Marcus Muench
@marcusmuench.bsky.social
🧪 Scientist with an interest in developmental hematology 🩸, transfusion science, stem cells, playing guitar 🎸, and bread baking 🍞. My thoughts, my account, don't blame my employer. 🖖🏻
Reposted by Marcus Muench
New reporting - people are finally noticing what last summer's BBB did:
Starting next July, "med students won't be able to borrow more than $50,000 a year — or more than $200,000 over the four years. Many private med schools already cost north of $300,000, including...
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
Starting next July, "med students won't be able to borrow more than $50,000 a year — or more than $200,000 over the four years. Many private med schools already cost north of $300,000, including...
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
New limits on school loans could narrow physician and nurse pipeline, educators warn
Under new Trump administration rules, students won't be able to borrow as much for medical or nursing school or some other health professions.
www.npr.org
November 27, 2025 at 11:37 PM
New reporting - people are finally noticing what last summer's BBB did:
Starting next July, "med students won't be able to borrow more than $50,000 a year — or more than $200,000 over the four years. Many private med schools already cost north of $300,000, including...
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
Starting next July, "med students won't be able to borrow more than $50,000 a year — or more than $200,000 over the four years. Many private med schools already cost north of $300,000, including...
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
Happy T-day bakers! What would today be without some bread rolls?
November 27, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Happy T-day bakers! What would today be without some bread rolls?
Anti-vax M.D. appointed at CDC. More death and suffering to come that could have been avoided.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/h...
Doctor Critical of Vaccines Quietly Appointed as C.D.C.’s Second in Command
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Anti-vax M.D. appointed at CDC. More death and suffering to come that could have been avoided.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/h...
Reposted by Marcus Muench
Today on Volts: I've had more requests to cover this than almost any other topic in the pod's history, so now, at long last, balcony solar! We dig into how "plug-in solar" took off in Europe & how it's making its way to the US, starting in Utah. Backyard DIY types rejoice!
What's the deal with balcony solar?
Cora Stryker joins me to explain how "plug-in" solar took Europe by storm and is finally, via Utah (?), making its way to America.
www.volts.wtf
November 26, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Today on Volts: I've had more requests to cover this than almost any other topic in the pod's history, so now, at long last, balcony solar! We dig into how "plug-in solar" took off in Europe & how it's making its way to the US, starting in Utah. Backyard DIY types rejoice!
Reposted by Marcus Muench
Cannot overstate how, from my perch as a national-security reporter, this would have been an earth-shattering scandal in a prior era.
Billionaire Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, pardoned by Donald Trump, has been accused of facilitating millions of dollars’ worth of payments to Hamas in the wake of its attack on Israel on October 7 2023. Zhao also financed the Trump family's entrance into the cryptocurrency market.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao accused of facilitating payments to Hamas
Crypto tycoon pardoned by Donald Trump faces US court complaint from families of victims of October 7 attack
www.ft.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Cannot overstate how, from my perch as a national-security reporter, this would have been an earth-shattering scandal in a prior era.
Reposted by Marcus Muench
Jimmy Cliff, who died on Monday at 81, was a giant of Jamaican music. Here's a sampling of his greatest work. nyti.ms/4rjAczN
Jimmy Cliff: 8 Essential Songs
A giant of Jamaican music, he gained international renown through the 1972 film “The Harder They Come,” and helped establish reggae’s themes of struggle, resistance and uplift.
nyti.ms
November 24, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Jimmy Cliff, who died on Monday at 81, was a giant of Jamaican music. Here's a sampling of his greatest work. nyti.ms/4rjAczN
Reposted by Marcus Muench
Marzipan fun fact: it supposedly started in 1400s Lübeck when the city was starving and the only food left was… almonds and sugar. So the bakers basically said, “Great, we can’t make bread, but we can make dessert while everyone panics.” And boom — marzipan. The world’s sweetest emergency ration. 👋
November 24, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Marzipan fun fact: it supposedly started in 1400s Lübeck when the city was starving and the only food left was… almonds and sugar. So the bakers basically said, “Great, we can’t make bread, but we can make dessert while everyone panics.” And boom — marzipan. The world’s sweetest emergency ration. 👋
Had some success in the forest yesterday. Now the hard part of cleanings done and it is on to cooking and eating. Yum. 🍄
November 24, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Had some success in the forest yesterday. Now the hard part of cleanings done and it is on to cooking and eating. Yum. 🍄
Reposted by Marcus Muench
Former Finnish PM Sanna Marin put it bluntly: “To end the conflict, Russia must leave Ukrainian territory.”
Just one point. Nothing more to discuss.
Just one point. Nothing more to discuss.
November 21, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Former Finnish PM Sanna Marin put it bluntly: “To end the conflict, Russia must leave Ukrainian territory.”
Just one point. Nothing more to discuss.
Just one point. Nothing more to discuss.
Reposted by Marcus Muench
Reposted by Marcus Muench
Reposted by Marcus Muench
Vaccines based on mRNA can be tailored to target a cancer patient’s unique tumor mutations. But crumbling support for cancer and mRNA vaccine research has endangered this promising therapy
Personalized Cancer Vaccines Are Almost Here—But Federal Funding Cuts Could Derail Them
Vaccines based on mRNA can be tailored to target a cancer patient’s unique tumor mutations. But crumbling support for cancer and mRNA vaccine research has endangered this promising therapy
www.scientificamerican.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Vaccines based on mRNA can be tailored to target a cancer patient’s unique tumor mutations. But crumbling support for cancer and mRNA vaccine research has endangered this promising therapy
Reposted by Marcus Muench
“Trump slashed spending on clinical trials. The toll is starting to become clear.
Grants for 383 clinical trials were terminated and the funding disruptions affected more than 74,000 trial participants, according to new research.”
