The US is home to only 3 of the top 25 universities globally in research impact (#3, #20, and #23).
In 2009, we were home to 15 out of 25, including the #1 spot.
It would be the unforced error of the century to scale back on our national investment in science now.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
A graph showing a linear decline in the number of NIH award from ~10000 to ~2500 as a function of increasing percentage of grants multi-year funded.
I have been modeling the impact of multi-year funding.
Based on fairly reasonable assumptions, 50% multi-year funding, the number of new and competing awards is anticipated to drop to approximately 6000 compared to 10,000 had there been no multi-year funding above the historical background rate.
I think that this is bigly important.
I fear that lots of other things may contribute (synergistically?) to the avoidance of "respectful confrontation" (as amazeballs dude Joe Weston teaches), but it all matters.
TY, @drsherrypagoto.bsky.social, for so clearly laying this out.
Is technology, especially social media, the very technology meant to connect us, eroding our social skills and driving us into social isolation?
I put this idea forth in my latest piece in @psychologytoday.com.
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shri...
Here’s how the NIH became the backbone of American research and a major driver of economic growth theconversation.com/how-the-nih-...
Should you marry within your political party? Probably.
Study shows that very few couples have dissimilar political ideologies (only 8%) and having dissimilar political ideologies is associated with lower relationship satisfaction.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39052389/
Does empathy make you less reasonable?
New study shows empathy and reasoning aren’t rivals – they work together.
"Each predicts more generous, far-reaching acts of assistance. And when they operate side by side, people tend to help in the fairest ways."
theconversation.com/empathy-and-...
Interesting work shows how AI chatbots are filling a human need for connection in those moments in life when a person simply doesn't have access to human connection---the 3am wakeup, the lonely marriage, the empty nest.
datasociety.net/points/all-t...
Thanks for sharing!
Three components of empathy: cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and compassionate empathy.
Most people have empathy...
but here's why you might not see it.
Why Does It Seem Like So Many People Lack Empathy?
Dr Sherry Pagoto @drsherrypagoto.bsky.social
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shri...
Our capacity for empathy is not static; it can vary depending on our circumstances.
Deepfakes are all over social media and AI is making them harder to spot than ever--we all need to have an extra critical eye.
Thank you @brittanywong.bsky.social for adding my two cents to this excellent piece on the problem of deep fakes and why we can expect this problem to get much worse.
I'm feeling grateful the Huff Post published this essay I wrote about the year that followed my lifelong best friend's passing from an aggressive lymphoma. 🙏
www.huffpost.com/entry/death-...
"Homo sapiens is by far the most intelligent species on the planet, and it simultaneously is the most deluded species. We are now creating a superintelligence, and there is every reason to think that it will be super deluded."
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
And let me put it this way, as a psychologist, I have never met someone with ASD who didn’t have a family member (usually dad but not always) who had it too or had similar behaviors even if never diagnosed.
Actually it’s largely genetic. Check this out: bsky.app/profile/drsh...
Meta-analysis of twin studies reveals autism is largely genetic. This was published 10 years ago, and yet here we are.
"We demonstrate that ASD is due to strong genetic effects. The meta‐analytic heritability estimates were substantial: 64–91%."
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Autism was only diagnosed in the 80's and 90's if it was severe, but then we got better at capturing less severe versions. So it seems like more people have autism but actually it is that we are catching more cases. A diagnosis is also necessary to qualify for services.
The Coalition of Autism Scientists have entered the chat:
“The data cited do not support the claim that Tylenol causes autism and leucovorin is a cure, and only stoke fear and falsely suggest hope where there is no simple answer.”
www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/aut...
Study in @jama.com reveals no link between Tylenol and autism:
"Acetaminophen use during pregnancy was not associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in sibling control analyses."
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Glad to see the NYT covering the undertreatment of obesity in men. This is a longstanding issue.
We are currently recruiting for a clinical trial of a digital weight loss program. Sign up here if interested: uchredcap.uchc.edu/redcap/surve...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/w...
California proposes $23B plan to fund scientific research at its universities.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/u...
I was excited to be part of this @aljazeera.com documentary on the harms of social media influencer culture.
It is in a 4-part docuseries on social media. Worth a watch!
Also great viewing for teens to help them avoid going down the social media rabbit hole.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl3K...
It definitely does! 😊
So sorry you lost your best friend. 💔 It’s a grief we don’t hear much about but it is so very real.
Thank you 😊 So true. A hundred million things.
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