mal sarma, phd
@skyymal.bsky.social
Human Biologist • Asst Prof of Anthropology @Penn • Stress & Resilience in Extreme Environments • When the Going Gets Tough, How Do We Stay Going? ✨
Pinned
mal sarma, phd
@skyymal.bsky.social
· Nov 27
As folks are preparing for a joyful/stressful Thanksgiving holiday (in the US at least) and scrolling through their phones to avoid awkward small talk with relatives we’re now seeing again in this post(?) Covid era, I figured it’s time to introduce myself here!
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
🧪 BREAKING (good news): Senate subcommittee says NO! to Trump's proposed slashes to NASA & NSF funding.
Today, the subcommittee said to keep NASA + NSF funding at $33.9 billion, the same as in FY24.
See 7:15 below. Full Senate appropriations committee meets tomorrow about it.
🧵 1/3
Today, the subcommittee said to keep NASA + NSF funding at $33.9 billion, the same as in FY24.
See 7:15 below. Full Senate appropriations committee meets tomorrow about it.
🧵 1/3
Subcommittee Markup of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
www.appropriations.senate.gov
July 10, 2025 at 12:23 AM
🧪 BREAKING (good news): Senate subcommittee says NO! to Trump's proposed slashes to NASA & NSF funding.
Today, the subcommittee said to keep NASA + NSF funding at $33.9 billion, the same as in FY24.
See 7:15 below. Full Senate appropriations committee meets tomorrow about it.
🧵 1/3
Today, the subcommittee said to keep NASA + NSF funding at $33.9 billion, the same as in FY24.
See 7:15 below. Full Senate appropriations committee meets tomorrow about it.
🧵 1/3
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
Rage farmers are out in force this morning, deceptively recycling months-old news as #breaking for clicks. Don't let them manipulate you, outrage fatigue is real. Seeing the same outrage over & over can wear you down emotionally. Here's how to deal with it. www.scientificamerican.com/article/outr...
Feeling Outrage Fatigue at the News? These Tips May Help
Repeated exposure to outrage-inducing news or events can lead to emotional exhaustion. An expert who studies online outrage says there are ways to cope
www.scientificamerican.com
June 10, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Rage farmers are out in force this morning, deceptively recycling months-old news as #breaking for clicks. Don't let them manipulate you, outrage fatigue is real. Seeing the same outrage over & over can wear you down emotionally. Here's how to deal with it. www.scientificamerican.com/article/outr...
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
💕 these fellowship grants build science in America.
I got the NSF GRFP notification at 2am. I remember crying because it was the first hint that I might actually belong in science. That fellowship carried me through grad school and made my NIH policy internship possible. I wouldn’t be here without it.
#WithoutNSF
#WithoutNSF
May 4, 2025 at 3:26 AM
💕 these fellowship grants build science in America.
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
This is why Trump AND the Senate Republicans are a danger to all Americans:
They’ve allowed a man with no medical degree, medical training, or medical experience to be the federal government’s mouthpiece on health issues.
They’ve allowed a man with no medical degree, medical training, or medical experience to be the federal government’s mouthpiece on health issues.
RFK Jr: "We found that there's a direct inverse correlation between fluoride exposure and low IQ in children. So the more you get, the stupider you are."
May 1, 2025 at 12:49 PM
This is why Trump AND the Senate Republicans are a danger to all Americans:
They’ve allowed a man with no medical degree, medical training, or medical experience to be the federal government’s mouthpiece on health issues.
They’ve allowed a man with no medical degree, medical training, or medical experience to be the federal government’s mouthpiece on health issues.
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
Deaths from heart disease down 75%, that’s NIH.
Deaths from stroke down 75%, that’s NIH.
HIV/AIDS no longer a death sentence, that’s NIH.
99% of FDA approved drugs in the last decade, that’s NIH.
Please show this video to anyone who doesn’t understand why the NIH is so important.
Deaths from stroke down 75%, that’s NIH.
HIV/AIDS no longer a death sentence, that’s NIH.
99% of FDA approved drugs in the last decade, that’s NIH.
Please show this video to anyone who doesn’t understand why the NIH is so important.
