award? Read the proposal directly here: Regulation for Federal Financi...

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Chemjobber @chemjobber.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Resolved: the Reflecting Pool mess was a secret American Chemical Society operation designed to teach people about color chemistry on scale

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Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

A @nejm.org editorial today on the Office of White House Management and Budget (OMB) regarding their new funding proposal and politicization of science www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

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Kevin Gardner @nmrkaygee.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Glad to facilitate tomorrow’s discussion on this critical topic for anyone doing research supported by US federal funding. Please register to join in!

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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 14/06/2026

Parade. Thursday. Manhattan.

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The Athletic @theathletic.com · 14/06/2026

Jalen Brunson is your NBA Finals MVP 🏆

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Robert McNees @mcnees.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

James Clerk Maxwell was born #OTD in 1831. He showed that electric and magnetic fields are aspects of a single phenomenon, determined its governing equations, and concluded that light and other forms of radiation are electromagnetic waves. 🧪 ⚛️ 🎢 Image: J.C. Maxwell Foundation

A black and white photo of a young James Maxwell seated in a chair, wearing a dark suit and a white shirt with a band collar and tie a la Byron. He is holding something in his hand that looks like a large dial.

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 13/06/2026

i really, truly, find this offensive

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JAMA @jama.com · 08/06/2026

In 2025, the number of #NIH-funded investigators declined for the first time in a decade, with the steepest reductions among Black and Hispanic researchers and fellows. ja.ma/4ujDlzG

JAMA Research Letter: "Trends in National Institutes of Health Investigators by Sex, Race, Ethnicity, and Disability Status." Two line graphs show A) research project grant investigators (rising from ~40k to ~50k) and B) fellowships (fluctuating, peaking ~4.5k) from 2016-2025.

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Heidi B. Hammel @hbhammel.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

The Planetary Society created a fact sheet and action alert about the recent OMB proposal that would, among other things, insert politics into the proposal review process across science. More discussion here: www.planetary.org/articles/whe...

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