Science
Commentary: 7 million people have Alzheimer's. Why is the Trump administration derailing research?
Dr. Charles DeCarli, co-director of the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Research Center, got the news in a call from a colleague on March 24.
“Your study was terminated.”
DeCarli had been conducting a six-year examination, funded by the National Institutes of Health, of brain and vascular conditions that can be risk factors for dementia. The study, involving hundreds of medical staff, 14 research sites, and 1,700 patients at 19 clinical locations in the U.S., was building toward a goal of 2,250 patients.
Steve Lopez
Steve Lopez is a California native who has been a Los Angeles Times columnist since 2001. He has won more than a dozen national journalism awards and is a four-time Pulitzer finalist.
“This was the culmination of my career, the pinnacle of my research” over the last 38 years, DeCarli said.
The $53-million study, paid in annual allotments, was approved during President Trump’s first term. But in Term Two, the administration has taken a chain saw to universities, federal jobs and federal funding for scientific research, which has prompted talk of a brain drain, with scientists looking for work in other countries.
The termination letter from NIH informed DeCarli that his study, with its “artificial and non-scientific categories,” was on the chopping block because it “no longer effectuates agency priorities.” The UC Davis study was one of 14 such research projects notified in March that funding was being terminated.
About 7 million U.S. residents aged 65 and older have Alzheimer’s, the nation’s seventh-leading cause of death. Given the cresting age wave, the number is expected to roughly double in the next 35 years. So it doesn’t make sense that a deeper understanding of a complex set of unremittingly cruel brain diseases that decimate the lives of victims, and their loved ones, is no longer a priority.
Mannie Rezende, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s, walks with his wife Rose Shalom in June 2023. About 7 million U.S. residents age 65 and older have Alzheimer’s, the nation’s seventh-leading cause of death.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
DeCarli suspects he was targeted because of the name of his study:
“The Clinical Significance of Incidental White Matter Lesions on MRI Amongst a Diverse Population with Cognitive Complaints.”
DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion — programs are on the administration’s hit list. But in this case, “diverse” was a reference to a spectrum of health and age, and educational and racial backgrounds of patients.
With the help of UC Davis lawyers, DeCarli appealed the decision, but he also had to begin shutting down the study in anticipation of a second rejection or a long appeal process.
The appeal was successful, and funding was restored on April 11, but DeCarli is still playing catch-up.
“There were big-time disruptions,” he told me.
Clinical partners, who each had to contact as many as 100 patients with news of the termination, had to reach out again to tell them the green light was back on.
But for how long?
Nobody seems to know, said Russ Paulsen of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, a nonprofit advocacy group. When I spoke to him on Wednesday, Paulsen had just watched a Senate hearing in which Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), demanded that NIH cuts be restored.
Mannie Rezende and wife Rose Shalom with their dogs Clara, foreground, and Teddy in 2023.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“I think there is broadly bipartisan support” for continued research into Alzheimer’s, Paulsen said. And the official word at Health and Human Services is that the administration remains committed to “robust biomedical research” and “maintaining our global leadership in science and technology.”
But that claim doesn’t square with the dismissal earlier this year of 1,000 NIH employees, or with news accounts of a plan to slash 30% of the Health and Human Services budget and 40% of the NIH budget.
“It’s hard to imagine somebody opposed to finding cures, and yet we have no explanation for why they’re proposing a 40% cut,” Paulsen said.
“We know that funds are flowing out the door far slower than they have in many years, and we know that researchers are submitting high-quality research and getting ‘answer pending’ or getting rejected,” he added. “And we know that existing multi-year grants are being canceled or payment is being delayed.”
In March, Rose Shalom of Sunland lost her husband, Mannie Rezende, who had slowly deteriorated from Alzheimer’s over several years. Shalom called the disruption of research egregious and immoral, and she said those who control the purse strings on research should “spend some time with someone with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers to understand the unique horror of this disease.”
I visited Rose and Mannie in 2023 at their home and at OPICA, the West L.A. adult day-care center where Mannie spent his days with a few dozen others on the same path.
“As we are living longer, more and more people will be diagnosed with this disease,” Shalom said. “The emotional and financial toll on the patients and their caregivers is beyond description.”
There is, unfortunately, no cure on the immediate horizon. But DeCarli said there have been some encouraging advances, including medication that can help slow the progression of cognitive decline, and improved diagnostics that can lead to earlier intervention.
