Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Tamara Tal @tamaratal.bsky.social · Aug 1

They had an exceptional journal, Environmental Health Perspectives, funded by NIEHS. Free to submit and publish in. The most respected public health journal in my field. EHP is not accepting new submissions. I think it was an editorial decision to maintain independence from political interference.

1

Tamara Tal @tamaratal.bsky.social · Jul 3

Thanks for highlighting this @danielgorelick.bsky.social ♥️. Most US citizens want their air, water, and food to be safe from harmful chemicals. The US EPA Office of Research Development is the scientific engine that ensures chemical safety. ORD should be celebrated, not destroyed!

Daniel Gorelick @danielgorelick.bsky.social · Jul 1

Proud of my colleague & friend @tamaratal.bsky.social for co-authoring this www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Dismantling EPA’s research office jeopardizes environmental safety, public health, and US competitiveness. Truth.

PNAS

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

www.pnas.org

1

Tamara Tal @tamaratal.bsky.social · Jun 12

Scott Glaberman, Chris Frey and I lay out why EPA's Office of Research and Development should be protected, not destroyed. Please share widely.

Dismantling EPA’s research office jeopardizes environmental safety, public health, and US competitiveness | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

PNAS

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

www.pnas.org

1 1

Tamara Tal @tamaratal.bsky.social · May 20

🍿 👀 „They are taking on an influential agricultural and chemicals lobby that has long rebuffed attempts to strengthen restrictions on atrazine and other pesticides, at a time when the Trump administration is rolling back government restrictions on industries, not imposing new ones.“

Kennedy’s Allies Against Pesticides: Environmentalists, Moms and Manly Men

www.nytimes.com

Tamara Tal @tamaratal.bsky.social · May 17

Public health matters

The New York Times @nytimes.com · May 17

A federal judge on Friday indefinitely prohibited the Department of Health and Human Services from terminating $11 billion in public health grants set aside for states.

Judge Extends Block on Public Health Cuts for More Than 20 States

www.nytimes.com

1

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Institute of Molecular Biotechnology @imbavienna.bsky.social · May 14

IMBA is recruiting a Junior Group Leader! Are you interested in starting your own lab, pursuing curiosity-driven basic research in the life sciences? Apply by May 18: imba.science/beagroupleader #hiring #biology #research #groupleader #europe

19 15

Tamara Tal @tamaratal.bsky.social · May 13

Check out @enicolay.bsky.social’s amazing #zebrafish image! @zebrafishrock.bsky.social

Elena Nicolay @enicolay.bsky.social · May 12

Please take a moment to appreciate the beautiful imaging art that was submitted this year 😍 (also, can you spot my image?)

Helmholtz Imaging @helmholtzimaging.bsky.social · May 12

🎉 Public Voting Now OPEN – #HelmholtzImaging Best Scientific Image Contest 2025

Choose your favorite(s) & cast your vote by May 30 👉 bit.ly/BSIC2025-Public-Voting

The award recipients will be announced at our conference on June 26.

#HIBestImage25 #HIConference25
@www.helmholtz.de

1 3

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · May 3

“How might the narrative about senior women be challenged or changed in order to respect these women who have achieved enough success to earn promotion? How do we stop this generational cycle so that women's wings aren't clipped as soon as they approach the power to soar.”

6 32 110

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · Apr 27

I and my colleagues, @carpenterlab.bsky.social and Carol Greider, wrote an op-ed for our local media site, @lookoutsantacruz.bsky.social, about the recent cancellations of NIH funded training programs meant to broaden participation in science at UCSC:

lookout.co/trumps-escal...

Trump’s escalating attacks on research and education are hurting UC Santa Cruz – the public needs to act now

The Trump administration’s attack on scientific research will deeply affect UC Santa Cruz, write three eminent UCSC professors, including one who won a Nobel Prize for her work. Since Donald Trump too...

lookout.co

4 76 150

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · Apr 28

This top line--"nearly 800 NIH grants"--was made possible by every scientist who reported their terminated grant to us. 🙏

Small acts add up, and the country is finally learning the full scope RFK's vandalism.

And don't stop now! Report your terminated NIH grant here: forms.gle/FnGLkUtK3M58...

60 Minutes @60minutes.bsky.social · Apr 27

Nearly 800 NIH grants have been terminated so far, including some focused on HIV and AIDS, trans health, and COVID-19, after researchers were told their work was no longer an agency priority. https://cbsn.ws/3YkDndI

2 130 240

Reposted by Tamara Tal

UFZ-CITE @ufz-cite.bsky.social · Apr 25

🌍 IP3 Retreat: Healthy Planet
📅 May 7, 2025 | 🕘 9:00–17:00 | 📍 KUBUS Leipzig
Last chance to register – deadline until today (April 25)!
Join us for a day of science, exchange & inspiration. Agenda & abstracts are now online.
Open to all @ufz.de employees
👉 Register here: events.hifis.net/event/2299/

1 2

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Gen Wojcik @genandgenes.bsky.social · Apr 24

I wrote a thing.

I am eternally grateful for my editor, who took the original draft and helped me narrow down my key points into a more effective piece with a broader reach.

Also, thanks to the editorial & legal teams, who maintained the message while protecting us in this fraught moment.

