This is what a war on knowledge looks like
On the wall of Ulrich Mueller's neurobiology lab at Johns Hopkins University is a map with pins that show all the different countries where his research fellows were born. It's a visual representation of what makes American science so powerful — and why that primacy is threatened.
'The brightest minds from around the world are drawn to conduct research here,' Mueller proudly told an interviewer for a campus journal last month. The freedom and diversity of American higher education have operated like a magnet, attracting the world's most brilliant minds and spinning off trillions of dollars in wealth.
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Forbes
22 minutes ago
- Forbes
What Are The Best Wildflowers To Attract Bees?
Not all commercial wildflower seed mixes are created equal in the eyes of our insect overlords. Now that summer has finally arrived, people are planting wildflower seed mixes to attract and support the dwindling number and variety of wild bees and other beneficial insect pollinators. Some of us create our own wildflower seed mixes whilst others purchase ready-made commercial seed mixes. Additionally, annual flowering seed mixes are often planted and grown in public gardens, parks, along roadsides, in traffic verges and in other urban areas. Farmers sometimes plant these mixes alongside food crops to enhance pollination. But some of the flower species included in these mixes may not be the most pollinator-friendly. So this raises the question: which wildflowers species are best for supporting our struggling insect friends? Is it best to plant native wildflowers seeds instead of non-natives? Should seed mixes contain only flowering plants, or is including some non-flowering plants in the mix also helpful? An international collaboration of scientists based at institutions throughout the UK and Denmark pondered these same questions. To find some answers, they surveyed 477 scientific papers, field tested four commercially available seed mixes and then developed and field tested two novel experimental wildflower seed mixes of their own by counting the numbers of beneficial pollinators – bumblebees, solitary bees and hoverflies – that visited the wildflowers. It's important to remember that ensuring a continuous and overlapping supply of flowers is essential to supporting a diverse population of wild pollinators, by accommodating different forage preferences and flight periods of different pollinator species. And of course, one mustn't forget the human factor: some of these wildflower seed mixes were simply more aesthetically pleasing to the public. Perhaps surprisingly, the study revealed that seed mixes containing non-native flowering plants along with native species had higher establishment rates and longer flowering periods. The study also finds that of those seed mixes that attracted pollinating insects in higher numbers, a small number of key wildflower species were visited frequently, and these preferred flower species differed between pollinator groups. But because many urban areas are more alike than they are different, are these 'best wildflower' species the same across urban areas in, say, the United States, Canada or Australia? 'The study was carried out in the UK, so the list of species is most appropriate for northern Europe,' the study's senior author, botanist Natasha de Vere, told me in email. Professor de Vere is Professor and Curator of Botany at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, where she is an expert on plant-pollinator interactions and the link between biodiversity and human well-being. That said, Professor de Vere and collaborators are still testing their novel wildflower seed mixes in different climates. 'We have just planted one of our seed mixes at the Natural History Museum of Denmark in the Botanical Garden so we can see how well it does in the Danish climate,' Professor de Vere explained in email. Do wildflower seed mixes provide everything that wild pollinators need? 'Annual seed mixes can provide a beautiful and colourful display of flowers in gardens and parks that can help to provide nectar and pollen for pollinators,' Professor de Vere replied in email. 'But seed mixes cannot replace abundant flowering plants within the wider landscape and it is important to think about all the needs of pollinators. As well as sufficient flowers through the year, bees need suitable habitat for foraging such as hollow cavities, bare ground and a range of grass height." You mentioned hoverflies in your study. Do hoverflies have different needs from bees? 'The larvae of different hoverfly species can have very different needs: some are predators on plants, whilst some need ponds or decaying wood,' Professor de Vere said in email. The larvae of other hoverflies are voracious predators of common pest insects, such as aphids. Keeping in mind the sensitivities of bees and the appetites of hoverfly larvae, it is strongly recommended not to use either herbicides or pesticides because these chemicals poison and kill the very insects we are working to protect and support. Based on their findings, the study's authors recommend adding these annual 'pollinator-friendly' wildflower seeds to your mixes to attract and support a variety of beneficial pollinating insects: Lucy Witter, Laura Jones, Abigail Lowe, Will Ritchie, Peter Dennis, Gemma Beatty, and Natasha de Vere (2025). The pick of the plot: An evidence-based approach for selecting and testing suitable plants to use in annual seed mixes to attract insect pollinators, Plants, People, Planet | doi:10.1002/ppp3.70041 © Copyright by GrrlScientist | hosted by Forbes | Socials: Bluesky | CounterSocial | LinkedIn | Mastodon Science | MeWe | Spoutible | SubStack | Threads | Tumblr | Twitter
CNN
25 minutes ago
- CNN
Why Tesla now needs the EV tax credit that Musk once said should go away
