Next Week in Science, January 24, 2024

by Jon Scaccia January 24, 2025

Obviously, the big news this week is about policy.

Recent actions by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have raised significant concerns among researchers and public health professionals. NIH study sections, where funding decisions are made, were abruptly canceled with limited explanation.

Further memo instructed federal health agencies, including NIH and CDC, to suspend external communications pending approval by political appointees. This sudden halt has disrupted timelines for critical biomedical research and stoked fears of political interference in health and scientific decision-making, echoing concerns from prior political appointee alterations to agency reports.

The implications of these restrictions, well, it’s not great. Alongside the historical context of political influence, there are going to be potential challenges to scientific autonomy and transparency in federally funded research.

We’ll be watching.

Here’s what’s coming up next week.

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