Pablo Ortiz
@313kidney.bsky.social
Renal Physiology , the kidney in hypertension, molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular disease, scientist , frustrated musician , happily living in Detroit (a miracle city!)
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
"there is little reason to doubt what the aim [of the massive investment in AI] is: to embed knowledge in machines—knowledge that previously belonged to the people working in these domains."
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In applying AI to material science, biology, etc, capitalism is trying to shed science.
The point is to substitute the engineering of a machine that can generate what science has hitherto done, but without having people know things. Knowledge ultimately residing in private property is the dream.
The point is to substitute the engineering of a machine that can generate what science has hitherto done, but without having people know things. Knowledge ultimately residing in private property is the dream.
Jeff Bezos Creates A.I. Start-Up Where He Will Be Co-Chief Executive
www.nytimes.com
December 10, 2025 at 6:20 PM
"there is little reason to doubt what the aim [of the massive investment in AI] is: to embed knowledge in machines—knowledge that previously belonged to the people working in these domains."
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Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
American Science, Shattered
A multipart series on how the Trump administration has disrupted labs, upended lives, and delayed discoveries.
www.statnews.com/american-sci...
A multipart series on how the Trump administration has disrupted labs, upended lives, and delayed discoveries.
www.statnews.com/american-sci...
American Science, Shattered
An eight-decade partnership between universities and the federal government made U.S. science preeminent. It took Trump less than a year to shred that
www.statnews.com
December 8, 2025 at 12:04 AM
American Science, Shattered
A multipart series on how the Trump administration has disrupted labs, upended lives, and delayed discoveries.
www.statnews.com/american-sci...
A multipart series on how the Trump administration has disrupted labs, upended lives, and delayed discoveries.
www.statnews.com/american-sci...
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is seeking input on Federal policy updates to accelerate the American scientific enterprise.
This is your chance to give some feedback on how the past ~10 months have gone for science.
www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...
I plan to highlight:
This is your chance to give some feedback on how the past ~10 months have gone for science.
www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...
I plan to highlight:
Notice of Request for Information; Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) requests input from all interested parties on Federal policy updates that aim to accelerate the American scientific enterprise, enable groundbreaking...
www.federalregister.gov
December 4, 2025 at 1:00 AM
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is seeking input on Federal policy updates to accelerate the American scientific enterprise.
This is your chance to give some feedback on how the past ~10 months have gone for science.
www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...
I plan to highlight:
This is your chance to give some feedback on how the past ~10 months have gone for science.
www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...
I plan to highlight:
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
New York Times article on science funding with some depressing but familiar curves with interactive graphics.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine (Gift Article)
A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.
www.nytimes.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:57 AM
New York Times article on science funding with some depressing but familiar curves with interactive graphics.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
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).
1/2
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).
1/2
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).
1/2
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).
1/2
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
It was such an honor for me to work with awesome colleagues Needhi Bhalla and JoAnn Trejo on this important piece 👇
@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"
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
October 23, 2025 at 6:42 PM
It was such an honor for me to work with awesome colleagues Needhi Bhalla and JoAnn Trejo on this important piece 👇
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
My op-ed just came out discussing how NIH leadership is failing early career researchers and, importantly, how we can push back and take our future into our own hands.
NIH Leadership Is Failing Early Career Researchers
Halted training programs, funding chaos, and hiring freezes jeopardize advancement options for early career researchers.
www.the-scientist.com
October 10, 2025 at 11:23 AM
My op-ed just came out discussing how NIH leadership is failing early career researchers and, importantly, how we can push back and take our future into our own hands.
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
To understand how budget cuts could impact the NIH, economists looked to the past--and their alternate history revealed how Trump-level defunding would have undercut breakthrough new medicines of the 21st century 🧪 my story:
'Alternative history' of the NIH shows how a 40% budget cut may thwart new medicines
An “alternative history” has revealed the potential impacts a smaller National Institutes of Health would have had on past drug development—and the results
www.fiercebiotech.com
September 25, 2025 at 6:01 PM
To understand how budget cuts could impact the NIH, economists looked to the past--and their alternate history revealed how Trump-level defunding would have undercut breakthrough new medicines of the 21st century 🧪 my story:
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Here's my comment--join me. This would effectively remove foreign PhD students and postdocs from our labs. please share
September 27, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Here's my comment--join me. This would effectively remove foreign PhD students and postdocs from our labs. please share
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Also, NHLBI:
2022 - 1675
2023 - 1586
2024 - 1656
2025 - 1226
Not quite as good as NIGMS but not as bad as NCI either.
2022 - 1675
2023 - 1586
2024 - 1656
2025 - 1226
Not quite as good as NIGMS but not as bad as NCI either.
September 23, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Also, NHLBI:
2022 - 1675
2023 - 1586
2024 - 1656
2025 - 1226
Not quite as good as NIGMS but not as bad as NCI either.
2022 - 1675
2023 - 1586
2024 - 1656
2025 - 1226
Not quite as good as NIGMS but not as bad as NCI either.
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
It looks like NIH is working hard to spend down the money. That's good. But let's look at a few of my favorite IC's to see how the MYF policy has affected the # of new grants awarded per fiscal year despite the same $ spent (or close to).
Updated funding curve (with two weeks to go in the fiscal year)
(Posted on jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g... )
(Posted on jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g... )
September 23, 2025 at 3:44 PM
It looks like NIH is working hard to spend down the money. That's good. But let's look at a few of my favorite IC's to see how the MYF policy has affected the # of new grants awarded per fiscal year despite the same $ spent (or close to).
