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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · 8d

A momentous occasion: 'Java Man' is going back to Indonesia, along with more than 28,000 other fossils that Dutch scientist Eugène Dubois collected during the colonial era.

My story: www.science.org/content/arti...

‘Thrilled’ Indonesian scientists celebrate return of fossil trove from the Netherlands

The items to be returned, which include Java Man, were collected during the colonial era

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Sep 3

The Dutch House of Representatives wants a major primate research center to end monkey studies in 5 years. Biomedical groups call the vote "far-reaching, ill-considered and harmful to public health."

My story:
www.science.org/content/arti...

Vote by Dutch lawmakers threatens major primate research center

In victory for animal rights activists, research on monkeys would end in 2030

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Aug 21

Here, ICYMI, is the original story in @science.org: www.science.org/content/arti...

In Guinea, the United States helped beat back malaria. Now, the disease is set to soar

Foreign aid cuts are expected to cause a rise in malaria cases and deaths across sub-Saharan Africa

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Aug 21

I grew up reading Dutch newspaper @trouw.nl, so I'm thrilled they're running a translation of my @science.org story about the breakdown of malaria control in Guinea today.

(The @pulitzercenter.org supported my trip; the amazing photos are from Marta Moreiras.)

www.trouw.nl/buitenland/i...

In Guinee stort de bestrijding van malaria in. ‘Ik smeek Donald Trump! Kleine kinderen gaan dood!’

De VS hadden een relatief groot aandeel in het terugdringen van malaria in Afrika. Nu er drastisch gesneden is in hulpgeld, dreigt de ziekte weer op te komen.

www.trouw.nl

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Reposted by Martin Enserink

Pulitzer Center @pulitzercenter.org · Aug 11

Community health workers in Guinea can be the difference between life and death when combating malaria.

Thousands of these workers lost their jobs after the Trump administration cut #USAID funds.

@martinenserink.bsky.social & Marta Moreiras report for @science.org.

👉 bit.ly/4fC6Irs

A child receives treatment for severe malaria at the Dubréka prefectural hospital in Guinea. Image by Marta Moreiras, Guinea, 2025.

The parents of Mohamed Camara (left), 10, look on after their son was diagnosed with malaria at Guinea’s Tamita Health Center on June 17, 2025. Image by Marta Moreiras. Guinea, 2025.

The dilapidated Soumbouyadi Health Post in Boffa prefecture in Guinea was to be replaced with a new, bigger center, built with U.S. support. Budget cuts have delayed its commissioning. Image by Marta Moreiras. Guinea, 2025.

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Aug 11

“Can you say firing squad?” Online death threats trigger a debate about the aggressive tactics of the White Coat Waste Project, a US animal rights group. www.science.org/content/arti...

Story by @phiejacobs.bsky.social

Deaths threats to NIH official spark debate over aggressive campaign to end animal research

White Coat Waste Project files complaint over government employee’s emails claiming it incited harassment against Nicole Kleinstreuer

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Aug 11

Scoop from @cohenjon.bsky.social: NIH may massively increase HIV 'implementation science', to $1 billion annually, at the expense of basic research. Some HIV researchers are alarmed. www.science.org/content/arti...

NIH ponders overhauling HIV budget to capitalize on prevention breakthrough

Scientists warn $1 billion push for “implementation science” spurred by promise of lenacapavir will hurt research on new treatments and vaccines

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Aug 8

This is the third and last feature story in a series supported by the @pulitzercenter.org about how the Trump Administration's budget cuts are harming global health. You can find all three stories here: www.science.org/topic/tags/c...

A sick boy lies on a bed in a health center, looking into the camera. His parents and younger sister are sitting on the bed behind him.

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Aug 8

Community health workers in Guinea are still wearing polo shirts and vests with an American flag and the USAID logo on it. But they no longer have jobs.

“I beg Donald Trump!” said one of them, Alhassane Camara. “The small children, they die!” www.science.org/content/arti...

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Aug 8

I traveled to Guinea to find out what U.S. budget cuts mean for the fight against malaria. Here's my story in @science.org - with powerful photography by Marta Moreiras. www.science.org/content/arti...

In Guinea, the United States helped beat back malaria. Now, the disease is set to soar

Foreign aid cuts are expected to cause a rise in malaria cases and deaths across sub-Saharan Africa

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Jul 12

The White House has concerns about allegedly risky research on viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. In response, the National Institutes of Health is cracking down on dozens of studies it was funding. By @jocelynkaiser.bsky.social and @cohenjon.bsky.social. www.science.org/content/arti...

Exclusive: NIH suspends dozens of pathogen studies over ‘gain-of-function’ concerns

Trump executive order leads to pauses on U.S.-funded research into TB, influenza, COVID-19, and other diseases, dismaying some scientists

www.science.org

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Reposted by Martin Enserink

Science Magazine @science.org · Jun 24

"Institutions must support transgender and gender nonconforming and other marginalized scientists by securing their safety and privacy; their access to legal aid and health care; and their opportunities in education, employment, and society," argues a new #LetterToScience. scim.ag/4kQCMtr

Protect transgender scientists

Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGnC) people are a primary target of the Trump administration. Multiple executive orders seek to erase TGnC protections; mandate denial of gender identity; and ba...

scim.ag

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Jun 13

Key finding: The 17 now-fired members of ACIP have on average published 49 papers on vaccines or vaccination.