The U.S. is both a world leader and a collaborator in medical research, DeCarli said. The process is integrated, “with people working on different parts … of the same question, and true discovery sometimes comes from interacting” with each other.
The Trump administration seems to have a different agenda.
It includes:
· Dismantling the U.S. role in solving medical mysteries.
· Dismissing hundreds of researchers studying the impact of global warming.
· Driving scientists to look for work in other countries.
Who knew there’d be so many backwater swamps, potholes and detours on the road to making America great again.
steve.lopez@latimes.com
Our universe might be chock-full of cosmic wonder, but you can observe only a fraction of astronomical phenomena with the naked eye. Meteor showers, natural fireworks that streak brightly across the night sky, are one of them.
The latest observable meteor shower will be the Lyrids, which has been active since April 14 and is forecast to continue through April 30. The shower reaches its peak April 21 to 22, or Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
According to NASA, the Lyrids are one of the oldest known meteor showers, and have been enjoyed by stargazers for nearly 3,000 years. Their bright, speedy streaks are caused by the dusty debris from a comet named Thatcher. They appear to spring from the constellation Lyra, which right now can be seen in the eastern sky at night in the Northern Hemisphere.
The moon will be about 27 percent full tonight, appearing as a thick crescent in the sky, according to the American Meteor Society.
To get a hint at when to best watch for the Lyrids, you can use this tool, which relies on data from the Global Meteor Network. It shows fireball activity levels in real time.
And while you gaze at the heavens, keep an eye out for other stray meteors streaking across the night sky. Skywatchers are reporting that the amount of fireballs is double what is usually seen by this point in the year.
Where meteor showers come from
There is a chance you might see a meteor on any given night, but you are most likely to catch one during a shower. Meteor showers are caused by Earth passing through the rubble trailing a comet or asteroid as it swings around the sun. This debris, which can be as small as a grain of sand, leaves behind a glowing stream of light as it burns up in Earth’s atmosphere.
Meteor showers occur around the same time every year and can last for days or weeks. But there is only a small window when each shower is at its peak, which happens when Earth reaches the densest part of the cosmic debris. The peak is the best time to look for a shower. From our point of view on Earth, the meteors will appear to come from the same point in the sky.
The Perseid meteor shower, for example, peaks in mid-August from the constellation Perseus. The Geminids, which occur every December, radiate from the constellation Gemini.
How to watch a meteor shower
Michelle Nichols, the director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, recommends forgoing the use of telescopes or binoculars while watching a meteor shower.
“You just need your eyes and, ideally, a dark sky,” she said.
That’s because meteors can shoot across large swaths of the sky, so observing equipment can limit your field of view.
Some showers are strong enough to produce up to 100 streaks an hour, according to the American Meteor Society, though you probably won’t see that many.
“Almost everybody is under a light-polluted sky,” Ms. Nichols said. “You may think you’re under a dark sky, but in reality, even in a small town, you can have bright lights nearby.”
Planetariums, local astronomy clubs or even maps like this one can help you figure out where to go to escape excessive light. The best conditions for catching a meteor shower are a clear sky with no moon or cloud cover, sometime between midnight and sunrise. (Moonlight affects visibility in the same way as light pollution, washing out fainter sources of light in the sky.) Make sure to give your eyes at least 30 minutes to adjust to seeing in the dark.
Ms. Nichols also recommends wearing layers, even during the summer. “You’re going to be sitting there for quite a while, watching,” she said. “It’s going to get chilly, even in August.”
Bring a cup of cocoa or tea for even more warmth. Then lie back, scan the sky and enjoy the show.
Where weather is least likely to affect your view
Storm systems sweep across the country in early spring, and some will be obscuring skies tonight. But there will still be plenty of areas with clear skies, particularly in parts of the central United States.
“The best spot is going to be in the Upper Midwest,” said Rich Bann, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center.
Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa will offer especially good sky-viewing weather and a beach on the Great Lakes could be a nice spot to look up at the stars.
But don’t expect to view the show from Chicago, as Illinois could see some thunderstorms. The weather will be better in the Northern and Central Plains, particularly the eastern Dakotas.
High, wispy clouds are expected over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys and into parts of the Mid-Atlantic. But, Mr. Bann said, “you may be able to see some shooting stars through thin clouds.”
