Scientists worry about their funding's future

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With executive orders from a new political administration and announcements about changes to funding processes at the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and others, many scientists across the U.S. have spent the past weeks worrying about losing the support essential for keeping their projects going. As University of Arizona astronomer Chris Impey explains, the United States is no longer the global leader in science that it once was, and these attempts to cut funding suggest that the country will not return to the top anytime soon.

I got to spend this past weekend surrounded by scientists at the American Association of the Advancement of Science’s annual conference, and in several sessions I heard similar sentiments. Speakers described potential ways forward – a focus on science education, programs to keep graduate students out of poverty, and artificial intelligence tools that could assist researchers in and out of the lab. All these ideas require continued funding of scientific enterprise – investments that often pay off by strengthening the economy and leading to new technologies that improve quality of life.

It’s a strange time for science, and as this past weekend showed me, new discoveries and cutting-edge research haven’t stopped. However, these projects aren’t free – and as Impey’s article suggests, a strong scientific future is a well-funded one.

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Mary Magnuson

Associate Science Editor

National Institutes of Health indirect costs, which are under the knife, go toward managing laboratories and facilities. Fei Yang/Moment via Getty Images

Cutting funding for science can have consequences for the economy, US technological competitiveness

Chris Impey, University of Arizona

The jury’s out on whether the US is still at the top of global science. Proposed cuts to major agencies could mean completely ceding that title.

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