Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
@needhibhalla.bsky.social
Cell biologist and geneticist, Professor, mom and consumer of alcohol. Those might all be related. I grind til I own it.
She/her/hers.
ORCID: 0000-0002-6859-0073
personal account
She/her/hers.
ORCID: 0000-0002-6859-0073
personal account
Pinned
Scaling back DEI programmes and the loss of scientific talent
Nature Cell Biology - Programmes that support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in science are under attack in the USA. Data indicate that diversity in the scientific workforce increases...
www.nature.com
@joann-trejo.bsky.social, @marymunson4.bsky.social and I have a commentary in @natcellbio.nature.com on recent attacks on DEI in biomedical research: "If scientific research, especially biomedical research, is meant to serve everyone, then it requires that everyone has an opportunity to participate"
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
NEW: Jenna Norton, an NIH employee who is openly critical of Trump & RFK Jr, has been put on "non-disciplinary" administrative leave. She says the administration is trying to "scare and silence me." An HHS official, asked to comment, called her a radical leftist.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
N.I.H. Worker Who Criticized Trump Health Policies Says She Is on Administrative Leave
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:56 AM
NEW: Jenna Norton, an NIH employee who is openly critical of Trump & RFK Jr, has been put on "non-disciplinary" administrative leave. She says the administration is trying to "scare and silence me." An HHS official, asked to comment, called her a radical leftist.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Regretfully (for the sake of the authors and journal staff), I have this morning declined an invitation to review for a @royalsociety.org journal because of the Society’s continued refusal to stand up for its values in dealing with Elon Musk FRS.
November 14, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Regretfully (for the sake of the authors and journal staff), I have this morning declined an invitation to review for a @royalsociety.org journal because of the Society’s continued refusal to stand up for its values in dealing with Elon Musk FRS.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
24hrs ~ 84k searches
November 14, 2025 at 2:42 AM
24hrs ~ 84k searches
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Banger of a new study #econtwitter #econsky shows exposure to a field-specific incidence of faculty sexual harassment ⬇️ degree completion in that discipline - for both men and women - 4 years later
November 11, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Banger of a new study #econtwitter #econsky shows exposure to a field-specific incidence of faculty sexual harassment ⬇️ degree completion in that discipline - for both men and women - 4 years later
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Black and Latino homeowners receive lower appraisals than white homeowners for comparable properties, a disparity that blocks access to mortgages and refinancing, and widens the racial wealth gap.
Black and Latino homeowners in Philly face discrimination when appraisers assess their properties
An unbiased appraisal is key to ensuring that homebuyers and those seeking to refinance a mortgage can do so under fair and equal conditions.
buff.ly
November 14, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Black and Latino homeowners receive lower appraisals than white homeowners for comparable properties, a disparity that blocks access to mortgages and refinancing, and widens the racial wealth gap.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
these emails infuriated me way more than i expected. here's us losing sleep over doing right by students, colleagues, community, losing our health, breaking our brains to do our best. there's them, these elite assholes ingratiating themselves with the most depraved, failing their way up as they go.
Importance: High
subj: An article for U (gift link)
i wrote ,,,,,, about jeff epstein. s emails.
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
subj: An article for U (gift link)
i wrote ,,,,,, about jeff epstein. s emails.
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
When QAnon Meets Veep
The dumb, abhorrent truth at the heart of the Epstein scandal
www.theatlantic.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:50 AM
these emails infuriated me way more than i expected. here's us losing sleep over doing right by students, colleagues, community, losing our health, breaking our brains to do our best. there's them, these elite assholes ingratiating themselves with the most depraved, failing their way up as they go.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
"Summers declined to comment on Wednesday beyond referring to previous remarks in which he acknowledged 'regretting my past associations with Mr. Epstein.' (...Summers is a contributing writer for The New York Times Opinion section.)"
They don't mention the IQ email
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
They don't mention the IQ email
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
Epstein Bantered Regularly With Larry Summers
www.nytimes.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:06 PM
"Summers declined to comment on Wednesday beyond referring to previous remarks in which he acknowledged 'regretting my past associations with Mr. Epstein.' (...Summers is a contributing writer for The New York Times Opinion section.)"
They don't mention the IQ email
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
They don't mention the IQ email
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Prohibited activities include advising Chinese graduate students. For reference, a recent Georgetown report estimated 16% of STEM graduate students in the US are Chinese nationals.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Prohibited activities include advising Chinese graduate students. For reference, a recent Georgetown report estimated 16% of STEM graduate students in the US are Chinese nationals.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
@jenna-m-norton.bsky.social has more integrity and spine than the entire HHS "leadership"
In a video, Norton confirms the news and says: "I strongly suspect it is because I have been speaking up in my personal capacity about the harms I have been witnessing inside the NIH.
