Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · 5d

Renowned U.S. climate center trims staff ahead of expected budget cuts | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Renowned U.S. climate center trims staff ahead of expected budget cuts

NSF-funded National Center for Atmospheric Research is already shuttered during shutdown

www.science.org

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David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · 6d

After months in limbo, four NIH institute directors fired | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

After months in limbo, four NIH institute directors fired

Two leaders removed by Trump administration had hoped to stay at agency as in-house investigators

www.science.org

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Reposted by David Malakoff

James Dinneen @jamesdinneen.bsky.social · 6d

I joined a team of ecologists wading through the muck of the Carolina coast in search of "ghost forests" killed by rising seas for @science.org. We were guided by a a new map that reveals millions of dead trees standing along the East Coast, marking an overlooked consequence of climate change...

AI reveals vast ‘ghost forests’ along U.S. coast

Machine learning method counts nearly 12 million dead trees, many likely killed by rising seas

www.science.org

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Reposted by David Malakoff

Science Magazine @science.org · 8d

"… as I helped this bright young scholar rediscover hope in her journey, I rediscovered my own." #ScienceWorkingLife https://scim.ag/473CI43

A conceptual illustration of two people talking against background of leafless trees with green vines growing inside them. Text reads: How I confronted my growing cynicism about academia—and rekindled my sense of purpose.

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Reposted by David Malakoff

Kata Karáth @kkdfv.bsky.social · 12d

Linda Guamán and Xiména Abarca fought bravely through humiliation, ignorance, and threats of a 10-year prison sentence to defend their scientific expertise that ultimately saved thousands in Quito during the pandemic.

My follow-up story for @science.org
www.science.org/content/arti...

Ecuadorian scientists cleared of criminal charges in COVID-19 testing case

Prosecutors alleged officials and researchers defrauded government during the early months of the pandemic

www.science.org

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David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · 12d

Ecuadorian scientists cleared of criminal charges in COVID-19 testing case | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Ecuadorian scientists cleared of criminal charges in COVID-19 testing case

Prosecutors alleged officials and researchers defrauded government during the early months of the pandemic

www.science.org

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Reposted by David Malakoff

Science Magazine @science.org · 22d

"I was thrilled to be on an exchange semester overseas, but I saw it as just a detour from my imagined career path. I didn’t realize I was already pedaling toward a different life—one that would make me reassess how to achieve a fulfilling research career." https://scim.ag/46EZ2kj

An illustration of a man walking out of a dark, paper-filled world into a bright, colorful one, with text: I thought science hinged on prestige. Moving abroad made me reassess my priorities

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David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · 23d

Satellites could reveal the secret burial grounds of Mexico’s murder victims | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Satellites could reveal the secret burial grounds of Mexico’s murder victims

Sensors can detect chemical clues invisible to the human eye

www.science.org

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David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · Sep 6

U.S. will fulfill Biden-era pledge to provide HIV prevention breakthrough to millions | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

U.S. will fulfill Biden-era pledge to provide HIV prevention breakthrough to millions

Trump administration cuts to global health programs had put promise in doubt

www.science.org

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David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · Sep 6

Florida plans to nix vaccine mandates. How well do they work? | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Florida plans to nix vaccine mandates. How well do they work?

Abandoning long-standing vaccine requirements for schoolchildren could prompt bigger outbreaks, researchers warn

www.science.org

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David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · Aug 26

Pushed out by Trump, New Jersey ecologist launches bid for Congress | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Pushed out by Trump, New Jersey ecologist launches bid for Congress

Megan O’Rourke hopes to be a voice for science, also touts her blue-collar roots

www.science.org

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David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · Aug 21

How a Ph.D. is like riding a bike | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

How a Ph.D. is like riding a bike

This researcher struggled in grad school—until he embraced it as a time for learning

www.science.org

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David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · Aug 21

NIH director orders new review of grants in outline of top research priorities | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

NIH director orders new review of grants in outline of top research priorities

Many topics on Bhattacharya’s list are familiar, but order to re-evaluate grants draws concerns

www.science.org

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David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · Aug 21

Giraffes are four distinct species, major report confirms | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Giraffes are four distinct species, major report confirms

The revised classification will help ensure different giraffe populations are adequately protected, conservationists say

www.science.org

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David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · Aug 21

Facing ‘impossible’ workload, USDA struggles to oversee lab animal welfare | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Facing ‘impossible’ workload, USDA struggles to oversee lab animal welfare

Shrinking staff and other handicaps threaten enforcement of federal law that protects research animals

www.science.org

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David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · Aug 15

NIH director orders new review of grants in outline of top research priorities | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

NIH director orders new review of grants in outline of top research priorities

Many topics on Bhattacharya’s list are familiar, but order to re-evaluate grants draws concerns

www.science.org

David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · Aug 4

Why a top economist discounts Trump’s claim U.S. jobs data are ‘rigged’ | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Why a top economist discounts Trump’s claim U.S. jobs data are ‘rigged’

A former head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics rebuts reason why president fired the agency’s leader

www.science.org

David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · Aug 4

Scientific fraud has become an ‘industry,’ alarming analysis finds | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Scientific fraud has become an ‘industry,’ alarming analysis finds

Sophisticated global networks are infiltrating journals to publish fake papers

www.science.org

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Reposted by David Malakoff

Science Magazine @science.org · Jul 28

Researchers’ chances of winning a grant from the National Institutes of Health have dropped under a new policy. scim.ag/4f7uew2

Odds of winning NIH grants plummet as new funding policy and spending delays bite

Funding multiyear grants up front will sharply cut number of investigators receiving awards

scim.ag

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Reposted by David Malakoff

Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · Jul 30

Random cat facts can increase the odds an LLM gets a math problem wrong by as much as 700% (To be fair to the AIs, cats are pretty confusing). That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Powerful step-by-step reasoning models get confused by random feline facts. Credit: Meagan Cantwell/Science

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Reposted by David Malakoff

Paul Voosen @voosen.me · Jul 30

So what makes a climate assessment? In short: not this new Energy Dept report, which rehashes contrarian greatest hits with areas of known uncertainty -- that climate scientists talk about all the time.

It's all a little grim. Who needs 721 authors when you have 5?