- The Washington Post
Grants for 383 clinical trials were terminated and the funding disruptions affected more than 74,000 trial participants, according to new research.”
- The Washington Post
November 18, 2025 at 7:17 AM
“Trump slashed spending on clinical trials. The toll is starting to become clear.
Grants for 383 clinical trials were terminated and the funding disruptions affected more than 74,000 trial participants, according to new research.”
- The Washington Post
Grants for 383 clinical trials were terminated and the funding disruptions affected more than 74,000 trial participants, according to new research.”
- The Washington Post
Sourdough bread for dinner.
November 17, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Sourdough bread for dinner.
Reposted by Marcus Muench
Watching the rapid decline of a former science 🧪 superpower in real-time. It’s horrible
Message to all faculty: your expertise is no longer trusted or valued at this so-called “university.”
November 14, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Watching the rapid decline of a former science 🧪 superpower in real-time. It’s horrible
Reposted by Marcus Muench
Unreal this guy's tackiness, and that's putting it mildly
November 11, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Unreal this guy's tackiness, and that's putting it mildly
Reposted by Marcus Muench
Yep. University of California reports that as of 2022, 48% of undergrads experienced food insecurity. regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/mar2...
November 11, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Yep. University of California reports that as of 2022, 48% of undergrads experienced food insecurity. regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/mar2...
Reposted by Marcus Muench
TENNESSEE, VOTE BLUE AND GET THE EPSTEIN FILES RELEASED!!!!
November 10, 2025 at 7:54 PM
TENNESSEE, VOTE BLUE AND GET THE EPSTEIN FILES RELEASED!!!!
Reposted by Marcus Muench
We obtained audio recordings and logs from each hearing of a sexual assault case that has spanned 10 years.
Nearly every time the defense attorney asked to delay the trial, a judge agreed.
(Published January with @adn.com)
Nearly every time the defense attorney asked to delay the trial, a judge agreed.
(Published January with @adn.com)
A “Horrendous” Alaska Sexual Assault Case, Delayed for a Decade
Four different judges have agreed to delay the trial more than 70 times in total. We pieced together a timeline of the delays using audio recordings and logs from every hearing.
projects.propublica.org
November 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM
We obtained audio recordings and logs from each hearing of a sexual assault case that has spanned 10 years.
Nearly every time the defense attorney asked to delay the trial, a judge agreed.
(Published January with @adn.com)
Nearly every time the defense attorney asked to delay the trial, a judge agreed.
(Published January with @adn.com)
Reposted by Marcus Muench
More academic extortion.
Breaking news: Cornell University reached a deal with the Trump administration to pay $30 million to the federal government and invest another $30 million in research on farming, ending federal investigations and restoring its research funding.
Cornell agrees to pay $60 million in agreement with Trump administration
Cornell is the fourth Ivy League university to reach an agreement with the Trump administration.
wapo.st
November 7, 2025 at 5:55 PM
More academic extortion.
Reposted by Marcus Muench
ATTN: if you’re on the sandwich guy jury, my Signal is in my bio. I’d love to talk after the trial. I’ll keep you anonymous. Please share widely.
November 4, 2025 at 4:43 PM
ATTN: if you’re on the sandwich guy jury, my Signal is in my bio. I’d love to talk after the trial. I’ll keep you anonymous. Please share widely.
www.frontiersin.org/journals/imm...
🧪🩸We made a mouse that is immunodeficient and, with drug administration, can be depleted of monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells. NSG-MaFIA mice can be used to study monocytic cells and improve xenograft models.
🧪🩸We made a mouse that is immunodeficient and, with drug administration, can be depleted of monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells. NSG-MaFIA mice can be used to study monocytic cells and improve xenograft models.
Frontiers | Development of an immunodeficient mouse that allows for conditional ablation of monocytic cells
Background and aimsImmunodeficient mice, like the NOD-SCID-Gamma (NSG) strain, are important for the study of xenogeneic cells because of their lack of lymph...
www.frontiersin.org
November 4, 2025 at 7:43 PM
www.frontiersin.org/journals/imm...
🧪🩸We made a mouse that is immunodeficient and, with drug administration, can be depleted of monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells. NSG-MaFIA mice can be used to study monocytic cells and improve xenograft models.
🧪🩸We made a mouse that is immunodeficient and, with drug administration, can be depleted of monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells. NSG-MaFIA mice can be used to study monocytic cells and improve xenograft models.
November 3, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Reposted by Marcus Muench
🎃👻 Happy Halloween from all of us at the Freedom From Religion Foundation! We’re all about keeping church and state separate — but today, we’re letting our costumes get a little spirited.
Wishing everyone a fun, safe, and superstition-free Halloween! 🕸️🕷️
Wishing everyone a fun, safe, and superstition-free Halloween! 🕸️🕷️
October 31, 2025 at 3:00 PM
🎃👻 Happy Halloween from all of us at the Freedom From Religion Foundation! We’re all about keeping church and state separate — but today, we’re letting our costumes get a little spirited.
Wishing everyone a fun, safe, and superstition-free Halloween! 🕸️🕷️
Wishing everyone a fun, safe, and superstition-free Halloween! 🕸️🕷️
Reposted by Marcus Muench
I wanted to offer some thoughts on the Gates climate memo that has been circulating this week. While I can't directly speak for others, I can say that my own response is one of dismay & deep frustration (and that this view is shared by many climate/Earth scientists). [1/n]
October 30, 2025 at 5:02 PM
I wanted to offer some thoughts on the Gates climate memo that has been circulating this week. While I can't directly speak for others, I can say that my own response is one of dismay & deep frustration (and that this view is shared by many climate/Earth scientists). [1/n]