iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Geoff Brumfiel @gbrumfiel.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The IceCube neutrino detector has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in physics. The Trump administration has proposed slashing its budget in half in 2027.

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Earlier this year the scientific community successfully fought back on dramatic changes in Federal funding proposed by the Trump Administration.Now another RFI is proposing substantial changes that would damage peer review. This letter from SDB President Helen McNeill lays out the issue clearly 1/n

Dear SDB Members,

I am writing you now to ask everyone to respond to a proposed change to the way that grant review information at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is communicated to grant applicants, institutions, and NIH program staff. This is your opportunity to provide feedback on the process that selects our grants for funding.

The proposed change means that individuals, institutes and NIH staff will no longer receive the final overall impact score or percentile score that reflects the scientific opinion of a panel of experts. Currently, three reviewers provide their detailed opinion of a grant, and then the entire panel asks questions, can examine figures, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of a grant, and then members all independently score. The final overall impact score reflects this discussion and careful consideration of the entire scientific panel.

The proposed change is to now simply divide the scored grants into three categories: Scored applications would be grouped into three broad categories - “Most Competitive (top 25%),” “Competitive (26%-50%),” and “Not Discussed”. The motivation for the change is that decisions would now focus on the comments of reviewers, not the score of the grant to determine which grants to support. However, the current mechanism allows for scores and comments to be considered. Thus, removing the score component from NIH staff makes selection of which grants to fund more burdensome for NIH staff.

The loss of detailed scores will also make it more difficult for researchers to assess how competitive an application was and determine whether to revise and resubmit it. An application ranked top 2% and one ranked 24th% would receive the same label, even if the scientific panel viewed them quite differently. Meanwhile, applications ranked 25th%and 26th% would be placed in different categories because of a tiny difference that NIH itself says should not be treated as meaningful. The proposal would erase potentially important differences while creating arbitrary new dividing lines.

This is a dramatic loss of transparency in the scientific review process. Under the new plan, principal investigator(s), applicant institutions, NIH program staff, ICO leadership, and the relevant NIH Advisory Council will no longer have access to the final overall score.

NIH is explicitly asking for input on this particular question.

This is a Request for Information (RFI), not simply an announcement of a policy that has already been finalized. NIH says comments will be used to inform the final recommendation, including implementation and communication.

Please comment here: https://rfi.grants.nih.gov/?s=6a2b1c22c3fcfda46e0badd2

Deadline for response receipt is October 13, 2026, 11:59 PM ET.

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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

The combined MMR vaccine, developed by Dr. Maurice Hilleman in 1971, “is more convenient for patients, and this convenience actually saves lives. Fewer injections translate as fewer missed doses, and therefore more protection in a shorter time. The MMR vaccine has saved millions of lives worldwide.”

si.edu

Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccines | Smithsonian Institution

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

When in doubt, ask who benefits The vaccine schedule from HHS is what insurance companies will pay for. If the vaccine is no longer on the schedule, will insurance companies pay for it? Who benefits from not paying? 👀 Not hospitals, not schools, not families, and definitely not children

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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

I mean in the U.S. we’re in the midst of the worst measles outbreak in decades and the President decides that it’s critical, right at this very moment, to further undermine trust in the MMR vaccine.

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Ngl but that’s exactly why I’m grateful I took an alternative postdoctoral fellowship. My friends in traditional postdocs are so terrified rn

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 05/08/2026

Congrats @abdulelsayed.bsky.social! If he wins in November, he will be the first Senate member with an advanced public health degree, which we so desperately need right now!

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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

The most terrifying enshittification I've discovered has been learning that Microsoft Word documents no longer auto-save if you are not saving them to one of their own proprietary cloud services. I'm slapping control-S like it's 1999.

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Boo-tros Boo-tros Ghoulish @dlbowman76.com · 03/08/2026

I'm going to alienate some people now. Abortion is a critical part of gynecological care. Full stop. Hormonal birth control is used by many individuals simply to regulate difficult menstrual cycles. Legislators who don't understand the minutiae of reproductive biology should SHUT THE FUCK UP.

