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aniloza.bsky.social
anil oza
@aniloza.bsky.social
4.5K followers 1.5K following 350 posts
science journalist @stat covering health equity, the nih, and interaction btwn science & society | also: npr, nature, sciam, science, science news (he/him) (signal: aniloza.16)
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aniloza.bsky.social
anil oza @aniloza.bsky.social · Mar 21
I got to interview Bill Nye yesterday for @statnews.com's Breakthrough Summit!!

What started as a conversation about Ataxia, a genetic disorder that runs in Bill's family, quickly became about the state of American science under the latest administration
Reposted by anil oza
helenbranswell.bsky.social
Mutations in #H3N2 #flu viruses have some experts worried we're facing a second bad #influenza season. The new variant, subclade K, may be able to escape antibodies generated by previous infections or this year's flu shot. But some experts are hedging their bets. www.statnews.com/2025/11/20/f...
Is a bad flu season on the way? Experts see reason to be anxious
There are early indications that this flu season could be a bad one.
www.statnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Reposted by anil oza
ddiamond.bsky.social
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
Autism and Vaccines QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS PAGE 2 OF 9 | ALL PAGES J For Everyone NOV. 19, 2025 KEY POINTS • The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism. • Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities. HHS Research on Plausible Biologic Mechanisms between Vaccines and Autism HHS will evaluate plausible biologic mechanisms between early childhood vaccinations and autism. Mechanisms for further investigation include the impacts of aluminum adjuvants, risks for certain children with mitochondrial disorders, harms of neuroinflammation, and more. * The header "Vaccines do not cause autism" has not been removed due to an agreement with the chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it would remain on the CDC website.
November 20, 2025 at 2:26 AM
aniloza.bsky.social
HHS re-released a report on gender dysphoria w/ a set of peer reviews

But, @theresagaff.bsky.social & Annalisa Merelli write many of the authors & reviewers are outspoken critics of gender affirming care

www.statnews.com/2025/11/19/h...
HHS names authors and releases peer-review comments for gender dysphoria report
The new report reveals that many of the authors and reviewers have been outspoken critics of gender-affirming care and belong to anti-LGBTQ+ groups
www.statnews.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Reposted by anil oza
scott-delaney.bsky.social
Update on a significant development NIH grant terms.

On 10/1, a change to grant making regs went into effect that gives NIH more power to terminate grants for policy reasons.

But to use this power, new grant terms must include specific language. See @aniloza.bsky.social w/ the story from July.

1/
HHS devises legal playbook for future grant terminations, internal memo shows
Exclusive: HHS devises a legal playbook for future research grant terminations, an internal memo shows.
www.statnews.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Reposted by anil oza
sarah-todd.bsky.social
A new profile of RFK Jr offers fresh insights into how he works, the bond he shares with Trump, & how he's moved HHS “from evidence-based decision-making to decision-based evidence-making." Story by @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social, @caseyross.bsky.social, & me:

www.statnews.com/2025/11/18/r...
How RFK Jr., America's celebrity health secretary, is steamrolling science
RFK Jr. is plowing ahead with sweeping changes to U.S. health care that have thrilled supporters, purged opponents, and horrified critics.
www.statnews.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by anil oza
brittanytrang.com
Do you want to discuss BOTH the Olivia Nuzzi revelations and STAT's latest RFK Jr profile in the group chat?

You and up to 9 of your friends can now get a year of STAT for almost 45% off! (Doing the group sub saves you $100/year anyway!)

Think of it like a family plan, but for health/science news:
Save even more on a group subscription to STAT+
For a limited time, save 40% off of a STAT+ subscription when you sign up with your colleagues and be up and running in minutes.
marketing.statnews.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by anil oza
joshuasweitz.bsky.social
New post unpacking administration attitudes towards science, ongoing work by experts to restart grant review, and indications that NIH leadership is consolidating control away from experts.

"Expertise vs. Control in the Shadow of a Shutdown:
NIH Reopening Edition"
substack.com/home/post/p-...
The return to the doing of science and research is mediated by a tension between contrasting forces that represent what I view as distinct worldviews: Team Distributed Expertise vs. Team Consolidate Control. This post will try and anticipate some of the consequences of the shutdown, through a focus on NIH’s re-opening and this tension.
November 18, 2025 at 1:50 PM
aniloza.bsky.social
New JAMA internal medicine study finds 74,000 people could be affected in NIH funding cuts to clinical trials, @adithi-r1.bsky.social reports

www.statnews.com/2025/11/17/n...
NIH funding cuts have affected over 74,000 people enrolled in experiments, a new report says
Over 74,000 people enrolled in experiments have been affected by the NIH's funding cuts, according to a new report.
www.statnews.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by anil oza
evanurquhart.bsky.social
I had a lot of fun writing this story on a lightning quick turnaround last night, but I also endured one of the things I find most intimidating in the world: A fancy party full of rich people where I don't know anyone.
November 15, 2025 at 1:30 PM
aniloza.bsky.social
UPDATE: @murray.senate.gov, who pressed NIH director Bhattacharya on not retaliating against signers of the Bethesda Declaration in a June hearing, calls for answers
In a statement Friday, Murray said, “If this administration thinks that summarily ousting NIH employees whose only offense is calling on the agency to respect science and academic freedom will go unnoticed, they can think again … We need answers immediately.”
November 14, 2025 at 11:19 PM
aniloza.bsky.social
Yesterday, the NIH abruptly placed @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social, who has been a vocal critic of the administration’s changes to the NIH, on leave

