This op-ed details how the billionaires now destroying basic science at our universities built their fortunes on its breakthroughs. They're aggressively moving to deny others the very foundation that made their own successes possible. nytimes.com/2025/04/28/opi…

“Undermining the future of American science is not a path to accountability — it’s a path to decline.” In a powerful new piece, my colleague Daphna Shohamy explains how canceled grants are driving young scientists out of science—and out of the country. 🔗 statnews.com/2025/05/07/us-…

Excited to share that group member Riley Gentry will present a talk at #RNA2025 tomorrow! He’ll reveal how PIC-bound eIFs collaborate to drive mRNA loading during translation initiation. Don’t miss “The mechanism of mRNA activation” at 9 AM in the Translation Mechanisms plenary.

A blast from the past! The Gonzalez Group, circa 2008, celebrating our first publication! Check out much, much younger versions of, from left to right, Pallav Kosuri, yours truly, Sam Sternberg, Mike Englander, Jingyi Fei, Daniel MacDougall, Margaret Elvekrog, and Subasree Das!

Check out group member Meghna Maiti’s poster at #RNA2025! She’s presenting new findings on how frameshift-suppressor tRNAs exhibit altered dynamics in the ribosomal A site that modulate translocation and +1 frameshifting. Friday, 8–10 PM PT — she’s at P2-492!

“If things continue as they are, American science is ruined.” This isn’t sabotage from the outside — it’s self-inflicted. Cuts to research, visa bans, and closed doors to global talent are doing what an enemy of the US could only dream of. nytimes.com/2025/05/31/wor…

A Puerto Rican Ph.D. student. A first-gen scientist. Both lost NIH grants under vague “new priorities.” Nearly 2,500 projects and $1.6B in cut or stalled grants. No vote. No debate. Just science erased. nytimes.com/interactive/20…

This is what’s at stake. Students like Brandon — veterans, scientists, public servants — will be the collateral damage if this war on science and higher education continues.

Cool chemistry in the olfactory system! Using the classic moth pheromone system, we show that aldehyde ligands can be specifically recognized through covalent interactions with their ORs. Very proud of this work led by postdoc Sukjin Steve Jang in colab with Phil Cole at Harvard Medical School

Congrats, Sukjin Steve Jang, Josefina del Mármol, and team! Beautiful work! 🍾

Over 60 NIH staff are blowing the whistle on Trump’s assault on biomedical research — calling it unethical, illegal, and dangerous. Grants canceled. Trials halted. Science censored. This is a direct threat to public health. standupforscience.net/bethesda-decla…

Congrats, WilsonLab, Mankin_Vazquez_Lab, and the rest of the team! 🍾