ListNook

nrith May 2, 2026 +968

\> Lieber was found guilty by a jury and [convicted in December 2021](https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/harvard-professor-lied-about-china-ties-us-jury-told-trial-nears-end-2021-12-21/) of making false statements to federal investigators about his ties to a Chinese state program to recruit overseas talent, and tax offenses related to [payments he received](https://www.reuters.com/world/ex-harvard-professor-sentenced-6-months-house-arrest-lying-about-china-ties-2023-04-26/) from a Chinese university. He served two days in prison and six months under ‌house arrest, and was fined $50,000 and ordered to pay $33,600 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. During the case, his defense said he was suffering from an incurable lymphoma, which was in remission, and he was fighting for his life. Sounds like a stand-up guy.

968

SkinnyBill93 May 2, 2026 +511

2 days in prison give me a f****** break, people do more time for an unpaid traffic ticket.

511

light_white_seamew May 2, 2026 +335

According to the article, the recruitment thing wasn't a crime. The crime was that he lied to authorities about being involved. In the grand scheme of things, lying about doing something you're allowed to do isn't that bad a crime unless it's impeding a kidnap investigation or something else pressing. As for the tax offense, I do think we need to crack down on tax fraud, but it's clear a large swathe of the US government doesn't agree. So it's not surprising to get a light sentence for that.

335

TrogdorBurns May 3, 2026 +30

Lying to investigators is why Martha Stewart went to jail. It's not the crime, it's the cover up.

30

speculatrix May 4, 2026 +3

The great thing about insider trading is that snitches get riches. If only I could report everybody in the Trump Administration to the SEC and have them actually prosecute, I could retire early and buy everybody in my extended family a house.

3

LittleKitty235 May 4, 2026 +1

Insider trading is also illegal, it was just easier to prove she lied. Had she been honest about acting on non public information to investigators she would have also gone to jail. Her best option would have been to say nothing

1

magneticanisotropy May 2, 2026 +47

Eh, there's lots of things where failing to disclose is a crime. And it really shouldn't be minimized. Example: guy gets DoD grants while also being involved with a Chinese recruitment program. Doesn't disclose. No big deal then?

47

Desalzes_ May 2, 2026 +54

I’d much rather see pioneers in scientific fields being given light sentences than politicians, CEO’s, the most prolific living child trafficker that we know of

54

DigitalArbitrage May 3, 2026 +3

This guy sounds more like a mad scientist than a tech pioneer though. His research involves putting computer chips into the brains of primates with the goal of later putting them into humans, and it is directly funded by an authoritarian government.

3

PlasticBag-ForA-Head May 4, 2026 +10

Minus being funded by an authoritarian government (kinda lol) what do you think Neuralink (US based, owned by Musk) does?

10

Desalzes_ May 3, 2026 +3

Replace pioneers in my comment with mad scientist and it still stands. The government might be doing something bad with it but I really doubt the scientist is

3

Qcgreywolf May 3, 2026 +4

Yes…. And as awful as it sounds, what do we do when China has direct brain interface technology and we have…. what? Coal power, gasoline cars and… guns? The US is losing its edges in every category, this one story is just a drop in a leaking bucket.

4

DigitalArbitrage May 3, 2026

The U.S. recently invented Car-T cell therapy which is likely to cure cancer and a bunch of other health stuff. China is investing in mind control chips and humanoid robotics, because they want to control their population. That shouldn't be a model we emulate in the U.S./West.

0

Glad-Tax6594 May 2, 2026 +24

And less time for raping kids.

24

Snarfbuckle May 2, 2026 +24

Zero if you are a president apparently.

24

DoubleBlackBSA24 May 2, 2026 +9

People do less for being known rapists and pedophiles, heck they can even be president.

9

dizzymorningdragon May 2, 2026 +58

Would be nice if the US actually paid professors and scientists a living. Many of my professors in college had to work in 2-3 different campuses to get paid a living.

58

SamKhan23 May 2, 2026 +44

Charles Lieber wasn’t some adjunct professor. He was a professor at Harvard - the salary at places like those is $140,000 atleast, and he wasn’t just some professor either. He had been a full professor at Harvard since 1992, which is well before the alleged fraud.

44

Living_Armadillo_652 May 4, 2026 +6

Full professors in Harvard make at least 300-400k a year, that’s typical for top private universities and Harvard is one of the best paying. Also Lieber wasn’t just another professor, he was a university professor which is the highest grade of professor you can get at Harvard. He likely was making >500k.

