Research & Developments is a blog for brief updates that provide context for the flurry of news that impacts science and scientists today.
This week, a parade of scientists will spend 50 hours straight speaking about the importance of weather and climate research in the United States.
Now in its second year, the Weather & Climate Livestream will feature hundreds of scientists describing their work and why it matters. Last year’s event, which lasted 100 hours, saw more than 180
Research & Developments is a blog for brief updates that provide context for the flurry of news that impacts science and scientists today.
This week, a parade of scientists will spend 50 hours straight speaking about the importance of weather and climate research in the United States.
Now in its second year, the Weather & Climate Livestream will feature hundreds of scientists describing their work and why it matters. Last year’s event, which lasted 100 hours, saw more than 180,000 views and led to 30,000 phone calls to Congress to #SaveAmericasForecasts.
“The first aspect of it is just communicating science,” said Haley Crim, a climate literacy researcher at MIT and the founder of Climateliteracy.earth. “The second half of it is to inspire people to call their representatives in support of funding for climate and weather science, and science more broadly.”
Last year, Crim was an “avid watcher” of the livestream, so she was happy to help when a friend asked her to pitch in for the second iteration. But it’s also more personal this year, as she has since lost her position as a contractor with NOAA.
“It has a whole new meaning now, this year,” she said.
The livestream begins at 4 p.m. ET on Monday, 1 June, ending at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, 3 June. Speakers include meteorologist Jeff Masters and climate scientists Adam Sobel of Columbia University and Kim Cobb of Brown University. AGU President Brandon Jones and president-elect Benjamin Zaitchik will also speak from 2 p.m. to 2:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday, 3 June.
Science Under Attack
Since Donald Trump began his second presidential term in 2025, federal science funding has faced extensive cuts, with more proposed. In June 2025, for instance, a budget document proposed eliminating NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. In December 2025, the administration announced plans to break up the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
“This is really a full-frontal attack on climate science.”
“This is really a full-frontal attack on climate science,” said Andrew Williams, a climate scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography who is helping to organize the livestream and will speak during it.
He added that even though Congress pushed back against the most drastic cuts proposed last year, leaving key science program budgets mostly intact, many agencies haven’t yet seen the money they’ve been granted in the budget. For instance, according to the organization Grant Witness, 112 grants have been awarded in the NSF Directorate for Geosciences so far this year, compared with 948 in total in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. The average total number of grants awarded between FY21 and FY24 was 1,418.
Both Crim and Williams said they hope the livestream provides the public with a better understanding of how climate and weather research affects us all, from allowing for timely evacuation warnings to affecting insurance rates. Williams offered the example of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, a federally funded NOAA research lab that would be eliminated under the president’s proposed FY2027 budget.
“It builds the engine of the U.S. weather forecasting model, which is what tells you day to day what the weather is going to be,” he said. “We’ve all been able to take for granted that these things are happening because the U.S. has for decades, for 60 or 70 years, had strong and stable federal funding for weather and climate science.”
These updates are made possible through information from the scientific community. Do you have a story about science or scientists? Send us a tip at eos@agu.org.
During Ontario Nature’s Bill 5 Explained webinar, Carolynne Crawley – co-founder of Turtle Protectors and Founder of Msit No’kmaq – encouraged the audience to, “Engage in meaningful conversations with those you know in a good way… It’s really important we take that time to share. And if someone has a difference of opinion and supports these bills, inquire why. Ask them. Ask them questions.”
Climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental policy are complex topics that can quickly become em
During Ontario Nature’s Bill 5 Explained webinar, Carolynne Crawley – co-founder of Turtle Protectors and Founder of Msit No’kmaq – encouraged the audience to, “Engage in meaningful conversations with those you know in a good way… It’s really important we take that time to share. And if someone has a difference of opinion and supports these bills, inquire why. Ask them. Ask them questions.”
Climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental policy are complex topics that can quickly become emotional or divisive. We asked four environmental communications experts from David Suzuki Foundation, Sierra Club Canada Foundation, Greenpeace Canada and Ontario Nature about how to talk to your loved ones about the environment you love.
When talking about environmental issues, Becca Kram Dos Santos, Communications and Public Engagement Specialist at David Suzuki Foundation, recommends leading with what you share rather than what divides you.
“Instead of opening with the latest environmental headline or climate catastrophe, try to first connect with something you both care about like family, the cost of groceries and/or your favourite green space,” she says. This approach keeps the conservation grounded and human rather than abstract or argumentative.
Ontario Nature’s Communications Manager, Melina Damián, echoes this approach. “Focus on your shared values. Regardless of where people stand in the political spectrum, I bet everyone cares about community, family, safety and a better future,” she says. “When you have a conversation with someone with differing views, it could help to focus on what a shared future would look like – a world where everyone feels included and the wellbeing of people and nature go hand in hand.”
