Joshua Weitz
@joshuasweitz.bsky.social
Professor of Biology & Institute for Health Computing, U of Maryland; explores how viruses impact human and environmental health; 'Asymptomatic' (JHU Press, 10/2024) & 'Quantitative Biosciences' (Princeton U Press, 3/2024) & 'Science Matters' substack.
Pinned
Joshua Weitz
@joshuasweitz.bsky.social
· Sep 24
New from #SCIMaP - analysis of the White House’s Proposed FY 2026 National Science Foundation Budget.
Take-home: Slashing NSF by >50% will lead to ~$11 billion in economic loss and extensive job loss and reduced training opportunities in communities nationwide.
Report: osf.io/e8rnc
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Take-home: Slashing NSF by >50% will lead to ~$11 billion in economic loss and extensive job loss and reduced training opportunities in communities nationwide.
Report: osf.io/e8rnc
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Reposted by Joshua Weitz
Appreciate @nationalacademies.org speaking up about the RFK jr directed changes to CDC website and pointing out that the science cited did not include the greater context or full body of research. Where is the “radical transparency”?
National Academies - Statement on CDC’s Updated Vaccine Guidance
National Academies respond to CDC’s updated vaccine guidance, offering scientific context and clarity on vaccine safety.
www.nationalacademies.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Appreciate @nationalacademies.org speaking up about the RFK jr directed changes to CDC website and pointing out that the science cited did not include the greater context or full body of research. Where is the “radical transparency”?
No time like the present...
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The UW Center for an Informed Public is looking for postdocs (for 2026-2028) from across diverse disciplines whose research sheds light on the challenges of our modern information environment, promotes civic health, and/or helps people/communities navigate online spaces: apply.interfolio.com/177901
Apply - Interfolio
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apply.interfolio.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:55 AM
No time like the present...
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Reposted by Joshua Weitz
Unfortunately, I can confirm that this is true.
I have known Carl for 2 decades and he is smart, dedicated, and quite apolitical, focused on science and getting stuff done on important problems.
Huge unnecessary loss of leadership and expertise.
I have known Carl for 2 decades and he is smart, dedicated, and quite apolitical, focused on science and getting stuff done on important problems.
Huge unnecessary loss of leadership and expertise.
Hearing news that Carl Dieffenbach, the Director of the Division of AIDS at #NIH (NIAID), has been removed from his position because he was "not aligned with HHS/OMB."
Russell Vought continues to remove great scientists as part of the Project 2025 mission to politicize and destroy NIH.
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Russell Vought continues to remove great scientists as part of the Project 2025 mission to politicize and destroy NIH.
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November 24, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Unfortunately, I can confirm that this is true.
I have known Carl for 2 decades and he is smart, dedicated, and quite apolitical, focused on science and getting stuff done on important problems.
Huge unnecessary loss of leadership and expertise.
I have known Carl for 2 decades and he is smart, dedicated, and quite apolitical, focused on science and getting stuff done on important problems.
Huge unnecessary loss of leadership and expertise.
Long-form piece, 🎁 read via @michaelscherer.bsky.social
NEW: When RFK Jr. first told Trump that Tylenol might cause autism, the president wanted to tweet out a warning. Kennedy told him not to do that. There was nuance, and the drug companies would push back. “I don’t give a shit about that,” Trump responded. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
The Most Powerful Man in Science
Why is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. so convinced he’s right?
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:13 AM
Long-form piece, 🎁 read via @michaelscherer.bsky.social
Reposted by Joshua Weitz
This is concerning.
NIH is changing their policy so that staff have to prepare justification for every application that is funded BUT NO DOCUMENTATION FOR APPLICATIONS THAT ARE SKIPPED (BASED ON PERCENTILES).
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NIH is changing their policy so that staff have to prepare justification for every application that is funded BUT NO DOCUMENTATION FOR APPLICATIONS THAT ARE SKIPPED (BASED ON PERCENTILES).
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November 24, 2025 at 12:29 AM
This is concerning.
NIH is changing their policy so that staff have to prepare justification for every application that is funded BUT NO DOCUMENTATION FOR APPLICATIONS THAT ARE SKIPPED (BASED ON PERCENTILES).
