Dana Howard

Yorgos Lanthimos movies. I recognize they are just not my thing.

UPDATED: Senior FDA official refutes uniQure's claims amid controversy over Huntington's gene therapy In a strikingly blunt briefing, a senior FDA official accused uniQure of pushing “distorted” data to mask a “failed” therapy for Huntington’s disease. | In a strikingly blunt briefing, a senior FDA of...

Would the sham procedure Prasad's asking for fool anyone? 10-12 hour surgery + holes in the skull v. 3 scalp nicks in 30 min. If it's not a good sham, it's not ethical to proceed.

Prasad has raised impt concerns about UniQure's data tho. Take it to an adcom.

www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/seni...

'Abortion Reversal' is Unethical. Here's Why. As a bioethicist who conducted research at three highly ranked research universities across the country, the continued efforts to undermine medication abortion, including the promotion of ‘abortion pi...

"Anti-abortion advocates aim to confuse women by promoting ‘abortion reversal,’ [which]...lacks credible scientific support. Quite simply, there is no ethical way to design an abortion reversal study. Meanwhile, we have 25 years of evidence proving that medication abortion is safe and effective."

Thank you, @adamfeuerstein.bsky.social, for reporting Prasad's self-identifying statements from that press call (without naming him).

I don't think his departure comes today without it.

Graph of award probability of R35 and R01 from NIH factbook as a function of review rank percentile. As is apparent, 2025 is a significant departure, with lower award probabilities at all scores <40 and significant departures from norm, where even being in the top 10% is no longer a nearly certain indicator of success. Data source: https://report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/report/302

The data is in: the NIH goalposts have shifted.

What were once almost certain fundable scores have become coin flips and what used to be likely grants have become aspirational, leading to fewer awards.

Another manifestation of how HHS policies have led to fewer awards and less science.

2. I don't know if the design is needed here given the existing data. But I wish we had more than a press release on the 3 year results. (Have I missed a publication?)

3. I am blown away by FDA's public comments on the matter.

4. This needs to get in front of an advisory committee stat.

How's that happen? @greerdonley.bsky.social and I have it all here in our article from late last year: From Medical Exceptions to Reproductive Freedom.

Book Review: The Societal Impact of Genetic Research In “What We Inherit,” Sam Trejo and Daphne O. Martschenko examine the link between genetic myths and social genomics.

“Trejo and Martschenko suggest a set of guidelines for polygenic embryo selection, starting with “a complete moratorium” in the short term and only allowing some traits to be selected after quality reproductive care is accessible to everyone, to avoid further systemic inequalities”

Thank you for your service Olivia. 🫡

Fifty years after New Zealand stopped whaling, humpback population showing signs of recovery Breeding is getting more competitive, suggesting the population is growing, a new study shows.

This is a marvelous change not only for the Humpback whale 🐋 population but for all of us. We need to keep our gentle giants from going extinct.
Fifty years after New Zealand stopped whaling, humpback population showing signs of recovery | RNZ News share.google/X1HB3JFgaePK...

The one of the next frontiers for GLP1 meds is neuroscience/addiction disorders. This recently published study looking at various substance use disorders and older GLP1 medications shows a modest benefit across the board

www.bmj.com/content/392/...

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Across ERs, Tylenol orders for pregnant people dropped after health officials linked drug to autism Immediately after U.S. health officials linked Tylenol to autism, the drug's use in pregnant women visiting ERs dropped, new study shows.

Tylenol is really one of the only good options for pain/fever relief when you're pregnant — and doctors have said repeatedly that leaving those untreated in pregnancy is actually dangerous!

www.statnews.com/2026/03/05/t...

Medical training becomes less desirable in abortion-restricting states

medical training has become less desirable in states with abortion restrictions, especially in abortion-related specialties, including obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, internal medicine, and emergency medicine.
#econsky #medicine
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/03/medi...

Thanks for sharing!

And Cincinnati area folks can show their support to save science, protect health, and defend democracy at the solidarity pop-up in collaboration with Tesla Takedown on Saturday 3/7 from 11-1!

