1/5/26: Three-bill funding package released following House-Senate breakthrough (Politico) Top appropriators released bill text Monday morning of a three-bill funding package leaders in both chambers aim to pass ahead of the Jan. 30 government shutdown deadline. The legislation would fund the departments of Energy, Commerce, Interior and Justice, as well as water programs, the EPA and federal science initiatives through the Sept. 30 end of the current fiscal year. https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/01/05/congress/3-bill-funding-package-released-following-house-senate-breakthrough-00710477
1/5/26: Will higher education researchers leave for opportunities abroad? (Higher Ed Dive) As the Trump administration cuts funding to wide swaths of research, foreign countries are ramping up their efforts to recruit top U.S. talent. https://www.highereddive.com/news/higher-education-researchers-us-recruited-internationally/808597/
1/4/26: Trump’s next plan for the US education system: Lots and lots of rules (Politico) He bombarded schools with a flurry of investigations and demands that they adopt policies aligned with his political agenda. His second year will focus on making them last. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/04/trump-upended-the-us-education-system-in-2025-its-only-the-beginning-00693857
1/2/25: NIH Approves 100s of Grant Applications It Shelved or Denied (Inside Higher Ed) Last year, the Trump administration widely rejected funding research it disfavors. But, just before 2026 began, one of its agencies agreed in court filings to take another look at proposals it sat on or turned down. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/research/2026/01/02/nih-approves-100s-grant-applications-it-shelved-or-denied
1/1/26: Science in 2026: what to expect this year (Nature) More refined AI models, advancements in human gene editing and the continuing impact of the Trump Team on science — we run through what to look out for over the next 12 months. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-04114-0
12/31/25: Inside Trump’s “no data, just vibes” approach to science (Vox) 8 ways the administration has undermined data collection this year. https://www.vox.com/climate/473751/trump-data-deletion-nih-epa-ncar-climate-science-epa-rfk-hhs
12/30/25: Is ‘open science’ delivering benefits? Major study finds proof is sparse (Science) Does the open science movement—the push to make research outputs such as articles, data, and software free to read and reuse—produce the benefits its supporters claim, such as accelerating discovery and promoting science literacy? The answer is a qualified yes, according to one of the most comprehensive, multifaceted studies of the complex and divisive issue. https://www.science.org/content/article/open-science-delivering-benefits-major-study-finds-proof-sparse
12/30/25: Put pressure on publishers to follow best practice — external regulation is the answer (Nature, Opinion) When I oversaw laboratories that used genetically modified organisms, the labs needed external certification to show that they had safe handling and storage processes. There’s nothing like knowing that an inspector could show up unannounced to focus people on safety standards. Yet, one area of science is strangely devoid of independent checks — academic publishing. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-04099-w
12/29/25: Firing of neuroscience institute chief adds to NIH’s leadership vacuum (Science) President Donald Trump’s administration has declined to reappoint Walter Koroshetz as head of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) neuroscience institute—even though the agency’s director had backed his renewal. Koroshetz’s dismissal after 10 years of leading the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) has alarmed the biomedical research community and heightened concerns that NIH is becoming politicized. https://www.science.org/content/article/firing-neuroscience-institute-chief-adds-nih-s-leadership-vacuum
12/29/25: The National Science Foundation just had a big reorganization. Here are five things to know (Science) Senior leaders of the biology directorate—one of NSF’s eight major research units—sought to assuage their worst fears, telling them NSF remained committed to funding the best science. But what listeners heard was only part of the story. Here are five things researchers might not have gleaned from that discussion or from the sparse information NSF has posted on its website about the realignment, which went into effect on 15 December. https://www.science.org/content/article/national-science-foundation-just-had-big-reorganization-here-are-five-things-know
12/28/25: Universities are playing ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ with Trump, but the game is rigged (The Hill, Opinion) https://thehill.com/opinion/education/5661375-columbia-university-federal-funding/
12/23/25: NIH official resigns after flap over risks of seasonal flu virus study (Science) Yet another shake-up of scientific leadership is underway at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), this time after a policy clash over the alleged dangers of funding a study that would alter seasonal flu viruses. That grant is now suspended, Science has learned, and the leader of the NIH division that oversaw it has resigned. Some agency insiders and outside scientists fear this could be the beginning of a greater crackdown on similar federal studies typically deemed to pose little risk of causing harm to humans. https://www.science.org/content/article/nih-official-resigns-after-flap-over-risks-seasonal-flu-virus-study
12/22/25: Man in the middle (Science) NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya has struggled to convince observers he has the agency’s best interests in mind—and is truly in charge. https://www.science.org/content/article/will-nih-s-new-director-reform-his-agency-or-destroy-it
12/22/25: What cuts to research under Trump have meant for science in 2025 (NPR) Trump administration officials say changes to federal agencies engaged in science were made in the interests of better science that benefits more Americans. Many scientists we spoke with disagree. https://www.npr.org/2025/12/22/nx-s1-5642965/what-cuts-to-research-under-trump-have-meant-for-science-in-2025
12/22/25: DOJ Report Declares MSIs Unconstitutional (Inside Higher Ed) The decision comes after the Department of Education asked the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel to review the legality of a number of programs they said used racial “quotas.” https://www.insidehighered.com/news/institutions/minority-serving-institutions/2025/12/22/doj-report-declares-msis
12/19/25: Trump Administration to Appeal Harvard Funding Case (New York Times) The Trump administration said late Thursday that it would appeal a ruling that sided with Harvard University in its fight with the government over free speech and billions of dollars in research funding. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/us/trump-administration-appeal-harvard-funding-case.html
12/19/25: The Year That Changed Research (Inside Higher Ed) A year of mass federal grant terminations and sweeping policy changes to the nation’s research enterprise broke many scientists’ trust in the government. And those changes offer insight into what may come next year. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/research/2025/12/19/how-2025-changed-research-and-whats-ahead
12/17/25: Reminder: NIH Applications Must Be Complete and Compliant with NIH Policy and Application Instructions at Time of Submission (NOT-OD-26-025) https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-025.html
12/2/25: DOGE Isn’t Dead. Here’s What Its Operatives Are Doing Now (Wired) Contrary to popular reports, DOGE has “burrowed into the agencies like ticks,” government sources tell WIRED. https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-doge-doing-now/
See also: DOGE isn’t dead—it’s been absorbed into the bloodstream of the government, federal employees say (Fortune) https://fortune.com/2025/12/12/doge-is-still-alive-federal-employees-irs-nih-elon-musk/
December 2025: Investigator Responsibilities – Safety Reporting for Investigational Drugs and Devices (FDA Guidance for Industry) https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/investigator-responsibilities-safety-reporting-investigational-drugs-and-devices?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
See also: Sponsor Responsibilities – Safety Reporting Requirements and Safety Assessment for IND and Bioavailability/Bioequivalence Studies (FDA Guidance for Industry) https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/sponsor-responsibilities-safety-reporting-requirements-and-safety-assessment-ind-and?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
