Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
@needhibhalla.bsky.social
Cell biologist and geneticist, Professor, mom and consumer of alcohol. Those might all be related. I grind til I own it.
She/her/hers.
ORCID: 0000-0002-6859-0073
personal account
She/her/hers.
ORCID: 0000-0002-6859-0073
personal account
Pinned
Scaling back DEI programmes and the loss of scientific talent
Nature Cell Biology - Programmes that support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in science are under attack in the USA. Data indicate that diversity in the scientific workforce increases...
www.nature.com
@joann-trejo.bsky.social, @marymunson4.bsky.social and I have a commentary in @natcellbio.nature.com on recent attacks on DEI in biomedical research: "If scientific research, especially biomedical research, is meant to serve everyone, then it requires that everyone has an opportunity to participate"
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
New from me: @govpritzker.illinois.gov will use his State of the State address to push a sweeping housing plan that’d permit multi-unit buildings on most residential lots, legalize granny flats and slash red tape that’s slowed homebuilding in recent years. capitolnewsillinois.com/news/pritzke...
Pritzker to propose statewide zoning laws to spur homebuilding, limit local control
Article Summary JB Pritzker will propose a plan during his State of the State address to drastically limit local governments’
capitolnewsillinois.com
February 18, 2026 at 2:03 PM
New from me: @govpritzker.illinois.gov will use his State of the State address to push a sweeping housing plan that’d permit multi-unit buildings on most residential lots, legalize granny flats and slash red tape that’s slowed homebuilding in recent years. capitolnewsillinois.com/news/pritzke...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
this one trick can cure cultural stagnation: state supported education, arts organizations, healthcare
We'd have a new American arts renaissance in a couple years if we 1) lowered rents and 2) created WPA 2.0
February 18, 2026 at 3:09 PM
this one trick can cure cultural stagnation: state supported education, arts organizations, healthcare
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
One key aspect that made bioRxiv the most immediate and amazing source it is now was undeniably the science megaphone that Twitter was and that is no more. But I am hopeful that we can recreate that culture here on bsky, so do please share your science preprints and other here with all of us 😍👍
a man is standing in front of a suzuki dirt bike and says share with your friends
ALT: a man is standing in front of a suzuki dirt bike and says share with your friends
media.tenor.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:24 PM
One key aspect that made bioRxiv the most immediate and amazing source it is now was undeniably the science megaphone that Twitter was and that is no more. But I am hopeful that we can recreate that culture here on bsky, so do please share your science preprints and other here with all of us 😍👍
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
"Under competitive authoritarianism, countries still hold elections, but the ruling party uses various tactics — attacking the press, disenfranchising voters, weaponizing the justice system and threatening critics — to tilt the electoral playing field in its favor."
www.npr.org/2026/02/16/n...
www.npr.org/2026/02/16/n...
Concerns over autocracy in the U.S. continue to grow
Is America still a democracy? Scholars tell NPR that after the last year under President Trump, the country has slid closer to autocracy or may already be there.
www.npr.org
February 16, 2026 at 3:17 PM
"Under competitive authoritarianism, countries still hold elections, but the ruling party uses various tactics — attacking the press, disenfranchising voters, weaponizing the justice system and threatening critics — to tilt the electoral playing field in its favor."
www.npr.org/2026/02/16/n...
www.npr.org/2026/02/16/n...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Bayard Rustin could be the most influential civil rights activist you’ve never heard of. Did his sexuality and religion keep him out of the history books?
That question and more on @revealnews.org's More To The Story: tinyurl.com/3v3f93xm
That question and more on @revealnews.org's More To The Story: tinyurl.com/3v3f93xm
February 18, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Bayard Rustin could be the most influential civil rights activist you’ve never heard of. Did his sexuality and religion keep him out of the history books?
That question and more on @revealnews.org's More To The Story: tinyurl.com/3v3f93xm
That question and more on @revealnews.org's More To The Story: tinyurl.com/3v3f93xm
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Also, check out the beautiful news & views from Yu-Xi Xiao and Alan Moses!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Motifs and chemistry dictate the role of intrinsically disordered regions - Nature Cell Biology
Research shows that the function of intrinsically disordered regions within proteins relies on both linear sequence motifs and broader chemical context, allowing evolution to preserve function without...
www.nature.com
February 12, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Also, check out the beautiful news & views from Yu-Xi Xiao and Alan Moses!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Pleased to share the final version of this behemoth of a paper, now finally published. I guess I can retire now?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
More functional data, many thousands of words removed, and a few other updates from last year's preprint.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
More functional data, many thousands of words removed, and a few other updates from last year's preprint.