Clouds will be draped across much of the Southeast and the Northeast, though there could be some clearing in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia. Remember, the meteors could be visible all night long. If you look outside and see clouds, try again later.
Catching the spectacle will be challenging across much of the West, particularly from Washington into Northern California, where a storm system is bringing rain and snow. That system will move east overnight.
There are likely to be some pockets of clear skies at times across southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and southwest Utah, Mr. Bann said.
Amy Graff contributed reporting.
WASHINGTON — Amid growing national security concerns, the FBI said Tuesday that it has launched a broad investigation in the deaths or disappearances of at least 10 scientists and staff connected to highly sensitive research, including four from the Los Angeles area.
“The FBI is spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists. We are working with the Department of Energy, Department of War, and with our state and state and local law enforcement partners to find answers,” the agency said in a statement.
The FBI’s announcement comes after the House Oversight Committee announced that it would investigate reports of the disappearance and deaths of the scientists, sending letters seeking information from the agencies involved in the federal inquiry as well as NASA, which owns the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, where three of the missing or dead scientists worked.
“If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets,” Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the committee, and Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) wrote in the letters.
President Trump told reporters last week that he had been briefed on the missing and dead scientists, which he described as “pretty serious stuff.” He said at the time that he expected answers on whether the deaths were connected “in the next week and a half.”
Michael David Hicks, who studied comets and asteroids at JPL, was the first of the scientists who disappeared or died. He died on July 30, 2023, at the age of 59. No cause of death was disclosed.
A year later, JPL physicist Frank Maiwald died at 61, with no cause of death disclosed.
Two other Los Angeles scientists are part of the string of deaths and disappearances.
On June 22, 2025, Monica Jacinto Reza, a materials scientist at JPL, disappeared while on a hike near Mt. Waterman in the San Gabriel Mountains.
On Feb. 16, Caltech astrophysicist Carl Grillmair was fatally shot on the porch of his Llano home. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department arrested Freddy Snyder, 29, in connection with the shooting. Snyder had been arrested in December on suspicion of trespassing on Grillmair’s property.
Snyder has been charged with murder.
There is no evidence at this point that the deaths and disappearances, which occurred over a span of four years, are connected.
A spokesperson for NASA, which owns JPL, said in a statement on X that the agency is “coordinating and cooperating with the relevant agencies in relation to the missing scientists.
“At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat,” agency spokesperson Bethany Stevens wrote. “The agency is committed to transparency and will provide more information as able.”
Representatives from Caltech, which manages JPL, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The sun had barely risen over the Pacific Ocean when a small motorboat carrying a team of Indigenous artisans and Mexican biologists dropped anchor in a rocky cove near Bahías de Huatulco.
Mauro Habacuc Avendaño Luis, one of the craftsmen, was the first to wade to shore. With an agility belying his age, he struck out over the boulders exposed by low tide. Crouching on a slippery ledge pounded by surf, he reached inside a crevice between two rocks. There, lodged among the urchins, was a snail with a knobby gray shell the size of a walnut. The sight might not dazzle tourists who travel here to see humpback whales, but for Mr. Avendaño, 85, these drab little mollusks represent a way of life.
Marine snails in the genus Plicopurpura are sacred to the Mixtec people of Pinotepa de Don Luis, a small town in southwestern Oaxaca. Men like Mr. Avendaño have been sustainably “milking” them for radiant purple dye for at least 1,500 years. The color suffuses Mixtec textiles and spiritual beliefs. Called tixinda, it symbolizes fertility and death, as well as mythic ties between lunar cycles, women and the sea.
The future of these traditions — and the fate of the snails — are uncertain. The mollusks are subject to intense poaching pressure despite federal protections intended to protect them. Fishermen break them (and the other mollusks they eat) open and sell the meat to local restaurants. Tourists who comb the beaches pluck snails off the rocks and toss them aside.
A severe earthquake in 2020 thrust formerly submerged parts of their habitat above sea level, fatally tossing other mollusks in the snail’s food web to the air, and making once inaccessible places more available to poachers.
Decades ago, dense clusters of snails the size of doorknobs were easy to find, according to Mr. Avendaño. “Full of snails,” he said, sweeping a calloused, violet-stained hand across the coves. Now, most of the snails he finds are small, just over an inch, and yield only a few milliliters of dye.
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