iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 9h

Hope can feel in short supply these days. But I am truly hopeful for the future, in large part because of the community we've built through the Bethesda Declaration. Proud to share these reflections on hope: ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.... May they bring you some hope.

ajph.aphapublications.org

Hope From the Front Lines: Reflections From the Bethesda Declaration Movement | Hope: A Public Health Blueprint for Action

American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) from the American Public Health Association (APHA)

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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 9h

“Cutting this much from the university budget will mean that some of the core functions of the university will be lost. It’s not possible to just do more with less — to work smarter, to trim around the edges. We’re going to have to do less with less.” Gift link: www.startribune.com/umn-cuts-sta...

startribune.com

Perry: What we lose if the U cuts $225 million

"Austerity doesn’t work. Instead, it creates a death spiral, where reduction in services leads to reductions in revenue, which lead to reductions in services, which leads to reduction in revenue, whic...

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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Letter from the American Society of Clinical Investigation regarding recent projected changes in NIH K (career development) awards. beta.the-asci.org/news/advocac... 1/3

beta.the-asci.org

Open letter to the NIH regarding proposed changes to K awards - The American Society for Clinical Investigation

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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

A great overview of how the Trump admin cultivated fear inside NIH to force compliance, even with harmful, unethical & unlawful orders. Also covers origins of the Bethesda Declaration community. From my friend & co-organizer Dr. Wen-Ying Sylvia Chou. www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...

psychologicalscience.org

NIH Employees Lived in A Culture of Fear, So They Started Keeping Receipts

Sylvia Chou, former NIH program director, says “nobody’s OK” after massive disruptions to funding policies and infrastructure.

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Are you looking for a postdoc exploring the cell biology of development, defining how cells change shape and move? Do you want to develop a research program & teaching skills preparing you for a position at a college or small University? Our new NIH grant will support those goals 1/n Please share

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Rheum Cat @rheumcat.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Ahhhh Stop turning the NIH off and on again

Over the weekend, there was a ScienCV update that invalidated certifications on Biosketches and Other Support pages. When you have a quick moment, can you please resend a certified version again?

Thank you,

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C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A new understanding of ribosomes and transfer RNAs has unlocked the ability for scientists to create custom genetic codes incorporating noncanonical amino acids. #chemsky 🧪

cen.acs.org

Custom genetic codes can now be created with ease

A new understanding of transfer RNA biology means researchers can assign up to 34 codons to amino acids of their choosing

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I'll save you the click-through: A lab at University of Copenhagen had been feeding draft manuscripts & data into "Claude Science" & then Anthropic announces a discovery that this lab made a year ago but hasn't published yet. It's plausible that Claude found the same signatures independently...

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

In 1926, an entire family in Berlin were killed when a seal ruptured in their refrigerator, releasing toxic gas in the enclosed space. Two local men decided to use their considerable powers of intellect to make refrigerators safer. Let's talk about the time Albert Einstein invented a refrigerator.

A man in a suit demonstrates a modern electrical refrigerator to a woman in a 1930's dress and hat, in what appears to be a showcase of an appliance store.

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Adam Kinzinger @adamkinzinger.substack.com · 27/09/2026

This admin has spent years going after science. It proposed the largest cut in NASA’s history, about a quarter of the agency and half of its science programs. But last month, a groundbreaking telescope left the launch pad anyway. And the story of how it got there is our good news this Sunday.

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Greg Priest @gregpriest.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Thomas Hunt Morgan was born OTD in 1866. If you're ever feeling that your work is uending and unedifying, remember that he once said this: "Two years work wasted, I have been breeding those flies for all that time and I've got nothing out of it." 🌱🐋🧪 #HistSTM

Photograph of Morgan's Fly Room at Columbia University, around 1920. American Philosophical Society.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

SCOOP: Top researchers at Columbia, Stanford, and others thought they were elected to elite scientific societies alongside Nobel laureates. The catch? The organizations are a sham. I spent the last month diving deep into a massive academic scam spanning continents, for @nature.com

nature.com

Exclusive: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchers

A Nature investigation reveals a network of organizations that have been building their ranks through deceptive practices.

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Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 25/09/2026

FYI to everyone submitting this October NIH cycle You need to re-certify your ScienCV AFTER Sept 26 (tomorrow) for your application or it may not be accepted. Great timing!