Connor Curtis, Director of Communications at Sierra Club Canada Foundation reinforces finding common ground. “Ask your family member what worries them most about climate change and then share what worries you – share emotions and listen to their concerns first so you know how they see things and so you establish that both of you do care on some level.”
“Simply listen,” Kram Dos Santos says. “When people feel heard, they’ll be more open to new information. From there, you can begin to gently connect the dots.”
Sien Van den broeke, Nature and Biodiversity Campaigner at Greenpeace Canada, echoes this sentiment. “Just understanding that people have different lived realities helps me meet them with empathy and care. Try to find out what their experience has been before asserting your own opinions,” she says. “Leaving space for everyone to share their thoughts, I find, helps a lot in learning where they come from and finding solutions together.”
Damián agrees that good conversations grow from focusing on shared values and deep, respectful listening. “Approach others from a place of empathy and curiosity. Or as one of my favourite authors, Edgar Villanueva from Decolonizing Wealth, would say: try to ‘listen in colour.” Damián explains that listening in colour is a superpower that can help bridge divisive views by encouraging good listening that includes being open, empathetic and holistic.
Curtis offers a practical point: you don’t have to debate everyone.
“Think strategically and talk to the right people,” they advise. “To do that you have to identify the people in the room who haven’t made their minds up yet or are truly persuadable and focus your energy and time on them.”
Rather than trying to persuade everyone at a gathering, Curtis suggests being strategic about where you invest your time and emotional effort. This is not about avoiding difficult conversations but about recognizing limits and choosing discussions where dialogue and understanding are more likely.
“My point being, don’t spend five hours talking with someone who either already agrees with you or will never agree with you. Spend one hour each talking to five different people who are on the fence or in the middle on an issue with the aim of bringing them closer to agreeing with environmental action.”
This approach isn’t just about being effective; it also helps keep conversations sustainable over time, so you don’t feel exhausted or discouraged by every disagreement.
It’s reminiscent of Crawley who stressed the importance of self-care during the Bill 5 Explained webinar. “When we are doing this work, whether you are First Nations, whether you are in an organization, or an individual community member, and you are trying to do whatever you can to stand up against these things… it’s really important for us to take care of ourselves in the process. So, we continue to fill up our cups, so we don’t burn out.”
Source: Earth’s Future
Coastal landscapes are constantly being reshaped by natural forces, and as climate change causes more frequent storms and sea level rise, that change will only intensify. Because these areas are densely populated with homes, tourist destinations, and industries, understanding how and where the coast will change is a pressing issue. However, reliable predictions that lead to actionable knowledge are rare.
Lentz et al. describe the state of knowledge regarding coastal
Coastal landscapes are constantly being reshaped by natural forces, and as climate change causes more frequent storms and sea level rise, that change will only intensify. Because these areas are densely populated with homes, tourist destinations, and industries, understanding how and where the coast will change is a pressing issue. However, reliable predictions that lead to actionable knowledge are rare.
Lentz et al. describe the state of knowledge regarding coastal evolution, highlight gaps in scientists’ understanding, and describe opportunities for integrating information from various models, data sources, and end users.
Current coastal evolution predictions are often focused on too specific a location and are therefore hard to generalize or analyze too large a region and therefore lack detail, the authors say. In addition, it’s challenging for researchers to link the effects of acute events, such as storms, with long-term trends like sea level rise.
Improving these simulations will likely require combining many different types of models, including physics-based numerical models, models based on empirical measurements, and statistical models that include machine learning. To fully understand potential changes, the authors note that it is also essential to consider both coastal processes and human actions.
The researchers recommend several ways to improve consistency and collaboration in the field of coastal change forecasting. First, standardizing approaches and outcomes would make it easier to produce national-scale predictions. Right now, the variety of tools used across different locations makes it difficult for scientists to compare results and communicate effectively. They also emphasize the need for using coordinated research approaches. Stronger transdisciplinary collaboration, accompanied by essential training and support, would also enable scientists to make better predictions, the researchers say.
Comparing predictions to real-world observations of coastal landscape change could also help untangle this multifaceted challenge. By studying how coastlines have already changed, researchers can validate models and choose those that are performing best. Such comparisons require datasets that adequately capture coastal landscape change across both time and space. Remote sensing data and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for data processing may help provide these improved datasets, the researchers suggest.
Engaging end users during the project planning process is also helpful because only end users truly know what kind of information they need to adapt to landscape change. Knowing how to engage end users can be difficult for physical scientists, but various tools and specialized personnel exist who can help coordinate these interactions, the authors say. (Earth’s Future, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EF005833, 2026)
Research & Developments is a blog for brief updates that provide context for the flurry of news regarding law and policy changes that impact science and scientists today.
More U.S. scientists are running for state and federal office in the U.S. midterm elections than ever before, Nature reports. Scientist-candidates represent an array of parties, although most profiled in Nature identify as Democrats.
