Tara White
@dignityneurosci.bsky.social
Providing a brain science based approach to universal human rights of agency, uniqueness, unconditional belonging, freedom from want/poverty, freedom from fear, and our protection of the vulnerable.
Reposted by Tara White
100%! If we ever get a chance to rebuild NIH and NSF, can we please reinvest in basic research. Translational research is great once there is something to translate, but basic research comes first and can’t be skipped.
I know you all know this, but apparently it needs to be said that basic science is a NECESSARY PRECURSOR to translational science
NSF to ONLY fund research in five areas: artificial intelligence, quantum information science, biotechnology, nuclear energy, and translational science. Can this be happening?
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
May 10, 2025 at 1:20 AM
100%! If we ever get a chance to rebuild NIH and NSF, can we please reinvest in basic research. Translational research is great once there is something to translate, but basic research comes first and can’t be skipped.
Reposted by Tara White
How do neurons know their final position in the brain? They use a combination of chemical signals & physical guidance by radial glia 🟡. My favorite cell type in the brain is also temporary! After cortical development, most will transform into astrocytes. Nuclei of cells in🔵 #SciArt #Microscopy
May 10, 2025 at 11:03 PM
How do neurons know their final position in the brain? They use a combination of chemical signals & physical guidance by radial glia 🟡. My favorite cell type in the brain is also temporary! After cortical development, most will transform into astrocytes. Nuclei of cells in🔵 #SciArt #Microscopy
Reposted by Tara White
🧪⚛️ If this is to be believed, it sounds like there is a serious chance that the NSF may no longer be funding basic work in materials, chemistry, physics, math, astronomy, etc. Is Congress really just going to sit by and let this happen? (Edited) www.science.org/content/arti...
NSF slashes number of ‘rotators’ and well-paid managers as part of restructuring
Smaller future budgets will require fewer people, NSF official tells staff
www.science.org
May 10, 2025 at 1:19 AM
🧪⚛️ If this is to be believed, it sounds like there is a serious chance that the NSF may no longer be funding basic work in materials, chemistry, physics, math, astronomy, etc. Is Congress really just going to sit by and let this happen? (Edited) www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Tara White
The measles vaccine is 97% effective after two doses. 🦠
Access to vaccines is a human right — and it saves lives. ⚖️👩🏼⚕️
(Source: CDC, WHO)
#RightToHealth #VaccinesWork #Measles
Access to vaccines is a human right — and it saves lives. ⚖️👩🏼⚕️
(Source: CDC, WHO)
#RightToHealth #VaccinesWork #Measles
May 9, 2025 at 10:11 PM
The measles vaccine is 97% effective after two doses. 🦠
Access to vaccines is a human right — and it saves lives. ⚖️👩🏼⚕️
(Source: CDC, WHO)
#RightToHealth #VaccinesWork #Measles
Access to vaccines is a human right — and it saves lives. ⚖️👩🏼⚕️
(Source: CDC, WHO)
#RightToHealth #VaccinesWork #Measles
Reposted by Tara White
I don't know who needs to hear this but "reduced gray matter concentration" means a lot of neurons dying and "Brain Fog" actually means brain damage for most people. You are welcome. #NeuroCovid #LongCovid
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
May 5, 2025 at 11:13 PM
I don't know who needs to hear this but "reduced gray matter concentration" means a lot of neurons dying and "Brain Fog" actually means brain damage for most people. You are welcome. #NeuroCovid #LongCovid
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Tara White
Way too many people hear “language model” and think the algorithm understands language. It does not. It reduces letters to numbers and looks for patterns in the numbers. That’s all it does. That’s all it can do. It does not derive meaning; it does not extrapolate consequences.
“THE ALGORITHM IS NOT AND NEVER WILL BE CAPABLE OF DISCERNMENT.”
Never. AI is a misnomer. It’s not intelligent. It’s a calculator. If you’re like “calculators can’t do language, silly,” that’s the entire goddamn point.
Never. AI is a misnomer. It’s not intelligent. It’s a calculator. If you’re like “calculators can’t do language, silly,” that’s the entire goddamn point.
As a culture, we don’t teach nearly enough media literacy and critical interrogation of sources, but if there aren’t sources, it’s not possible to interrogate them, and with LLMs, sometimes, even if a source is cited, it’s unreliable. The algorithm is not and never will be capable of discernment.
April 25, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Way too many people hear “language model” and think the algorithm understands language. It does not. It reduces letters to numbers and looks for patterns in the numbers. That’s all it does. That’s all it can do. It does not derive meaning; it does not extrapolate consequences.
Reposted by Tara White
"If routine childhood vaccination declined by 25%, we...projected there would be 26 900 cases...of postmeasles neurological sequelae, 100 cases...of paralytic poliomyelitis, ...5.4 million hospitalizations...due to all infections, and 80 600 deaths...due to all infections."
