Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Ian Weissman, DO @drianweissman.bsky.social · 15h

“CDC will have lost its ability to detect outbreaks and respond to them. It will no longer be able to track diseases, in America and around the globe. That includes infectious threats like flu, foodborne illnesses, and Ebola, as well as chronic diseases and injuries.”
time.com/7325192/cdc-...

CDC ‘Not Functional’ After Trump Administration Orders Mass Firings

The layoffs targeted leaders in departments related to respiratory diseases, chronic diseases and global health.

time.com

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Iris van Rooij 💭 @irisvanrooij.bsky.social · 18h

“If you share your knowledge outside the scientific community, then you’re already exerting societal influence, according to Judi Mesman. This isn’t problematic for the prestige of science: ‘Pretending to be neutral doesn’t make sense to me.’”

www.nwo.nl/en/there-is-...

‘There is no clear boundary between science and activism’ | NWO

If you share your knowledge outside the scientific community, then you’re already exerting societal influence, according to Judi Mesman. This isn’t problematic for the prestige of science: ‘Pretending to be neutral doesn’t make sense to me.’

www.nwo.nl

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Ryan Hernandez @rdhernand.bsky.social · 3d

There are unprecedented challenges for science, calling for bold action and collective effort. Training the next generation of scientific leaders has never been more important. Join us as we grow National PROPEL to answer this call. Learn more: propelscholars.org @propelscholars.bsky.social 🧪🧬🖥️🧵

Building a community of PROPEL-affiliated programs at UCSF, U. Utah, UCSC, MUSC, U. Iowa, UW/Fred Hutch, OHSU, and Stanford!

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National PROPEL @propelscholars.bsky.social · 1d

Looking for a start in science? National PROPEL will host faculty looking to hire full-time research technicians from 5 institutions on Jan 30th. Meet faculty with similar research interests in a series of 10 min interviews. More info at propelscholars.org/matchmaking-event

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Anne Carpenter @drannecarpenter.bsky.social · 2d

15 years in the making, we confirmed that mitochondria - the powerhouse of the cell - have an unusual localization in patients who experience psychosis (including schizophrenia and bipolar disorders). You’ll never guess what kind of patient cells we used to make this discovery… 🧵

mitochondria from bipolar patients are closer to the nucleus in these images; control patients' are spread out further

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Liz Aguilar @liz-aguilar.bsky.social · 1d

I can’t think of a better reason to finally join Bluesky - my first first-authored paper is out! It being published in @science.org is surreal. This was a community effort in every sense, led by an incredible team with @rosvall-lab.bsky.social @mathcancer.bsky.social @juncowren.bsky.social

Science Magazine @science.org · 3d

As the Moon eclipsed the Sun on 8 April 2024, birds took note.

Leveraging nature’s own experiment, scientists and the public joined forces to show how different species responded to sudden midafternoon darkness followed by a new “dawn.” Learn more this week in Science: https://scim.ag/48WbhLL

As the Moon eclipsed the Sun on 8 April 2024, birds like these rock pigeons (Columba livia) took note.

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Eric Turkheimer @ent3c.bsky.social · 3d

Blog post: Ancestry and Education
Indirect, direct, confounded and quasi-causal.

I write about a preprint by Wang et al, in which they look for associations with genetic ancestry in an admixed Mexican population. They found genetic effects for height and Type-II diabetes, but not for education.

Ancestry and Education

Indirect, direct, confounded and quasi-causal

ericturkheimer.substack.com

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Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra @jrossibarra.bsky.social · 3d

PEQG website live! genetics-gsa.org/peqg-2026/

Homepage - 2026 Population, Evolutionary, and Quantitative Genetics Conference

Visit our website to learn more.

genetics-gsa.org

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Beyond X&Y @beyondxandy.bsky.social · 6d

"Who decides what is normal development? Who decides what is natural biodiversity or pathological deviation? Who defines the distinction between defect and difference?"

