Brendan Maher
@bmaher.bsky.social
4.6K followers 330 following 140 posts
News featured editor at Nature. bmaher.01 on signal.
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Reposted by Brendan Maher
maxkozlov.bsky.social
EXCLUSIVE: In her first interview all year, Susan Monarez, CDC director for only 29 days, tells me why Trump/RFK fired her and where this is all headed.

The CDC director is an “inherently political position, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be politically compromised”, she tells @nature.com.
Exclusive: ex-CDC director talks about why she was fired
“I would never do that, as a scientist,” Susan Monarez says of being asked to approve changes to vaccine recommendations without knowing the details.
www.nature.com
Reposted by Brendan Maher
dangaristo.bsky.social
Against my better judgment, I contributed a feature about the state of global higher education to this package about the future of universities. No easy way to sum it all up—there's plenty of good news and bad news to be found—but the world is much bigger than the US its current problems.
The great university shake-up: four charts show how global higher education is changing
More students than ever are studying across international borders, but where and what they learn is shifting.
www.nature.com
bmaher.bsky.social
It was the right decision.
bmaher.bsky.social
I feel like any meal out of this lunchbox needs to be eaten while making ‘Taz-like’ noises (Abu-dab -gab-gob) and gesticulating wildly.
bmaher.bsky.social
And we talk about how @audreydrotos.bsky.social @bnwolford.bsky.social and countless others are organizing to spread the word about the value of science that is being scaled back, and the impacts of that missing investment. 🧪🧵5/6
bmaher.bsky.social
We talk about how @noamross.net and @scott-delaney.bsky.social started to gather deep information on all the science that was being unlawfully terminated. 🧪🧵4/6
bmaher.bsky.social
We tell the story of @neuronikki.bsky.social who joined a national lawsuit to try and prevent NIH grant terminations. 🧪🧵3/6
bmaher.bsky.social
Inspired by Fred Rogers, @nature.com asked readers to help us 'find the helpers' amid the crisis in American science. What emerged were inspiring stories of researchers, legal experts, data hounds and government scientists who are fighting the dismantling of the US research enterprise. 🧪🧵1/6
Reposted by Brendan Maher
scott-delaney.bsky.social
NEW: Don't ask too many questions, but...

NIH may not re-terminate the 900ish grants at issue in the main NIH lawsuits after all.

To the PIs of reinstated grants, SPEND NOW!

🧵 Here's what NIH is probably thinking. Bear with me:
bmaher.bsky.social
If you, like me, are still trying to put last week's complex SCOTUS decision on NIH funding into context, this great story by my colleagues is a great resource 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
US Supreme Court allows NIH to cut $2 billion in research grants
The decision will hinder lawsuits against grant terminations, legal specialists say.
www.nature.com
Reposted by Brendan Maher
dangaristo.bsky.social
Yesterday the Supreme Court issued a convoluted, 36-page emergency order about NIH grant terminations. Two main takeaways:
-$2 billion (not the government # of $780 million) in NIH grants will likely be re-terminated
-future legal challenges will be much harder

w/ @maxkozlov.bsky.social:
US Supreme Court allows NIH to cut $2 billion in research grants
The decision will hinder lawsuits against grant terminations, legal specialists say.
www.nature.com
Reposted by Brendan Maher
cbarbermd.bsky.social
500–600 CDC employees just laid off.
This comes weeks after a gunman fired hundreds of bullets at CDC HQ, killing a police officer.

Trump has said nothing. Meanwhile, RFK Jr. is accused by 750+ health workers of spreading lies & dismantling public health. wapo.st/4mrA2DN
#BlueSky #MedSky #NewsSky
Hundreds of CDC employees receive permanent layoff notices
Several employees said layoffs have added to anger that President Trump has not commented publicly since a gunman opened fire at CDC headquarters this month.
wapo.st
bmaher.bsky.social
Why are people having fewer children? According to one source: "A lot of men are undateable. Truly undateable.” 😆 @lynnepeeps.bsky.social offers a great in-depth look at falling fertility rates around the world, and how to adapt.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
People are having fewer babies: Is it really the end of the world?
Steep population declines in most countries are expected to have negative impacts over the next several generations, but adaptation is possible.
www.nature.com
bmaher.bsky.social
Anyone else among us willing to admit that they first learned this from G.I Joe?
scottzona.bsky.social
You may have heard that apple seeds are poisonous. Yes, they are cyanogenic, but don’t worry. The amount is small, & like most mammals, we can detoxify tiny amounts in our digestive system. HCN is fatal only when the dose overwhelms our ability to detoxify it. ☠️ #HCN #Rosaceae #Malus
Collage of two photos, both showing the same small glass vial containing a few apple seeds. In the left photo, the paper strip suspended from the vial cap is white. In the right photo, it’s blue. Photo by Scott Zona CCBYNC2.
Reposted by Brendan Maher
nidhisubs.bsky.social
NEW: The Trump administration acted illegally when NIH delayed and canceled billions of dollars in grants to scientists earlier this year, a top government watchdog said www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
NIH Funding Delays Are Illegal, Government Watchdog Says
Canceled and delayed funds didn’t follow the Impoundment Control Act, the GAO found.
www.wsj.com