Someone's modelled the impact of a precipitous decline in vaccination uptake in the USA. TL:DR: millions of avoidable disease cases; hundreds of thousands of deaths over the next decades.
HT @duncanrobertson.bsky.social
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
HT @duncanrobertson.bsky.social
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Modeling Reemergence of Vaccine-Eliminated Infectious Diseases Under Declining Vaccination in the US
This study estimates the number of cases and complications in the US under scenarios of declining childhood vaccination for measles, rubella, poliomyelitis, and diphtheria.
jamanetwork.com
April 25, 2025 at 10:10 AM
"If routine childhood vaccination declined by 25%, we...projected there would be 26 900 cases...of postmeasles neurological sequelae, 100 cases...of paralytic poliomyelitis, ...5.4 million hospitalizations...due to all infections, and 80 600 deaths...due to all infections."
Reposted by Tara White
Timely paper by @profsanderlinden.bsky.social and colleague.
Misinformation represents a serious threat to individual and global health.
We need to understand more about how susceptibility to misinformation is socially patterned so that it doesn’t deepen health inequalities, say Simon Williams and @profsanderlinden.bsky.social www.bmj.com/content/389/...
We need to understand more about how susceptibility to misinformation is socially patterned so that it doesn’t deepen health inequalities, say Simon Williams and @profsanderlinden.bsky.social www.bmj.com/content/389/...
April 24, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Timely paper by @profsanderlinden.bsky.social and colleague.
Reposted by Tara White
These two ideas of white supremacism and eugenics have been tangled up together for most of their history and absolutely should be resisted as they rise again.
Scientists must push back against the threat of rising white nationalism and the dangerous and pseudoscientific ideas of eugenics
https://go.nature.com/4jGqiUc
https://go.nature.com/4jGqiUc
Eugenics is on the rise again: human geneticists must take a stand
Scientists must push back against the threat of rising white nationalism and the dangerous and pseudoscientific ideas of eugenics.
go.nature.com
April 24, 2025 at 4:36 PM
These two ideas of white supremacism and eugenics have been tangled up together for most of their history and absolutely should be resisted as they rise again.
Reposted by Tara White
An important resource from OneAID Community:
If you are considering suicide, please call 988 (press 1 if you're a Veteran) to get connected to support and resources. If you are worried about someone, asking them about their suicidal thoughts will not make the situation worse.
If you are considering suicide, please call 988 (press 1 if you're a Veteran) to get connected to support and resources. If you are worried about someone, asking them about their suicidal thoughts will not make the situation worse.
Preventing Suicide During a Time of Crisis
Community support for those in crisis and for those concerned about others in crisis.
www.oneaidcommunity.org
April 24, 2025 at 7:55 PM
An important resource from OneAID Community:
If you are considering suicide, please call 988 (press 1 if you're a Veteran) to get connected to support and resources. If you are worried about someone, asking them about their suicidal thoughts will not make the situation worse.
If you are considering suicide, please call 988 (press 1 if you're a Veteran) to get connected to support and resources. If you are worried about someone, asking them about their suicidal thoughts will not make the situation worse.
Reposted by Tara White
This #NIH Notice that came out yesterday virtually makes every major university INELIGBIBLE for NIH funding (recipients can't operate any program that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion). This is asinine, but why haven't I heard academic fighting back? #medsky grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NOT-OD-25-090: Notice of Civil Rights Term and Condition of Award
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Notice of Civil Rights Term and Condition of Award NOT-OD-25-090. NIH
grants.nih.gov
April 22, 2025 at 7:03 PM
This #NIH Notice that came out yesterday virtually makes every major university INELIGBIBLE for NIH funding (recipients can't operate any program that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion). This is asinine, but why haven't I heard academic fighting back? #medsky grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
Reposted by Tara White
Have you seen this? Along with DEI work, NSF is terminating research on disinformation and misinformation. Maybe knowledge really is power...
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
Updates on NSF Priorities
www.nsf.gov
April 23, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Have you seen this? Along with DEI work, NSF is terminating research on disinformation and misinformation. Maybe knowledge really is power...
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
Reposted by Tara White
“It’s shocking to see the government do this. It cedes American leadership in science and technology to China and to other countries. I think it is going to take at least 10 years for American scientific and biomedical research to recover from this.”
@katrinamillerphd.bsky.social & I took a look at over 400 active National Science Foundation grants that got killed in the past few days. Here's our story (gift link) nyti.ms/4jp4aOx
National Science Foundation Terminates Hundreds of Active Research Awards (Gift Article)
The agency targeted grants focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as research on misinformation.
nyti.ms
April 23, 2025 at 10:18 AM
“It’s shocking to see the government do this. It cedes American leadership in science and technology to China and to other countries. I think it is going to take at least 10 years for American scientific and biomedical research to recover from this.”