Eugenic attacks on people who are disabled, neurodivergent, queer, trans... They are all linked by fear of diversity

the Node @the-node.bsky.social · 6d

Developmental Biology and Disability.

“Developmental biology is fundamentally beautiful. We are no less beautiful for our variation. Instead, perhaps we are more so. Perhaps we are remarkable. Perhaps we are full of wonder.”

Insightful post by Bethan ⬇️👀
thenode.biologists.com/developmenta...

Developmental Biology and Disability - the Node

Hopeful monsters. Morphospace. Mutation. Natural variation. Mutagenesis screens. Polymorphism. Deformity. Phenotype. Disease. Adaptation. Anomaly.

thenode.biologists.com

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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 3d

As I tell my students, if you arrived at a simple answer in biology you have done one of two things: arrived at the wrong answer or asked the wrong question

Claus Wilke @clauswilke.com · 5d

Biology is much more complicated than most non-biologists can imagine. And AI is not going to change this anytime soon.
blog.genesmindsmachines.com/p/we-still-c...

We still can’t predict much of anything in biology

Biology is hard. Yes, even for AI.

blog.genesmindsmachines.com

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Joshua G. Schraiber @jgschraiber.bsky.social · 6d

Just an absolutely horrific self own, depleting the US of amazing students from all over the world who contributed to what used to make America great: its diversity, its openness, and its leadership in education.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 6d

The number of international students arriving in the U.S. in August fell by 19% this year compared with last year — the largest decline on record outside of the pandemic.

Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August

The data shows the steepest decline in August international student arrivals since the pandemic.

nyti.ms

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Mike Wiser @drmikewiser.bsky.social · 10d

That's not most people, obviously, but it's also not that rare.

To put that in perspective: people who are neither XX nor XY are more common than people with Multiple Sclerosis. Roughly as common as people with Down syndrome, or people with Parkinson's disease.

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D. J. Hicks @danhicks.bsky.social · 11d

Finally officially published! "Race science in mainstream psychology, 1960–2010" with @rhacodactylus.bsky.social (who needs a job btw) direct.mit.edu/qss/article/... 🧵

#histsci #sts #philsci #metascience

Race science in mainstream psychology, 1960–2010

Abstract. Anthropologists and human geneticists have long rejected efforts to purportedly scientifically justify racial inequality and colonialism. But race science has persisted, at least on the marg...

direct.mit.edu

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Dr. Jey McCreight 🧬🏳️‍⚧️ @jeymccreight.bsky.social · 18d

Proud to announce the project I've been working on 🏳️‍⚧️🧬

Had hoped to have more ready, but the events of the last week stressed the importance of speaking up against fascism NOW

I'd appreciate your support in spreading the word, esp if you work in life sciences research, healthcare, or biotech

Beyond X&Y @beyondxandy.bsky.social · 18d

It's the scientific community's duty to fight misinformation, bioessentialism, and eugenics

That's why we're launching Beyond X&Y, an educational campaign combating the rise of unscientific political propaganda used to attack trans and intersex people

Subscribe to our newsletter at beyondxandy.org

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Jazlyn Mooney @jazlynmooney.bsky.social · 19d

Super excited to see our reference bias work out in Cell! Reviewers gave us some excellent ideas, and Maria added on some new analyses that broke down how SNPs from heterospecific references mapped or did not map in a conspecific reference.

Maria Akopyan, PhD @akopyan.bsky.social · 20d

Now published in Cell! We found that ~15% of SNPs from divergent refs did not liftover as SNPs in the gray fox ref—half mapped to monomorphic sites, half failed to map. Co-authored with Matthew Genchev, @elliecat.bsky.social, and @jazlynmooney.bsky.social

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Gen Wojcik @genandgenes.bsky.social · 19d

There is a strange pain that comes from the scientific field you work in being weaponized to hurt people.

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Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra @jrossibarra.bsky.social · Sep 3

Save the date! #PEQG26 June 9-12 2026 in Asilomar, CA. Happens only every 2yrs, but is my favorite conference. Full website coming soon, and registration and abstract submission opens November 14, but I'm allowed to tease that keynotes will be @jnovembre.bsky.social @jennytung.bsky.social and me!