Nature @nature.com · Apr 24

Scientists must push back against the threat of rising white nationalism and the dangerous and pseudoscientific ideas of eugenics

https://go.nature.com/4jGqiUc

Eugenics is on the rise again: human geneticists must take a stand

Scientists must push back against the threat of rising white nationalism and the dangerous and pseudoscientific ideas of eugenics.

go.nature.com

6 36 80

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · Apr 17

In today's Nature: "These cutbacks put the entire US research enterprise at risk. For more than 8 decades, the US has stood unrivalled as the world’s leader in scientific discovery and technological innovation. US universities spin off more than 1,100 science-based start-up companies each year.."

1 28 67

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · Apr 16

Endangering travel to the US also limits the free exchange of ideas, a crucial component of our academic and research success. This administration is using every conceivable tool to decimate the US’s academic and research enterprise and we will be the poorer for it.

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · Apr 16

It’s news to some, but travel to the US isn’t just a matter of conferences, in a lot of fields; avoiding it cuts off research, and if you’re in North America it takes the vast majority of fellowships and jobs off the table. There’s a big difference between replacing this and just not being affected.

1 5 15

Reposted by Tamara Tal

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · Apr 16

Thirty-eight of 43 experts cut last month from the boards that review the science and research that happens in laboratories at the National Institutes of Health are female, Black or Hispanic, according to an analysis by the chairs of a dozen of the boards.

Women, minorities fired in purge of NIH science review boards

Scientists, with expertise in fields that include mental health, cancer and infectious disease, typically serve five-year terms and were not given a reason for their dismissal.

www.washingtonpost.com

650 5.3K 10K

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · Apr 15

Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions - rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.

1.6K 18K 90K

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Daniel Gorelick @danielgorelick.bsky.social · Apr 14

Did somebody say make #PeerReview more fair, more transparent, and more fast?
Fast & Fair peer review from @biologyopen.bsky.social
journals.biologists.com/bio/pages/fa...

1 3

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Carolyn Bertozzi @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social · Apr 14

Harvard steps up

www.harvard.edu/research-fun...

www.harvard.edu

23 160

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Daniel Gorelick @danielgorelick.bsky.social · Apr 3

Fast & Fair peer review made it to the European Zebrafish PI meeting in Paris.
Ran into one of our reviewers @simoesfilipa.bsky.social used her honorarium to buy new shoes.
Zebrafish research never looked so good.
📄 bit.ly/4iZ30st
bit.ly/fastandfair
@biologists.bsky.social @biologyopen.bsky.social

2 14

Tamara Tal @tamaratal.bsky.social · Apr 11

Nightmare scenario.

„On Feb. 16, customs officials detained her at Logan International Airport in Boston for failing to declare samples of frog embryos she had carried from France at the request of her boss at Harvard.“

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/s...

She Worked in a Harvard Lab to Reverse Aging, Until ICE Jailed Her

President Trump’s immigration crackdown ensnared Kseniia Petrova, a scientist who fled Russia after protesting its invasion of Ukraine. She fears arrest if she is deported there.

www.nytimes.com

1 4

Tamara Tal @tamaratal.bsky.social · Apr 9

„So, I ask you: How do you feel? How do you feel as we fall behind in global scientific progress? As economic uncertainty grows? As the health of your families and communities is put at risk? I know I feel outrage, and I hope others recognize what’s at stake and feel the urgency to support science.“

Carolyn Bertozzi @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social · Apr 9

Great article by @nobelprize.bsky.social laureate @ardemp.bskyverified.social outlining the health, economic and national security benefits of US biomedical research, and the devastation of government efforts to destroy our leading edge.

www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h...

Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger | CNN

Dr. Ardem Patapoutian says he watches “with deep sadness as the United States’ remarkable scientific enterprise, which took generations of hard work and national investment to build, faces a concerted...

www.cnn.com

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Carolyn Bertozzi @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social · Apr 9

Great article by @nobelprize.bsky.social laureate @ardemp.bskyverified.social outlining the health, economic and national security benefits of US biomedical research, and the devastation of government efforts to destroy our leading edge.

www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h...

Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger | CNN

Dr. Ardem Patapoutian says he watches “with deep sadness as the United States’ remarkable scientific enterprise, which took generations of hard work and national investment to build, faces a concerted...

www.cnn.com

2 49 120

Tamara Tal @tamaratal.bsky.social · Apr 7

So lovely to host Jess Plavicki at UFZ today where we learned about how TCDD exposure disrupts neurovasculature development. This image represents the Brown-to-UFZ pipeline - Here’s hoping I get to work with many more Plavicki trainees in the future 👾.
@ufz-cite.bsky.social @plavickilab.bsky.social

6

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Carolyn Bertozzi @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social · Apr 6

Good tutorial on how measles infections work, fortunately all of this is avoidable.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

How Measles Attacks an Unvaccinated Child

With falling vaccination rates and outbreaks that have caused more than 580 U.S. cases and at least two deaths, health experts expect hundreds or even thousands more to be infected in the coming month...

www.nytimes.com

1 18 58

Reposted by Tamara Tal

Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · Apr 4

Our daughter, a life-long NC resident and a Tarheel born and bred is one of those whose ballot was challenged. This is a shocking example of using the courts to overturn valid elections

Bryan Anderson @bryanranderson.bsky.social · Apr 4

BREAKING: In a 2-1 opinion, NC Court of Appeals sides with Griffin, orders State Board of Elections to recount votes. Voters w/ missing registration info & military/overseas voters lacking photo ID will get 15 days to cure ballots. Never Residents to be removed from count. #ncpol

4 7 26