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Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist @princess-vimentin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

How interesting! One important aspect of managing cancer is mitigating the side-effects of chemotherapy. One side effect is neuropathy (prickly feeling in hands & feet). A mouse model shows that two doses of psilocybin before chemo prevented mice from developing neuropathy. 🧪 archive.today/1PLua

nature.com

Magic-mushroom compound blocks a severe side effect of chemotherapy in mice

Study shows that psilocybin acts on nerves to prevent the painful condition called peripheral neuropathy.

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Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

LMAO gotta love peer review: ”But outside experts said that the Anthropic researchers have yet to do the research required to confirm that they’ve found something new.” 🧪 www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/s...

nytimes.com

Anthropic’s A.I. Is Teaching Itself Biology. Now It’s Made Its First Discovery. (Gift Article)

Scientists at the company announced their first finding: a group of enzymes whose function is unknown.

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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

German chemist Dr. Ida Noddack co-discovered Rhenium (element 75) in 1925. She died #OTD in 1978. She was the first to propose the concept of nuclear fission (1934). Her theory was met with fierce skepticism and outright dismissed by contemporary physics giants. But 4 years later...🧵 #WomenInSTEM

A close-up, black-and-white portrait of Dr. Ida Noddack (1896–1978), the pioneering German chemist and physicist who co-discovered the chemical element rhenium and was the first to propose the concept of nuclear fission in 1934. Dr. Noddack is positioned at a slight three-quarter angle while turning her face toward the camera, establishing a direct connection with the viewer. Her light-colored hair is styled neatly, swept up and away from her face in a soft, textured wave arrangement typical of the mid-20th century. Her expression is composed and contemplative, marked by a subtle, knowing half-smile that conveys an aura of quiet confidence, intelligence, and academic resolve. She wears a simple, dark-toned V-neck blouse or jacket, drawing focus directly to her facial features. The portrait is set against a completely dark, minimalist background devoid of any objects or setting context, creating a formal studio aesthetic. The lighting is soft yet deliberate, illuminating the left side of her face to emphasize her expression while casting gentle shadows across her right cheek. The composition relies on high-contrast monochromatic tones and a grainy, vintage texture characteristic of early photographic film, reinforcing its archival and historic nature. The overall mood is dignified and deeply intellectual, honoring her enduring legacy as a foundational pioneer of nuclear and atomic science.

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

Update on Vought’s #ScienceDeathPanels: The administration is reportedly backing away from the promised EO that would have furthered political oversight at NIH. Looks like our advocacy has worked (for now). www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/u... When we fight, we win!

nytimes.com

Trump Backtracks on Plan for New Controls on N.I.H. Grants (Gift Article)

Democrats and Republicans in Congress opposed the creation of a commission with the power to veto federal research awards.

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elizabethginexi.bsky.social @elizabethginexi.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Federal rules say that an official may not “receive compensation from any source other than the government” for writing a book related to his official duties while in office. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/u...

nytimes.com

RFK Jr. Drew $4 Million in Book Advances From Publisher Who Also Monetized MAHA (Gift Article)

A new disclosure also shows $210,000 in consulting fees paid to Cheryl Hines, the health secretary’s wife, by one of several MAHA-affiliated groups capitalizing from his agenda.

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Harmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I see that @anthropic.com is now competing with PhD students in Biology/Bioengineering labs, whose biggest worry until now was being inevitably scooped by the Feng Zhang and Jennifer Doudna labs. Very different from Wild West days of RT discoveries in my PhD. www.anthropic.com/news/claude-...

anthropic.com

Claude discovers a novel enzyme system

In early results from our new life sciences research lab, Claude agents found an enzyme system whose function is still unknown.

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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Occupational medicine pioneer Dr. Harriet Louise Hardy was born #OTD in 1906. Her discovery of the link between industrial beryllium exposure and fatal lung disease forced the fluorescent lamp industry to completely eliminate the toxic metal in 1949. #WomenInSTEM 🧵

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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

As you call members of Congress to raise concern about a Vought-led grant review panel, encourage them to sign onto proposed legislation that could help: 1) Follow the Science Act by @degette.house.gov would remove political appointees from the grant-making process: www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...

congress.gov

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Colette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

People regularly ask what funds go towards when we fundraise (totally fair question). Here are some things I want to spend money on this year at @standupforscience.net! A thread 🧵 secure.qgiv.com/for/SUFS-NEW...