Putting me on admin leave was designed to scare and silence me. I will not stop speaking out," she says.
Putting me on admin leave was designed to scare and silence me. I will not stop speaking out," she says.
I guess I am hitting a nerve, because they just put me on admin leave.
TikTok video by Jenna
www.tiktok.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:30 AM
@jenna-m-norton.bsky.social has more integrity and spine than the entire HHS "leadership"
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
An anonymous HHS official tells @sherylnyt.bsky.social why she was placed on leave:
Norton is "a radical leftist and said she was put on leave because she was criticizing the administration when she was supposed to be working."
(gift link)
Norton is "a radical leftist and said she was put on leave because she was criticizing the administration when she was supposed to be working."
(gift link)
N.I.H. Worker Who Criticized Trump Health Policies Says She Is on Administrative Leave
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:25 AM
An anonymous HHS official tells @sherylnyt.bsky.social why she was placed on leave:
Norton is "a radical leftist and said she was put on leave because she was criticizing the administration when she was supposed to be working."
(gift link)
Norton is "a radical leftist and said she was put on leave because she was criticizing the administration when she was supposed to be working."
(gift link)
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Can confirm. I am okay and more motivated than ever to speak up.
Nothing scares this administration more. Their power lies in our silence.
Nothing scares this administration more. Their power lies in our silence.
NIH program officer @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social has been placed on admin leave, sources say.
Norton has been outspoken about the Trump administration's dismantling of science, and she signed the Bethesda Declaration.
Bhattacharya has said that "science is dead without free speech".
Norton has been outspoken about the Trump administration's dismantling of science, and she signed the Bethesda Declaration.
Bhattacharya has said that "science is dead without free speech".
November 14, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Can confirm. I am okay and more motivated than ever to speak up.
Nothing scares this administration more. Their power lies in our silence.
Nothing scares this administration more. Their power lies in our silence.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Let's talk about the Burgess Shale, and the crazy animals it tells us about.
It's a formation in Yoho Natl. Park (and others) in the Canadian Rockies near the town of Field, BC.
It's made of mudstone (type of shale), deposited 508 MYA, in the middle Cambrian.
It's a formation in Yoho Natl. Park (and others) in the Canadian Rockies near the town of Field, BC.
It's made of mudstone (type of shale), deposited 508 MYA, in the middle Cambrian.
November 8, 2023 at 1:19 AM
Let's talk about the Burgess Shale, and the crazy animals it tells us about.
It's a formation in Yoho Natl. Park (and others) in the Canadian Rockies near the town of Field, BC.
It's made of mudstone (type of shale), deposited 508 MYA, in the middle Cambrian.
It's a formation in Yoho Natl. Park (and others) in the Canadian Rockies near the town of Field, BC.
It's made of mudstone (type of shale), deposited 508 MYA, in the middle Cambrian.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:03 AM
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
“Hello, yes, can we assign a passage from To Kill A Mockingbird? Yes, I’ll hold”
November 14, 2025 at 1:53 AM
“Hello, yes, can we assign a passage from To Kill A Mockingbird? Yes, I’ll hold”
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Join @blackskyweb.xyz for “Digital Misogynoir + How to Report it on Blacksky” 11/14, 7PMEST on @stream.place. This event is part of @raceforward.org + CTWO’s Cultural Week of Action on Race and Democracy!
#CWA25 #LiberatoryLeadership #CTWOxRACEFORWARD
#CWA25 #LiberatoryLeadership #CTWOxRACEFORWARD
November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Join @blackskyweb.xyz for “Digital Misogynoir + How to Report it on Blacksky” 11/14, 7PMEST on @stream.place. This event is part of @raceforward.org + CTWO’s Cultural Week of Action on Race and Democracy!
#CWA25 #LiberatoryLeadership #CTWOxRACEFORWARD
#CWA25 #LiberatoryLeadership #CTWOxRACEFORWARD
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
In search of freelance reporters who cover space. Email me!
November 14, 2025 at 1:40 AM
In search of freelance reporters who cover space. Email me!
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Conservatives claim that structural racism does not exist while simultaneously creating innovative new forms of structural racism like banning discussions of the concept.
Texas A&M Tightens Rules on Talking About Race and Gender in Classes www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
“The policy defines race ideology as, among other things, ‘a concept that attempts to shame a particular race or ethnicity.’”