February 12, 2026 at 11:22 AM
Pleased to share the final version of this behemoth of a paper, now finally published. I guess I can retire now?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
More functional data, many thousands of words removed, and a few other updates from last year's preprint.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
More functional data, many thousands of words removed, and a few other updates from last year's preprint.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Next week, Trump will deliver his State of the Union address. I won't be there.
Trump is marching America towards fascism, and I refuse to normalize his shredding of our Constitution & democracy.
This cannot be business as usual.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/u...
Trump is marching America towards fascism, and I refuse to normalize his shredding of our Constitution & democracy.
This cannot be business as usual.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/u...
Democrats Plan to Counter Trump’s Speech to Congress With Rally
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Next week, Trump will deliver his State of the Union address. I won't be there.
Trump is marching America towards fascism, and I refuse to normalize his shredding of our Constitution & democracy.
This cannot be business as usual.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/u...
Trump is marching America towards fascism, and I refuse to normalize his shredding of our Constitution & democracy.
This cannot be business as usual.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/u...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Seventh Immigrant Dies in ICE Custody This Year
open.substack.com/pub/austinko...
open.substack.com/pub/austinko...
Seventh Immigrant Dies in ICE Custody This Year
Lorth Sim, a Cambodian national, died in ICE custody on Monday according to an announcement sent to Congress today, marking the seventh detained death of 2026 and nearly the 40th since Trump took offi...
open.substack.com
February 18, 2026 at 1:51 AM
Seventh Immigrant Dies in ICE Custody This Year
open.substack.com/pub/austinko...
open.substack.com/pub/austinko...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
This Ramadan is likely to look very different for Mr. Mamdani, coming against the backdrop of a jam-packed City Hall schedule and the exhausting everyday demands of leading the nation’s largest city.
Mamdani Ushers in a New Tradition: Ramadan in City Hall
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 2:36 PM
This Ramadan is likely to look very different for Mr. Mamdani, coming against the backdrop of a jam-packed City Hall schedule and the exhausting everyday demands of leading the nation’s largest city.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
I regularly see people wondering how it's possible that there are so many musicians and writers and film makers and artists from a tiny nation like Iceland.
And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.
And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.
I’m constantly astounded at the sheer level of artistic production coming out of Iceland. Novels, movies, music. Amazing.
February 18, 2026 at 2:23 PM
I regularly see people wondering how it's possible that there are so many musicians and writers and film makers and artists from a tiny nation like Iceland.
And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.
And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
"He really didn't lose those two elections," Bishop William Barber says of Jesse Jackson's presidential bids in 1984 and 1988.
"He brought 10 million new people into the electorate. He changed rules in the Democratic Party. He lifted up an agenda for people who weren't even hearing their names."
"He brought 10 million new people into the electorate. He changed rules in the Democratic Party. He lifted up an agenda for people who weren't even hearing their names."
February 18, 2026 at 1:46 PM
"He really didn't lose those two elections," Bishop William Barber says of Jesse Jackson's presidential bids in 1984 and 1988.
"He brought 10 million new people into the electorate. He changed rules in the Democratic Party. He lifted up an agenda for people who weren't even hearing their names."
"He brought 10 million new people into the electorate. He changed rules in the Democratic Party. He lifted up an agenda for people who weren't even hearing their names."
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
5/ This means that mitotic transcription isn’t just a passive consequence of cell cycle stage — it actively threatens genome stability when not properly regulated.
February 17, 2026 at 11:07 AM
5/ This means that mitotic transcription isn’t just a passive consequence of cell cycle stage — it actively threatens genome stability when not properly regulated.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
4/ The result? When transcription isn’t cleared, sister chromatid resolution is impaired — a critical step needed to ensure faithful chromosome segregation in anaphase.
February 17, 2026 at 11:06 AM
4/ The result? When transcription isn’t cleared, sister chromatid resolution is impaired — a critical step needed to ensure faithful chromosome segregation in anaphase.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
🚨Cool story alert! 👇🚨
🧵 Thread: What happens when transcription isn’t properly shut off during mitosis? Our new preprint explores just that 👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
February 18, 2026 at 10:13 AM
🚨Cool story alert! 👇🚨
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Joined @eugenedaniels2.bsky.social and @lbarronlopez.bsky.social to talk about Jesse Jackson's political legacy as part of his lifelong fight for equality. All three of us covered him over the years. www.ms.now/chris-jansin...
