Quote:Actions taken by the Trump administration have spurred changes at America's major science agencies — and if worst comes to worst, these shifts may jeopardize our understanding of how the brain works and how to treat neurological conditions, experts told Live Science.

For years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has upheld a policy that requires scientists who work with vertebrate animals to consider "sex as a biological variable." To earn grants, researchers must explain how their study designs account for sex, such that any differences between the sexes will be made apparent. Researchers must provide strong scientific justification to include only one sex in a study.

But recently, The Transmitter reported that the NIH seems to have archived this policy. The NIH has yet to issue an official statement on the matter, but the move followed executive orders issued by the Trump administration that called for overturning "gender ideology" and "radical" diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

In apparently archiving its "sex as a biological variable" policy, the NIH could be signaling a shift away from requiring both males and females in research. And such a shift could be particularly dire for basic neuroscience research.