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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

No corporation or corporate PAC should be able to buy a seat in Congress.

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Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

An initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play

The Campaign to Force Genital Exams on Girl Athletes Soon Washington State could require sex-verification tests for those playing sports in schools.
Portrait of Andrea González-Ramírez
By Andrea González-Ramírez, a senior writer for The Cut who covers systems of power.

Those physicals, Maria explains, are usually perfunctory: “Like, Are you walking normally? Are you lightheaded? I have never had to take any clothes off. I’ve never felt uncomfortable or violated.” If IL26-638 were to pass and Maria were still in school, she says she would likely drop out of her team. (We’re withholding Maria’s real name to protect her privacy.) “I honestly don’t know if I would be able to do these tests,” she adds. “It would also make me question, If I do it, are all my teammates going to too? Or would I just play with the three or four girls who are willing to or have access to do it?”

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I-270, Exit 1 @i270exit1.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

🚨🚨 FEDS and everyone else 🚨🚨 🧵Tomorrow is the last day to comment on the Office of Personnel Management rule, “Promoting Employee Accountability" at www.regulations.gov/commenton/OP... This rule eliminates employee protections and rights, and hastens the firing process. Specifically, it... 1/4

regulations.gov

Regulations.gov

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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

They cannot stop a movement. Not here in Michigan.

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Shiv Ramdas Mens Rice Activist @nameshiv.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

I think it also revealed just how quickly a bunch of otherwise very hard problems can be to solve with global collective action. The fuckin Ganga was running clear water for the only time in my lifetime because for 2 weeks nobody threw garbage in it. The canals in Venice had fish.

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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

What the US government is doing to Dr. Fauci is the embodiment of what they are doing to scientific infrastructure overall.

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 30/07/2026

Let’s be clear here, when scientists say mistakes were made at the start of the pandemic, we DO NOT mean that we did too much. We mean not socially distancing quickly enough, not making tests widely available, and not acknowledging COVID is airborne and distributing N95 masks to everyone.

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 30/07/2026

Scientists and healthcare workers have saved millions of lives throughout the pandemic and in return have received relentless attacks and harassment. If we don’t support those who work hard to protect us, what exactly do you think will happen next time there is a deadly global outbreak?

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

The only reason I got through Jane Eyre was Thandiwe Newton’s amazing voice acting. Her voice for Mr. Rochester came from the depths of the Earth. I still have no idea how she did it

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Shoutout to @genetics-gsa.bsky.social’s Early Career Leadership Program! I can’t wait to share more about my work on funding and advocacy for other ECRs! genestogenomes.org/early-career...

genestogenomes.org

Early Career Leadership Spotlight: Bahaar Chawla

We’re taking time to get to know the members of the GSA Early Career Scientist Subcommittees. Join us to learn more about members of the Early Career Leadership Program.

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Also the discfree version of the ps5 was $100 less in cost – so while they blame the consumer, they created the circumstances to force the fo market in that direction!

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CoolCoolSkies @coolcoolskies.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

I cannot emphasize enough that people need to read. Anything and everything. Read shit you don't understand, read about points you don't agree with, read someone's praise AND criticism of something you love. You cannot stop learning. You cannot get lazy or complacent. Don't let them dumb you down.

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DEI Virologist @kyt-thatsme.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

I’m not even rooting for Spain like that but this is wildly egregious. That was a goal.

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 19/07/2026

Our last hope of saving this World Cup. Vamos España!

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DaveO @daveon.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

I don’t know what I just watched. That was the maddest football match I’ve ever watched.

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Dr Kathleen Millen @neurodevkathy.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

🚨 Heads up. Time to keep submitting comments. NSF is planning to comply in advance to OMB proposed grant policies. Comment by Aug 24. You should be an expert on this now!!

