Eight neuroscientists at different career stages spoke with The Transmitter about whether they plan to participate in the upcoming “Stand Up for Science” demonstrations across the United States on 7 March.

Some departments plan to shrink class sizes by 25 to 40 percent, and others may inadvertently accept more students than they can afford, according to the leaders of 21 top U.S. programs.

As diversity and inclusion funding initiatives crumble, we as neuroscientists need to change how we write grants, better communicate the economic benefits of our work and engage in constructive conflict when necessary.

Such a shift would “put us back in the dark ages in terms of our science,” says neuroscientist Anne Murphy, who helped to formulate the original policy.

The termination is one of more than 1,000 employee cuts at the U.S. agency this week.

Scientific data and independence are at risk. We need to work with community-driven services and university libraries to create new multi-country organizations that are resilient to political interference.

U.S. National Institutes of Health-related updates to the Federal Register, which are required for the scheduling of study sections and advisory councils, are on hold indefinitely, according to an email reviewed by The Transmitter.

Ten trainees spoke with The Transmitter about how the precarious state of U.S. federal funding is affecting their research and career plans.

“It’s hard to know what’s real,” says neuroscientist Josh Dubnau after a dizzying week in which diversity-related grant applications were pulled from study sections only to be reinstated five days later, among other reversals.

Postdoctoral researchers sponsored by the National Institutes of Health now toil longer than ever before, for less money. They are responding accordingly.

Programs that prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion in the field may be at risk, leaving researchers in a “holding pattern,” according to one grant recipient.

The knowledge gap between scientists, health-care professionals, policymakers and people with mental health conditions is growing, slowing the translation of basic science to new treatments. Like lawyers learning to present a case to the court, scientists should learn to educate nonscientists about their findings.