I don't think people fully appreciate how apocalyptic things are for US science. I haven't received any new funding since 2024, but I'm still ok since grants are typically for 3 years. This means next year I will be completely out of funding and will have to fire everyone in the lab. It's not great.

In my 25-year career, I’ve never NOT had funding. I typically have 4 to 8 grants, which you need if you’re running an observation science program and have a technician, students, and postdocs.

title text: We're working to make sure the images are as up-to-date and accurate as possible, with a minimum number of sponsored galaxies.

desktop link: https://xkcd.com/3225
mobile link: https://m.xkcd.com/3225
explainxkcd: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/3225

A billionaire enters a gas station. Seeing the "Leave a penny, take a penny" dish on the counter, he scoops up all of the coins and pockets them.

"I'm a genius," he says to the protesting clerk. "I earned this money. Anybody could have taken it, but only I had the vision to see what was possible."