314 Action, an organization focused on getting Democrats with scientific backgro
Research & Developments is a blog for brief updates that provide context for the flurry of news regarding law and policy changes that impact science and scientists today.
More U.S. scientists are running for state and federal office in the U.S. midterm elections than ever before, Nature reports. Scientist-candidates represent an array of parties, although most profiled in Nature identify as Democrats.
314 Action, an organization focused on getting Democrats with scientific backgrounds elected to public office, offers financial support and training to candidates who apply for it. This year, the organization told Nature, they’ve received nearly three times as many applications as usual.
Sam Wang, a neuroscientist at Princeton and director of the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, is running to represent New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District.
“Usually, scientists stick with a specialized field,” Wang, a Democrat, wrote in an opinion for The Daily Princetonian. “However, I am deeply unhappy with how unequally power is divided in our society. So I have used my statistical abilities to level one part of democracy’s playing field: by repairing unfair elections.”
Why Now?
This year, Democratic candidates appear to be motivated by cuts to federal science programs, grants, and agencies, Nature reports, while Republican candidates like Jeff Wilson, who is running to represent the 13th district of Illinois, cite the pursuit of energy independence. Third-party scientist-candidates have also run, and scientists are entering local and municipal arenas, too.
Specifically, with the recent repeal of the Endangerment Finding, loosened restrictions on pollution, and plans to break up the National Center for Atmospheric Research, some candidates and their supporters think science needs a more prominent position in public policy.
The rise in scientist candidates may also be part of an ongoing trend. More than 200 STEM professionals ran for office in the 2024 election, as Eos reported in October 2024.
“There are a lot of people who believe that science can help us live better lives and that science really does need to be front and center when we’re making public policy,” Jess Phoenix, a volcanologist, science advocate, and former Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives told Eos at the time.
In March, thousands of people attended Stand Up for Science rallies across the country to protest the misuse of science in federal policy and extensive staffing and funding cuts to scientific agencies. Since President Trump took office in 2025, more than 10,000 PhD-level scientists have left the federal workforce, Science reported in January.
Pew research data shows that public trust in scientists has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has seen modest improvements since 2023. The latest poll, released in January, found that 77% of adults in the United States have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interest, compared to 73% in 2023. The percentage is consistently higher among Democrats than Republicans: 90% versus 65%, in 2026. In contrast, only 27% of respondents reported at least a fair amount of confidence in elected officials.
“The last thing I want [is] to become a politician,” wrote one Redditor in response to the Nature story. “But at this rate I may not have a choice if current politicians keep screwing it up.”
These updates are made possible through information from the scientific community. Do you have a story about how changes in law or policy are affecting scientists or research? Send us a tip at eos@agu.org.
Post sponsored by ZenzapIf you’ve ever tried to track down a decision buried in a message thread or remember where a task was mentioned, you’ve probably seen how messy team communication can get. When conversations are scattered across emails, texts, and different apps, updates get missed, and company information can end up being stored on personal devices.This usually happens when teams rely on personal messaging apps that were never designed for team communication. You need a secure team chat
If you’ve ever tried to track down a decision buried in a message thread or remember where a task was mentioned, you’ve probably seen how messy team communication can get. When conversations are scattered across emails, texts, and different apps, updates get missed, and company information can end up being stored on personal devices.
This usually happens when teams rely on personal messaging apps that were never designed for team communication. You need a secure team chat app that keeps conversations organized and gives you clear control over who can see and do what.
6 Secure Team Chat Apps to Improve Team Communication
Below are six secure team chat apps that help improve workplace communication, along with a clear breakdown of who each is built for and what to take into consideration when choosing.
1. Zenzap: A Secure Team Chat App to Improve Work Communication
Zenzap is one of the best team chat apps for businesses that want strong security, organized team communication, and better team accountability.
Zenzap is intuitive and easy to use. Anyone can start using it immediately. At the same time, it gives you all the professional features and admin control your business needs.
Why Zenzap Stands Out
Zenzap was built to close the gap between consumer messaging apps that lack business control and enterprise team communication apps that can feel overwhelming for non-technical teams.
You get:
One-click offboarding so you can instantly remove access when someone leaves
Secure cloud storage, with data stored in the cloud and not on employee devices
Full admin oversight
Role-based permissions so you can control exactly who can see and do what
Audit logs and activity tracking
Built-in accountability so you can turn messages into tasks
A mobile-first experience that makes daily team communication more convenient for frontline workers
Compliance with industry-standard regulations
Zenzap is easy to roll out because it is intuitive and familiar, so teams can start using it with little to no training. You can also import existing chats and add the whole team easily, which helps make setup faster across multiple locations and teams.
