Science in Action – “Columbia Cuts and ‘Transgender Mice’”

BBC World Service | March 20, 2025 | Host: Roland Pease

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the ongoing turbulence in US scientific research funding, instigated by political decisions around campus activism at Columbia University and the politicization of health research, notably around hormone studies in animals. Alongside these key stories, the episode highlights significant scientific developments, including breathtaking new data from ESA’s Euclid Space Telescope and troubling news about the spread of H5N1 bird flu in Antarctica.

1. The Columbia University Funding Crisis

[02:45–10:32]

Background

• Hundreds of Columbia University researchers, including Dr. Kelton Minor, had their federal funding frozen—totalling $400 million—due to claims that the university failed to address antisemitism connected with Israel-Gaza campus activism.
• The NIH Early Independence Award fund, critical for early-career researchers like Minor, is among the terminated grants.

Key Discussion Points

• Shock and Uncertainty for Researchers

  • Dr. Kelton Minor shares the official and abrupt termination notice and reflects on the sudden career instability this creates:

    "In that moment, I felt a surreal sense of disbelief as it dawned upon me. This is my own government revoking access to the grant that I had rightfully won through a meritocratic process. And it felt darkly surreal and, to be frank, brutally unfair."
    —Kelton Minor [04:16]

  • His research lab and planned studies for the next five years are left in limbo.

• Research Impacted

  • The suspensions extend beyond politically sensitive topics:

    "Cancer epidemiology, diabetes management, schizophrenia treatment, environmental health, maternal health and pediatric health...have all come to a halt, in many cases leaving patients and those enrolled in clinical trials in limbo."
    —Kelton Minor [07:49]

  • Dr. Minor emphasizes that environmental, public, and medical health projects—many far removed from campus protests—are directly affected.

• Opaque Decision Process

  • The selection of terminated grants lacks transparency:

    "There are clear patterns and entire topics being dismantled. We all deserve to know what were the criteria that were used to select which grants to cancel and which researchers' futures to alter?"
    —Kelton Minor [09:15]

• Personal Position on Activism

  • Despite fund suspensions citing activism, Minor states plainly:

    "I have not been involved in the on-campus activism and protests."
    —Kelton Minor [09:57]

• Raises broader concerns about why critical research serving public welfare is politicized: > "Why is the government mainly terminating the medical, public and environmental health funding that keeps us all safe?"
  —Kelton Minor [10:15]

2. The “Transgender Mice” Controversy

[10:34–17:36]

Background

• President Trump, in a State of the Union address, derided "wasteful" NIH grants, notably citing "$8 million for making mice transgender."
• A White House clarification attempted to distinguish 'transgender' from 'transgenic,' but controversy and confusion persisted.
• Dr. Patricia Silvera, whose research was politically targeted, is interviewed.

Key Discussion Points

• Public and Personal Fallout

  • Dr. Silvera describes learning abruptly of her work's political targeting:

    "I started getting email after email...I googled my name and mice...I went back and watched a mini video of what he had said..."
    —Patricia Silvera [11:36]

  • Expresses concern over public misunderstanding and misrepresentation:

    "I don't appreciate the misrepresentation of some of what we do, especially with the general public, because it is taxpayers' money...They trust us to conduct research, to provide data that will help everyone."
    —Patricia Silvera [12:23]

• Clarifying the Research

  • Silvera’s research explores how hormone-driven gene regulation inside cells influences inflammation and asthma, using transgenic ('four core genotypes') mouse models:

    "These particular mice, they have a mutation...This mutation makes these animals have either female hormones or male hormones circulating in their blood."
    —Patricia Silvera [13:26]

  • She distinguishes biological sex from the social construct of gender:

    "The word gender is culturally defined...there could never be a mouse that is assigned a gender..."
    —Patricia Silvera [14:21]

  • While her work can inform provider care for transgender individuals, that is not its sole intent:

    "If somebody has the opposite hormone and their asthma gets worse, my research potentially could help them treat their asthma. But that's not the only purpose of this research."
    —Patricia Silvera [15:16]

• Significance for Public Health

  • Highlights that women are at higher risk and severity for asthma after puberty, likely due to hormones:

    "After puberty...there's always more women with asthma than men, almost twice as many.”
    —Patricia Silvera [15:42]

  • Experiences during pregnancy and menopause also support a hormone link for asthma severity.

