Trump’s attack on science is growing fiercer and more indiscriminate
It started as a crackdown on DEI. Now all types of research are being cancelled
SCIENTISTS IN AMERICA are used to being the best. The country is home to the world’s foremost universities, hosts the lion’s share of scientific Nobel laureates and has long been among the top producers of influential research papers. Generous funding helps keep the system running. Counting both taxpayer and industrial dollars, America spends more on research than any other country. The federal government doles out around $120bn a year, $50bn or so of which goes towards tens of thousands of grants and contracts for higher-education institutions, with the rest going to public research bodies.
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How cuts to science funding will hurt ordinary Americans
Federal agencies are struggling to predict the weather and monitor disease
America is on the precipice of an academic brain drain
Other countries may benefit. Science will suffer
Contact sports can cause brain injuries. Should kids still play?
Modifying rules and grouping players by size rather than age can limit the risks
For the first time, a CRISPR drug treats a child’s unique mutation
Scientists hope more children will benefit
The race to build the fighter planes of the future
They can hold more fuel, carry more weaponry and boast more computing power
Britain is now the biggest funder of solar-geoengineering research
It is supporting experiments to thicken sea ice and make clouds more reflective