It wasn't long ago that Tesla CEO Elon Musk was advocating for ending the $7,500 tax credit for buyers of electric vehicles. 'Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla,' he said in a post on his social media platform X last year, adding 'Also remove the subsidies from all industries!' But now, with House budget and tax bill known as the 'big, beautiful bill' proposing to end that tax credit, he and Tesla are suddenly arguing for the continuation of those same credits as the Senate debates its own version of the bill. 'Abruptly ending the energy tax credits would threaten America's energy independence and the reliability of our grid' said Tesla's solar power unit in its own post on X late last month. 'There is no change to tax incentives for oil & gas, just EV/solar,' Musk said in a follow-up post. The turnabout may have to do with the recent financial troubles at Tesla. Many experts believed that getting rid of the EV tax credit would hurt legacy automakers, which continue to lose money on their EV operations, more than it would hurt Tesla. But Tesla's sales took a nosedive this year, and it needs the credits to maintain buyer demand. The battle over EV tax credits, and Musk's broader opposition to the Republicans' budget and taxation bill, has caused a major split between President Donald Trump and Musk – a member of the administration's inner circle as recently as last week. The outcome could endanger the key legislative priority of Trump and Republicans. It could also be affect the finances of the beleaguered Tesla. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson have both suggested that the loss of federal support for EV's is driving Musk's opposition to the bill. 'Elon and I had a great relationship, I don't know if we will anymore,' Trump told reporters Thursday. 'I am very disappointed. Elon knew the inner workings of this bill… all of a sudden he had a problem and he only developed the problem after he found out we had to cut the EV mandate.' Despite Trump's reference to an EV mandate, there has never been a federal rule requiring Americans buy EVs rather than gasoline-powered cars. But the Biden administration did pass the $7,500 EV tax credit in an effort to spur demand for EVs. Musk immediately denied removal of the EV tax credit was the reason for his opposition to the bill. 'Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill,' he posted on X shortly after Trump's remarks. Tesla shares (TSLA) fell 14% following the exchange. Musk has focused most of his criticism on how the domestic policy bill would balloon the deficit. However, he is also no longer is arguing that ending the EV tax credit would be good for Tesla. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. However, Musk's shift on the EV tax credit likely reflects changes at Tesla since late last year. Backlash to Musk's political activities played a major role in the company's recent sales troubles, including its first drop in annual sales in 2024 and its biggest ever drop in its sales during the first three months of the year. That resulted in a 71% plunge in net income in the first quarter. While the $7,500 EV tax credit goes to car buyers, it indirectly benefits EV makers by increasing demand. When an earlier version was phased out in 2019, Tesla was forced to cut prices to keep buyers interested. It's not just Musk who changed his opinion on the credit's important to Tesla. The same analysts who once believed removing the EV tax credit would help Tesla are now concerned over its loss. In a note to clients the day after the election, Garrett Nelson, an analyst for CFRA Research, wrote that ending the credit 'will widen Tesla's competitive moat by making competing EV models even more uneconomic, as we believe (Tesla) is the only profitable manufacturer of EVs.' But now, Nelson is expressing worry over Tesla's value if the credits go away. 'Our view is the 'Big Beautiful Bill' would be a net negative for Tesla, as tax credits for EVs, energy storage and solar would be going away,' Nelson said in response to questions from CNN. 'That, and ongoing EV market share losses in China and Europe, are some of the primary reasons why we downgraded the stock in April.' Still, despite cutting his price target for Tesla, Nelson still has a buy recommendation on Tesla shares, as does Dan Ives, another Tesla bull. The tech analyst for Wedbush Securities said the change in finances at Tesla make the tax credits more important than in the past. 'Musk has definitely changed his tune from earlier on this,' Ives told CNN. 'The reality is it will hurt Tesla less than other EV makers, but it will still hurt. And Tesla needs all of the demand help it can get.' Under current bill language, the tax credit remains in place for upstart EV makers like Rivian and Lucid but goes away for Tesla and most legacy automakers, said John Murphy, auto analyst at Bank of America. But he said the greatest challenge for Tesla is that demand for EV among American buyers appears to have stalled. 'I think 8% market share might be the high water mark for EV,' he said at a presentation Wedneday, speaking about overall demand for electric vehicles in the US market. Because of that, and the lack of new Tesla models, especially a lower-priced version that had been promised, 'I think (Musk) is going to be challenged to grow volume.'
New York Times
25 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump Threatens Musk Contracts as Feud Escalates
President Trump threatened to cut billions of dollars in federal contracts and tax subsidies for Elon Musk's companies on Thursday, the latest escalation in the growing feud between the two men. 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' the president wrote on Truth Social. 'I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' Last year, Mr. Musk's companies were promised $3 billion across nearly 100 different contracts with 17 federal agencies. Most of the contracts were for SpaceX, Mr. Musk's space technology company. Tesla, his electric vehicle company, also has contracts with the federal government. But the relationship between the two men very publicly dissolved Thursday. Mr. Musk until last week was a top presidential adviser and has since turned into a critic of one of Mr. Trump's priorities. Mr. Musk has called the president's signature legislation currently moving through Congress a 'disgusting abomination.' The two lashed out at each other from on their own social media platforms on Thursday. 'Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!' Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. Mr. Musk responded on X, the social media platform he owns, 'Such an obvious lie. So sad.'