• Concerns Over Politicization

  • Laments the impact when scientific work is swept into political narratives:

    "It is sad to hear that health is being politicized...I don't really like that this is taken out of context and making it sound like I'm playing with mice and just making them gendered or whatever they think I'm doing."
    —Patricia Silvera [16:41]

  • Asserts her ultimate goals:

    "I wake up every day and I go to the lab...with the end goal of helping people have a better life and better health."
    —Patricia Silvera [17:24]

3. Euclid Space Telescope: Mapping the Universe

[19:36–26:38]

Background

• The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid telescope, now a year into its mission, is producing extraordinary wide-field, high-resolution images to map the universe’s structure and probe dark matter and energy.
• ESA astronomer Valeria Peterini joins to discuss the science and what’s ahead.

Highlights and Insights

• Technical Feats

  • In only one week, Euclid generated 35 terabytes of data—a fraction of what’s planned over six years.

• Purpose and Discoveries

  • Euclid will map the full sky beyond our galaxy, with many uses:

    "Euclid has a very wide field of view. It will allow to map the geometry of the universe...in six years, and also have a very high resolution."
    —Valeria Peterini [20:11]

• First batch includes data for strong gravitational lensing (where gravity from matter bends light, distorting galaxy images): > "Here there is already 500 galaxy galaxy strong lensing candidates in the release that we have. And we expect to measure hundreds of thousands...by the end of the mission."
  —Valeria Peterini [22:49]

• Big Data Collaboration

  • The scale of data and international teamwork are unprecedented:

    "It's not about one single astronomer...We are talking of a mission that involves collaborations of almost three thousands of people..."
    —Valeria Peterini [25:38]

  • Daily data flows exceed 100 GB.

• Mapping the Cosmic Web

  • Aims to chart galaxies, voids, filaments, and explore dark matter's role in universe structure:

    "The exact positions, length, number of voids and filaments and galaxies...is what Euclid would measure."
    —Valeria Peterini [24:21]

4. H5N1 Bird Flu in Antarctica: Alarming Spread

[26:38–31:58]

Background

• The highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu, first reaching Antarctica last year, is now widespread.
• Spanish virologist Antonio Alcami shares results from this season’s expedition.

Key Updates

• Virus Found "Almost Everywhere"

  • Sampling across 14 species—flying birds, penguins, sea mammals:

    "We have confirmed the worst scenario. We have seen avian flu hypothogenicity almost everywhere."
    —Antonio Alcami [27:30]

• Both Live and Dead Animals Are Infected

  • Indicates active circulation of the virus within Antarctic fauna.

• Species-Specific Impact

  • Some species experience significant die-offs, e.g., 40–60 dead animals found at site, possibly 50% mortality in some groups.
  • Unexpected resilience in penguins — little observed mortality, possibly due to resistance or immunity.

• Unseen Toll Among Sea Mammals

  • Many sea mammal deaths likely go undetected, as carcasses can be lost at sea or on inaccessible ice.

• Challenges in Research

  • Six-week expedition, 27 sampling sites, but Antarctic vastness precludes exhaustive monitoring:

    "Still this expedition has a limitation, is you cannot sample every corner."
    —Antonio Alcami [30:38]

• Research Value and Funding Uncertainty

  • Antarctic provides a unique "natural laboratory" for studying virus adaptation and spread.
  • Alcami notes future work relies on uncertain funding—critical science is vulnerable to financial pressures.

Notable Quotes

"In that moment, I felt a surreal sense of disbelief as it dawned upon me. This is my own government revoking access to the grant that I had rightfully won through a meritocratic process."
—Kelton Minor [04:16]

"There could never be a mouse that is assigned a gender. The word gender is culturally defined...the description sounded like I could help people who were transgender—which is true—but that's not the only purpose of this research."
—Patricia Silvera [14:21], [15:16]

"We have seen avian flu hypothogenicity almost everywhere."
—Antonio Alcami [27:30]

Timeline of Key Segments

• [02:45] Columbia funding cuts: Dr. Kelton Minor’s experience
• [10:34] Trump’s “transgender mice” claim and Dr. Patricia Silvera’s research
• [19:36] Euclid telescope’s new astronomical data (Dr. Valeria Peterini)
• [26:38] H5N1 bird flu’s spread in Antarctica (Dr. Antonio Alcami)

Tone & Atmosphere

The episode combines somber reflection on the impact of politicized funding decisions with a sense of awe at scientific discovery (Euclid) and concern over unfolding environmental threats (bird flu). The voices of researchers are thoughtful yet passionate about the importance and integrity of their work, pushing back on political distortion and highlighting the societal value—and vulnerability—of public science.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

• This episode offers a rare look at how political action and rhetoric tangibly disrupt scientific careers, critical public health research, and international collaboration.
• It clarifies scientific issues at the heart of recent controversies (the nature of gender research in animals, the public value of behavioral science, the real aims of hormone studies) with clear, credible explanations from affected researchers.
• Listeners are treated to both the wonders of cutting-edge cosmology and sobering news about global health threats, all grounded in direct accounts from working scientists.