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NIH is changing their policy so that staff have to prepare justification for every application that is funded BUT NO DOCUMENTATION FOR APPLICATIONS THAT ARE SKIPPED (BASED ON PERCENTILES).
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Looks like @nytimes.com may be listening to what folks here have been trying to say... a small edit, but important.
Story now updated to read that autism/vaccines change is
"a move that underscores his determination to challenge scientific consensus and bend the health department to his will."
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Story now updated to read that autism/vaccines change is
"a move that underscores his determination to challenge scientific consensus and bend the health department to his will."
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Calling something "scientific orthodoxy" rather than "established fact" or even "scientific consensus" is so incredibly damaging.
November 22, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Looks like @nytimes.com may be listening to what folks here have been trying to say... a small edit, but important.
Story now updated to read that autism/vaccines change is
"a move that underscores his determination to challenge scientific consensus and bend the health department to his will."
👇
Story now updated to read that autism/vaccines change is
"a move that underscores his determination to challenge scientific consensus and bend the health department to his will."
👇
Calling something "scientific orthodoxy" rather than "established fact" or even "scientific consensus" is so incredibly damaging.
November 22, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Kennedy Says He Told C.D.C. to Change Website’s Language on Autism and Vaccines
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Looks like @nytimes.com may be listening to what folks here have been trying to say... a small edit, but important.
Story now updated to read that autism/vaccines change is
"a move that underscores his determination to challenge scientific consensus and bend the health department to his will."
👇
Story now updated to read that autism/vaccines change is
"a move that underscores his determination to challenge scientific consensus and bend the health department to his will."
👇
Calling something "scientific orthodoxy" rather than "established fact" or even "scientific consensus" is so incredibly damaging.
November 22, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Looks like @nytimes.com may be listening to what folks here have been trying to say... a small edit, but important.
Story now updated to read that autism/vaccines change is
"a move that underscores his determination to challenge scientific consensus and bend the health department to his will."
👇
Story now updated to read that autism/vaccines change is
"a move that underscores his determination to challenge scientific consensus and bend the health department to his will."
👇
RFK Jr is breaking the CDC, as many warned he would & far too many willfully ignored.
This isn't a matter of challenging 'scientific orthodoxy'; it's a matter of evidence. His policies are unmoored from data and will put children & families in harm's way.
🎁
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
This isn't a matter of challenging 'scientific orthodoxy'; it's a matter of evidence. His policies are unmoored from data and will put children & families in harm's way.
🎁
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
Kennedy Says He Told C.D.C. to Change Website’s Language on Autism and Vaccines
www.nytimes.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:25 PM
RFK Jr is breaking the CDC, as many warned he would & far too many willfully ignored.
This isn't a matter of challenging 'scientific orthodoxy'; it's a matter of evidence. His policies are unmoored from data and will put children & families in harm's way.
🎁
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
This isn't a matter of challenging 'scientific orthodoxy'; it's a matter of evidence. His policies are unmoored from data and will put children & families in harm's way.
🎁
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
Increasingly moving science to the footnotes (or eliminating data and evidence entirely) and elevating anti-science, misleading health information, and false claims to the center stage of messaging and practice within HHS & CDC.
The agency this week quietly changed its official language to suggest vaccines may cause autism, a claim that scientists say has no basis in evidence
CDC Vaccine Website Promotes Anti-Science Claims of Autism Ties
The agency this week quietly changed its official language to suggest vaccines may cause autism, a claim that scientists say has no basis in evidence
www.scientificamerican.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Increasingly moving science to the footnotes (or eliminating data and evidence entirely) and elevating anti-science, misleading health information, and false claims to the center stage of messaging and practice within HHS & CDC.
Meanwhile, explicit calls for firing RFK Jr are likely to increase as it becomes harder for politicians to sit on sidelines as their constituents face the consequences of MAHA ideas as anti-science practice: increasing the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases in children and families.
RFK Jr. has NO business being health secretary and his conspiracy theories are going to get people killed.
This cannot continue—Republicans should join me in calling for RFK Jr. to be FIRED.
This cannot continue—Republicans should join me in calling for RFK Jr. to be FIRED.
