Latest news with #researchcuts
E&E News
14-07-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
EPA cuts could stall ‘forever chemicals' progress
The Trump administration's planned cuts to EPA research and science could make it harder to discover new 'forever chemicals' and understand their risks to human health, three researchers who study the toxic compounds said last week. On a call with reporters, the researchers — Carla Ng, Julia Varshavsky and Alissa Cordner — criticized the administration's proposed reconfiguration of the Office of Research and Development and its plans to move EPA scientists into different agency offices. 'I think everybody agrees it would be devastating,' said Ng, an associate professor of engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Advertisement EPA has released few details to the public regarding its plans for the Office of Research and Development since March, when House Democrats leaked a memo indicating the Trump administration's plans to eliminate it. But agency officials told staff last month that the office — which had over 1,500 staffers at the start of the year — will soon be 'much smaller.'
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
EPA to launch program that lets people adopt its lab animals amid Trump cuts
The US Environmental Protection Agency is launching a new program to adopt some of its 20,000 lab animals in the wake of Trump administration plans to dramatically cut the regulator's research arm. The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer) non-profit obtained and revealed an EPA document announcing the adoption program. The document announced adoptions for zebrafish and rats from an EPA lab in North Carolina. It states: 'Adopt love. Save a life. Our adoption program has been approved. Would you like to adopt?' The move is part of the fallout from broad EPA cuts targeting toxicological and other basic research work that is largely being done by the agency's office of research and development. The office is being replaced with a much smaller 'office of applied science and environmental solutions', which, Peer wrote in a statement, is focused on shorter-term projects limited to 'statutorily required functions' instead of long-term research. The move is an 'ill-advised scientific self-lobotomy', said Kyla Bennett, science policy director with Peer and a former EPA attorney. 'Instead of developing a strategic plan for meeting its scientific needs, Trump's EPA has decided to largely abandon scientific research except when it is specifically mandated by law, thus embracing some short-term savings to its long-term detriment,' Bennett said. The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Trump administration is aiming to eliminate at least 1,000 EPA scientists, or approximately three-quarters of the office of research and development's staff. The plan, however, is on hold as a legal battle plays out. The agency uses rabbits, mice, rats and other animals primarily to test the safety of chemicals and other environmental pollutants. During Trump's first term, the EPA announced a plan to reduce animal testing by 30% by 2025 and end it altogether by 2035. The Biden EPA nixed those plans, and the agency now says it will not be bound by time limits, and is following 'the best available science', Bennett said. Researchers use zebrafish to test for toxic effects of some chemicals and pollutants because of the 'many similarities between the metabolism and physiological structures of zebrafish and humans, and the nervous system structure, blood-brain barrier function, and social behavior of zebrafish', according to a peer-reviewed study. Recent research looking into the toxic effects of common plastic chemicals and how they may disrupt humans' circadian rhythm used zebrafish in the research. The reduction in animal testing will 'make EPA even more dependent on research from chemical companies, which is often framed to mask, rather than identify, potential health and environmental risks', Bennett said. She added that eliminating animal research would make it more difficult for the agency to evaluate the toxicological effect of complex chemicals with several thousand variations, like Pfas. It would also kill research that relies on lab animals to understand the long-term effects of pollutants, such as particulate matter. 'The EPA is abandoning its status as a premier scientific organization,' Bennett said.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NIH Revolts: Scientists Decry Budget Cuts, RFK Jr. Political Interference, Warn Of Long-Term Public Health Damage
Over 340 current and recently terminated U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) employees have publicly protested the Trump administration's deep cuts to the agency's research budget. What Happened: Reuters noted that more than 60 NIH employees signed a letter, accusing NIH leadership — including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy — of allowing political interference to override scientific priorities. The stakes are high, they noted, citing how patient safety is at risk and public resources are wasted. Trending: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — Signatories claim in the letter that the agency has eliminated 2,100 research grants worth $9.5 billion and cut another $2.6 billion in research contracts since Trump took office in January. The letter, also addressed to NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and members of Congress, comes ahead of Bhattacharya's scheduled testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. The letter states that the cuts have halted clinical trials and left patients without oversight for experimental treatments or implanted devices. The employees told Reuters the terminated programs represented years of work and financial investment. They warned that the cuts were made without proper review, sometimes bypassing peer evaluations in favor of political It Matters: Bhattacharya said the letter mischaracterized NIH's recent policy directions. Citing internal staff reports, Reuters highlighted that the Trump administration has proposed slashing NIH's budget by $18 billion next year. This would reduce it by 40% to $27 billion. Nearly 5,000 NIH employees and contractors have already been laid off under Kennedy's restructuring of U.S. health agencies. In February, a complaint was filed arguing that 'Without relief from NIH's action, these institutions' cutting-edge work to cure and treat human disease will grind to a halt.' The lawsuit also mentioned, 'In issuing the Rate Change Notice, the NIH has also acted beyond its statutory authority and has failed to promulgate the change using notice and comment rulemaking.' In March, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) unveiled a sweeping restructuring plan to cut costs, streamline operations and refocus priorities. The restructuring will reduce the HHS workforce by 10,000 full-time employees, leading to annual savings of $1.8 billion. Through early retirements and other initiatives, the total number of employees will shrink from 82,000 to 62,000. Read Next: The average American couple has saved this much money for retirement — How do you compare? If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it? Image: Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article NIH Revolts: Scientists Decry Budget Cuts, RFK Jr. Political Interference, Warn Of Long-Term Public Health Damage originally appeared on