The 8 members who succeed them averaged only 11 papers. Four of them have never published about the topic at all.

www.science.org/content/arti...

Graphic showing the number of papers about vaccines and vaccination published by the 17 members of ACIP who were fired this week and the 8 who will replace them. The averages are 49 papers for the fired members and 11 for the new appointees.

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Jun 13

How much expertise did a key vaccine panel lose this week when RFK Jr. fired its 17 members and appointed 8 new ones?

@meredithwadman.bsky.social and I looked at their publication records to find out. www.science.org/content/arti...

The members of RFK Jr.’s new vaccine committee have published little on vaccines

Purge at immunization panel represents a major loss of expertise, as measured by scientific papers

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Jun 13

Scoop from @sarareardon.bsky.social about the erratic process behind NIH's grant cancellations. www.science.org/content/arti...

Exclusive: NIH documents reveal inconsistencies in grant terminations as agency reviews 3200 more

Evidence of agency’s uneven guidance to employees and role of DOGE could play into legal case against cuts

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Jun 11

Have advocates of more rigor in science been "useful idiots" who unwittingly helped Trump's attacks on U.S. research? @cathleenogrady.bsky.social sheds light on a fascinating discussion. www.science.org/content/arti...

Science’s reform movement should have seen Trump’s call for ‘gold standard science’ coming, critics say

Efforts to improve the rigor of research may have unwittingly handed the administration a way to attack science

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Jun 11

Selling journal subscriptions is how scholarly societies have long made money. But that revenue stream is declining, putting the other work societies do at risk. www.science.org/content/arti... by @jeffreybrainard.bsky.social

Open-access revolution is squeezing scientific societies’ budgets, survey shows

Decline in journal revenues puts scholarships, advocacy, and other activities at risk

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Jun 11

Yesterday, Senators asked NIH director Jay Bhattacharya how Trump can justify a 40% cut to NIH's budget. He declined to say. www.science.org/content/arti... by @jocelynkaiser.bsky.social

Senators press NIH director on killed grants and proposal to slash agency’s funding

Jay Bhattacharya says NIH’s final budget will be a “collaboration”

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Jun 9

In the early 2010s, critics started pointing out that much of the psychology literature was unreliable. Now, a statistical analysis suggests the field is improving, @cathleenogrady.bsky.social reports. www.science.org/content/arti...

‘A big win’: Dubious statistical results are becoming less common in psychology

Fewer papers are reporting findings on the border of statistical significance, a potential marker of dodgy research practices

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Jun 9

“We dissent to Administration policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe.”

www.science.org/content/arti...

NIH staff and biomedical community sound alarm about agency politicization, funding slowdown

In test of NIH director’s support of dissent, NIH staff sign Bethesda Declaration urging reversal of grant cuts and freezes

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Jun 4

“It is a difficult time:” Mpox continues to spread in Africa but vaccination efforts are falling far short. www.science.org/content/arti... (by @cohenjon.bsky.social)

African countries fall far short of mpox vaccination targets

Continent faces a shortage of doses and distribution challenges

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Jun 2

Tiny Sierra Leone has seen more than 3000 mpox cases since January; the past few weeks, it accounted for more than half of all new cases in Africa. www.science.org/content/arti...

Explosive mpox outbreak in Sierra Leone overwhelms health systems

Rapid transmission through sexual networks raises fears of wider spread in the region

www.science.org

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Martin Enserink @martinenserink.bsky.social · Jun 2

HIV control efforts are falling apart in Lesotho en Eswatini, which have the highest infection rates in the world.
This story by @cohenjon.bsky.social is the first in a series about Trump cuts' effects on global health, funded by the @pulitzercenter.bsky.social.

www.science.org/content/arti...

U.S. aid helped two African countries rein in HIV. Then came Trump

In Lesotho and Eswatini, treatment and prevention cutbacks are hitting pregnant women, children, and teens especially hard

www.science.org

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Reposted by Martin Enserink

Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · May 23

Rubber hitting road: The elimination of US funding for programs that help countries fight neglected tropical diseases like lymphatic filariasis & river blindness is having & will have an enormous negative impact, @martinenserink.bsky.social reports. www.science.org/content/arti...

Crippling tropical diseases threaten to surge after U.S. funding cuts

Closing of programs that fought neglected diseases imperils drug donation and distribution efforts in 26 countries

www.science.org

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Reposted by Martin Enserink

Andrew Curry @spoke32.bsky.social · May 22

Scientists used to think diseases that jump from animals to people really took off when people started domesticating cattle, sheep and goats 11,000 years ago. A new look at ancient bacterial DNA in @science.org by @poojaswali.bsky.social and colleagues suggests the pivotal moment came much later.

Clothing—not agriculture—helped spread a tick disease 5000 years ago

New study of a pathogen’s Bronze Age spread challenges longstanding links between disease and early agriculture

www.science.org

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