April 28, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Deaths from heart disease down 75%, that’s NIH.
Deaths from stroke down 75%, that’s NIH.
HIV/AIDS no longer a death sentence, that’s NIH.
99% of FDA approved drugs in the last decade, that’s NIH.
Please show this video to anyone who doesn’t understand why the NIH is so important.
Deaths from stroke down 75%, that’s NIH.
HIV/AIDS no longer a death sentence, that’s NIH.
99% of FDA approved drugs in the last decade, that’s NIH.
Please show this video to anyone who doesn’t understand why the NIH is so important.
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
1/5 I am pleased to announce a new paper, based on a talk I gave last year at the annual meeting of the Human Biology Association. This link is open 4 a free read for a while but eventually it will get pay-walled because I can't afford open access. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Rethinking Gender/Sex Identity
Until quite recently, investigations of gender/sex development operated from a baseline assumption that gender/sex is dichotomous or binary. Most such studies constructed gender/sex outside of or adj....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
April 27, 2025 at 7:21 PM
1/5 I am pleased to announce a new paper, based on a talk I gave last year at the annual meeting of the Human Biology Association. This link is open 4 a free read for a while but eventually it will get pay-walled because I can't afford open access. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
Social movements are more likely to have success when three factors are present: elite conflict, shifting public opinion, and elite blunders.
Mass collective action can create the conditions for these factors to emerge and deepen.
Mass collective action can create the conditions for these factors to emerge and deepen.
April 27, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Social movements are more likely to have success when three factors are present: elite conflict, shifting public opinion, and elite blunders.
Mass collective action can create the conditions for these factors to emerge and deepen.
Mass collective action can create the conditions for these factors to emerge and deepen.
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
The return of diseases measles and whooping cough is not a failure of science or public health
It’s a failure of leadership and governance
It’s a failure of leadership and governance
April 27, 2025 at 1:22 AM
The return of diseases measles and whooping cough is not a failure of science or public health
It’s a failure of leadership and governance
It’s a failure of leadership and governance
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
"Sex Is a Spectrum will be important for introducing a
wide readership to the nuances of scientific
understandings of variability in sex and of
the biocultural constitution of humans, and
I believe that there is much for biologists to
appreciate in the book as well." www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
wide readership to the nuances of scientific
understandings of variability in sex and of
the biocultural constitution of humans, and
I believe that there is much for biologists to
appreciate in the book as well." www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The variable nature of sex
An anthropologist shows why we should think beyond the binary
www.science.org
April 25, 2025 at 12:02 PM
"Sex Is a Spectrum will be important for introducing a
wide readership to the nuances of scientific
understandings of variability in sex and of
the biocultural constitution of humans, and
I believe that there is much for biologists to
appreciate in the book as well." www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
wide readership to the nuances of scientific
understandings of variability in sex and of
the biocultural constitution of humans, and
I believe that there is much for biologists to
appreciate in the book as well." www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
Like so many of the trends of the 1880’s-1920’s, eugenics is on the rise. Scientists have a moral obligation to speak up.
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.
www.nature.com
April 24, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Like so many of the trends of the 1880’s-1920’s, eugenics is on the rise. Scientists have a moral obligation to speak up.
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
This is your regular reminder that executive orders are not royal decrees. Because America has no king.
April 24, 2025 at 2:26 PM
This is your regular reminder that executive orders are not royal decrees. Because America has no king.
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
Today in the USA, women are TWICE as likely to DIE giving birth than their mothers were a generation ago.
And TRUMP's War on Women continues with ending the landmark Women's Health Study: www.science.org/content/arti...
And TRUMP's War on Women continues with ending the landmark Women's Health Study: www.science.org/content/arti...
NIH cancels its first and largest study centered on women
The Women’s Health Initiative has produced numerous influential findings
www.science.org
April 23, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Today in the USA, women are TWICE as likely to DIE giving birth than their mothers were a generation ago.
And TRUMP's War on Women continues with ending the landmark Women's Health Study: www.science.org/content/arti...
And TRUMP's War on Women continues with ending the landmark Women's Health Study: www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
This is incredibly cool: if you search for a condition that’s affected your family, the site returns stats on how much NIH has done for that disease, *and* a contact form for reaching out to tell your Members of Congress why you want to see them defend NIH.
