Bernd Pulverer
@berndpulverer.bsky.social
100 followers 10 following 37 posts
Molecular Biologist Chief Editor @emboreports.org Head @embopress.org
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berndpulverer.bsky.social
Epic setting in historic Brussels theater for research career-last talks by two towering chromatin figures: Tony Kouzarides and Thomas Jenuwein at #xcellsconference
berndpulverer.bsky.social
Wei Zhang (Zhejiang University, previous head of NSFC, UNESCO OS) declares 4 hurdles to #OpenAccess adoption #OASPA2025: 1) JIF (cf. @DORAassessment.bsky.social); 2) publisher double dipping; 3) non-transparent pricing; 4) one size fits all models/ignoring global south
berndpulverer.bsky.social
Good discussion #OASPA2025 how to make OA scaleable -more Qs than As. Cameron Neylon ‘there are real costs in publishing that the system has to bear’ Can publ. agreements work for full OA? Can APCs be equitable? How to encourage/pay for Open Science & non-paper research artefacts? Now for solutions!
berndpulverer.bsky.social
catching up with my old stomping ground molecular & preclinical cancer research. 2 wonderful @embo.org Global Investigator talks from EMBO associate Singapore by Dennis Kappei, CSI & Wee Wei Tee of IMCB. Spot the Singapore inspired @embojournal.org cover.
berndpulverer.bsky.social
So glad I could attend #OsakaMito2025, one of the most interactive meetings. ltr: Mashun Onishi (Organizer,Osaka) Hijiri Oshio (EMBOJ prize,Tokyo), Keisuke Takeda (Org,Osaka),
Yibing Wang (EMBOMolMed prize, Beijing), Saori Shinoda (Org,Tokyo), Yuta Konishi (EMBOR pr,Kyoto), camera: Koji Okamoto Org.
berndpulverer.bsky.social
Thanks Koji Okamoto for hosting me in Osaka University - great questions from a young engaged audience from JIFs over referee credit to publishing costs
Reposted by Bernd Pulverer
emboreports.org
Congratulations to Yuta Konishi of Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan on winning the @emboreports.org poster prize #OsakaMito2025, an astonishingly dynamic and exciting conference with full throttle engagement of ECRs
berndpulverer.bsky.social
here I was in Osaka, enjoying the superb science & exciting discourse #OsakaMito2025 when a certain RFKJn decided to make mitochondria his own. Big words for a parasite compromised CNS. Back to sci: so many exciting findings by the next gen of mitologists here! Watch out for mitos @EMBOReports.org
berndpulverer.bsky.social
Arsenic life: completely agree with @science.org & @cope that papers with flawed core claims should be retracted or -much better- ‚withdrawn‘ by the authors (a tool dev @embopress.org). Self-correction must be de-stigmatized & become a +ve indicator in res. assessment www.science.org/content/arti...
Fifteen years later, Science retracts ‘arsenic life’ paper despite study authors’ protests
Belated decision on widely disputed 2010 study pleases some critics but puzzles and dismays others
www.science.org
berndpulverer.bsky.social
We reached the phase of the playbook where critical reporting is proxy banned by unsubscribing. At least they could have had the grace to invoke the OSTP Open Research policy, in force from today: they mandate #OpenScience, yet block dissemination & undermine research. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Trump team axes contracts with publishing giant Springer Nature
The action comes as high-ranking US officials criticize top journals as ‘woke’ and ‘corrupt’.
www.nature.com
berndpulverer.bsky.social
Assuming for a moment US gvt subcrptions to SN really were cut is it because: 1) Start of OSTP directive; 2) cost saving; 3) Kennedy alleged biases; 4) critical news reporting. Tick ONE for fact and ONE for proxy reason. www.science.org/content/arti...
Trump cuts subscriptions to Springer Nature journals
Other publishers appear unscathed in recent actions
www.science.org
berndpulverer.bsky.social
Finally - ‘Publications’ offers itself up for publishing…anything. MDPI outdoes itself in publishing creativity.
berndpulverer.bsky.social
Weaponizing foreign students in the US culture war against academic institutions is abhorrent & a major own goal. Lets hope the UK sees where all this leads & is curageous enough to reverse damaging Brexit policies on academic exchange. Only countries with international academia produce excellence.
berndpulverer.bsky.social
Manuel, as we discussed in the past, SN (& before Wiley) are important service providers to @embopress.org. One service is to collect charges. Without this, the charges would be higher for a small non-profit. check www.embo.org/features/the... to see that the $ go mostly to @embo.org
The cost of scientific publishing – Features – EMBO
Transparent finances of the EMBO Press journals
www.embo.org
berndpulverer.bsky.social
OSTP head Kratsios conflates DEI & research to justify US federal cuts ‘Political biases have displaced the vital search for truth [sci are] trying to score political points rather than doing goldstandard science’uff! +ve: he supports #researchintegrity & #openscience www.science.org/content/arti...
Trump’s science adviser defends funding cuts as a chance to ‘revitalize’ U.S. science
Michael Kratsios says DEI has led to a loss of public trust in universities
www.science.org
berndpulverer.bsky.social
J. Bhattacharya on reported ‘suspension’ of NIH subawards for foreign collab: “No, that’s false. There’s going to be a policy on tracking subawards”’Later that day, NIH released a policy that halted subawards to foreign scientists [who will] need to apply directly’ www.science.org/content/arti...
‘It’s been a tough period’: NIH’s new director speaks with Science
Jay Bhattacharya discusses staff morale, grant cuts, and “rumors”
www.science.org
berndpulverer.bsky.social
this is probably only the beginning of systematic challenges to scientific journals. A response could be to ask how the health secretary vetted his claim to find ‘the’ cause of autims by September, now a (the?) key NIH priority www.nbcnews.com/science/scie...
U.S. attorney demands scientific journal explain how it ensures 'viewpoint diversity'
The unusual letter caught the attention of First Amendment groups and some scientists, who raised concerns it was designed to suppress academic and scientific freedom.
www.nbcnews.com
berndpulverer.bsky.social
Someone wants to have their cake & eat it: fear not, Harvard: ‘Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status [which] is contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!’ YET ‘About 22k I.R.S. employees have signed their resignation offer…could weaken the agency’s ability to collect taxes.’
berndpulverer.bsky.social
Even the FT is suggesting to beef up European science funding to encourage reverse brain drain (NB: a UK editorial pins its hopes on EU funding): ‚expand the EU’s seven-year €95bn Horizon Europe initiative… in its next phase from 2028 to woo displaced US-based scientists‘
www.ft.com/content/7ec9...
A dark hour for American science
Other countries have a chance to attract US talent driven out by Trump’s policies
www.ft.com
berndpulverer.bsky.social
Time to wake up from the political mess to refocus on the real disruptor: ‚there’s only one path-prevent further increases in atmospheric energy..this isn’t about saving the planet but about saving markets & civilization‘ says Allianz insurance boardmember Thallinger www.linkedin.com/pulse/climat...
Climate, Risk, Insurance: The Future of Capitalism
CO₂ emissions directly increase the amount of energy trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere. This is not a vague or future issue—it is physical reality.
www.linkedin.com
berndpulverer.bsky.social
‘Bhattacharya…wanted the NIH to focus on reproducibility, rigour, transparency & acad freedom, even as the agency...scrapped its scientific integrity policy aimed at prohibiting political influence on government science’ Classic playbook: turn the arguments 180 degrees www.nature.com/articles/d41...
‘One of the darkest days’: NIH purges agency leadership amid mass layoffs
In shock move, four institute directors at the US biomedical agency are removed from their posts.
www.nature.com