Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kelsey Tyssowski @kelseytea.bsky.social · 21h

thank you to @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social for featuring me in #HumansofHBI and for doing a fun photo shoot with me at the Museum of Natural History!

go check out other members of the HBI community in the #HumansofHBI!

Harvard Brain Science Initiative @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social · 9d

Meet @kelseytea.bsky.social on #HumansofHBI

How does genetic and molecular variation, either through evolution or within a species, result in neural and behavioral variation? How many different ways can you evolve a similar behavior?

brain.harvard.edu/hbi_humans/k...

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Reposted by Kelsey Tyssowski

Ian L Morgan @ianlmorgan.bsky.social · 10d

DHS is proposing a rule that would end "duration of status" for J, F and other visa holders. This would decimate the international graduate student and postdoc population, which are a crucial part of the United States biomedical workforce. There's still time for you to comment on the proposed rule.

Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media

Unlike most nonimmigrant classifications, which are admitted for a fixed time period, aliens in the F (academic student), J (exchange visitor), and most I (representatives of foreign information media...

www.federalregister.gov

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Bence Ölveczky @olveczky.bsky.social · Aug 25

Wrote a eulogy for the yellow letters in my office window. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

My Lab Displayed A Message of Solidarity on Our Windows. Harvard Took It Down. | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson

If we continue down this path, we risk not only Harvard’s future as an institution of free inquiry and expression but also its integrity and trustworthiness.

www.thecrimson.com

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Reposted by Kelsey Tyssowski

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · Aug 22

Vox has a very good article explaining the mess that just happened at the Supreme Court. In the end, they are ensuring that no matter what happens to the canceled grants, there’s no chance of resolving fast enough to matter for the work or PIs. Struck a death blow www.vox.com/scotus/45886...

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Caroline Hu @hudrewthis.bsky.social · Aug 20

Seeking scientist volunteers for this fall! Want to practice science communication and help author a 🌟comic🌟 about your research? I need collaborators for the next cohort of SciComm & Comics art and design students. All countries and scientific fields eligible.

An anole extends its dewlap, which says "call for scientists!"

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Kelsey Tyssowski @kelseytea.bsky.social · Jul 23

Amazing work on the neural basis of the evolution of escape behavior in peromyscus! congrats, Felix!!

Felix Baier @felixbaier.bsky.social · Jul 23

🚨Very happy that my PhD work is now out in @nature.com!

We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️

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Ian L Morgan @ianlmorgan.bsky.social · Jul 14

House FY26 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill proposes a 23% cut to funding for the National Science Foundation.
Call your legislators and tell them no cuts to science funding!
appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-su...

Proposed science spending in FY26 House Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill.

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Reposted by Kelsey Tyssowski

Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · Jul 8

BREAKING: Scientists are staging a “science fair” in the lobby of a Congressional building to tell elected officials about the critical knowledge the US will lose because their research grants have been canceled.

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Reposted by Kelsey Tyssowski

Ben de Bivort @debivort.bsky.social · Jul 1

Hi folks — What federally-hosted data sets do you use for your research? Please reply below. I'm especially curious about more obscure .gov data sets that might be research critical for you.

(And I'm interested to hear about data sets in any domain, not just life sciences!)

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Kelsey Tyssowski @kelseytea.bsky.social · Jul 8

Great to meet you!

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Reposted by Kelsey Tyssowski

Emily J @emexastris.bsky.social · Jul 7

Are you from one of these states? Then we need your help to save American science!

The Senate Appropriations Committee will be marking up the President's Budget Request for science on Wednesday. People have been saying the proposed cuts "decimated" US science, but that's wrong: they are apocalyptic

