Today’s updates include the stakes of an impending shutdown, some good news from UCLA, and a likely new director of the National Cancer Institute.
The stakes around a government shutdown have now increased. According to a report by Politico, the White House budget office is instructing federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force plans for mass firings in the event of a shutdown - this would go well beyond the furloughs usually seen in such instances. The Administration is apparently now expecting a shutdown.
A federal judge has ordered NSF, NIH, and DOE to restore $500 million of research grants to UCLA. If effectuated, this would reinstate the majority of the university’s frozen funds. The Administration will almost certainly appeal.
CNN reported Wednesday that the Administration intends to name Dr. Anthony Letai as the new Director of the National Cancer Institute.
After the announcements on Monday, there’s been some reporting on the evidence used by the Administration to indorse a link between acetaminophen and autism. The NYT has a good summary.
Administration health officials have penned an editorial outlining their plans for addressing autism.
Haley Stevens, a member of the House of Representatives representing Michigan announced on Thursday that she would introduce articles of impeachment against HHS Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. due to “health care chaos” under his watch.
After some delays, the solicitation for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is now live. Unlike previous years, applications are only open to undergraduate students in their final year and first year graduate students.
Some interesting research published in Science this week, examining what would the research that would not have been done had the NIH budget been 40% smaller.
HHMI released a new open access policy [pdf] earlier this week. Starting in January 2026, they will strongly support the posting of preprints - including using preprints rather than published work for internal evaluation.
Some other interesting reporting:
Vanity Fair has a piece on HHS Deputy Stefanie Spear.
Wired spoke to 200+ federal employees about their experience with DOGE.
In a recent letter to Republican state attorneys general RFK Jr. stated that the FDA is reviewing the safety of mifepristone.
No, but seriously, who is asking him about Amelia Earhart?
Today’s thumbnail was taken with a Camp Snap.