6

SamKhan23 May 4, 2026 +1

Agreed, I’m just giving the absolute lowest. Also, reading my comment again, I really did not make it clear at all that I was talking about his initial salary in 1992z

1

dosedatwer May 4, 2026 -1

>the salary at places like those is $140,000 atleast And how much are the medical bills for lymphoma?

-1

SamKhan23 May 4, 2026 +5

Well, considering the alleged arrangement happened in 2011 and he was diagnosed in 2019, it’s not actually relevant. If he did it because of cancer bills, he must also be a psychic in addition to being a genius. But I think it’s interesting to think about, so anyhow: He’s a full professor at Harvard, which offers a subsidized health plan. According to https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/09/harvards-healthcare-plans-whats-changing-whats-staying-the-same/ that’s a pretty beefy plan, and would have been covering a significant amount of the costs. Explicitly, Harvard has explicit, capped out-of-pocket maximums and reimbursement programs for high medical costs.

5

metal079 May 2, 2026 +53

Im pretty sure a Harvard professor makes decent money

53

BenjaminHarrison88 May 3, 2026 +7

Professors and scientists get paid okay. You seem to be referring to adjuncts

7

Cormacolinde May 2, 2026 -1

\> During the case, his defense said he was suffering from an incurable lymphoma, which was in remission, and he was fighting for his life. That’s… not a defense. It’s definitely up there with the Chewbacca and affluenza defenses.

-1

bozon92 May 2, 2026 +32

Lymphoma, even in remission is a real disease (it’s cancer). Chewbacca and affluenza are not. You serious buddy? I’m not saying that excuses any actions but pretending a real illness is on the same level as two fake illnesses is dumb as hell

32

SaltyShawarma May 2, 2026 +1

[ Removed by Listnook ]

1

slick13radley May 2, 2026 -6

Honestly sounds like they could make a Breaking Bad type show about this guy. Cook meth to pay for healthcare? Nah... sell secrets to China to pay for healthcare.

-6

Objective_Law5013 May 3, 2026 +1

then get set up with a bleeding edge brain computer interface research lab in China and transfer your brain into a cyborg body to avoid dying from cancer.

1

[deleted] May 2, 2026 -2

[deleted]

-2

Clutteredmind275 May 2, 2026 +3

Karl Frankenstein

3

NoWomanNoTriforce May 2, 2026 -7

Incurable lymphoma that is in remission? Like it just shrank?

-7

BaconSoul May 2, 2026 +14

Remission means it’s just not growing.

14

youre-all-horrible May 2, 2026 +395

Actually it’s Brian’s - they made a typo. Us is seeing a drain of people called brian

395

Eclectophile May 2, 2026 +75

It's actually a drian of Brians, sorry about that. You didn't get the memo about the double typo. We apologize for the inconvenience.

75

thepianoman456 May 2, 2026 -4

I knew that IQ-raising puzzle app I downloaded recently felt weird… Brian games is not what you think. I’m having a good time keeping my Brian alive though.

-4

Eclectophile May 2, 2026 +1

Be careful while you're drian them. They get excited.

1

BigHowski May 2, 2026 +7

Don't worry though, they're not the messiah, they're just a naughty boy

7

HappyGoElephant 5 days ago +3

lovely to see python in the wild in these times of passing ruffians

3

Phonemonkey2500 May 3, 2026 +5

‘Ello, my name’s Brian Damağe.

5

Rattus_NorvegicUwUs May 2, 2026 +162

This is what happens when you let the Heritage Foundation write your laws. They don’t give a f*** about the success of this nation, only the success of their schemes. America gave up its scientific edge by voting for the GOP. You did this to yourself.

162

Crocs_n_Glocks 6 days ago

The heritage foundation made this guy lie about having cancer so he could continue to be bribed by China into doing borderline-ethical research on monkeys to be used to create super soldiers? I don't want to give HF credit for keeping this guy out of the country, because he seems like a sociopath/Musk Wannabe.

0

Rattus_NorvegicUwUs 6 days ago +1

People don’t up and leave their life’s work just because you hate science. They will go where the money is. HF led the charge to gut American science, don’t get mad at the regular folks just trying to survive in a world ruined by conservatives. Funny enough, musk also followed their orders with doge. They just needed a fall guy.

1

Crocs_n_Glocks 5 days ago +1

You clearly don't know who this guy is or what he's doing. People will up and leave their life's work if they're pursuing it into immortal/unethical territory and don't want to go to jail. Just because someone wants to push science into dangerous territory, it doesn't mean we need that particular science. We should fund the cancer researchers....I don't want funding going to guys who want to clone humans or create AI soldiers, or (like this guy) have a "life's work" of making a chip the military can implant in a teenager's brain to make them a murderous automaton.