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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

What. A. Day. NIH grant-making was paused for several hours today. Not sure who gave the order. But in light of the Friday night Bhattacharya-Vought feud & threatened EO to implement #ScienceDeathPanels, my money is on Russell Vought. I learned of the pause from a colleague around 11:30. 🧵

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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

And so I say to every elected official: cancer doesn’t give a fuck who you vote for. Neither does heart disease or diabetes. The reason that we have made a great deal of progress on prevention and treatment is b/c scientists had the freedom to work on topics that are beneficial to ALL humans.

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Jim Alwine @jimalwine.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Investigator-initiated research at NIH has been one of the greatest discovery engines ever. So many great discoveries so much understanding and so many advances in the health of the world. Yet MAGA ignorance is destroying it. So America wait in line for your Chinese cures and vaccines.

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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 22/09/2026

In the past five years #NIH created an on-campus lab to study neural development, exactly because NIH scientists anticipated that this research line will be important. This is an example of scientific judgement White House political appointees setting priorities are unlikely to have.

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Yuan He @yuanhejhu.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A big week for the lab! Two new papers on how cells repair DNA double-strand breaks: one on getting NHEJ started in chromatin, one on processing the ends before ligation. Years of work by a fantastic team.

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Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The irony of it all Yesterday, @NEJM posted a new essay suggesting that the US government attacks on biomedical science will subside. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.... On the same day, it was announced the President wants control of NIH funding

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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 20/09/2026

Very good thread on delegation: the checks and balances between the branches, and inside the executive branch, about government decision-making. It illustrates how important constitutional law is for the science agencies.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Article is useful in that it shows that a) Trump is directly involved in these decisions, b) sees them in purely personalist terms - he wants to politicize research grants so he can destroy Harvard for daring to defy him

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Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I graduated med school in 2014. I was taught-and saw-how hard melanoma was to treat, like a death sentence Since then, new treatments have made it possible for people w/ the most advanced melanoma, like Jimmy Carter, to live to 100! We are killing ourselves by letting them destroy American science

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Ian Weissman, DO @drianweissman.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

An experimental peptide backed by U.S. Health Secretary Kennedy and marketed online for pain, healing and performance enhancement is being ‌used for a wide range of ailments despite little safety and efficacy evidence from human studies, a new analysis found. www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

reuters.com

Use of untested 'Wolverine' peptide backed by US Health Secretary Kennedy on the rise, study finds

An experimental peptide backed by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and marketed online for pain, healing and performance enhancement is being ‌used for a wide range of ailments despite lit...

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Adam Siepielski @adamsiepielski.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Arkansas is hiring a TT Assistant Professor Position in Ecology. We have a wonderful group of colleagues. Join us! Apply here: tinyurl.com/yxk5marb

Photograph of the University of Arkansas in Fall.

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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This is not an accident. Penn and Pitt are two power players in NIH research and are both essentially private, very dependent on NIH for research funding and the associated consequences on the Pennsylvania economy.

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BWJones @bwjones.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Senator Dave McCormick was one of a handful of 13 Republican senators who actually spoke out in support of NIH funding back in July in a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget urging release of funds that Congress appropriated. This letter to NIH is another example of support.

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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

An excellent piece from a group including fellow Bethesda Declaration signers. Appreciate the call for an increasingly democratic model of shared governance in public research funding. As well as the call for scientists to engage. www.aaup.org/toward-recon...

aaup.org

Toward the Reconstruction of US Research Infrastructure

Academia must organize now to secure the future of the US academic research enterprise.

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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

My quote of the day The most important scientific revolutions all include, as their only common feature, the dethronement of human arrogance from one pedestal after another of previous convictions about our centrality in the cosmos. Stephen Jay Gould

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Prasad Jallepalli, MD, PhD @prasad.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

No. Absolutely not.

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BWJones @bwjones.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

You have to. We just had a 6% score go unfunded.

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Drummond Lab @drummondlab.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

We are hiring! 🌟 Dept of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Chicago is searching for a tenure-track assistant professor. It's a broad search: we want great colleagues doing serious biological work at the molecular scale. Join us! apply.interfolio.com/191981 bcmb.uchicago.edu

A picture of the University of Chicago campus, with downtown Chicago in the distance and Lake Michigan on the horizon. The campus's central quad is pictured, a classical collegiate quad with paths and old trees and stone architecture. It's really pretty and I love it.

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