Plan for the worst, $350m Bloomberg gift, NIH advised to take re-submissions…

This week in USA in brief: Plan for the worst, agencies told; $350m Bloomberg gift for Johns Hopkins; NIH advised to take re-submissions; Men down for two-thirds of scientific fraud; Hughes expands at Janelia Farm; Fink to lead AAAS.

Plan for the worst, agencies told

Federal agencies should prepare to operate with reduced budgets by reviewing grants and contracts to determine “where cost savings may be achieved”, the acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a memo on 14 January. The guidance was offered in case Congress is unable to prevent the across-the-board spending cuts, known as the sequestration, slated to begin on 1 March.