A map of the US with the states the republican senators are from marked in red and states the democratic senators are from marked in blue:
Senator Susan Collins (Republican - Maine)
Senator Mitch McConnell(Republican - Kentucky)
Senator Lisa Murkowski(Republican - Alaska)
Senator Lindsey Graham(Republican - South Carolina)
Senator Jerry Moran(Republican - Kansas)
Senator John Hoeven(Republican - North Dakota)
Senator John Boozman(Republican - Arkansas)
Senator Shelley Moore Capito(Republican - West Virginia)
Senator John Kennedy(Republican - Louisiana)
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith(Republican - Mississippi)
Senator Bill Hagerty(Republican - Tennessee)
Senator Katie Britt(Republican - Alabama)
Senator Markwayne Mullin(Republican - Oklahoma)
Senator Deb Fischer(Republican - Nebraska)
Senator Mike Rounds(Republican - South Dakota)
Patty Murray(Democrat - Washington)
Richard Durbin(Democrat - Illinois)
Jack Reed(Democrat - Rhode Island)
Jeanne Shaheen(Democrat - New Hampshire)
Jeff Merkley(Democrat - Oregon)
Christopher Coons(Democrat - Delaware)
Brian Schatz(Democrat - Hawaii)
Tammy Baldwin(Democrat - Wisconsin)
Chris Murphy(Democrat - Connecticut)
Chris Van Hollen(Democrat - Maryland)
Martin Heinrich(Democrat - New Mexico)
Gary Peters(Democrat - Michigan)
Kirsten Gillibrand(Democrat - New York)
Jon Ossoff(Democrat - Georgia)

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Kelsey Tyssowski @kelseytea.bsky.social · Jul 7

I'll be presenting at this science fair: I've done many a poster presentation, but never one quite like this!

Dr. Rabbithole @drrabbithole.bsky.social · Jul 6

A science fair of cancelled grants. The research that will be represented at this event (Tuesday) ranges from neuroscience, to astrophysics, to STEM education. The awarding agencies of the now-canceled grants include the EPA, DHS, NIH, NSF, USAID, and DOD. Open to the public.

Congressional Event: A Science Fair of Canceled Grants

The Things We’ll Never Know: A Science Fair of Canceled Grants.

nasawatch.com

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Reposted by Kelsey Tyssowski

Nick Jourjine @nickjourjine.bsky.social · Jun 18

Very happy to share the latest from my postdoc‬!

10 yrs of mouse social networks + 1.25 yrs of acoustic data ➡️ insight into vocalization & sociality in a wild population of your favorite lab model 🐁

paper: bit.ly/4n93yyD
data: bit.ly/4lfFBEk
code: bit.ly/4kNnMwx

#bioacoustics #neuroskyence

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Graphical abstract for "Vocal communication is seasonal in social groups of wild, free-living house mice."

The abstract has, from top to bottom, a title, four middle image panels, and two bottom text panels.

Image title: "Vocal communication in social groups of wild-free living house mice"

Middle image panels from left to right: (1) An aerial snap shot of the region where the study site is located, an agricultural landscape in rural Switzerland. (2) An image of the study site, a small barn in the forest inhabited by mice. (3) An image of a radio frequency identification (RFID) box used to track mouse social interactions. A mouse is entering the box from the left while another sits outside. (4) A spectrogram showing example vocalizations - one low frequency squeak and one ultrasonic call - recorded from an RFID box.

Bottom panels:
Left: Data Collection
- 10 years of RFID-based tracking data (from 6,946 mice)
- 15 months of acoustic monitoring (totaling 6,594 hours)
- Machine learning for vocal detection and labeling (CNN)

Right: Key Findings
- Vocalization is seasonal (most in spring and summer)
- Vocalization is associated with the presence of pups
- Vocalization is correlated with social group dynamics

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Kelsey Tyssowski @kelseytea.bsky.social · Jun 16

!!!!!

Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · Jun 16

THIS IS IT! THIS IS HUGE!!

PLAINTIFF'S WIN!!

Judge Young rules that the NIH grant terminations at issue in these cases are illegal and therefore vacated. BOOM!

Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · Jun 16

"This Court rules that the challenged directives . . . are arbitrary and capricious."

"They are of no force and effect."

"They are illegal and so are each of the terminations before this Court"

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Reposted by Kelsey Tyssowski

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · Jun 3

“Oh I will just take a break until this blows over.”

THIS is all there is unless and until people make something different.

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Lisa Fazio @lkfazio.bsky.social · May 31

Good reminder from @aaas.org that the proposed cuts to science are in the president's budget REQUEST. Congress can and should* continue their strong bipartisan support for American science.

(*Note, should in the moral sense. I don't know what they'll actually do but I do know we can still fight)

"If enacted, the FY26 budget request would end America's global scientific leadership. The cuts to science would imperil our nation's future health, security and prosperity.