“It is intended as a threat,” she told me yesterday
www.statnews.com/2025/11/14/n...
NIH abruptly places outspoken critic of Trump administration on leave
Jenna Norton, a vocal critic of Trump administration actions at the NIH, was abruptly placed on administrative leave this week.
www.statnews.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Reposted by anil oza
danielpayne.bsky.social
Inside the closed-door MAHA Summit, where industry executives, wellness influencers, and policymakers plotted their future in Trump's Washington

w/ @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/m...
Creatine-filled swag bags and an embrace from Vance: MAHA marks its ascendance in Trump’s Washington
Creatine-filled swag bags and an embrace from Vance: MAHA marks its ascendance in Trump’s Washington.
www.statnews.com
November 12, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Reposted by anil oza
lizzylawrence.bsky.social
RFK Jr. has said he does not want to take vaccines away from Americans. But at a closed-door meeting of vaccine scientists in September, a top official at the FDA suggested doing just that. Here's how Vinay Prasad and Tracy Beth Høeg are reshaping vaccine regulation:
www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/f...
How two top FDA officials are quietly upending vaccine regulations
Vinay Prasad and Tracy Beth Høeg mix skepticism with new ways to define risk in pursuing sweeping changes to vaccine policy at the FDA.
www.statnews.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:42 PM
aniloza.bsky.social
Many top NIH/HHS officials will be at a MAHA summit tomorrow ... but the event has largely been kept "hush-hush" 🤫@danielpayne.bsky.social & Allison DeAngelis report

www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/m...
At ‘hush-hush’ MAHA summit, RFK Jr. and deputies to mix with biotech leaders
A who's who of MAHA federal officials will be speaking at an event, stacked with industry executives and activists, organized largely in secrecy.
www.statnews.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by anil oza
helenbranswell.bsky.social
Oh, to be a fly on the wall. www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/m...
At ‘hush-hush’ MAHA summit, RFK Jr. and deputies to mix with biotech leaders
A who's who of MAHA federal officials will be speaking at an event, stacked with industry executives and activists, organized largely in secrecy.
www.statnews.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by anil oza
thsaey.bsky.social
I have missed Sharon Begley’s byline. This account of Watson reminds me exactly why.

www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:23 PM
aniloza.bsky.social
"He did care what his obituaries would say. He knew his racist and sexist assertions would feature in them. Not even that could make him reconsider his beliefs, which only seemed to harden with criticism. Now history can reach its verdict."

www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Reposted by anil oza
helenbranswell.bsky.social
Before her (too early) death, the amazing Sharon Begley wrote this piece on double helix co-discoverer James Watson and the racist and sexist pronouncements he seemed to revel in making in later life. Fascinating read about a troubling individual.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Reposted by anil oza
deborahb.bsky.social
It is so fun to go on a smart podcast like Ologies and be allowed to talk about my deep fascination with all things poisonous. Because poisons are fascinating!
Historical Toxicology (OLD TIMEY POISONS) with Deborah Blum — alie ward
Metal poisons. Odorless ones. Toxic plants. Iocane powder, arsenic, old lace, poisons as self-defense, black mirrors, Aqua Tofanas, movie myths, and the start of testing for that which ails or kills y...
www.alieward.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Reposted by anil oza
carlzimmer.com
Amid attacks on such work, NIH-led research links structural racism to increased heart disease. Story by @aniloza.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/10/31/s...
Amid attacks on such work, NIH-led research links structural racism to increased heart disease
NIH-led research on structural racism was published Friday, even as the Trump administration has cancelled and discredited such work.
www.statnews.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by anil oza
jasonukman.bsky.social
To summarize:
- The FDA's top drug regulator is out.
- He and the FDA's top biologics official are in open warfare.
- A lawsuit accuses him of extortion, and he accuses a former associate of the same.

Via @lizzylawrence.bsky.social @adamfeuerstein.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...
FDA’s top drug regulator resigns amid investigation
George Tidmarsh, the FDA's top drug regulator, has been placed on leave after being accused of abusing his regulatory authority, STAT has learned.
www.statnews.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Reposted by anil oza
lizzylawrence.bsky.social
BREAKING: FDA’s top drug regulator George Tidmarsh has been placed on leave after being accused of abusing his regulatory authority - but also after he questioned the commissioner's plan to speed approvals, and clashed with Vinay Prasad. More here:
www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...
FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation
George Tidmarsh, the FDA's top drug regulator, has been placed on leave after being accused of abusing his regulatory authority, STAT has learned.
www.statnews.com
November 2, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Reposted by anil oza
statnews.com
George Tidmarsh, the Food and Drug Administration’s top regulator of drugs, has been placed on administrative leave after being accused of using his regulatory authority to inflict financial harm on a former business associate, STAT has learned.

www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...
FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation
George Tidmarsh, the FDA's top drug regulator, has been placed on leave after being accused of abusing his regulatory authority, STAT has learned.
www.statnews.com
November 2, 2025 at 10:13 PM
aniloza.bsky.social
Throughout this year, NIH Director Bhattacharya has said studying structural racism is "ideological" and unscientific

Today, a team including scientists at his agency have published a paper showing it has links to increased rates of cardiovascular disease

www.statnews.com/2025/10/31/s...
Amid attacks on such work, NIH-led research links structural racism to increased heart disease
NIH-led research on structural racism was published Friday, even as the Trump administration has cancelled and discredited such work.
www.statnews.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Reposted by anil oza
mmolteni.bsky.social
Another great story today by @aniloza.bsky.social about the publication of a study on health impacts of structural racism led by scientists at the NIH. The same NIH whose director has in recent months discredited such research as “ideological” and “unscientific.”

www.statnews.com/2025/10/31/s...
Amid attacks on such work, NIH-led research links structural racism to increased heart disease
NIH-led research on structural racism was published Friday, even as the Trump administration has cancelled and discredited such work
www.statnews.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:46 PM