Pass it on!
Pass it on!
April 21, 2025 at 1:06 PM
This is incredibly cool: if you search for a condition that’s affected your family, the site returns stats on how much NIH has done for that disease, *and* a contact form for reaching out to tell your Members of Congress why you want to see them defend NIH.
Pass it on!
Pass it on!
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
One reason these “pronatalist” proposals won’t work is that they’re organised around a family model that is highly unusual & involves relatively novel gender roles.
Petition to have “traditional” family values renamed: Conservative? Novel? Unnatural…?
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Petition to have “traditional” family values renamed: Conservative? Novel? Unnatural…?
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
April 22, 2025 at 9:48 AM
One reason these “pronatalist” proposals won’t work is that they’re organised around a family model that is highly unusual & involves relatively novel gender roles.
Petition to have “traditional” family values renamed: Conservative? Novel? Unnatural…?
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Petition to have “traditional” family values renamed: Conservative? Novel? Unnatural…?
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
“Health and Human Services data show that some $373 million had already been spent on the 242 discontinued R01 grants”
Terminating grants partway through eliminates any possibility for return on investment. The result is not savings of public funds, but waste.
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
Terminating grants partway through eliminates any possibility for return on investment. The result is not savings of public funds, but waste.
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
NIH Grant Cuts Aren't Saving Money. They're Wasting It.
The Trump administration says the canceled funding is about cost efficiency, but data shows that the opposite is happening.
www.bloomberg.com
April 20, 2025 at 12:14 PM
“Health and Human Services data show that some $373 million had already been spent on the 242 discontinued R01 grants”
Terminating grants partway through eliminates any possibility for return on investment. The result is not savings of public funds, but waste.
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
Terminating grants partway through eliminates any possibility for return on investment. The result is not savings of public funds, but waste.
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
Last night was the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere's midnight ride to warn the Minutemen of approaching British troops.
I want to take a moment to share an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence's grievances against King George III.
Remind you of anyone?
I want to take a moment to share an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence's grievances against King George III.
Remind you of anyone?
April 19, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Last night was the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere's midnight ride to warn the Minutemen of approaching British troops.
I want to take a moment to share an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence's grievances against King George III.
Remind you of anyone?
I want to take a moment to share an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence's grievances against King George III.
Remind you of anyone?
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
Just a reminder:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lacks formal education or professional credentials in critical scientific fields such as biology, neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, immunology, virology, epidemiology, genetics, pharmacology, or medicine.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lacks formal education or professional credentials in critical scientific fields such as biology, neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, immunology, virology, epidemiology, genetics, pharmacology, or medicine.
April 17, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Just a reminder:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lacks formal education or professional credentials in critical scientific fields such as biology, neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, immunology, virology, epidemiology, genetics, pharmacology, or medicine.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lacks formal education or professional credentials in critical scientific fields such as biology, neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, immunology, virology, epidemiology, genetics, pharmacology, or medicine.
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
Call them what they are: robber barons. Billionaires are destroying the federal government so they can profit off deregulation and privatization. They're stealing from us only to sell it back as AI. And just like in the Gilded Age, they're blaming everything on immigrants, instead of class warfare.
April 17, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Call them what they are: robber barons. Billionaires are destroying the federal government so they can profit off deregulation and privatization. They're stealing from us only to sell it back as AI. And just like in the Gilded Age, they're blaming everything on immigrants, instead of class warfare.
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
MIT following Harvard's lead here
April 15, 2025 at 1:07 AM
MIT following Harvard's lead here
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
Keep the faith. Take action. Be honest about risk. Be prudent (with words, acquaintances, and technology).
@juliaangwin.com and @amifieldsmeyer.bsky.social distill the wisdom of elders and of the ages into a primer for The Opposition™️
Your weekend #mustread
@juliaangwin.com and @amifieldsmeyer.bsky.social distill the wisdom of elders and of the ages into a primer for The Opposition™️
Your weekend #mustread
Courage is contagious. But how do we catch it?
