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Lucasoato

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> hunting its top scientists [...] this discourages other scientists from following that career path

I take it you mean this literally (assassinations) rather than figuratively (getting hired by the competition).

> In recent years US has been hit so hard

Any evidence of this? Other than the storm in a cup that was the recent news of "dead scientists" that turned out to be a nothingburger.

The idea sounds very plausible and it happens again and again elsewhere (e.g. Israel keeps taking out Iranian scientists). But I haven't heard anything major from the US, and I doubt the US would take it lightly and keep everything quiet, especially with the current admin who would kill for more media distractions for the people.

In India, there is Bhava Atomic Research Center (BARC) where many scientists mysteriously drop dead. Too many car crashes, too many heart attacks an suicides at young age.

We know how.

This does discourage real people to take up positions there.

Latest was my childhood friend; after his Master's from a reputed institutions, did not ultimately appear at a BARC interview and is now a PhD student in a really good institution.

This does happen.

It's Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, named after Homi Bhabha.

They could just mean that foreign enrollment in US postgrad programs is down significantly, or other forms of specialized visas, etc.

You don't normally hear about these things if/when they happen, there is no official reaction, and you don't normally hear about the retaliation, either.

That being said: https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/21/us/deaths-disappearances-...

Love it. Im not American nor have my country any interest in this, but definitely promoting the webz narrative that this is nothing, storm in a teacup, nothing to see here , move along while keeping wacking key figures, would be a plausible plan.

Fortunately governments dont care about reddit sentiment and they seem to be looking, per the CNN article.

Don’t need to harm US scientists when the federal govt is so committed to harming US science

Probably the conspiracy theory about scientists dying suspiciously, that’s just pure statistical noise

People are definitely overhyping it, but a missing former Air Force maj. gen is kind of unusual, and "statistical noise" is kind of a funny oxymoron.

As opposed to the real hit on science by the sleeper cell of idiocy in the White House.

I took it to mean this. Nothing is more discouraging long-term than the prospect of not having any funding in the future.

Well is it suspicious or noise? Do you have a link?

This is a decent place to start:

“FBI looks into dead or missing scientists tied to NASA, Blue Origin, SpaceX” (fortune.com)