Austin Peña
faustinpena.bsky.social
Austin Peña
@faustinpena.bsky.social
Reposted by Austin Peña
The 80-year recipe stoking America’s Prosperity:

1) Free-market capital investments in brilliant ideas…
2) enabled by Engineering Innovations…
3) based on Science Research in Universities…
4) funded by Grants from the US Government.

It’s time more people understood this.
May 17, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Austin Peña
The pact of the federal govt with universities was not a handout. It was a strategic decision to boost US leadership in technology, defense, and health. And it paid dividends. In tech, internet, in cancer drugs (for example), No other sector has invested in high risk high reward ideas like US govt.
May 10, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Reposted by Austin Peña
🔔BREAKING🔔

The NSF has frozen all research grant awards—cutting off life-saving science midstream and demanding ideological screenings for future funding.

This is censorship disguised as oversight.

Here’s how you can help us spread the word ➡️🧵(1/3):
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones
US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.
www.nature.com
May 2, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Reposted by Austin Peña
Almost every line of this story would have been simply unbelievable a few months ago:

—Pioneering cancer researcher;
—*Arrested* at airport in Boston;
—Now indefinite ICE detention in Louisiana;
—"Crime": not declaring some frog-embryo samples for research.

Read it.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
New images could change cancer diagnostics, but ICE detained the Harvard scientist who analyzes them
Without scientist Kseniia Petrova’s expertise, no one can fully unlock the data’s potential, putting crucial advancements in early cancer detection at risk.
www.nbcnews.com
April 22, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Reposted by Austin Peña
Published an op-ed for @cnn.com: “Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger.”
A personal reflection on what’s at stake as science funding gets slashed. I’d be grateful if you could amplify both in and beyond the science world.
www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h...
Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger | CNN
Dr. Ardem Patapoutian says he watches “with deep sadness as the United States’ remarkable scientific enterprise, which took generations of hard work and national investment to build, faces a concerted...
www.cnn.com
April 9, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by Austin Peña
Reposted by Austin Peña
It appears this is the fourth worst back to back day for the DJIA in American history with a two day combined -8.65% loss, only trailing the 1929 crash, 1987 Black Monday, and the 2008 crisis.
April 4, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Reposted by Austin Peña
Those trying to understand the tariffs as economic policy are dangerously naive.

No, the tariffs are a tool to collapse our democracy. A means to compel loyalty from every business that will need to petition Trump for relief.

1/ A 🧵 to explain his plan and how we fight back.
April 3, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Reposted by Austin Peña
It’s stunning to me that the New York Times did not put the story on the bloodbath at the NIH, CDC, and FDA on its front page this morning.
April 2, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Austin Peña
Collecting my thoughts at the end of one of the worst days of my life...

At NIH, > 1300 people were RIFed. These range all across the board from institute directors to low level administrative staff.

Communication staff and procurement appear to be hardest hit as anticipated from the HHS plan

1/n
April 2, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Reposted by Austin Peña
“It really is quite chilling,” one of the scientists said. “They are controlling information, causing chaos, disrupting everyone, keeping us off-balance.”

“Whatever people are reading in newspapers, it’s 10 times worse,” the scientist added. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/h...
‘Chaos and Confusion’ at the N.I.H., the Crown Jewel of American Science
Senior scientists at the National Institutes of Health fear that research on conditions like obesity, heart disease and cancer will be undermined by President Trump’s policies.
www.nytimes.com
March 24, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by Austin Peña
From 2010 to 2016 (latest data I have ), NIH research contributed to EVERY drug approved by the FDA
March 22, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Reposted by Austin Peña
The question is no longer if EVs are going to dominate the future. That’s fairly obvious. The question is now if the US is going to have any role in that market. Right now, it’s not looking promising. heatmap.news/electric-veh...
Why BYD Keeps Shocking the World
The Chinese carmaker says it can charge EVs in 5 minutes. Can America ever catch up?
heatmap.news
March 19, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Scientists COULD pursue careers that pay WAY more, but CHOOSE to get paid less to help people, subsidizing the cost of scientific advancement. Great “trade” for Americans…

“You don’t take these jobs that pay worse and have insane hours and are really stressful unless you care about helping others”
March 16, 2025 at 1:08 PM