Reposted by Tara White
Congratulations to CAAS Faculty Jennifer Merrill & Elizabeth Aston who received a 2025 Seed Award!🎉 @jenmerrillphd.bsky.social
This award supports their research focusing on the labeling of alcohol products.
Learn more about their research: division-research.brown.edu/research-cyc...
This award supports their research focusing on the labeling of alcohol products.
Learn more about their research: division-research.brown.edu/research-cyc...
April 23, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Congratulations to CAAS Faculty Jennifer Merrill & Elizabeth Aston who received a 2025 Seed Award!🎉 @jenmerrillphd.bsky.social
This award supports their research focusing on the labeling of alcohol products.
Learn more about their research: division-research.brown.edu/research-cyc...
This award supports their research focusing on the labeling of alcohol products.
Learn more about their research: division-research.brown.edu/research-cyc...
Reposted by Tara White
🎥 Just dropped: “Science Is at a Crossroads” 📉
At last night's @bostonglobe.com event, I spoke about how science is shrinking—budget cuts, layoffs, rising disparities. ,
🎓 Science must be funded. Science must be inclusive.
👇👇Watch + share if you stand for truth, not political agendas. 🔬❤️
At last night's @bostonglobe.com event, I spoke about how science is shrinking—budget cuts, layoffs, rising disparities. ,
🎓 Science must be funded. Science must be inclusive.
👇👇Watch + share if you stand for truth, not political agendas. 🔬❤️
Science At A Crossroads: What's At Stake?
YouTube video by The Boston Globe
www.youtube.com
April 23, 2025 at 10:32 AM
🎥 Just dropped: “Science Is at a Crossroads” 📉
At last night's @bostonglobe.com event, I spoke about how science is shrinking—budget cuts, layoffs, rising disparities. ,
🎓 Science must be funded. Science must be inclusive.
👇👇Watch + share if you stand for truth, not political agendas. 🔬❤️
At last night's @bostonglobe.com event, I spoke about how science is shrinking—budget cuts, layoffs, rising disparities. ,
🎓 Science must be funded. Science must be inclusive.
👇👇Watch + share if you stand for truth, not political agendas. 🔬❤️
Reposted by Tara White
The replies to this thread are very funny, but it’s a warning sign that one of the key functions of Googling - the ability to factcheck a quote, verify a source, or track down something half remembered - will get so much harder if AI prefers to legitimate statistical possibilities over actual truth
April 23, 2025 at 1:48 PM
The replies to this thread are very funny, but it’s a warning sign that one of the key functions of Googling - the ability to factcheck a quote, verify a source, or track down something half remembered - will get so much harder if AI prefers to legitimate statistical possibilities over actual truth
Reposted by Tara White
I know SO many people who haven't just survived but are currently thriving, post diagnosis that would have killed them when I was a kid.
This tool is awesome because it pulls the concrete numbers from the NIH website in a clearly accessible form.
This tool is awesome because it pulls the concrete numbers from the NIH website in a clearly accessible form.
Ever wonder how many lives have been saved by NIH-funded research - including your own? Enter any medical condition and instantly see how your tax dollars transformed science into survival.
www.ourhealthroi.com
www.ourhealthroi.com
Our Health ROI
Explore how your tax dollars fund life‑saving medical research.
www.ourhealthroi.com
April 23, 2025 at 7:35 PM
I know SO many people who haven't just survived but are currently thriving, post diagnosis that would have killed them when I was a kid.
This tool is awesome because it pulls the concrete numbers from the NIH website in a clearly accessible form.
This tool is awesome because it pulls the concrete numbers from the NIH website in a clearly accessible form.
Reposted by Tara White
Doesn't feel ideal that the two big cultural trends of 2025 are "Knowledge is for suckers" and "Empathy is bad actually."
Gonna be real with you, this feels like an advertisement for spiritual death
April 23, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Doesn't feel ideal that the two big cultural trends of 2025 are "Knowledge is for suckers" and "Empathy is bad actually."
Reposted by Tara White
3/5) The real mechanism for credibility in science is simply the test of time:
Can someone reproduce the results?
Do others build on the findings?
Real rigour in science comes from waiting to see whether a result holds and leads to new results.
Period - that's it. It's not peer review.
Can someone reproduce the results?
Do others build on the findings?
Real rigour in science comes from waiting to see whether a result holds and leads to new results.
Period - that's it. It's not peer review.
April 22, 2025 at 5:57 PM
3/5) The real mechanism for credibility in science is simply the test of time:
Can someone reproduce the results?
