Catherine Offord
@cofford.bsky.social
Journalist writing about life science, policy, and research integrity. Correspondent for Science magazine. www.catherineofford.com
Send tips securely via Signal to cofford.24
Send tips securely via Signal to cofford.24
Reposted by Catherine Offord
africa is heavily dependent on foreign health aid. but the brutal loss of billions due to the freeze on U.S. aid has spurred calls for African self-reliance. i tried to piece together how the dependency arose, whether it can be broken, and the solutions:
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
March 5, 2025 at 11:07 AM
africa is heavily dependent on foreign health aid. but the brutal loss of billions due to the freeze on U.S. aid has spurred calls for African self-reliance. i tried to piece together how the dependency arose, whether it can be broken, and the solutions:
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Tariffs imposed yesterday could hit researchers by raising prices for scientific equipment. My latest for Science:
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Sticker shock: New U.S. tariffs could raise cost of research equipment and supplies
China, Canada, and Mexico are major suppliers of essential scientific items
www.science.org
March 5, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Tariffs imposed yesterday could hit researchers by raising prices for scientific equipment. My latest for Science:
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
The Trump administration says it is "not possible" for it to comply with a court order to release hundreds of millions of dollars in aid funds by midnight tonight.
This and more in Science's Trump Tracker:
www.science.org/content/arti...
This and more in Science's Trump Tracker:
www.science.org/content/arti...
Trump Tracker: Firings, lawsuits, and U.S. science in chaos
Follow President Donald Trump’s impact on U.S. research and science globally
www.science.org
February 26, 2025 at 1:47 PM
The Trump administration says it is "not possible" for it to comply with a court order to release hundreds of millions of dollars in aid funds by midnight tonight.
This and more in Science's Trump Tracker:
www.science.org/content/arti...
This and more in Science's Trump Tracker:
www.science.org/content/arti...
The chaos at USAID has left many clinical trials in limbo. We spoke to the researchers now scrambling to protect the staff and volunteers involved.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Researchers face impossible decisions as U.S. aid freeze halts clinical trials
Organizers of USAID-funded studies grapple with ethical responsibilities to trial participants and collaborators
www.science.org
February 13, 2025 at 11:41 PM
The chaos at USAID has left many clinical trials in limbo. We spoke to the researchers now scrambling to protect the staff and volunteers involved.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Catherine Offord
Are you an NIH funded researcher with a frozen grant or contract? Find me on Signal: meredithwadman.13
February 10, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Are you an NIH funded researcher with a frozen grant or contract? Find me on Signal: meredithwadman.13
Last night, President Donald Trump’s administration announced it is immediately cutting by roughly half the so-called indirect cost payments that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) makes to universities, hospitals, and research institutes.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
NIH slashes overhead payments for research, sparking outrage
Move to cut indirect cost rate to 15% could cost universities billions of dollars
www.science.org
February 8, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Last night, President Donald Trump’s administration announced it is immediately cutting by roughly half the so-called indirect cost payments that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) makes to universities, hospitals, and research institutes.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
“It’s sad and incomprehensible that things have come to this.”
—Rachel Baggaley, HIV specialist and former team lead for testing, prevention, and populations in the Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI programs at WHO
Our piece on how the USAID freeze has affected research:
www.science.org/content/arti...
—Rachel Baggaley, HIV specialist and former team lead for testing, prevention, and populations in the Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI programs at WHO
Our piece on how the USAID freeze has affected research:
www.science.org/content/arti...
‘It’s tectonic:’ U.S. foreign aid freeze deals a blow to research around the globe
Dismantling of USAID could disrupt clinical trials and wipe away U.S. “soft power” in developing countries, scientists warn
www.science.org
February 6, 2025 at 1:21 PM
“It’s sad and incomprehensible that things have come to this.”
—Rachel Baggaley, HIV specialist and former team lead for testing, prevention, and populations in the Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI programs at WHO
Our piece on how the USAID freeze has affected research:
www.science.org/content/arti...
—Rachel Baggaley, HIV specialist and former team lead for testing, prevention, and populations in the Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI programs at WHO
Our piece on how the USAID freeze has affected research:
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Catherine Offord
“USAID-backed studies have been shuttered, data streams have dried up, researchers and technical staff have been fired or put on leave, a system to predict food crises has been muzzled, and a USAID-supported global health journal has stopped reviewing manuscripts.”
From our @science.org news team 🧪
From our @science.org news team 🧪
'It’s tectonic:’ U.S. foreign aid freeze deals a blow to research around the globe
Dismantling of USAID could disrupt many clinical trials and wipe away U.S. “soft power” in developing countries, scientists warn
www.science.org
February 6, 2025 at 12:23 AM
“USAID-backed studies have been shuttered, data streams have dried up, researchers and technical staff have been fired or put on leave, a system to predict food crises has been muzzled, and a USAID-supported global health journal has stopped reviewing manuscripts.”