1

Rattus_NorvegicUwUs 5 days ago

Funny. I lost my job studying cancer, thanks to the GOP waging war on science. If the Chinese offered me a million dollars to work for them, I’d be gone before you can say Ni Hao

0

Crocs_n_Glocks 5 days ago +1

I'm not arguing politics here, we probably agree more than you assume. I'm just saying this particular scientist is a piece of shit (lies about his research, lies about cancer, violates research ethics) and his life's work is devoted to stuff that is going to make the world even more terrible (brain implants for military applications)

1

Rattus_NorvegicUwUs 5 days ago +1

Sure. Some work is unethical. But I doubt the nuances are being understood or considered by the public. This whole “he lied about cancer” thing makes me a little uncomfortable. Cancer can go into remission, I’ve seen stage IV colon cancer go into remission, anything is possible. But right now there is a full on war on science waged by the GOP and their propaganda mouthpieces. I’ll go to bat for any scientist over whatever the f*** republicans want to turn the field into. They put a man who eats roadkill and swims in sewage in charge of public health. They make a mockery of my life’s work. Yet I’m supposed to believe them about some Chinese boogeyman. Expect more of these stories as America cuts research funds. I expect more “pieces of shit” will appear as more and more of us get scooped. America did this to itself.

1

Crocs_n_Glocks 5 days ago +1

>I’ll go to bat for any scientist over whatever the f*** republicans want to turn the field into. This isn't a "scientist vs Republicans" thing dude. He was convicted under the Biden administration.

1

Rattus_NorvegicUwUs 5 days ago +1

But it is. Leiber is a god among neuroscientists. If the U.S. can’t retain talent, that’s on them. Am I really expected to turn down an opportunity to develop my career because, what? Patriotism? Love for my nation, as it tries to make me homeless? F*** that. I’ll do what’s best for me and my family. The conviction was due to lying… in this day and age that laughable. Our elected leaders lie under oath now, so sorry if I roll my eyes at the claim. If this was a French laboratory poaching US talent you wouldn’t hear shit about it. As for “has military applications”. That’s just speculative bullshit. Made to stir up fear in people who are gullible. BCIs are on the precipice of actually working long term, right in time for the U.S. to cut research funds, and the Chinese to increase them. If you don’t want to lose to the Chinese, try something that isn’t self-sabotage?

1

999Sepulveda May 2, 2026 +68

You guys are missing the real news here. This guy found a cure for terminal lymphoma!

68

[deleted] May 2, 2026 +78

[deleted]

78

Particular_Drawer773 May 2, 2026 -17

If he went into remission it was not terminal, by definition.

-17

ShermansAngryGhost May 2, 2026 +33

Terminal, by definition, means that we can’t cure or reduce it, not that it’s guaranteed to kill you.

33

BarCompetitive7220 May 2, 2026 +260

Brain drain continues in US

260

The_Oregon_Duck May 2, 2026 +413

I mean, it’s obvious this guy was going to China regardless if you’ve seen what he was convicted for.

413

TheDadThatGrills May 2, 2026 +264

You're telling me the guy crying brain drain didn't put in the effort to read past the headline?

264

Starfox-sf May 2, 2026 +45

He drained his brain

45

[deleted] May 2, 2026 +54

[removed]

54

ChankiriTreeDaycare May 2, 2026 +9

If they can read

9

Negative-Squirrel81 May 2, 2026 +8

I get a paywall upon clicking the article.

8

tabrizzi May 2, 2026 +15

Regardless, it's still brain drain. For China, he becomes the magnet that attracts some of the brightest students in his field from around the world. And it goes on from there.

15

pencock May 2, 2026 -13

its a play on words…brain computer now in china. and thescientist. its a double entendre.

-13

Rattus_NorvegicUwUs May 2, 2026 +23

…because they capitalized on the brain drain? The fact an American wants to work for the Chinese isn’t a sign of his flaws. It’s a sign of the flaws in the way we do science here. Academics are treated like shit and attacked by the right. While China venerates them and will shell out big bucks to make breakthroughs. The GOP wants to break Americas lead in the sciences, where did you think those scientists would go? Into the Nike factory? Learn to weld? Lmao. Nah dude these people are the best in the world at what they do, they were always going to get scooped. You did this to yourself. You failed to recognize the unique talent of American scientists, and are only mad because China does recognize that talent.