Do others build on the findings?
Real rigour in science comes from waiting to see whether a result holds and leads to new results.
Period - that's it. It's not peer review.
Can someone reproduce the results?
Do others build on the findings?
Real rigour in science comes from waiting to see whether a result holds and leads to new results.
Period - that's it. It's not peer review.
Reposted by Tara White
With each passing day, the agenda-driven interference with science intensifies.
We can't let the candle in the dark go out.
NIH moving to ban all future grants to universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts, document suggests www.statnews.com/2025/04/21/t... via @statnews
We can't let the candle in the dark go out.
NIH moving to ban all future grants to universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts, document suggests www.statnews.com/2025/04/21/t... via @statnews
NIH moving to ban all future grants to universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts, document suggests
NIH appears to be preparing to prohibit the awarding of new grants to institutions that have DEI programs or boycott Israeli companies
www.statnews.com
April 21, 2025 at 4:42 PM
With each passing day, the agenda-driven interference with science intensifies.
We can't let the candle in the dark go out.
NIH moving to ban all future grants to universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts, document suggests www.statnews.com/2025/04/21/t... via @statnews
We can't let the candle in the dark go out.
NIH moving to ban all future grants to universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts, document suggests www.statnews.com/2025/04/21/t... via @statnews
Reposted by Tara White
if you're in the mood to read a strong affirmation about the worth of disabled lives in the face of a eugenicist administration.... so was i, so i wrote one: buttondown.com/theswordandt...
Disability, Eugenics, and the Value of Human Life
The eugenicists Your worth is not tied to what you can do. Your worth is not tied to your health. Your worth is not tied to all the things you can do...
buttondown.com
April 21, 2025 at 4:38 PM
if you're in the mood to read a strong affirmation about the worth of disabled lives in the face of a eugenicist administration.... so was i, so i wrote one: buttondown.com/theswordandt...
Reposted by Tara White
NIH moving to ban all future grants to universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts, document suggests. Story by @aniloza.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/04/21/t...
NIH moving to ban all future grants to universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts, document suggests
NIH appears to be preparing to prohibit the awarding of new grants to institutions that have DEI programs or boycott Israeli companies
www.statnews.com
April 21, 2025 at 4:29 PM
NIH moving to ban all future grants to universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts, document suggests. Story by @aniloza.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/04/21/t...
Reposted by Tara White
A key point from @hakeemjefferson.bsky.social. You can’t just be for rights or liberties for people you like or who you agree with or people you deem deserving. Believing in democracy means supporting rights for all.
I think a lot abt how marginalized people are expected to be perfect just to be treated w/ basic dignity, just to access legal protection. But democracy can’t mean rights for the respectable few. It has to mean fair and just treatment even for those seen as least deserving. That’s the real test.
April 19, 2025 at 12:22 AM
A key point from @hakeemjefferson.bsky.social. You can’t just be for rights or liberties for people you like or who you agree with or people you deem deserving. Believing in democracy means supporting rights for all.
Reposted by Tara White
Thanks to all who contributed to the special issue of Cerebral Cortex honoring my career
academic.oup.com/cercor/issue...
academic.oup.com/cercor/issue...
Volume 35 Issue 1 | Cerebral Cortex | Oxford Academic
Publishes papers on the development, organization, plasticity, and function of the cerebral cortex, including the hippocampus.
academic.oup.com
April 15, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Thanks to all who contributed to the special issue of Cerebral Cortex honoring my career
academic.oup.com/cercor/issue...
academic.oup.com/cercor/issue...
Reposted by Tara White
THIS IS ONE NEURON! Jaw dropping.
It distributes a particular neurotransmitter (norepinephrine) across the mouse brain; it’s a locus coeruleus neuron.
@jeremiahycohen.bsky.social and colleagues at the @alleninstitute.bsky.social are using new biotech to see things never seen before.
It distributes a particular neurotransmitter (norepinephrine) across the mouse brain; it’s a locus coeruleus neuron.
@jeremiahycohen.bsky.social and colleagues at the @alleninstitute.bsky.social are using new biotech to see things never seen before.
April 15, 2025 at 4:21 PM
THIS IS ONE NEURON! Jaw dropping.
It distributes a particular neurotransmitter (norepinephrine) across the mouse brain; it’s a locus coeruleus neuron.
@jeremiahycohen.bsky.social and colleagues at the @alleninstitute.bsky.social are using new biotech to see things never seen before.
It distributes a particular neurotransmitter (norepinephrine) across the mouse brain; it’s a locus coeruleus neuron.
@jeremiahycohen.bsky.social and colleagues at the @alleninstitute.bsky.social are using new biotech to see things never seen before.