For months, @amifieldsmeyer.bsky.social and I have been asking dissidents and activists from around the world how we can topple authoritarianism.
We assembled their lessons into a field guide to courage.
www.newyorker.com/news/the-wee...
For months, @amifieldsmeyer.bsky.social and I have been asking dissidents and activists from around the world how we can topple authoritarianism.
We assembled their lessons into a field guide to courage.
www.newyorker.com/news/the-wee...
So You Want to Be a Dissident?
A practical guide to courage in Trump’s age of fear.
www.newyorker.com
April 12, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Keep the faith. Take action. Be honest about risk. Be prudent (with words, acquaintances, and technology).
@juliaangwin.com and @amifieldsmeyer.bsky.social distill the wisdom of elders and of the ages into a primer for The Opposition™️
Your weekend #mustread
@juliaangwin.com and @amifieldsmeyer.bsky.social distill the wisdom of elders and of the ages into a primer for The Opposition™️
Your weekend #mustread
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
BREAKING: The country of Norway just entered a bill to give transgender Americans asylum in the country of Norway…
LGBTQ+ STRONG! 🌈✨
LGBTQ+ STRONG! 🌈✨
April 10, 2025 at 11:45 PM
BREAKING: The country of Norway just entered a bill to give transgender Americans asylum in the country of Norway…
LGBTQ+ STRONG! 🌈✨
LGBTQ+ STRONG! 🌈✨
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
NO THEY ARE NOT DIRE WOLVES.
These animals do not have their ecosystem to return to.
These animals do not have a real pack to rear them.
And DO NOT BE BAMBOOZLED- storing and archiving animal's genetic material is NOT an effective bulwark against the human-driven planetary extinction crisis.
These animals do not have their ecosystem to return to.
These animals do not have a real pack to rear them.
And DO NOT BE BAMBOOZLED- storing and archiving animal's genetic material is NOT an effective bulwark against the human-driven planetary extinction crisis.
a couple of wolves are playing with each other on the ground .
Alt: a couple of wolves are playing with each other on the ground .
media.tenor.com
April 8, 2025 at 1:08 PM
NO THEY ARE NOT DIRE WOLVES.
These animals do not have their ecosystem to return to.
These animals do not have a real pack to rear them.
And DO NOT BE BAMBOOZLED- storing and archiving animal's genetic material is NOT an effective bulwark against the human-driven planetary extinction crisis.
These animals do not have their ecosystem to return to.
These animals do not have a real pack to rear them.
And DO NOT BE BAMBOOZLED- storing and archiving animal's genetic material is NOT an effective bulwark against the human-driven planetary extinction crisis.
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
Don’t be overwhelmed
Just do #OneThing each day to
Build community
Stand up against evil
Love your neighbor
Serve the oppressed
Show compassion
Advance justice
Defend democracy
Spread joy
Today=not one but two art parties
Just do #OneThing each day to
Build community
Stand up against evil
Love your neighbor
Serve the oppressed
Show compassion
Advance justice
Defend democracy
Spread joy
Today=not one but two art parties
April 7, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Don’t be overwhelmed
Just do #OneThing each day to
Build community
Stand up against evil
Love your neighbor
Serve the oppressed
Show compassion
Advance justice
Defend democracy
Spread joy
Today=not one but two art parties
Just do #OneThing each day to
Build community
Stand up against evil
Love your neighbor
Serve the oppressed
Show compassion
Advance justice
Defend democracy
Spread joy
Today=not one but two art parties
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
Fear has a way of being contagious.
But courage is also contagious.
But courage is also contagious.
April 7, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Fear has a way of being contagious.
But courage is also contagious.
But courage is also contagious.
Reposted by mal sarma, phd
Another must-read book from @anthrofuentes.bsky.social
Bringing clarity & reason to a contentious issue, Sex Is a Spectrum shares a scientist’s perspective on why a binary view of sex & gender is not only misguided but harmful, & why there are multitudes of ways of being human.
Out May 6: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco... @anthrofuentes.bsky.social
Out May 6: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco... @anthrofuentes.bsky.social
April 7, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Another must-read book from @anthrofuentes.bsky.social