23

SgtRuy May 2, 2026 +46

China can easily buy out scientist from the US, and it's not even because they have more money. Americans have simply become a society allergic to science

46

lml_CooKiiE_lml May 4, 2026 +2

You can say that for most American’s, but there are still many American scientists, and many good ones at that. I wouldn’t speak on this if you aren’t in the field of science

2

dantodd May 2, 2026 -42

That is the worst take ever. If it were true we would not be pumping out world class scientists that other countries seek to "buy out".

-42

mostafaelmadridy May 2, 2026 +22

You mean the scientists who came from developing countries to have better access to quality research that got gutted in favor of the defense budget and got harassed and deported by ICE? those scientists?

22

lml_CooKiiE_lml May 4, 2026 +1

Scientists come from everywhere. There are plenty of good American scientists still. There is certainly disdain by scientists on what’s happening in politics currently, but plenty of them are still here. Universities pay well too, especially if you’re tenured. Some scientists are leaving the US, but there’s still plenty of opportunity in the field here.

1

mostafaelmadridy 6 days ago +2

I know and the USA was and still is a great attractor for the science field and I have spent my entire medical school (and all other Egyptian doctors) period dreaming of the opportunities there, but the last few years since covid19 there has been many red flages and turned into complete disillusionment these two years, political opinions aside the environment has become very hostile to any ambition of a stable productive career and progression of science unfortunately...

2

SgtRuy May 2, 2026 +12

The only scientist Americans care about buying out is only on service of corporations. And they been able to still buy outbid other countries because of how much money the US has, but the federal debt is at an all time high and we are already seeing the first suggestions for cutting spending is NASA, EPA, FDA and education. And the scientist that care more about science than money already treat the US as a toxic swamp.

12

lml_CooKiiE_lml May 4, 2026 +1

You obviously have no insight on university budgeting and activities. You should really butt out of this conversation since you have no idea what you’re talking about.

1

SgtRuy May 4, 2026

American universities, very well known for prioritizing accessibility and teaching and not for putting every new generation into a life long debt.

0

lml_CooKiiE_lml May 4, 2026 +2

That’s a completely different point. Your point was that only private corporations would spend money on scientists. Universities pay scientists very well, so don’t talk like you know anything about the subject, and don’t bring out another random unrelated strawman point.

2

SgtRuy May 4, 2026

But it is related. My point in general is that the US right now is running in mere inertia, sure a tenured professor or stablished researcher makes a decent pay (specially in fields that are still related to the big industries like pharma or fossil fuels). But it really seems like the ladder has completely been taken out for new generations of would be scientist, because there is no societal interest in science. And it's not like I'm pulling my opinion out of my ass, science communicators have been sounding the alarm for a while from Niel deGresse Tyson, to Hank Green. Visas are getting denied to foreign researchers, some of the ones that were already in the US are getting deported, universities keep bending the knee to then government at any turn. And no, Trump's administration is not an outlier phenomenon, it's the natural result of the US' culture, a candidate that got the presidency by running on climate change denying, anti-vaxxing, and an overall anti-emprical tendency is not a freak accident it's just a summary of society.

0

lml_CooKiiE_lml May 4, 2026

You should really work on your grammar and spelling. It would make what you’re saying a lot more trustworthy. You’re making the specific case of no societal interests for scientists and the field of science in the US, but your case is applicable to higher education in general. Again, you’re arguing a different point anyways. Your initial point was that scientists in America are only being “bought out” by private corporations. That is not the case because many universities pay well and are the target career path for many scientists. You’re making an entirely different point: there is no investment in science in the US. I’d say that’s partially true, but there are too many tech companies in the US for it to be fully true. The US also exports education, so again there will always be an investment into sciences in the US. Whether or not the general populace supports that is a different question. You bring up good points and concerns, but you need to lay them out in an organized manner. If you’re trying to convey the lack of interest in science in the US and concern of that, then you need to decouple it from payment to people in sciences because they are not related, or at least are only correlated. No causation.

0

[deleted] May 2, 2026 +45

[deleted]

45

Crocs_n_Glocks 5 days ago +1

Why would we want a guy whose life work is making a chip that the military can implant into a teenager to turn them into a murderous automaton?

1

Senanb May 2, 2026 -13

The evidence shows the brain drain is the other way around. More people are moving from China to US then the other way around. This case is unique as it works in reverse than current trends.

