policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis
@policyhound.bsky.social
2.6K followers 12 following 70 posts
I'm a senior correspondent for Science, trying to explain to scientists how government works.
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · 1d
One word can make a world of difference if you're the head of an NSF directorate. Read why in this newsletter. www.science.org/content/arti...
ScienceAdviser: Tiny tubes may let neurons communicate directly
Today in Science and science: Why women live longer than men, evidence that wildfires are worsening, and more
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · 4d
NCAR avoids furloughs but tightens belt as bigger cuts loom www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · 14d
California researchers take heart from nuanced ruling in suit to get grants reinstated www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. court orders NIH to restore killed grants to California researchers
Judge says district court is proper forum to protest mass grant terminations
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · 14d
US universities must now decide if hiring a foreign scientist is "worth" spending an extra $100K. www.science.org/content/arti...
Trump visa policy requires universities to pay huge fee to hire foreign scholars
U.S. employers to pay $100,000 for every new H-1B visa
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · 18d
How far can NSF bend before it breaks? Science looks at what's happened to the agency under Trump. www.science.org/content/arti...
Under Trump, NSF faces worst crisis in its 75-year history
Political directives have undermined agency's independence and record of supporting the best basic research
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · 21d
Despite its 162-year-history of service, congressional Republicans tell federal agencies not to seek the advice of the National Academies. www.science.org/content/arti...
House panels charge U.S. National Academies with producing partisan studies
Pending spending bill urges agencies to find other sources of scientific advice
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Sep 5
Having a hard time tracking how Congress might revamp indirect costs? Here's what you need to know. www.science.org/content/arti...
ScienceAdviser: Can two new studies put cancer microbiome research back on track?
Today in Science and science: Surprising insights from marsquakes, the ecological impact of free-roaming buffalo, and more
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Sep 2
Last week the chairman of the House science committee tried to convince an academic audience that Musk and DOGE has helped to regain public trust in government and science. What could go wrong? www.science.org/content/arti...
ScienceAdviser: The taming of the horse
Today in Science and science: Clues from Mars’s mantle, water pollution affects air quality, and more
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Sep 2
www.science.org/content/arti...
NSF could be moving down the street
Government sets requirements for new space that sound like nearby patent office campus
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Aug 13
Lin ordered NSF to reinstate the suspended UCLA grants by 19 August or explain why it hasn't complied with her order. The case is Thakur v. Trump.
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Aug 13
Judge Lin rejected NSF's arguments that her earlier injunction didn't apply because the new batch of grants were only suspended. But Lin said that was a distinction without a difference and that NSF had violated the Administrative Procedures Act by failing to provide an adequate explanation.
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Aug 13
US District Court Judge Rita Lin today ordered NSF to reinstate the 300 grants to UCLA that it suspended on 30 July, saying the agency violated a preliminary injunction she issued in June on a different set of grants to UCLA researchers. 1/2
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Aug 8
Deconstructing Trump's latest directive on managing federal research: how bad is it? www.science.org/content/arti...
Trump order aims to politicize decisions on federal science grants
Researchers worried by plan giving political appointees more control over where funding goes
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Aug 5
NSF's suspension of UCLA grants could run afoul of injunction against earlier terminations. www.science.org/content/arti...
Has NSF defied a court order by suspending 300 UCLA grants?
Federal judge to hear arguments relating to preliminary injunction to restore funding for other UC grants
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Aug 4
Revisions to BLS job numbers are the norm, not the exception, says former commissioner Erica Groshen, who explains why Trump's criticism is misguided. 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
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Jul 25
GOP appropriators oppose 15% cap on indirect cost rates and tell Trump to work with research community on a better approach www.science.org/content/arti...
Congressional panels resist White House proposals for sharp cuts in indirect cost rates
Three spending panels say a 15% cap isn’t the right answer to nagging concerns about how universities are reimbursed
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Jul 18
Nobody likes the current system for paying indirect costs. But the new proposed model being pitched to Congress and OMB also took a beating this week. www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. research community says new indirect cost model is still too complicated
Proposed changes to avert huge cuts in reimbursement get pushback at town hall
www.science.org
policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Jul 18
It's too early to take to the bank, but the Senate may come to the rescue of researchers whose NSF grants were cancelled www.science.org/content/arti...
Senate panel raises hopes that NSF will restore killed grants
Republicans promise to work with Democrats to salvage defeated amendment
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Jul 14
Can't get enough of the status of research in the FY2026 budget? Here's the latest from the House. www.science.org/content/arti...
Congressional spending panels continue to push back against proposed Trump research cuts
House committees give a real boost to DOE science and shrink size of cuts to NSF and NASA science
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Jul 14
In advance of tomorrow's town hall, here's the real story of what universities are hoping to gain from a new way to calculate indirect costs www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Jul 11
One small step... Senate appropriators indicate they plan to protect NSF and NASA science from Trump's drastic cuts. www.science.org/content/arti...
Senate spending panel would rescue NSF and NASA science funding
Its support for a flat budget is a sign of congressional resistance to drastic cuts Trump has proposed
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Jul 9
House Dems hold a poster session for politicians (although few came) www.science.org/content/arti...
Democrats stage a science fair of canceled grants to show what’s been lost
Partisan fight over Trump cuts heats up as Congress works on 2026 spending bills.
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Jun 25
NSF has awarded 500 more graduate fellowships, but at what cost to the program? www.science.org/content/arti...
Prestigious NSF graduate fellowship tilts toward AI and quantum
Students in the life sciences are shut out of latest cohort of 500 fellows
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Jun 18
NAS President Marcia McNutt says deep Trump cuts provided the "trigger" to restructure the National Research Council www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. National Academies adopts new business model to weather a financial storm
Realignment of major program units aims to improve efficiency and make up for loss of federal contracts
www.science.org
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policyhound.bsky.social
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · Jun 16
Can US researchers stave off huge cuts to indirect cost payments by convincing Congress and the White House there's a better way? Tomorrow an academic coalition outlines a "fairer" and "more transparent" system that reimburses for the full cost of research. www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. academics call for reforms in research overhead payments, hoping to avoid drastic cuts
Coalition offers two models it says increase accountability and reflect the “true costs” of research
www.science.org
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