From our @science.org news team 🧪
From our @science.org news team 🧪
Reposted by Catherine Offord
Today's #ScienceAdviser kicks off with this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (of course), but there's lots of other great stuff from Science and science in there! Be sure to check all of it out: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
And you can sign up for FREE: science.org/scienceadviser
And you can sign up for FREE: science.org/scienceadviser
Science | AAAS
www.science.org
October 2, 2023 at 2:15 PM
Today's #ScienceAdviser kicks off with this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (of course), but there's lots of other great stuff from Science and science in there! Be sure to check all of it out: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
And you can sign up for FREE: science.org/scienceadviser
And you can sign up for FREE: science.org/scienceadviser
Isaiah Hankel, CEO of Cheeky Scientist, is circulating a statement about our story. Just addressing the allegation it was "solicited by one of [CS's] competitors" for now:
No. It's a journalistic article based on independent reporting, customer interviews, and more: www.science.org/content/arti...
No. It's a journalistic article based on independent reporting, customer interviews, and more: www.science.org/content/arti...
September 28, 2023 at 4:56 PM
Isaiah Hankel, CEO of Cheeky Scientist, is circulating a statement about our story. Just addressing the allegation it was "solicited by one of [CS's] competitors" for now:
No. It's a journalistic article based on independent reporting, customer interviews, and more: www.science.org/content/arti...
No. It's a journalistic article based on independent reporting, customer interviews, and more: www.science.org/content/arti...
Some of its customers are $thousands$ in debt for services they say they haven't used and didn't want. Cheeky Scientist pays its salespeople well, though: $150K average, with "stars" earning $250K+, according to this job ad. Commission structure "rewards top performers."
September 18, 2023 at 4:50 PM
Some of its customers are $thousands$ in debt for services they say they haven't used and didn't want. Cheeky Scientist pays its salespeople well, though: $150K average, with "stars" earning $250K+, according to this job ad. Commission structure "rewards top performers."
Careers firm Cheeky Scientist offers to help you transition from academia to industry. The catch? You might be looking at thousands of dollars of debt for services you don't want. I took a look at the company's practices for Science www.science.org/content/arti...
Science | AAAS
www.science.org
September 13, 2023 at 10:25 PM
Careers firm Cheeky Scientist offers to help you transition from academia to industry. The catch? You might be looking at thousands of dollars of debt for services you don't want. I took a look at the company's practices for Science www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Catherine Offord
Beginning today, I'm covering a maternity leave as a senior editor at BioSpace. If there's something going on in biotech or pharma that I should know about, you can find me at shawna.williams at biospace.com.
September 11, 2023 at 3:56 PM
Beginning today, I'm covering a maternity leave as a senior editor at BioSpace. If there's something going on in biotech or pharma that I should know about, you can find me at shawna.williams at biospace.com.
Reposted by Catherine Offord
An immune-suppressing antibody could help ensure that life-saving transplants aren't rejected by the people that desperately needed them. That story and more from Science and science in today's #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
Science | AAAS
www.science.org
September 6, 2023 at 8:49 PM
An immune-suppressing antibody could help ensure that life-saving transplants aren't rejected by the people that desperately needed them. That story and more from Science and science in today's #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
A new Nat Med study that analyzed cognitive problems in more than 1,800 people bolsters the idea that blood clots contribute to Long Covid. Caveats are that this is in unvaccinated patients hospitalized early in the pandemic. More at Science Mag: www.science.org/content/arti...
August 31, 2023 at 3:31 PM
A new Nat Med study that analyzed cognitive problems in more than 1,800 people bolsters the idea that blood clots contribute to Long Covid. Caveats are that this is in unvaccinated patients hospitalized early in the pandemic. More at Science Mag: www.science.org/content/arti...
Calling PhD students and recent grads: Have you had experience with The Cheeky Scientist? If so, please email me at the address below. And please share with your grad colleagues! Thanks.
August 30, 2023 at 4:31 PM
Calling PhD students and recent grads: Have you had experience with The Cheeky Scientist? If so, please email me at the address below. And please share with your grad colleagues! Thanks.
Reposted by Catherine Offord
This is a fantastic read. Naomi Klein (the good one) on Naomi Wolf (the bad one) and how her doppelgänger turned into a right-wing conspiracy theorist. www.theguardian.com/books/2023/a...
Naomi Klein on following her ‘doppelganger’ down the conspiracy rabbit hole – and why millions...
For years the writer laughed off being mistaken for fellow author Naomi Wolf. Then her ‘double’ drifted into a world of conspiracy theories and became a favoured guest of Steve Bannon and Tucker C...
www.theguardian.com
August 28, 2023 at 12:47 PM
This is a fantastic read. Naomi Klein (the good one) on Naomi Wolf (the bad one) and how her doppelgänger turned into a right-wing conspiracy theorist. www.theguardian.com/books/2023/a...
Just out: Expression of concern for 2022 paper describing breakthrough in neuronal imaging. It seems “the methods described in the paper are inadequate to allow reproduction [and] the results may have been biased by subjective data collection.” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Science | AAAS
www.science.org
August 24, 2023 at 6:44 PM
Just out: Expression of concern for 2022 paper describing breakthrough in neuronal imaging. It seems “the methods described in the paper are inadequate to allow reproduction [and] the results may have been biased by subjective data collection.” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...