Why It Works Best
Zenzap gives you a secure and practical way to manage team communication. It supports daily team communication while making it easier to stay organized, keep information visible, and maintain control as your business grows.
Zenzap delivers:
Secure, professional features without complexity
Affordable, cost-effective pricing
A mobile-first experience
Clear visibility and control so nothing falls through the cracks
Slack is a well-known team communication app that’s built for highly technical teams.
Strengths
Complex workflows
Custom automations
What to Keep in Mind
Slack can work well if your team needs custom automations and spends much of the day at a desktop. However, it can often feel too complex or overwhelming for non-technical teams.
Cost is another thing to watch as your team grows. And for frontline teams, it may also be harder to adopt if the app feels too complex for everyday use.
3. Microsoft Teams: For Microsoft-Based Teams
Microsoft Teams is a team communication app frequently chosen by companies that already operate within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
Strengths
Connects natively with Microsoft 365 tools
Built-in video conferencing
Included in Microsoft 365
What to Keep in Mind
Teams is an all-in-one corporate tool that can feel slow and too formal for quick team communication. Its interface is often described as clunky and confusing, especially on mobile, which can also make adoption harder for some teams.
4. Google Chat: Simple and Convenient Chat App
Google Chat is a messaging app built directly into Google Workspace, making it convenient for businesses already using Google tools.
Strengths
Easy access inside Gmail
Familiar interface
Lightweight messaging
What to Keep in Mind
Google Chat was designed for simple, direct messaging and may not provide everything you need to manage internal communication in a more organized way.
5. Discord: Community-Focused Communication
Discord is a social communication app that was built for gaming communities and social groups.
Strengths
Conversational and informal
Drop-in voice channels
Community engagement features
What to Keep in Mind
Discord was originally designed for social communities, so it may not offer the professional security, admin controls, or focused environment that a business needs. It can also feel chaotic for work communication.
6. Twist: Async-Focused Messaging
Twist is a team communication app that’s designed around asynchronous team communication. It organizes discussions into threads to reduce noise.
Strengths
Thread-based setup
Reduces real-time interruptions
Suitable for distributed teams
What to Keep in Mind
Twist is optimized for slower, async-first environments. It is less suited for fast-paced operational teams that rely on real-time coordination.
It also has more limited capabilities, rarely gets new features, and has basic search functionality.
What Makes a Secure Work Chat App Truly Secure
Secure team communication means having clear control over who can access conversations, how data is stored, and visibility across the workspace. A secure work chat app should help you manage all of that easily.
Here is what to look for:
Centralized Admin Control
A secure team chat app should let you:
Control exactly who can see and do what
Set role-based permissions
Monitor workspace activity
Access downloadable audit logs
Without that level of control, your security depends on individual behavior rather than company policy.
One-Click Offboarding
When someone leaves, you should be able to remove access immediately.
Delays increase risk. The ability to instantly remove access prevents:
Former employees retaining sensitive information
Ex-employees poaching staff
Compliance risk
Secure Cloud Storage
Team communication should stay in secure cloud storage rather than being stored on personal devices.
This helps keep conversations, files, and updates in one secure place, makes information easier to manage, and reduces the risk of important company data being tied to individual employee devices.
Compliance Readiness
Compliance is an important part of choosing a team chat app, especially for businesses that handle sensitive employee, customer, or internal information.
Your team chat app should support the data protection and industry requirements that apply to your business, such as GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2.
Why Many Businesses Struggle with Internal Communication
The issue usually isn't that your teams have no way to message each other. It's that your communication app doesn't match the way your business actually works.
Personal messaging apps are easy to use, but they may not give you enough control for internal communication. Enterprise team communication apps may offer more control, but they can also require more training and feel less convenient for non-technical teams to use every day.
In many companies, that leaves people switching between apps, chasing updates across locations, and trying to remember where a task, file, or decision was last shared.
That's where communication starts to fall through the cracks, and why many businesses are looking into team chat apps that provide a balance of both professional features and ease of use.
Choosing the Right Team Communication Software
The best team communication software should help you keep team communication clear without making the work chat app harder to use than the work itself.
Look for a team communication app that gives you:
Clarity so everyone knows where information lives
Accountability so you can turn messages into tasks
Accessibility so that every employee actually uses it
Control so you decide who has access to what
You shouldn't have to choose between usability and compliance.
You shouldn't have to sacrifice professional control for convenience.
The right professional team chat app gives you both.
Final Thoughts
To improve internal communication, you need a secure team chat app because it makes team communication easier to manage, easier to keep organized, and easier to control across your business.
When conversations, updates, and files stay in one secure place, your team can communicate more clearly, important information is easier to find, and you’ll have better visibility into daily team communication.
About the Author
Post by:
Rebecca Lazar
Rebecca Lazar is the Product Marketing Manager at Zenzap. She specializes in helping companies become more efficient and communicate better, while ensuring data security and compliance.
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