Homepage - Population, Evolutionary, and Quantitative Genetics Conference

Visit our website to learn more.

genetics-gsa.org

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Chris Marcum 📖 @csmarcum.sciences.social.ap.brid.gy · Sep 12

The ethical, legal, and social implications program successfully protected society from many risks of harm in genomics. Alondra Nelson argues we need such a framework - post haste - for AI in this thoughtful letter to Science Magazine :

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aeb0393

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It's ME(Jaime) @exceedhergrasp1.bsky.social · Aug 21

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is stepping up to fund some of the health equity grants that were fed to the wood-chipper. If your racial/indigenous health equity grant was funded, then that funding was rescinded, consider applying! 🧪

www.rwjf.org/en/grants/ac...

Rapid Response: Reinvesting in Racial and Indigenous Health Equity Research

The purpose of this call for proposals is to meet the current moment by supporting timely, actionable health equity research that has been interrupted by shifts in federal funding.

www.rwjf.org

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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · Aug 21

BREAKING: The Supreme Court, on a 5-4 vote with Justice Barrett as the deciding vote, allows the Trump administration to cancel NIH grants as part of the administration’s attack on “DEI” while litigation proceeds. Five justices write. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
No. 25A103
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, ET AL. U.
AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH
ASSOCIATION, ET AL.
ON APPLICATION FOR STAY
August 21, 2025]
The application for stay presented to JUSTICE JACKSON and by her referred to the Court is granted in part and denied in part.
The application is granted as to the District Court's judgments vacating the Government's termination of various research-related grants. See Department of Ed. v.
California, 604 U.S.
_ (2025) (per curiam).
The
Administrative Procedure Act's "limited waiver of [sovereign] immunity" does not provide the District Court with jurisdiction to adjudicate claims "based on" the research-related grants or to order relief designed to enforce any "obligation to pay money pursuant to those grants. Id., at _ (slip op., at 2). And while the loss of money is not typically considered irreparable harm, that changes if the funds "cannot be recouped" and are thus
"irrevocably expended." Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Scott,
561 U. S. 1301, 1304 (2010) (Scalia, J., in chambers). The Government faces such harm here. The plaintiffs do not state that they will repay grant money if the Government ultimately prevails. Moreover, the plaintiffs' contention that they lack the resources to continue their research projects without federal funding is inconsistent with the proposition that they have the resources to make the Government whole for money already spent.
The application is otherwise denied.

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Roshni Patel @roshnipatel.bsky.social · Aug 18

happy to say my new department is hiring an associate/full professor: academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30328

please apply!

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WIRED @wired.com · Aug 19

A United States Senate investigation has identified more than 500 credible reports of human rights abuses in US immigration detention since January, including alarming allegations of mistreatment of pregnant women and children.

Senate Probe Uncovers Allegations of Widespread Abuse in ICE Custody

Led by US senator Jon Ossoff, the investigation cites hundreds of reports since January, including accounts of miscarriages, child neglect, and sexual abuse at ICE detention centers in dozens of state...

www.wired.com

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Human Genetics and Genomics Advances @hggadvances.bsky.social · Jun 30

We're seeking our next EiC!
Are you passionate about human genetics & open science?
Apply at apply.ashg.org/a/page/hgga-...

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Tuuli Lappalainen @tuuliel.bsky.social · Aug 19

A postdoc position in genomics available at our infrastructure in Uppsala, Sweden! An interesting R&D role a bit outside the traditional academic environment, great colleagues, work at the forefront of (long-read) sequencing.

www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...

Postdoctoral position - Uppsala University

Postdoctoral position, Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University

www.uu.se

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Graham Coop @gcbias.bsky.social · Aug 18

Shannon was a PhD student at UC Davis, you can read their story here:
www.instagram.com/p/DNgLXeBJF5x/

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