-13

technobrendo May 2, 2026 +12

While true, I bet its slowed significantly in recent years. For obvious reasons.

12

sceadwian May 2, 2026 +12

The number of people doesn't necessarily matter it's the relative skillsets that are being transferred.

12

Senanb 6 days ago +1

This doesn't agree with the data. More educated people are moving out of China than moving to China.

1

sceadwian 6 days ago +1

I said relative skillsets. Where are the real experts going? No one really knows that.

1

Senanb 6 days ago +1

The experts are going to USA where you can get the highest salaries in the world. I've not seen any data that China is experiencing an influx in immigration of any kind.

1

sceadwian 6 days ago +1

According to whom?

1

MudWallHoller May 2, 2026 -13

Yep, probably a ton of this already.

-13

dantodd May 2, 2026 -22

The brain drain would be greatly reduced if we limited foreign students to 10% of graduate school admissions and prevented them from leaving for 10 years. Not that any of that would be legal or right but if you are concerned about brain drain....

-22

OZManHam May 2, 2026 +16

> But it also has potential military applications: Scientists at China’s People’s Liberation Army have investigated brain interfaces as a way to engineer super soldiers by boosting mental agility and situational awareness, according to the U.S. Defense Department. Oh lord

16

[deleted] May 2, 2026 +6

[removed]

6

njman100 May 2, 2026 +21

American Scientists are leaving the U.S. in droves. Trump is causing an American Brain 🧠 Drain that will take decades to recover, if ever

21

redloeb May 4, 2026 +1

Funny, usually they just run America.

1

[deleted] May 2, 2026 -18

[removed]

-18

Rasui36 May 2, 2026 +80

Or, and this is a radical idea I know, how about **having a country that rewards their talents that they would want to live in**.

80

txroller May 2, 2026 +35

And maybe invest in research programs, instead of cancelling them? As well as arguing against scientific programs to lessen social impact like the validity of vaccines and face masks? Let’s face it. The current administration/party in charge is canceling the whole community.

35

Previous-Height4237 May 2, 2026 +7

>This seems like a really thorny problem to address. The United States doesn't have a "*too brilliant to be allowed to leave the country*" policy, even for convicted criminals. Because it'll be trillions of dollars worth of lawsuits demanding welfare for loss of right to travel and freedom in a country with an insolvent welfare programs as we head off a fiscal cliff due to blowing it all on everything but welfare.

7

bradimir-tootin May 2, 2026 +14

We actually do have policies like that. Some scientists have to get permission to leave the country or at least notify the federal government in advance.

14

Previous-Height4237 May 2, 2026 +10

Only if they have security clearance. That applies to anyone else under that.

10

NoNutsPls May 2, 2026 +1

Whoooo, TIL. Becoming so accomplished in your field that you're considered an essential asset sounds like a lot

1

useless83 May 2, 2026 +1

He would be deemed "a threat to national security" and kept in the states.

1

disco6789 May 2, 2026 -29

Convicted former rapist become president in America so saying "convicted" like its a bad thing when Americans don't think so

-29

Jacobie23 May 2, 2026 -21

Clearly blackmailed by r Sino

-21

xrepeterx May 2, 2026 -59

Maybe old news, but hardly a nothingburger…

-59

ratbearpig May 2, 2026 +48

Article was posted April 30, 2026. Seems like pretty recent news.

48

Digital_loop May 2, 2026 -49

2 days is still older than brand new....

-49

ratbearpig May 2, 2026 +16

I don’t know what “brand new”, means in the context of a news article. This is also not a car.

16

millanstar May 2, 2026

So this is the brain power left in the US...

0

Digital_loop May 2, 2026 -3

Yes, have you not seen the reading comprehension studies recently?!

-3

[deleted] May 2, 2026 -21

[deleted]

-21

Chewym4a3 May 2, 2026 +10

What an insane thing to say lol. The exceptionalism is at normal levels!

10

Wolfie_142 May 2, 2026 +5

in other words become what they are?

5

MiguelLancaster May 3, 2026 -11

> “I arrived on April 28, 2025 with a dream and not much more, maybe a couple bags of clothes,” does 'maybe' mean that he's unsure whether he brought one, two, or three bags or that he's unsure whether he brought clothes at all

-11

Magnusk100 May 3, 2026 +11

People need to read books again. This is a perfectly normal expression...

11

fermat9990 May 3, 2026 -8

Were he here, Trump would have deported his ass!

-8

Convicted former Harvard scientist rebuilds brain computer lab in China

💬 Send a Message

112 Comments