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Even as Cyclospora outbreaks have become more frequent, CDC's parasite surveillance team was slashed from 11 people to 3 last year. Joel Barratt, who ran the team, tells me he worries the agency doesn't have the staffing to stop the current outbreak quickly. My story in @nature.com:

‘Explosive diarrhoea’ outbreak grips US: how researchers are hunting its sourceCases have hit record levels, and scientists are racing to pinpoint where the Cyclospora parasite entered the food supply.www.nature.com

NIH grants have been under political scrutiny since early 2025. But what does the screening process actually look like? What is being flagged? I spent a month digging into leaked docs and emails. We've published the 235-word list that are being flagged by an internal AI tool. And so much more. 🧵

Inside the new political screening that’s stalling NIH grantsMandatory reviews by top health officials and checks for 235 disfavoured terms have left hundreds of vetted grant applications in administrative limbo.www.nature.com

Scientific American was part of Springer Nature, Nature's parent company. It pains me to lose Dan and so many other brilliant science reporters as colleagues — and SciAm as a sister magazine. I stand in solidarity with @sciamunion.bsky.social working to secure better conditions for its employees.

NIAID employees did not receive any communication about these leadership changes until this afternoon, when the institute sent out an unsigned email.

Scoop: There has been a massive shakeup at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Eight of the top ten officials have now been pushed out since President Donald Trump took office. In @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Exclusive: NIH ousts infectious-disease leaders as COVID scientists face US chargesEight of the top ten officials at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have now been pushed out since President Donald Trump took office.www.nature.com

NEW: A serious staffing shortage — of the Trump admin's own making — is delaying the agency's ability to send billions to universities around the country, leaving labs reeling in the meantime. “I thought we were at rock bottom”, a senior NIH official said. “We are below rock bottom now.”

NIH staffing shortage could slash number of new grants issued this yearSome units at the US funding giant are so understaffed, they are focusing on mandated grant renewals rather than new awards.www.nature.com

Yesterday a judge voided cuts to NEH, noting DOGE's classification of 'DEI' was incoherent One example: DOGE flagged a grant to a whaling museum, which wanted $$ to house a full whale skeleton DOGE called this DEI bc it'd “create an inclusive and impactful experience, which is aligned with DEI”

When the NIH abruptly terminated thousands of research grants last year, the fallout wasn’t distributed equitably. A new analysis suggests the cuts disproportionately hit women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ investigators. My latest for @nature.com

NIH grant cuts disproportionately hit minority and female scientistsA survey reveals sharp divides in who bore the brunt of last year’s spree of grant cancellations by the Trump administration.www.nature.com

The Trump administration is downsizing US science by historic margins — but it's not just via funding or workforce cuts. Our new @nature.com analysis reveals the government has cut more than 100 scientific advisory panels across major agencies. w/ @alexwitze.bsky.social @dangaristo.bsky.social

Key US science panels are being axed — and others are becoming less openA Nature analysis shows that the Trump administration has terminated more than 100 advisory committees to science agencies — and reduced the transparency and independence of those that remain.www.nature.com

I'll be on @whyy.org with @asinclair.bsky.social at 12:15p ET to talk about how US labs have tightened budgets, clinical trials have been scaled back or delayed, and how a generation of young scientists faces an increasingly uncertain future. Tune in here!

Fact, fiction and future for U.S. scientific and medical research | Studio 2 from WHYY | 04/22/26YouTube video by WHYYwww.youtube.com