My Hobby and Interest - Research

Research!America CURRENTLY ACCEPTING SIGNATURES:  May Community NIH Sign-On Letter  Research!America is circulating a community sign-on letter urging Congress to reject the proposed 38% cut to the National Institutes of Health budget included in the president’s FY26 budget request. The letter calls for bold NIH investment and a deliberative process before major structural changes are made at NIH. DEADLINE TUESDAY JUNE 3rd - takes only a minute to complete SIGN ON AS AN INDIVIDUAL

  Research!America Alarmed by Budget Request that Calls for Destructive Cuts to Research Funding Arlington, VA –  Research!America, a nonprofit alliance that advocates for science, discovery, and innovation to achieve better health for all, is alarmed by new details released today in the president’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request.    The  budget plan  puts a fine point on the proposed $18 billion cut to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), distributing those cuts across the Institutes in a manner that reflects a major downsizing and restructuring of the agency. What is missing from the budget is how this contraction would affect the day-to-day lives of Americans waiting for cures; U.S. security and self-determination as we rely more on other nations for medical progress; and the millions of American jobs created by U.S. research leadership.     “If the proposal is enacted, Americans today and tomorrow will be sicker, poorer, and die younger,”...

 Thanks to Volkhard Lindner for this contribution! Eastern Milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum

 Thanks to Calvin Vary for this contribution! From the NY Times Best Practices Establishing a streak is a low-pressure way to generate feelings of pride and self-respect around the things youʼre already doing in your everyday life. by Melissa Kirsch Every app I use is trying to get me to start a streak. My Kindle praises me when I read a few days in a row. The New York Times Games app gives me gold stars if I do the crossword puzzle every morning. The clothing resale site Poshmark offers me a vague promise of “rewards” if I keep listing my old pants at a regular cadence. I like to think of myself as a person who can’t be swayed by shallow blandishments, but I am attracted to these incentives. I’m a pleaser. If there’s a good grade to be gotten, I want the A. In her recent Times story about the benefits of streaks, Nell McShane Wulfhart humbly admits that she has run at least a mile a day for seven years and counting. I read this with a combination of awe and self-recrimination. She...

NEWS 30 May 2025 NIH grant cuts will axe clinical trials abroad — and could leave thousands without care US agency’s new policy could abruptly end studies of infectious diseases and cancer, leaving researchers scrambling for funds. by Max Kozlov Amita Gupta has spent more than a decade planning and running a US$70-million trial to study a new tuberculosis drug, enrolling nearly 6,000 participants across 13 countries. It might all have been for nothing. Gupta’s trial has been ensnared by a US National Institutes of Health (NIH)  policy announced on 1 May that bans ‘foreign subawards’  , which are  funds that a US grant recipient can give to an international collaborator  to help complete a project. Since the policy was disclosed, NIH employees have been forbidden from issuing grants involving such awards, according to internal documents that  Nature  has obtained. As a result, funding will abruptly cease for dozens, if not hundreds, of ongoing trials of expe...

  NEWS 29 May 2025 Rare ‘ambidextrous’ protein breaks rules of handedness Most proteins are left-handed, but scientists have found an ancient molecule that works in both mirror-image forms. by Ewen Callaway Scientists have discovered an ancient  protein  that has the rare property of being ‘ambidextrous’ — it can function in mirror-image forms. The molecule could be a relic of a time when life based on mirror-image molecules existed on Earth. Many chemicals have a handedness, or chirality, and can exist in two mirror-image forms. But the building blocks of life tend to stick to one or the other. Sugars in nucleic acids such as DNA are right-handed — causing the DNA double helix to twist to the right, if you were looking down its axis — whereas the amino acids that build proteins are left-handed. Scientists think that a preference for right-handed DNA and left-handed proteins could have helped to maintain the stability and function of biomolecules early in life’s evolution...

  NEWS 28 May 2025 Trump’s call for ‘gold-standard science’ has prompted an outcry: here’s why Thousands have signed an open letter against the US president’s latest order, anxious about political interference in science and more. by Jeff Tollefson and Dan Garisto US President Donald Trump signed an  executive order late last week  , mandating the overhaul of research-integrity policies, to ensure that the federal government promotes “gold standard science” that is “transparent, rigorous, and impactful”. But many researchers fear that the order will do the opposite, by putting US scientists and science under the thumb of political appointees — and they are mobilizing opposition. The order, titled “Restoring Gold Standard Science”, states that research-integrity issues, including  high-profile retractions  and  an inability to reproduce many scientific studies  , have caused the public to lose faith in science. It accuses Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden,...

  Join us on zoom: Tuesday May 27 and Thursday May 29  8:00-8:30am https://maine.zoom.us/j/4625543963 Ready to try in-person yoga classes? Join me for classes at  Greener Postures Yoga Sundays - 75 min yin yoga, 5:00pm-6:15pm at our West Falmouth studio Mondays - 60 min Fundamentals Flow, 7-8pm at our South Portland studio Yin yoga: Experience the transformative power of Yin Yoga, a practice that blends science and spirit through stillness and passive long holds in floor poses. Yin strengthens, lengthens, and hydrates the connective tissues, including the bones, fascia, and joints—areas critical for maintaining mobility and flexibility as we age. These classes often include meditation, enhancing brain and immune health, reducing blood pressure, and fostering greater awareness and energy. As a perfect complement to dynamic flow classes, Yin Yoga works your body's "other half," offering balance and restoration. No experience is necessary, and props are provided to support y...

  A Weekly Update of Policy News and Select Funding Opportunities Compiled by  Van Scoyoc Associates View this email in your browser May 23, 2025 Health MAHA Commission report paints a dark picture of U.S. children's health  The Trump administration released a sweeping report Thursday, offering its analysis of what's driving chronic disease among the nation's children. The report titled, "The MAHA Report: Make Our Children Healthy Again" catalogues in detail a "chronic disease crisis," including high rates of obesity, asthma, autoimmune conditions and behavioral health disorders among kids. The 72-page document is a product of the MAHA commission, which was established by President Trump through  an executive order  on Feb. 13. The commission, chaired by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., enlisted various Cabinet members, including the secretaries of agriculture and education and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, and met in private o...