NIH and NASA have moved to restrict certain research collaborations by tightening requirements for co-authorship with foreign-affiliated scholars, according to reporting in Science. NIH officials reportedly told grantees to request advance permission for co-authorship involving scholars affiliated with foreign institutions, even if the work is performed in the United States. Science also reported that grantees may be required to remove from annual progress reports any publications listing foreign-institution co-authors if NIH had not previously approved a foreign component for the grant. In response to questions, an NIH spokesperson tied the update to IDeA (Institutional Development Award) grant programs and said the policy is a clarification of longstanding restrictions. NASA concerns reported by Science involve institutions allegedly being told they may have violated federal law due to co-authorship with researchers holding Chinese institutional affiliations. The agencies’ compliance actions raise immediate questions for universities running complex, internationally networked research portfolios.