Catherine Arnst

A study by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation warned that Trump administration cuts to science could shrink the US economy by nearly $1 trillion over 10 years. @vivwalt reports on the science brain drain. nytimes.com/2026/04/04/bus…

Three years ago the @US_FDA deemed 19 peptide drugs unsafe. Now, under RFK Jr, the agency is poised to reverse itself, despite no studies showing they are safe. Via @propublica propublica.org/article/peptid…

Ratger big fail by @nytimes to not mention that on Feb 20 @US_FDA sent MEDvi a warning letter for misbranding the compounded drugs generating its revenue, and using AI generated deep fake photos in its ads nytimes.com/2026/04/02/tec…

The background on Medvi by @dddmag. Not quite as glowing as the @nytimes paints it--a lot easier to reach $1 billion if you use deceptive practices. drugdiscoverytrends.com/the-new-york-t…

National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a jewel in the crown of US science and has produced 174 (!) Nobel Prize winners So of course part of the MAHA plan is to slash its funding and replace it with pseudoscientific quacks

A reminder that ordinary Iranians are living, and dying, through our bombings. The perspectives of two citizens. Why #jounalism matters. #IranWar‌ nytimes.com/interactive/20…

As this Administration seeks major cuts to NIH, remember this: cancer diagnoses are projected to rise by nearly 77% by 2050. Weakening the research enterprise now is just reckless.

Trump Administration is proposing eliminating LIHEAP--which helps low-income families pay utility bills--at a time of soaring energy prices.

Massive budget cuts for US science proposed again by Trump administration. The @NSF and @EPA budgets would both fall more than 50% in 2027, and the @NIH budget would drop 13%. nature.com/articles/d4158…

Trump's NIH has gutted research into the diseases most likely to kill you or someone you love. Here's the damage👇 • 116 cancer research grants terminated or frozen, worth $273 million • 255 fewer new cancer grants funded in 2025 compared to 2024, a 12% decline • Duke lost nearly $20 million for brain cancer treatment research. Brain cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in children under 15. • Duke lost a separate $20.8 million grant for next-generation cancer treatments, including tumor vaccines. Terminated. • MD Anderson lost $9 million in ovarian cancer research. Ovarian cancer kills 13,000 American women per year. • The Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium, 26 years of clinical trials for children with brain tumors, was defunded. Enrollment in ongoing trials has been paused. • A UCLA scientist had his T-cell cancer immunotherapy research suspended. Even after reinstatement, the uncertainty forced him to scale back and prepare to end his work. • 65 Alzheimer's research grants terminated or frozen, worth $94 million • 357 fewer new Alzheimer's grants funded in 2025 compared to 2024, a 33% decline, the steepest of any disease area • 14 of 35 NIH-funded Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers saw approximately $65 million in funding halted • Approximately 1,000 grants worth an estimated $600 million were delayed after the cancellation of National Advisory Council on Aging meetings • A 35-year Johns Hopkins study tracking individuals from childhood to midlife to identify Alzheimer's risk factors was terminated. A generation of irreplaceable data, destroyed. • A Midwestern physician-scientist with 13 years as a principal investigator and over 100 publications saw two major NIH grants end. In their words: "I am very concerned that I will not be able to continue in this line of work." • 72 diabetes research grants terminated or frozen, worth $99 million • 168 fewer new diabetes grants funded in 2025 compared to 2024, a 16% decline • Stanford lost a $2.7 million grant testing whether home food deliveries improved outcomes for diabetes patients. Terminated. • 67 heart disease research grants terminated or frozen, worth $95 million • 183 fewer new heart disease grants funded in 2025 compared to 2024, a 13% decline • Johns Hopkins lost an $18.9 million grant funding strategies to reduce heart health disparities. Terminated.

.@UNICEF says more than 340 children have been killed and thousands injured since the US and Israel launched the #IranWar‌. theguardian.com/world/2026/apr…

There are tired copy editors who work really really hard and make one innocent and mortifying mistake that becomes grist for the social media gumball machine

2025 @Gallup poll finds 64% to 74% of Democratic, Republican and Independent college students say all or most of their professors encourage students to share their views and support speakers during controversial discussions. So, no. thephiladelphiacitizen.org/campus-gallup-… via @thephilacitizen

This, in a nutshell, captures the Christlessness of the MAGA

I get that this is an unpopular view but: We need more journalists & fewer pundits. We need more original reporting & fewer hot takes riffing off the news. We don't have this because reporting takes work and is difficult & pontificating on YouTube is lazy & easy.

Terrible news from Tehran: I just heard that the Iranian authorities today arrested the great human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. It's not known where she has been taken. Nasrin has been mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize for her unflinching courage and moral leadership. I hope thought leaders worldwide will call on the Iranian authorities to release this brave woman who represents the best of Iran. Her husband, Reza Khandan, is already in prison serving a sentence for advocating for women's rights. Iran should release them -- and all political prisoners. It was wrong for the Shah to imprison people for peaceful expression of political views, and it's wrong for the Islamic Republic to do so today.

"Trump officials say they’re doing this in order to eradicate antisemitism on college campuses but the same administration welcomes and coddles far-right antisemites as long as they’re in the MAGA tent and beating up on Democrats." Thank you @FrankBruni nytimes.com/2026/04/02/opi…

Finally, a story one doesn't fear reading. Thank you @chrisychung for the smiles, @a_baesler for the lovely photos, and most of all Baggs and Cache. nytimes.com/2026/04/01/tra… nytimes.com/2026/04/01/tra…

Is Trump killing the US effort to help the world battle #HIV? Yes. PEPFAR, which for 2 decades has brought lifesaving AIDS treatments and prevention tools to 55 countries, is dying a death of 1000 cuts, say the program’s supporters. science.org/content/articl…

Trump claimed hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants were receiving #Medicaid. But 7 months later, reviews shared with @KFFHealthNews by Texas, Utah, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Ohio show that only a handful of cases were found. kffhealthnews.org/news/article/m…