NIH Says It Will No Longer Recognize the Research Fellows’ Union NIH leadership said the union “should never have been certified,” in an email to the union’s leadership.

NIH leadership wants to strip worker's rights from the majority of scientists on its campuses.

But, the NIH does not get to say whether we are a union or not. We do, and we are no strangers to having to fight for our union. Time for a short history lesson. 1/n

Disclaimer: all views are my own.

U.S. Forest Service Rams Through Permit for Drilling at Sacred Site - NDN COLLECTIVE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 2, 2026 Rapid City, SD – Last Friday (2/27), the U.S. Forest Service Black Hills Regional...

Pe’sla, a sacred site in the Black Hills, translates to “the heart of all that is.” The site is central in Lakota creation stories. Last week, the Forest Service approved a permit for exploratory drilling for a graphite mine.

“[What] SB 1 itself says and how Ohio State implemented it, those are two different things.”

Former Ohio State law professor reflects on how SB 1 led to her early retirement It’s been nearly a year since Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 1 into law. Since the bill’s enactment on March 28, 2025, which became effective in June, Ohio public universities have been required ...

Ruth Colker, a highly distinguished law professor and the Heck Faust Memorial Chair in Constitutional Law, said that Ohio State’s “overcompliance” with SB 1 and its DEI rollbacks played a direct role in her early retirement.
www.thelantern.com/2026/03/form...

Clinical trial reforms that once seemed radical How randomized controlled trials, preregistration, and results reporting became standard practice.

New post!

It may seem ambitious to ask for individual patient data from clinical trials to be shared, anonymized, for use by other researchers.

But the history of medicine shows us that clinical trials have already undergone a series of transformations that once seemed equally bold:

RIP. Felt blessed to recently see some of his work (in collaboration with the great Maren Hassinger and Senga Nengudi and others from the Studio Z Collective) in Columbus at the #thepizzuti. www.columbusmuseum.org/past/details...

Pseudoscientific Push to Frame Abortion as a ‘Water Quality’ Issue Rears Its Head in Iowa About an hour into the Republican gubernatorial debate in Iowa earlier this...

Activists are hoping to rile up Iowa Republican primary voters with claims that the abortion pill is causing water quality issues in the state. (Unsurprisingly, it's actually the agriculture industry causing the issues, a local expert explains.)

a large screen shows a man 's face and says ingsoc ALT: a large screen shows a man 's face and says ingsoc

So... A friend was supposed to give a PURELY SCIENTIFIC talk at NIH within the next couple of weeks and it was cancelled because of a "new process" where all speakers/talks have to be CLEARED BY A POLITICAL APPOINTEE.

Autism researchers rebuke Kennedy, form independent advisory group A group of autism researchers and advocates are forming an independent advisory body to develop a scientific agenda for the autism community.

nice move to counter pseudoscience
www.statnews.com/2026/03/03/a...

Indeed. New grants are not getting funded, already funded grants are not getting paid, and non-competitive renewals are being held up.

Focusing on the top line budget, instead of looking at what is really happening on “the ground” is deeply misguided.

Kansas informs trans residents their driver’s licenses become invalid on Thursday Some transgender Kansans said they had received the letters from the Department of Revenue. Others hadn’t by Wednesday evening.

“‘The persecution is the point,’ said Rep. Abi Boatman, a Wichita Democrat and the only transgender member of the Legislature, who received the [Kansas Dept of Revenue] notice on Wednesday.” To underscore that: a Kansas state legislator is among those whose driver’s license will be voided. (🎁 link:)

Trans Lawrence Coalition is the real deal if you wanna help trans folks in KS during this shitty and scary time:

follow @kansasreflector.com. support local news. This is a national disaster and they are covering it.

Oppose Nomination of Casey Means for Surgeon General The Senate HELP Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the nomination of Casey Means to serve as U.S. Surgeon General on Wednesday, February 25th. While we were hoping this nomination was dead, i...

If you’re watching Casey Means’ Surgeon General confirmation hearing and you are now certain she’s unqualified, you can join @defendpublichealth.bsky.social in our efforts to stop her confirmation.

It will take less than 5 minutes.

actionnetwork.org/letters/oppo...