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

I used the tool to get the bones of my comment. Thank you to the team who built it! I also forwarded a shortened version to my senators and representative. #savescience

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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

For folks asking why bother commenting because the OMB won't care: comments help build cases for the courts by explicitly laying out harms. That's why it's really important to have your comments be as specific as possible. Also, contact your senators and reps! They actually do care about this.

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Julia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Scoop: NIH is on a mission to enlist one million Americans to share their genetic data to help with health research through a precision medicine program called “All of Us.” What participants don’t know is that at one research site, Palantir stores the data. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Palantir has a hand in NIH's most ambitious health initiative

The defense tech firm's work with public health data has largely flown under the radar.

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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 03/07/2026

🚨 HEADS UP: If you haven't submitted a comment on the OMB proposal yet, there's still time - but it's running out! There are only 10 days left to push back against Russell Vought's attempt to give political appointees unprecedented control over federal research funding. Take Action: zurl.co/Bl59I

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Martyn @martynpedler.com · 02/07/2026

"I don't think the robots are taking over. I think the men who play with toys have taken over. And if we don't take the toys out of their hands, we're fools." — Ray Bradbury.

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Genetics Society of America @genetics-gsa.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

New research in #GENETICS from @springcyclone.bsky.social et al. dissect how the DNA-condensing complex, Condensin I-DC, with a functional ATPase domain, uses energy in #Celegans to organize DNA in non-dividing cells. 🪱 🔗 buff.ly/qPp3J8T

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Our work demonstrated that it uses energy just like the others, and it needs that energy to regulate DNA architecture and gene expression. That means that condensin I-DC serves as a model for understanding how all condensin complexes may function in non-dividing cells! #worms #research #genetics

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

We used the microscopic nematode, C. elegans, to dissect how the DNA-condensing complex, Condensin I-DC uses energy to organize DNA in non-dividing cells. Condensin I-DC is nearly identical to other condensin complexes in other organisms but we asked if it was a real condensin. #genetics #research

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T. Ryan Gregory 🇨🇦 @tryangregory.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Digital asbestos is polluting science. Please, scientists, don't contribute to this. Even just by using ChatGPT to "help" with your writing or whatever. Just don't do it. www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

rollingstone.com

AI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don't Exist -- And They're Being Cited in Real Journals

Academic articles from authors using large language model are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself.

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

Tho I have some deep criticism for the commentary during Mikhail’s program 😒 whole lot of backhanded and mean comments, as if he hadn’t won silver at 2025 worlds

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

Hot take time The only performances at the #mensfigureskating that moved me was Maxim Naumov and Mikhail Shaidorav. Mikhail obvs had the jumps, but Max matched him in artistry. They were the only ones who gave me the same feeling as watching Yuzu, Javi, and Adam from 2018

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Again, it just makes me so mad bc there’s so much lore to use and they went for lazy but ended up being cursed “recognition“ bc they had to get different actors anyway What was the point? Other than a soulless cash grab 👀

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

She also would’ve been great a for that weird romance thing they wanted with Sauron, since her name literally means “Silver Queen” It also would’ve been awesome bc they could contrast it with her actual romance with Elrond, the elf she hasn’t yet married!

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Celebrian would’ve been perfect too bc she’s born after the First Age, so they could’ve written her to be curious and rebellious bc she was born in “peace”, that she didn’t understand why her mother won’t look for her father,

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Watching this makes me wonder why, if they desperately needed a female protagonist, didn’t they write her as Celebrian?! You know, daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn?! There’s a canon character for them to use

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

And we know why Amazon chose to use Galadriel for #RingsofPower 🙄 they wanted a recognizable character even though they literally had the recognizable IP!

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Like I’m mind blown at just how young Elijah Wood was in these fills but carried that emotional weight on his shoulders

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

You see, #lotr is a really vast world and one thing Peter Jackson did was to make sure he chose a good protagonist in both Frodo and Aragorn

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Bahaar @springcyclone.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

So I started watching the extended editions of #lotr to do attempt the “so it begins” at midnight, but I needed to take a break to complain about #RingsofPower

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