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NIH Revolts: Scientists Decry Budget Cuts, RFK Jr. Political Interference, Warn Of Long-Term Public Health Damage
Over 340 current and recently terminated U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) employees have publicly protested the Trump administration's deep cuts to the agency's research budget. What Happened: Reuters noted that more than 60 NIH employees signed a letter, accusing NIH leadership — including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy — of allowing political interference to override scientific priorities. The stakes are high, they noted, citing how patient safety is at risk and public resources are wasted. Trending: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — Signatories claim in the letter that the agency has eliminated 2,100 research grants worth $9.5 billion and cut another $2.6 billion in research contracts since Trump took office in January. The letter, also addressed to NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and members of Congress, comes ahead of Bhattacharya's scheduled testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. The letter states that the cuts have halted clinical trials and left patients without oversight for experimental treatments or implanted devices. The employees told Reuters the terminated programs represented years of work and financial investment. They warned that the cuts were made without proper review, sometimes bypassing peer evaluations in favor of political It Matters: Bhattacharya said the letter mischaracterized NIH's recent policy directions. Citing internal staff reports, Reuters highlighted that the Trump administration has proposed slashing NIH's budget by $18 billion next year. This would reduce it by 40% to $27 billion. Nearly 5,000 NIH employees and contractors have already been laid off under Kennedy's restructuring of U.S. health agencies. In February, a complaint was filed arguing that 'Without relief from NIH's action, these institutions' cutting-edge work to cure and treat human disease will grind to a halt.' The lawsuit also mentioned, 'In issuing the Rate Change Notice, the NIH has also acted beyond its statutory authority and has failed to promulgate the change using notice and comment rulemaking.' In March, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) unveiled a sweeping restructuring plan to cut costs, streamline operations and refocus priorities. The restructuring will reduce the HHS workforce by 10,000 full-time employees, leading to annual savings of $1.8 billion. Through early retirements and other initiatives, the total number of employees will shrink from 82,000 to 62,000. Read Next: The average American couple has saved this much money for retirement — How do you compare? If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it? Image: Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article NIH Revolts: Scientists Decry Budget Cuts, RFK Jr. Political Interference, Warn Of Long-Term Public Health Damage originally appeared on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Recursion Pharmaceuticals Stock Plummeted 24% This Week
The results of a recent survey released Tuesday showed President Trump's actions are likely to make it harder for biotech companies like Recursion to raise capital. The company reported less-than-stellar earnings yesterday and announced it was ending the development of a significant portion of its pipeline. 10 stocks we like better than Recursion Pharmaceuticals › Shares of Recursion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RXRX) fell this week. The stock lost 24% as of market close on Friday. The move comes as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both slipped slightly. Recursion revealed disappointing first-quarter earnings on Monday and announced it would pare down its development pipeline. Recursion was also hit by a survey revealing that the biotech industry expects President Donald Trump's federal research cuts will make raising capital more challenging. Recursion reported an earnings-per-share (EPS) loss of $0.50 on sales of $14.75 million. While the former ever so slightly beat Wall Street's expectations, the top-line figure was below the forecast of $14.98 million. The company also announced it was ending research on a significant portion of its pipeline in order to cut costs. The Trump administration has taken aim at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which provides research dollars for biomedical research, as well as major research universities and other science organizations. A survey released Tuesday revealed that a majority of biotech leaders polled believed these cuts would make raising capital harder. Recursion is still heavily investing in research and development and operates deep in the red. It will likely need outside funding to continue long-term and reach a point where its investments pay off. While Recursion's novel use of AI is promising and could lead to lucrative breakthroughs, there is a lot of uncertainty here. This is definitely a stock for aggressive, risk-tolerant investors. If that's you, Recursion could pay off, but it will take time, and there are no guarantees. Before you buy stock in Recursion Pharmaceuticals, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Recursion Pharmaceuticals wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $617,181!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $719,371!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 909% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 163% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 5, 2025 Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Recursion Pharmaceuticals Stock Plummeted 24% This Week was originally published by The Motley Fool