CDC in turmoil after agency backpedals on rejecting vaccines-autism link
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), who voted to confirm Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after he pledged not to remove language stating vaccines do not cause autism from the CDC website, condemne...
www.washingtonpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Meanwhile, explicit calls for firing RFK Jr are likely to increase as it becomes harder for politicians to sit on sidelines as their constituents face the consequences of MAHA ideas as anti-science practice: increasing the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases in children and families.
... that have made American higher education, with all its flaws, the envy of the world."
November 21, 2025 at 3:15 PM
... that have made American higher education, with all its flaws, the envy of the world."
From an OpEd Team of Rivals comes resounding agreement:
"Universities must unequivocally reject the proposed compact and the invasive federal oversight it entails. In doing so, they will preserve the innovation, research excellence and fearless pursuit of truth ...
www.usnews.com/opinion/arti...
"Universities must unequivocally reject the proposed compact and the invasive federal oversight it entails. In doing so, they will preserve the innovation, research excellence and fearless pursuit of truth ...
www.usnews.com/opinion/arti...
November 21, 2025 at 3:15 PM
From an OpEd Team of Rivals comes resounding agreement:
"Universities must unequivocally reject the proposed compact and the invasive federal oversight it entails. In doing so, they will preserve the innovation, research excellence and fearless pursuit of truth ...
www.usnews.com/opinion/arti...
"Universities must unequivocally reject the proposed compact and the invasive federal oversight it entails. In doing so, they will preserve the innovation, research excellence and fearless pursuit of truth ...
www.usnews.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by Joshua Weitz
Lots going on but don’t lose track of the Trump attacks on biomedical research and cancer cures.
@jeremymberg.bsky.social posted a leaked #NIH memo today. I want to highlight a few scary parts.
They’re about taking power from scientists and experts and giving it to the president’s hacks. 1/ 🧪
@jeremymberg.bsky.social posted a leaked #NIH memo today. I want to highlight a few scary parts.
They’re about taking power from scientists and experts and giving it to the president’s hacks. 1/ 🧪
November 20, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Lots going on but don’t lose track of the Trump attacks on biomedical research and cancer cures.
@jeremymberg.bsky.social posted a leaked #NIH memo today. I want to highlight a few scary parts.
They’re about taking power from scientists and experts and giving it to the president’s hacks. 1/ 🧪
@jeremymberg.bsky.social posted a leaked #NIH memo today. I want to highlight a few scary parts.
They’re about taking power from scientists and experts and giving it to the president’s hacks. 1/ 🧪
The administration is building a legal pathway for ad hoc grant terminations:
"if the agency determines that the award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities"
Converting multiyear grants to 'at whim' coin flips will undermine the stability & leadership of American science.
"if the agency determines that the award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities"
Converting multiyear grants to 'at whim' coin flips will undermine the stability & leadership of American science.
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.
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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.
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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 20, 2025 at 4:06 PM
The administration is building a legal pathway for ad hoc grant terminations:
"if the agency determines that the award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities"
Converting multiyear grants to 'at whim' coin flips will undermine the stability & leadership of American science.
"if the agency determines that the award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities"
Converting multiyear grants to 'at whim' coin flips will undermine the stability & leadership of American science.
Reposted by Joshua Weitz
Good morning. I've got a banger new post out today that develops a new method for placing voters on the left-right ideological spectrum, and adds a new, "non-ideological"/affordability axis to usual way we chart & think about US voters (esp swing voters). www.gelliottmorris.com/p/not-just-l...
Not just left vs right: Most voters think about affordability and material wellbeing, not in ideological terms
Most voters want a party that emphasizes cost of living issues and makes the world a better place. Few Americans think in solidly ideologically terms. "Moderates" are mostly non-ideological.
www.gelliottmorris.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Good morning. I've got a banger new post out today that develops a new method for placing voters on the left-right ideological spectrum, and adds a new, "non-ideological"/affordability axis to usual way we chart & think about US voters (esp swing voters). www.gelliottmorris.com/p/not-just-l...
Reposted by Joshua Weitz
It is a disgrace and a lie and we should not stand for it.
