Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 13/10/2026This is always my response to arguments that social media is universally bad for teens. Obviously there are serious concerns, but my high school experience would have been so different had I known there were others in the world with my strange interests and they would one day be my friends. 030
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Bexorg, the biotech company keeping human brains alive* in vats for up to 24 hours, is scaling that up to 2 weeks with $28.3m from @arpa-h.bsky.social. Our @science.org story explains why this could be useful for testing new drugs. www.science.org/content/arti... (*sorta)science.orgNot alive, but not dead: disembodied human brains used for drug testingBy restoring some functions to intact brains from deceased donors, the startup Bexorg hopes to create a better drug development test bed for neurodegenerative diseases 4145
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026The first transgenic cuttlefish is here, and it is beautiful. Our story @science.org explores the challenges @tessamontague.bsky.social and others face when engineering cephalopods. #GMO-Cthulhu 🐙🧪 www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgScientists engineered a glowing cuttlefish. Why was it so hard?Breakthroughs in genetically altering cephalopods pave way for new studies of perception, brain evolution, and more 0396
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Last week, an FDA advisory committee evaluated whether the agency should allow pharmacies to produce popular peptides and sell them to consumers. We explain the benefits and risks of these changes @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgFDA committee votes to make peptides more widely availableThe loosely regulated molecules could soon become easier to buy, despite unknowns about their risks 0113
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 24/07/2026🚨Breaking🚨: NIH is terminating health disparities research grants again. This time, they may successfully avoid legal challenges by giving specific reasons for their decisions. One grant so far, more to come. Exclusive @science.org by me and @jocelynkaiser.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgNIH is again terminating grants that the Trump administration dislikesWith cancellation of health disparities project, agency may be testing new way to legally kill politically sensitive grants 28361
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Exclusive @science.org: Circadian biologist Satchidananda Panda is resigning from Salk following multiple sexual harassment investigations. Lab members and other employees spoke up after Salk refused to reveal the investigations' findings. #MeTooSTEM www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgProminent Salk Institute biologist to resign following sexual misconduct investigationStaffers complain that Salk allowed circadian rhythms researcher Satchidananda Panda to depart quietly, while the allegations and findings remain under wraps 0258
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 10/07/2026🚨 Update🚨 : I'm thrilled to be starting as a fulltime reporter at Science! I'll be covering biomedical research and science policy from Boston. Please send me tips about science, scandals, and cephalopods. 🧬 4683
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 17/06/2025Octopuses "taste" microbes in the environment using special receptors on their suckers, allowing them to protect themselves and their eggs from disease. My 🐙 story for @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...science.org‘Truly amazing’: Octopuses ‘taste’ harmful microbes with their suckersUnique ability allows the animals to protect themselves and their offspring from decaying food and other material 110815
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 16/06/2025"Have we no shame?” District judge William Young ruled that NIH must restore some cancelled grants, then berated the administration for the racial and gender discrimination behind the terminations. Now we wait for his full ruling -- and a likely appeal. @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgJudge orders NIH to restore hundreds of grants cut under TrumpWilliam Young calls terminations illegal, berates agency for discrimination 04312
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 12/06/2025Could Monday's court hearing result in hundreds of cancelled NIH grants being restored? Here's what we know so far -- and what's at stake. @science.org www.science.org/content/arti... 0266
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 08/05/2025An AI model tried its best to predict the next #pope, but there's just not enough data about the secretive #conclave process. My story in @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgAI predicted the next pope. Did it get it right?Researchers use algorithms to study political factions within the Catholic Church 3163
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 25/04/2025I love how my transcription software, MacWhisper, faithfully transcribes my space heater and dog commands when I forget to turn the recorder off. (It's a great program tho and @jordi.bsky.social seems like a cool guy) 030
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 18/04/2025The NIH is now halting ALL funds to Harvard and other universities, but grant managers can't tell them about it. So we at @sciencemag.org did instead. www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgNIH freezes funds to Harvard and four other universities, but can’t tell themMove follows broader White House attack on Harvard funding and stop-work orders to contractors 153
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 03/04/2025The NINDS scientists fired in the RIF are back at work - for now - after a "coding error" led to their accidental termination. HHS blames "broken systems left to us by the Biden administration." My story @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgAfter ‘coding error’ triggers firings, top NIH scientists called back to workNeuroscience institutes tells 10 scientists placed on leave it’s working on a “long-term” solution to officially reinstating them 99737
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 02/04/2025"It’s kind of a textbook case of arbitrary and capricious.” A lawsuit alleges that NIH didn't follow proper procedure and was unconstitutionally vague when abruptly terminating >600 grants. My story @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgLawsuit aims to overturn many NIH grant terminationsMultiple groups and NIH-funded scientists challenge agency’s decision as arbitrary and capricious 09632
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 01/04/2025One high level HHS official shown the door told @science.org, “I couldn’t have worked with these asshats anyway.” www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgTrump administration purges U.S. health agency leadersReassignment letters come as reductions in force begin at NIH, FDA, and CDC 063
Reposted by Sara ReardonDave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 01/04/2025From a source at NIH who survived today's 1300 or so firings: "Today has sucked big ass donkey balls."splinter.com'Bloodbath' at NIH and Elsewhere at HHS BeginsSplinter is your home for news and opinions that challenge power in our political and economic system that's becoming more unhinged each and every day. 931669
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 31/03/2025"We spent all this money on this research and we’re not even going to be able to give taxpayers the outcomes." DOGE's cuts to NIH grants may save money on paper, but terminating studies without notice ultimately wastes money, our analysis shows. @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgAre terminations of NIH grants wasting billions of taxpayer dollars?DOGE argues killing grants saves money, but a Science analysis suggests more than $1.4 billion in sunk research costs may produce few results 314685
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 24/03/2025They cite a statute that says they can legally cancel grants that "no longer effectuate program goals or agency priorities," which aren't all that well defined. Here's an example of a letter. bsky.app/profile/davi... 140
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 22/03/2025Exclusive from me and Jon Cohen @science.org: NIH is terminating nearly 1000 grants in a series of batches. One, which conducts HIV and TB clinical trials in South Africa, was labelled as a "DEI" study that "harms the health of Americans." www.science.org/content/arti...science.org“Orchestrated assault”: New tsunami of NIH grant cuts hits South Africa hardAgency moves to terminate nearly 1000 awards, including programs involving “DEI” 54740
Sara Reardon @sarareardon.bsky.social · 11/03/2025The NIH is cancelling dozens of grants involving vaccines, including a project that studied whether the COVID vax is safe for breastfeeding mothers. mRNA vaccine research is next on the chopping block. Story @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgNIH to ax grants on vaccine hesitancy, mRNA vaccinesMove reflects vaccine skepticism of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 14216