How Reverend Jesse Jackson transformed politics for the Democratic party
Tributes are pouring in to honor civil rights icon Reverend Jesse Jackson who died today at 84 years old. Rev. Jackson first rose to prominence as a protégé of Martin Luther King, Jr. and later ran fo...
www.ms.now
February 18, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Joined @eugenedaniels2.bsky.social and @lbarronlopez.bsky.social to talk about Jesse Jackson's political legacy as part of his lifelong fight for equality. All three of us covered him over the years. www.ms.now/chris-jansin...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Updates from NSF BIO leadership…
February 18, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Updates from NSF BIO leadership…
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Getting notes together for something I'm writing on eugenics, and I was reminded that Buck v Bell has never been overturned. This book on the case and the wider history of eugenics is something.
Imbeciles by Adam Cohen: 9780143109990 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
Longlisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Nonfiction One of America’s great miscarriages of justice, the Supreme Court’s infamous 1927 Buck v. Bell ruling made government sterilization...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
February 18, 2026 at 1:45 PM
Getting notes together for something I'm writing on eugenics, and I was reminded that Buck v Bell has never been overturned. This book on the case and the wider history of eugenics is something.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
I’m glad to see media starting to pick up on the downstream impacts of a Bay Area transportation system collapse
Bay Area home prices soar near BART. What happens if stations close?
Faced with a budget deficit of up to $400 million, BART officials are weighing plans to close stations and eviscerate service. The cuts would wreak havoc on the Bay Area real estate market.
www.sfchronicle.com
February 18, 2026 at 2:15 PM
I’m glad to see media starting to pick up on the downstream impacts of a Bay Area transportation system collapse
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Apple quietly removes ESG links from top execs’ pay. My latest (gift link):
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Apple Drops ESG Links From Top Executives’ Pay Packages
The company’s retreat follows moves by Starbucks, Salesforce and Mastercard.
www.bloomberg.com
February 18, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Apple quietly removes ESG links from top execs’ pay. My latest (gift link):
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
“tariffs do not raise prices. anyone who says so will be fired”
February 18, 2026 at 1:56 PM
“tariffs do not raise prices. anyone who says so will be fired”
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Here’s the piece the White House is threatening NY Fed economists over in case you wanna read it:
libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2026/02/who-...
libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2026/02/who-...
Who Is Paying for the 2025 U.S. Tariffs? - Liberty Street Economics
Over the course of 2025, the average tariff rate on U.S. imports increased from 2.6 to 13 percent. In this blog post, we ask how much of the tariffs were paid by the U.S., using import data through No...
libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org
February 18, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Here’s the piece the White House is threatening NY Fed economists over in case you wanna read it:
libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2026/02/who-...
libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2026/02/who-...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
FYI - if you follow me here and wanna get my columns directly into your inbox, I also send them out via my personal newsletter, which you can sign up for here: www.elizabethspiers.com/on-the-epste...
On the Epstein Files and Oligarchs with Room Temperature IQs
One of my ongoing frustrations of our culture's veneration of capitalistic success is that it causes people to ascribe positive qualities to rich people that they may or may not have--intelligence and...
www.elizabethspiers.com
February 17, 2026 at 9:36 PM
FYI - if you follow me here and wanna get my columns directly into your inbox, I also send them out via my personal newsletter, which you can sign up for here: www.elizabethspiers.com/on-the-epste...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
“Lorth Sim, a Cambodian national, died in ICE custody on Monday, the seventh since the start of the year and nearly the 40th since Trump took office. ICE has not updated its website to reflect this latest detainee death as of the time of this writing.”
February 18, 2026 at 1:25 AM
“Lorth Sim, a Cambodian national, died in ICE custody on Monday, the seventh since the start of the year and nearly the 40th since Trump took office. ICE has not updated its website to reflect this latest detainee death as of the time of this writing.”
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Today, @ucs.org joins @earthjustice.org and others challenging the Trump Administration's Endangerment Finding repeal.
These moves abandon the EPA's mission to protect people’s health and its legal obligation under the Clean Air Act and they must be held to account. www.ucs.org/about/news/u...
These moves abandon the EPA's mission to protect people’s health and its legal obligation under the Clean Air Act and they must be held to account. www.ucs.org/about/news/u...
UCS Joins Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration’s Unlawful Endangerment Finding Repeal
UCS Joins Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration’s Unlawful Endangerment Finding Repeal
www.ucs.org
February 18, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Today, @ucs.org joins @earthjustice.org and others challenging the Trump Administration's Endangerment Finding repeal.
These moves abandon the EPA's mission to protect people’s health and its legal obligation under the Clean Air Act and they must be held to account. www.ucs.org/about/news/u...
These moves abandon the EPA's mission to protect people’s health and its legal obligation under the Clean Air Act and they must be held to account. www.ucs.org/about/news/u...