Rebecca Trager
Senior US correspondent, Chemistry World
I became the US Correspondent for Chemistry World in September 2014, based out of Washington, DC, after writing for the magazine on a freelance basis since 2007. With a background in policy, and a passion for journalism, I have found my niche covering the world of science policy since 1997. The interest was sparked after spending summers during college as a press intern for the National Institutes of Health. Before joining Chemistry World, I was the US Editor for Research Europe, covering the White House, as well as government departments and US agencies, and am also the former managing editor of The Blue Sheet, an Elsevier biomedical research and health policy publication. I studied philosophy and political theory at Haverford College in Pennsylvania.
NewsChinese researchers charged with smuggling plant pathogen into the US
Fungus described by government as ‘agroterrorism weapon’ was allegedly brought into the US for study at a University of Michigan lab
BusinessUS plans to close Chemical Safety Board by October
Government says CSB duplicates capabilities in other agencies
NewsNSF chemistry funding faces 75% cut under Trump budget request
If Congress enacts White House proposal, grant success rate at the National Science Foundation is predicted to plummet to 7%
BusinessCrispr Nobel laureates get another chance to claim ownership in long-running patent dispute
Jennifer Doudna and Emmanualle Charpentier could recoup patent rights to the gene-editing technology, thanks to ruling from US appeal court
NewsUS government to ‘aggressively revoke’ Chinese students’ visas
Serious concerns raised over plan to cancel the visas of students from China studying in ‘critical fields’
NewsUniversity of Akron calls off plan to merge chemistry-related programmes
‘Retrenchment’ strategy to combine polymer science with chemical engineering and chemistry is averted, following voluntary layoffs
ResearchThere is unexpected chemistry going on in lithium deposits
After decades understanding pH controls boron speciation in seawater and other saline waters it turns out the opposite is true with lithium brines
NewsA year on from the announcement of the dichloromethane ban, US research labs brace for change
Trump administration appears to be backing the Biden rule so universities are moving to comply
NewsPFAS regulations for US drinking water are being dismantled after just a year
EPA delays enforcement of levels set for PFOA and PFOS, and rescinds them for four other PFAS
NewsUniversities and academic groups join forces to fend off Trump’s attacks
Legal actions are thwarting White House attempts to pull funding from top research universities and terminate international student visas
BusinessUS approves natural food dyes while pushing to phase out synthetic colours
Government sets voluntary goal of removing artificial colours by 2027
NewsUnder legal pressure American Chemical Society ends diversity programme
The society is replacing its 30-year-old Scholars Program for minorities with a larger one that does not consider race
NewsNational Institutes of Health embargo-free open access policy to start six months earlier
Move takes researchers by surprise
NewsTrump’s ‘skinny budget’ has plans to cut science and research to the bone
White House budget blueprint would slash funding for NSF and NIH by 55% and 40%, respectively, prompting dire warnings
NewsHarvard’s former chemistry chair takes new position at Chinese university
Charles Lieber, the nanoscience pioneer convicted for not disclosing his ties to China, has just joined Tsinghua University
NewsTrump-appointed US science agency director resigns
There is major tumult at the NSF, including grant cancellations, and its director has abruptly quit with more than a year left on his six-year term
News‘Exodus will require action’: chemistry laureates warn young researchers will desert US
Trump administration’s targeting of grants, funding and visas creating hostile environment for scientists
NewsUS energy department cap on indirect research costs temporarily halted after universities file lawsuit
Universities sue DOE after agency suddenly caps indirect research costs at 15%
OpinionWillie May: ‘We need to find and support the “missing millions”’
The analytical chemist on growing up Black in Alabama in the 1950s and 1960s and his journey through NIST, academia and the AAAS presidency
NewsFears grow over the future of mRNA vaccine research in the US
Researchers working on mRNA vaccines fear federal funding might be halted, with many looking to move projects abroad