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The BBC reports that the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills is in discussion with the Treasury about about a £1bn cash boost for scientific research as part of a stimulus package, similar to that seen in the US.

This funding is intended to 'keep academic talent in the UK while putting money into the ailing economy.' There is a concern that the downturn could destroy the scientific skills that draw high-tech companies to the UK in addition to potential 'brain-drain' which could see UK scientists drawn to the US and Asian countries where research funding has been dramatically increased.

It is hoped a decision will be made by the end of the month.
Read the BBC article in full.

US reversal on stem cell funding

The BBC reports that US President Barack Obama has 'lifted restrictions on federal funding for research on new stem cell lines'. This a significant change in policy after Ex-President George Bush blocked the use of any government money to fund research on human embryonic stem cell lines created after 9 August 2001. It is thought that this decision could see Congress overturning a ban on spending tax dollars to create embryos in the future. Perhaps predictably, the move to life the ban on federal funding was 'welcomed by stem cell researchers but criticised by opponents and social conservatives'.

Read the BBC article in full.

US Congress passes science stimulus package

Analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science reports that the finalised $790 billion economic recovery bill will allocate $21.5 billion for federal R&D. The $21.5 billion will give $18 billion to federal agencies for the conduct of R&D and $3.5 billion for R&D facilities and large equipment. For a federal research portfolio that has been declining in real terms since FY 2004, the final stimulus bill provides an immediate boost that allows federal research funding to see a real increase for the first time five years.

High priorities are basic competitiveness-related research, biomedical research, energy R&D and climate change programmes. The National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE OS), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the three agencies highlighted in the America COMPETES Act of 2007 and President Bush’s American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI), will all receive significant boosts to their budgets. The final stimulus bill challenges the major R&D funding agencies to spend these large stimulus appropriations quickly, while at the same time spending them well. There will be unusual scrutiny of how and how fast the money will be spent. Scrutiny will be made possible by extensive accountability and transparency mandates in the bill, including separate appropriations for agency inspectors general and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to monitor stimulus spending.

Read the comprehensive AAAS report in full.

Amount of doctorates awarded in US continues to increase

Figures from the National Science Foundation have shown that for the fourth year running US Universities have seen a growth in the number of doctorates awarded in science and engineering with a particular increase in the number of PhDs awarded to international students. More than half of all the new doctorates went to international students with China, India and Korea providing the majority.