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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 1d

Wow.

Alan Dettlaff @alandettlaff.com · 1d

Yesterday I was told that the class I’m scheduled to teach this month, Confronting Oppression & Injustice, is no longer part of our curriculum. This is a required class yet there was no discussion, no faculty vote, just an email saying the class no longer exists. This is what it’s like in Texas now.

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Brian Umberger @brianumberger.bsky.social · 2d

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Free Łink - Matthew R Francis @bowlerhatscience.org · 2d

Public universities serving the public!

NightMar on Hicks Street, Part 4: The Rabbit’s Revenge @histoftech.bsky.social · 2d

The Virginia Senate just told UVA it’s not getting state funding if it accepts the compact since UVA exists to serve Virginia, its residents, & their interests—not be a tool of the federal govt. Scoop from our student newspaper, who’ve been doing vital reporting www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...

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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 2d

Thoughtful and well-informed op-ed from @ianlmorgan.bsky.social

Definitely worth a read!

www.the-scientist.com/nih-leadersh...

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NIH Leadership Is Failing Early Career Researchers

Halted training programs, funding chaos, and hiring freezes jeopardize advancement options for early career researchers.

www.the-scientist.com

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Kathleen Clark @kathleenclark.bsky.social · 2d

A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:

Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.

Dear Madam Secretary,
I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters.
I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education.
As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges.
We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples:
• MIT prides itself on rewarding merit. Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.
• MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available to any American with an internet connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly 10%.

source:
https://orgchart.mit.edu/letters/regarding-compact

• We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.
These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law.
The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.
As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people. We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation.
Sincerely,
Sally Kornbluth

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Journal of Applied Biomechanics @jabjournal.bsky.social · 2d

📣 We're searching for our next Deputy Editor who will directly support incoming Editor @franzbiomech.bsky.social for a 2-yr term beginning Jan. 2026. Help us build on the momentum we've gained under outgoing Editor @katherineaboyer.bsky.social.

More info: journals.humankinetics.com/page/JAB-cal...

journals.humankinetics.com

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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 2d

A response from MIT rejecting "The Compact"...

orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 4d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

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Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 4d

Six of the nine Nobel Prize winners this year work in the U.S.
Three of the six were born outside the U.S., which is the pattern most years. No country has benefited more from welcoming immigrants from around the world.
www.nobelprize.org

The official website of the Nobel Prize - NobelPrize.org

The Nobel Prize rewards science, humanism and peace efforts. This is one of the central concepts in the will of Alfred Nobel, and it also permeates the outreach activities that have been developed for...

www.nobelprize.org

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Brian Umberger @brianumberger.bsky.social · 6d

No matter what comes after the … in this headline, I’ll pass 👎

Screencap of a headline that reads “OpenAI wants to make ChatGTP into a universal … “

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Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics @compoundchem.com · 6d

We're firmly into autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, so it's once again time to share one of my favourite chemistry infographics on the kaleidoscope of chemical colours found in autumn leaves! 🍂
www.compoundchem.com/2014/09/11/a...

#ChemSky 🧪

Infographic on the chemistry of the colours of autumn leaves. Green is caused by chlorophyll, carotenoids and flavonoids give yellows, and oranges come from carotenoids, which also contribute to reds along with anthocyanins.

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Brian Umberger @brianumberger.bsky.social · 7d

The Onion, anatomy edition 🦴🩻💀

The Onion @theonion.com · 7d

New Study Shows That Bones Are Incredibly Cool

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SfN Journals @sfnjournals.bsky.social · 12d

#JNeurosci: Kashefi et al. dissociate between the “what” and “how” components of motor sequence learning and provides evidence for the development of motoric sequence representations that guide optimal movement execution.
https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0299-25.2025

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Brian Umberger @brianumberger.bsky.social · 8d

Will do! I hope the new setting is a good fit.

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Brian Umberger @brianumberger.bsky.social · 8d

I had a conference in Pittsburgh in August and was duly impressed. Spending much of my time near the convention center, I really liked the water walkway to the riverfront trail. A nice touch when it could have been just a utilitarian underpass.

Underground walkway with water features on both sides

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Genevieve Lakier @genevievelakier.bsky.social · 9d

The Trump Administration’s “Compact of Excellence” for Universities is... far from excellent! Indeed, it’s unconstitutional. In this post, let me count the ways.

blog.dividedargument.com/p/the-uncons...

The Unconstitutional Conditions Doctrine and the Compact for Excellence

Members of the Trump administration love to say that federal funding is a privilege not a right and therefore something that can be granted or withheld based on changing administrative priorities.

blog.dividedargument.com

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JJ @jjodx.bsky.social · 9d

First first author paper of Anouck Matthijs on the fact that aging does not affect the ability to compensate for interaction torques during movement planning. Both the timing and scaling of anticipatory EMG activity are preserved with age.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Adults up to 80 years old maintain effective movement planning when facing complex body dynamics

Aging can significantly impact motor performance, especially in highly complex tasks such as multi-joint movements where the nervous system needs to adequately coordinate mechanical interactions betwe...

www.biorxiv.org

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Brian Umberger @brianumberger.bsky.social · 11d

Merriam-Webster’s “large language model” 😜

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 11d

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

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Britton Sauerbrei @brittonsauerbrei.bsky.social · 11d

My department at Case Western Reserve is recruiting an Assistant / Associate Professor of Neurosciences - come be our colleague!
www.nature.com/naturecareer...

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NPR @npr.org · 11d

Today marks the first day in public media’s history without federal funding. And we’re not going anywhere.

Listeners like you keep our mission alive. Protect one of the last places where America comes together to hear itself.

Stand with us today. Donate at this link: n.pr/46wamAj

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Lauren J. Young @laurenjyoung.bsky.social · 11d

“I think chimpanzees have helped people understand that we are part of and not separated from the animal kingdom, and that has opened the way to having respect for the other amazing beings with whom we share the planet.” —Jane Goodall, @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/jane...

Jane Goodall, Trailblazing Primatologist and Chimpanzee Conservationist, Has Died

The anthropologist was famous for her pioneering research with chimpanzees and her influence on conservation

www.scientificamerican.com

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Tarkesh Singh @tarkeshsingh.bsky.social · 12d

The Department of Kinesiology at Penn State is inviting applications for an open-rank faculty position in sensorimotor control and rehabilitation neuroscience. Please share this opportunity with interested colleagues in your network.

psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/PSU_Academic...

Open-Rank Faculty Position in Sensorimotor Control and Rehabilitation Neuroscience

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, a...

psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

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Jason Franz @franzbiomech.bsky.social · 11d

Brand new POSTDOC opportunity in my lab (!!) will help lead a multi-institutional collaboration designed to enhance understanding of anatomic variability in Achilles tendinopathy toward more effective, personalized clinical interventions.

Learn more and apply: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/307...

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Jonathan A. Michaels @jonathanamichaels.bsky.social · 11d

The neural control & computation lab is recruiting!

If you're interested in using large-scale neural population recordings to study how the brain learns to produce complex and flexible behaviours, please get in touch.

www.ncclab.ca

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