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Now with comments... Lots of comments
(A long thread)
1/n
(A long thread)
1/n
September 22, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Now with comments... Lots of comments
(A long thread)
1/n
(A long thread)
1/n
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
How does age impact the onset of hypertension and subsequent incidence of CKD? This #ASNKidney360 study dives deep to evaluate: kidney.pub/KID0872
September 22, 2025 at 2:00 PM
How does age impact the onset of hypertension and subsequent incidence of CKD? This #ASNKidney360 study dives deep to evaluate: kidney.pub/KID0872
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Apparently, chimpanzees consume equivalent of 1-2 standard alcoholic drinks per day in the wild via fermented fruit!! (h/t Nick Villarino)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Ethanol ingestion via frugivory in wild chimpanzees
Natural daily consumption of dietary alcohol by chimpanzees suggests human attraction to alcohol may come from our ancestral diet.
www.science.org
September 18, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Apparently, chimpanzees consume equivalent of 1-2 standard alcoholic drinks per day in the wild via fermented fruit!! (h/t Nick Villarino)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
The amino acid transporter SLC38A2 is linked to a higher risk of #hypertension and can be targeted to lower blood pressure, show new experiments in #ScienceTranslationalMedicine involving mice and an analysis of population cohorts in China and the U.K. Biobank. https://scim.ag/4mQ3Ji0
Inhibiting SLC38A2 lowers blood pressure in rodent models of hypertension
Inhibition of Slc38a2 in vascular endothelial cells enhances NO-mediated vasodilation and reduces blood pressure.
scim.ag
September 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM
The amino acid transporter SLC38A2 is linked to a higher risk of #hypertension and can be targeted to lower blood pressure, show new experiments in #ScienceTranslationalMedicine involving mice and an analysis of population cohorts in China and the U.K. Biobank. https://scim.ag/4mQ3Ji0
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
ASM, ASBMB, ASCB & FASEB are deeply disappointed in the Supreme Court ruling allowing cancellation of $800M in NIH grants, threatening labs, jobs, and early-career scientists. Stable funding is vital for U.S. science.
Read more: www.ascb.org/society-news...
Read more: www.ascb.org/society-news...
Statement on Supreme Court Ruling in American Public Health Association v. NIH - ASCB
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) and the Federation of American Societies ...
www.ascb.org
August 22, 2025 at 7:44 PM
ASM, ASBMB, ASCB & FASEB are deeply disappointed in the Supreme Court ruling allowing cancellation of $800M in NIH grants, threatening labs, jobs, and early-career scientists. Stable funding is vital for U.S. science.
Read more: www.ascb.org/society-news...
Read more: www.ascb.org/society-news...
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
From bold ideas to lifesaving breakthroughs, your research starts here. Grant applications are open to help you shape the future of health.
August 19, 2025 at 8:00 PM
From bold ideas to lifesaving breakthroughs, your research starts here. Grant applications are open to help you shape the future of health.
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
The Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina — often described as one of the most stable glaciers in Patagonia — is retreating far more rapidly than previously thought, according to a paper in Communications Earth & Environment. go.nature.com/45tPiZu ⚒️ 🧪
August 18, 2025 at 1:09 AM
The Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina — often described as one of the most stable glaciers in Patagonia — is retreating far more rapidly than previously thought, according to a paper in Communications Earth & Environment. go.nature.com/45tPiZu ⚒️ 🧪
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Multiple federal agencies are suspending research funding at UCLA over allegations it didn’t properly deal with antisemitism on campus. scim.ag/4lbLAcx
NSF and NIH suspend grants to UCLA
Move follows Trump administration finding that school didn’t effectively combat antisemitism
scim.ag
August 1, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Multiple federal agencies are suspending research funding at UCLA over allegations it didn’t properly deal with antisemitism on campus. scim.ag/4lbLAcx
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
A nod and a wink to kidney-specific WNK1
This issue’s cover features work by Cary R. Boyd-Shiwarski et al. on kidney-specific WNK1 as a scaffolding protein that organizes WNK bodies — structures essential for maintaining blood potassium levels: buff.ly/Cw7u7c1
This issue’s cover features work by Cary R. Boyd-Shiwarski et al. on kidney-specific WNK1 as a scaffolding protein that organizes WNK bodies — structures essential for maintaining blood potassium levels: buff.ly/Cw7u7c1
August 1, 2025 at 4:06 PM
A nod and a wink to kidney-specific WNK1
This issue’s cover features work by Cary R. Boyd-Shiwarski et al. on kidney-specific WNK1 as a scaffolding protein that organizes WNK bodies — structures essential for maintaining blood potassium levels: buff.ly/Cw7u7c1
This issue’s cover features work by Cary R. Boyd-Shiwarski et al. on kidney-specific WNK1 as a scaffolding protein that organizes WNK bodies — structures essential for maintaining blood potassium levels: buff.ly/Cw7u7c1
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Tomorrow SCOTUS quietly decides if Trump administration can illegally cut grants tied to DEIA. This and today's bombshell announcing no new NIH grants is an orchestrated assault. We need to scream from rooftops.
The Trump admin already got slapped down by Judge Young, who said he’d “never seen a record where racial discrimination was so palpable."
Now, Trump’s begging SCOTUS to let him cut NIH grants that focus on gender, race, and LGBTQ+ research anyway.
zurl.co/g2R1Q
Now, Trump’s begging SCOTUS to let him cut NIH grants that focus on gender, race, and LGBTQ+ research anyway.
zurl.co/g2R1Q
Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to let it move forward with NIH grant cuts
A federal judge in June ordered the Trump administration to continue paying out roughly $783 million in National Institutes of Health grants.
zurl.co
July 30, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Tomorrow SCOTUS quietly decides if Trump administration can illegally cut grants tied to DEIA. This and today's bombshell announcing no new NIH grants is an orchestrated assault. We need to scream from rooftops.