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merz.bsky.social
"There are no answers; only choices." – S. Lem I choose one [o] or two-cell [8] organisms and dissonant music. Professor of Biochemistry @ UW-Seattle. Any coincidence of my opinions with my employer's is coincidental.
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it is shocking the extent to which they openly sneer at morality

NSF changed my life for the better. I was working as an engineer in NY and got a call from my potential advisor that his grant on climate decision-making just was awarded, could I start the doctoral program in a month? Three weeks later I was there. Everyone deserves these types of opportunities.

Besties.

The dinner scene with John Turturro, Christopher Walken, and John Nobel is absolutely the best thing in _Severance_ so far.

Oh , good. @jeetheer.bsky.social is on here so I can block that tankie fuckwit’s ass.

BREAKING — States attorneys general lead by @newyorkstateag.bsky.social were just granted a preliminary injunction in their case against DOGE. The team cannot access Treasury Department payment systems or data while the lawsuit proceeds. Major.

Like, very very *Very* conservative

OR-2 is a /very/ conservative district.

Doing this right before firing three top military leaders is so deranged. Source at DoD told me, “Disdain for Hegseth is a near-universal feeling even among the Trumpiest in the office.“

btw, i will tell you this - i have been talking to people all day, and the media is missing, whether intentionally or not, how absolutely, volcanically angry the people who have been fired are, not because they lost their jobs, but because their jobs matter, *to us*

Rarely do I ever print out papers but this one legit deserves analog attention. Enthralled to say the least. So much bioengineering wisdom gleaned from this. My toolbox doth expandeth. Phenomenal work by @fernpizza.bsky.social and another @baym.lol lab banger. SO. GOOD. #MEvoSky

God fucking dammit I'd call this spineless but that'd be an insult to all the invertebrates of the world

THIS IS AWESOME - shame on universites and even foundations (looking at you @hhmi.bsky.social) for your cowardly anticipatory obedience!!!! www.huffpost.com/entry/us-tru...

Oh, damn it. This is just non-stop a nightmare. Patrick is absolutely right, the grants are starting to disappear again. Here is the R15 REAP (the R15 for med schools) grants.gov/search-resul...

Firing all the JAGs is very very bad

For decades, the US government has painstakingly kept American science #1 globally—and every facet of American life has improved because of it. The internet? Flu shot? Ozempic? All grew out of federally-funded research. Now all that's being dismantled. 1/ www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/21/1...

From a source at NIH, some grants may be nixed because the investigator’s bio sketch mentions DEI-related activities, even if the science itself has nothing to do with it.

White House rolls out new "precision" branding to explain how now they're only going to fire people who actually really really need to be fired. Meanwhile the mass firings continue unabated. talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/preci...

I don’t know why this is hard for folks to understand. The layoffs aren’t just about probationary employees. They are going beyond that. It won’t stop. It’s all about making agencies non-functional.

VERY informative thread on how Vought/Musk/Trump intend to misuse the federal appropriations and apportionment process to destroy branches of the federal government lawfully supported by Congress but that they personally deem inappropriate.

New York Times article now up on Federal Register stuff. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/s... 1/n

I have now heard from multiple sources that NIH staff can now travel, going to scientific meetings. They can also participate in peer review of papers. Still not allowed to talk about NIH policies. This may affect in person study section meetings (if the powers that be will let these be scheduled)