Conflicting Directives Sow Confusion For NIH Workers | The Mycobiome

11 snips

Feb 28, 2025

Katherine J. Wu, a Staff writer for The Atlantic, sheds light on the turmoil at the NIH, where conflicting directives confuse federal workers amid stalled grant funding. Mahmoud Ghannoum, a microbiologist, dives into the mycobiome, emphasizing the crucial role fungi play in our health. They discuss how fungi interact with bacteria to influence diseases like Crohn's and the rising concerns of antifungal resistance. The conversation also touches on exciting updates in science, including the potential for a woman to break the four-minute mile.

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INSIGHT

Turmoil at NIH

The NIH is experiencing significant internal conflict due to conflicting directives regarding grant funding.
Workers are torn between following leadership, legal advice, and their duty to the public.

ANECDOTE

Unconventional Acting Director

The NIH's acting director, Matt Memoli, a flu researcher, was chosen unusually.
He has reportedly criticized COVID vaccine mandates and DEI initiatives.

INSIGHT

Grant-Making Disrupted

NIH grant-making is severely disrupted, operating at a much slower pace.
This disruption affects biomedical research domestically and internationally.

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The acting head of the NIH reportedly pushed back against legal guidance to resume grant funding, leaving federal workers in the lurch. Also, though fungi make up a tiny part of the human microbiome, they play an important role in both the prevention and development of many diseases.

Cuts And Conflicting Directives Sow Confusion For NIH Workers

Just over a month after President Trump’s inauguration, federal science in the US is in a state of disarray. Executive orders to halt grant funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have faced court challenges. Last week, a federal judge extended a restraining order on a proposal to cap NIH grant funding for indirect costs, costs that experts say are critical to their work. But according to new reporting, staff within the NIH have been left without clear guidance about moving forward with those grants, with the NIH’s acting director reportedly pushing back against legal guidance from the agency’s lawyers to restart distribution of the funding.

Host Flora Lichtman is joined by Katherine J. Wu, staff writer for The Atlantic, who reported on the turmoil at the NIH. They also talk about other science news of the week, including an update on the measles outbreak in Texas, how to see every planet in the solar system this week, and how scientists think runner Faith Kipeygon could be the first woman to break a four-minute mile.

You’ve Heard Of The Microbiome—Welcome To The Mycobiome

You’ve heard of the microbiome, the community of bacteria, viruses, archaea parasites, and fungi that live in our bodies. But that last member of the group, fungi, get a lot less attention than the others. And perhaps that’s unsurprising. After all, bacteria outnumber fungi 999 to 1 in our guts.

But now, scientists are beginning to piece together just how important fungi truly are. Disruption in the fungal balance can play a role in the development of Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel disease, celiac disease, colorectal cancer, some skin diseases, and more.

Host Flora Lichtman talks with Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum, microbiologist and professor at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, who has dedicated his career to studying the fungi in our bodies, and coined the term mycobiome over a decade ago.

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