Their Sham Standard Science (SSS) is merely a plan to lie about what science is and then lie about what is true.
No. We will stand up for what’s right. And we’ll explain why they are lying.
Their Sham Standard Science (SSS) is merely a plan to lie about what science is and then lie about what is true.
No. We will stand up for what’s right. And we’ll explain why they are lying.
This is a fucking DISGRACE. The Republicans of the United States Congress are permitting a man to spew dangerous and harmful disinformation to the public.
This is dangerous. This will kill infants and children.
Republicans DO NOT CARE about babies after they are born
www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe...
This is dangerous. This will kill infants and children.
Republicans DO NOT CARE about babies after they are born
www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe...
Autism and Vaccines
Answers to common questions about vaccine safety and autism.
www.cdc.gov
November 20, 2025 at 5:03 AM
It is a disgrace and a lie and we should not stand for it.
Their Sham Standard Science (SSS) is merely a plan to lie about what science is and then lie about what is true.
No. We will stand up for what’s right. And we’ll explain why they are lying.
Their Sham Standard Science (SSS) is merely a plan to lie about what science is and then lie about what is true.
No. We will stand up for what’s right. And we’ll explain why they are lying.
Reposted by Joshua Weitz
How awful. This is outright health disinformation, lying to the American people. Not only is there massive evidence showing no link between vaccines & autism, there’s not even a plausible mechanism based on what we’ve learned about the genetics of autism, some environmental exposures in pregnancy
HEADS UP: CDC website now officially asserts that vaccines may cause autism.“Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.” Also says the “vaccines do not cause autism” header remains b/c of an agreement with Cassidy.
November 20, 2025 at 3:18 AM
How awful. This is outright health disinformation, lying to the American people. Not only is there massive evidence showing no link between vaccines & autism, there’s not even a plausible mechanism based on what we’ve learned about the genetics of autism, some environmental exposures in pregnancy
Reposted by Joshua Weitz
The CDC has updated its vaccine safety page to promote long-discredited claims about vaccines—namely that they cause autism.
The page links to a number of studies, including one by anti-vax allies of Robert Kennedy Jr.
www.importantcontext.news/p/cdc-change...
The page links to a number of studies, including one by anti-vax allies of Robert Kennedy Jr.
www.importantcontext.news/p/cdc-change...
CDC Changes Vaccine Safety Page to Promote Vaccine Misinformation
It is the latest move by Robert Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services to attack vaccines.
www.importantcontext.news
November 20, 2025 at 4:57 AM
The CDC has updated its vaccine safety page to promote long-discredited claims about vaccines—namely that they cause autism.
The page links to a number of studies, including one by anti-vax allies of Robert Kennedy Jr.
www.importantcontext.news/p/cdc-change...
The page links to a number of studies, including one by anti-vax allies of Robert Kennedy Jr.
www.importantcontext.news/p/cdc-change...
Reposted by Joshua Weitz
For the first time in my career, I can’t tell people to trust what the CDC website says. And that is an incredibly sad and devastating place for this country to be.
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 4:22 AM
For the first time in my career, I can’t tell people to trust what the CDC website says. And that is an incredibly sad and devastating place for this country to be.
Awful, sad, and dangerous all at once.
How awful. This is outright health disinformation, lying to the American people. Not only is there massive evidence showing no link between vaccines & autism, there’s not even a plausible mechanism based on what we’ve learned about the genetics of autism, some environmental exposures in pregnancy
HEADS UP: CDC website now officially asserts that vaccines may cause autism.“Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.” Also says the “vaccines do not cause autism” header remains b/c of an agreement with Cassidy.
November 20, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Awful, sad, and dangerous all at once.
This is what we get for an apparent deal* Sen. Cassidy made in February supporting Kennedy's nomination:
"CDC will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism."
www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/pre...
*A deal that continues to reverberate.
"CDC will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism."
www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/pre...
*A deal that continues to reverberate.
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 2:49 AM
This is what we get for an apparent deal* Sen. Cassidy made in February supporting Kennedy's nomination:
"CDC will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism."
www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/pre...
*A deal that continues to reverberate.
"CDC will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism."
www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/pre...
*A deal that continues to reverberate.