5/21/25: NSF Cuts Off Colleges That Push ‘Illegal DEI,’ Boycott Israel (Inside Higher Ed) The NSF implemented these restrictions Monday for any new grants or any funding amendments to current grants. They appear in a new Grant General Conditions document , which has a paragraph specifying which Israel-related boycotts are prohibited but doesn’t define what DEI is. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/05/21/nsf-cuts-colleges-push-illegal-dei-boycott-israel#
See also: New or Updated NSF FAQS (May 19, 2025): https://www.nsf.gov/updates-on-priorities
5/21/25: Harvard Hit With Another $60M in Grant Cuts (Inside Higher Ed) The Trump administration has ended $60 million in federal grant funding for Harvard University amid an ongoing fight with the private institution over concerns about alleged campus antisemitism. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/05/21/harvard-hit-another-60-million-grant-cuts
5/21/25: Are groundbreaking science discoveries becoming harder to find? (Nature) … there does seem to be agreement that groundbreaking innovation is getting harder to achieve — but with many contrasting theories as to why. As the debate continues, researchers are starting experiments to try to better quantify groundbreaking work — and suggesting strategies that could promote it. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01548-4
5/21/25: Universities struggle to keep cancer research afloat amid Trump funding cuts (The Hill) The Trump administration’s war with higher education, combined with efforts to reduce government spending by the Department of Government Efficiency, has left significant casualties in cancer research, which in the U.S. is largely done at colleges and universities. https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5310012-cancer-research-trump-funding-cuts-colleges-university/
5/21/25: #OpenToWork: how laid-off US scientists are coping with shattered careers (Nature) Unemployed researchers face some tough career choices as they flood the job market after the Trump administration’s cuts to science. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01553-7
5/21/25: AI linked to explosion of low-quality biomedical research papers (Nature) Analysis flags hundreds of studies that seem to follow a template, reporting correlations between complex health conditions and single variables based on publicly available data sets. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01592-0
5/21/25: Human Organ-On-A-Chip:Technologies Offer Benefits Over Animal Testing but Challenges Limit Wider Adoption (GAO-25-107335) https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-107335
5/21/25: As Trump cuts science budgets, some researchers look abroad (Washington Post) With billions of dollars in research grants eliminated or frozen by the Trump administration, scientists across America in a broad array of fields face an uncertain future and the possibility of layoffs. An untold number like Sheth are looking abroad, thinking of continuing their careers far from the turmoil here. https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/05/21/brain-drain-science-cuts-jobs-trump/
5/20/25: House probe alleges Harvard University has research ties to ‘foreign adversaries’ (Higher Ed Dive) The inquiry is part of an onslaught of investigations and financial penalties the institution is facing after it rebuked the Trump administration’s demands. https://www.highereddive.com/news/house-probe-harvard-university-ties-foreign-adversaries/748654/
5/20/25: Scientists Find Their Voices to Rally Support for Research (The Scientist) A new initiative at the University of California, Davis highlights the contributions of federally-funded research and what’s at risk if it disappears. https://www.the-scientist.com/scientists-find-their-voices-to-rally-support-for-research-73013
5/20/25: Notice of Short-Term Extension to Early-Stage Investigator (ESI) Eligibility Period (NOT-OD-25-114) By way of this Notice, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) hereby grants the automatic extension of Early-Stage Investigator (ESI) eligibility.This extension addresses delays impacting grant application submissions, peer review, or award processing timelines between January 1, 2025, and May 31, 2025, and seeks to mitigate their effects on the biomedical research community. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-25-114.html
5/20/25: NIH director faces pointed questions at first staff town hall (Science) At his first staff town hall, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jayanta “Jay” Bhattacharya yesterday faced a packed auditorium and fielded challenging questions on topics from transparency about decisions by President Donald Trump’s administration to gender research. He also tried to make the case that he shares his employees’ concerns about crippling layoffs and is working to get NIH operations back on track. https://www.science.org/content/article/nih-director-faces-pointed-questions-first-staff-town-hall
5/19/25: Trump’s science adviser defends funding cuts as a chance to ‘revitalize’ U.S. science (Science) The U.S. research community needs to learn how to thrive with less money from the federal government. That was the blunt message today from Michael Kratsios, science adviser to President Donald Trump and head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). https://www.science.org/content/article/trump-s-science-adviser-defends-funding-cuts-chance-revitalize-u-s-science
See also: Trump’s science adviser calls for return to ‘gold-standard’ research to kickstart stalled advances (STAT) https://www.statnews.com/2025/05/19/trump-ostp-director-michael-kratsios-speaks-on-future-of-scientific-innovation/
5/19/25: Federal judge blocks Energy Department’s 15% cap on indirect research costs (Higher Ed Dive) Colleges and higher education groups suing the agency are likely to prove the policy violates federal law, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs ruled. https://www.highereddive.com/news/federal-judge-blocks-energy-departments-15-cap-on-indirect-research-costs/748492/