These GOP-led efforts will ruin their states’ public universities. Sad!
“The policy defines race ideology as, among other things, ‘a concept that attempts to shame a particular race or ethnicity.’”
These GOP-led efforts will ruin their states’ public universities. Sad!
Texas A&M Tightens Rules on Talking About Race and Gender in Classes
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Conservatives claim that structural racism does not exist while simultaneously creating innovative new forms of structural racism like banning discussions of the concept.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
I don't want to overstate one rep's off-hand remark, but at least in this instance, it's a notable departure, offered amidst a serious and consequential political dispute. We'll see if there's a there, there, come January, when the next full-court press to gut the DGCL to benefit billionaires hits.
November 14, 2025 at 1:46 AM
I don't want to overstate one rep's off-hand remark, but at least in this instance, it's a notable departure, offered amidst a serious and consequential political dispute. We'll see if there's a there, there, come January, when the next full-court press to gut the DGCL to benefit billionaires hits.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
I am legit shocked to see a "if we invest in healthcare & education, businesses will benefit" view articulated by a Delaware Democratic Party leader. It's not that DelDems don't support social services – they do – but they *NEVER* frame ordinary consumers & workers as agents of economic growth.
November 14, 2025 at 1:42 AM
I am legit shocked to see a "if we invest in healthcare & education, businesses will benefit" view articulated by a Delaware Democratic Party leader. It's not that DelDems don't support social services – they do – but they *NEVER* frame ordinary consumers & workers as agents of economic growth.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
2) In defending the bill, House Majority Leader Rep. Harris outlined a quite unusual – for Delaware – theory of economic development.
Specifically, she argued for what a Keynesian view, not a neoliberal model, of econ growth:
" 'We help businesses by helping people first,' Harris said."
Specifically, she argued for what a Keynesian view, not a neoliberal model, of econ growth:
" 'We help businesses by helping people first,' Harris said."
November 14, 2025 at 1:38 AM
2) In defending the bill, House Majority Leader Rep. Harris outlined a quite unusual – for Delaware – theory of economic development.
Specifically, she argued for what a Keynesian view, not a neoliberal model, of econ growth:
" 'We help businesses by helping people first,' Harris said."
Specifically, she argued for what a Keynesian view, not a neoliberal model, of econ growth:
" 'We help businesses by helping people first,' Harris said."
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
(This is notable because **usually** in Delaware BOTH parties parrot the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce lines, exactly; so this marks a major departure for DelDems, in who they are deciding to attribute authority to; in this case, not self-interested businessmen, but unaccountable technocrats)
November 14, 2025 at 1:33 AM
(This is notable because **usually** in Delaware BOTH parties parrot the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce lines, exactly; so this marks a major departure for DelDems, in who they are deciding to attribute authority to; in this case, not self-interested businessmen, but unaccountable technocrats)
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
In a strict party-line vote in a special session, the Democratic majority of the DE House passed HB 255 (as amended), the bill that "decouples" the state tax code from the the federal code, thereby voiding massive corporate income tax breaks MAGA packed into the one major bill Congress has passed.
House passes potential patch for $400 million deficit triggered by 'Big Beautiful Bill'
The bill, which would separate parts of Delaware's tax code from federal tax breaks, has cleared the House.
www.delawareonline.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:27 AM
In a strict party-line vote in a special session, the Democratic majority of the DE House passed HB 255 (as amended), the bill that "decouples" the state tax code from the the federal code, thereby voiding massive corporate income tax breaks MAGA packed into the one major bill Congress has passed.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
ok maybe the craziest thing about these epstein emails is how many of them are still emailing like this after october 2016 and the wikileaks dnc emails
November 13, 2025 at 5:10 PM
ok maybe the craziest thing about these epstein emails is how many of them are still emailing like this after october 2016 and the wikileaks dnc emails
"Racism has a cost and it's your face!"
when I tell you that listening to the first 10 minutes of #VibeCheck made my day yesterday a WHOLE lot easier to handle: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/v...
when I tell you that listening to the first 10 minutes of #VibeCheck made my day yesterday a WHOLE lot easier to handle: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/v...
November 14, 2025 at 1:47 AM
"Racism has a cost and it's your face!"
when I tell you that listening to the first 10 minutes of #VibeCheck made my day yesterday a WHOLE lot easier to handle: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/v...
when I tell you that listening to the first 10 minutes of #VibeCheck made my day yesterday a WHOLE lot easier to handle: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/v...