This budget proposal stands in stark contrast to the President's call for a renewed commitment to American scientific leadership. Congress has demonstrated a bipartisan commitment to investment in research and must do so again to answer the President's call. "

Sudip S. Parikh

CEO, American Association for the Advancement of Science Executive Publisher, Science Family of Journals

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Michael Baym @baym.lol · May 30

The goal is plainly and literally to cut the number of people involved in basic science in the US by 70%

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · May 30

From over 300k to less than 100k. A picture of smaller, reduced science.

Estimates for # of people involved in NSF activities

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Reposted by Kelsey Tyssowski

John Wares @johnwares.bsky.social · May 31

Remember folks, the budget cuts for NSF and NIH *can still be stopped*. That is a luxury not granted to our agency science colleagues who have or could still lose their jobs from the top down. So - Fight! Speak up! Pay attention!

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Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · May 31

To put these top-line budget numbers in context, cuts of this magnitude would effectively mean no new grants in FY2026. The entire extramural budget would go to existing, continuing grants.

An abject failure of American ambition. And a betrayal of our global leadership in health science innovation.

STAT @statnews.com · May 30

#BREAKING: New HHS document details deep NIH cuts as part of Trump budget request

www.statnews.com/2025/05/30/n...

New HHS document details deep NIH cuts as part of Trump budget request

Budget documents for Congress provide the most detailed look yet at how the Trump Administration hopes to reshape the National Institutes of Health.

www.statnews.com

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Reposted by Kelsey Tyssowski

Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · May 27

As much as talk about cuts to life-altering research on Alzheimer's, cancer, etc., an equally important--or perhaps even more important--story is the hollowing out of our scientific ranks.

Super important story from @chrisserres.bsky.social & @jaspar.bsky.social in @bostonglobe.com ⬇️

Chris Serres @chrisserres.bsky.social · May 27

The Boston Globe interviewed more than two dozen young scientists since March who say they are weighing whether to leave the United States — or abandon scientific research entirely — because of the Trump administration’s widening assault on scientific research.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/27/m...

Trump cuts to medical research spark fears of ‘massive brain drain’ of young scientists - The Boston Globe

Many students say they may leave the country or abandon scientific research entirely as their career options shrink.

www.bostonglobe.com

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Kelsey Tyssowski @kelseytea.bsky.social · May 23

But also: these scholars moved from all over the world, often with personal sacrifice, to work here. they are part of our broader Cambridge and MA community, too. They have lives here: partners with jobs, families, kids in school, apartment leases, pets, friends, etc.

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Kelsey Tyssowski @kelseytea.bsky.social · May 23

Needless to say, revoking Harvard’s ability to support the visas of a huge portion of its scientific workforce would be devastating to the scientific community here. Our work simply cannot continue in the same way without them.

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Kelsey Tyssowski @kelseytea.bsky.social · May 23

This hasn’t been reported as much in the media, but this attack on international scholars at Harvard seems to also affect postdocs: ~40% (3/4 of international postdocs) are on J visas (based on FAS postdoc association data)
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Trump Admin Revokes Harvard’s Authorization To Enroll International Students | News | The Harvard Crimson

The Trump administration revoked Harvard’s ability to enroll international students on Thursday, dramatically escalating the administration’s fight with the University and threatening thousands of cur...

www.thecrimson.com

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Reposted by Kelsey Tyssowski

Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · May 18

say it again:

4 million people work in higher ed, the largest employer in 10 states, second largest employer in 10 more, and in 60 of the 100 biggest cities

ROI for NIH and NSF for local economies is conservatively 4x, often close to 10x

demolishing higher education is economic sabotage

Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · May 18

There is a false dichotomy drawn between "the ivory tower" and "the real world," and I'm here to report that in a post-industrial society, your real-world economy absolutely hinges on the university.

University towns are factory towns. Universities drive economic activity, not the other way around.

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · May 18

A must read

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Ben Ewen-Campen @benforward3.bsky.social · May 13

Heartbreaking essay from our colleague & fellow @haw-uaw.bsky.social union member, unjustly imprisoned since February: “I hope that the judge rules Wednesday that I can be released, so I can return to my lab. There is a data set that I’m halfway finished analyzing. I want to go home and finish it.”

Opinion | The Science I Would Be Doing if I Weren’t in ICE Detention

www.nytimes.com

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