In the past, governments have worked much more closely with scientists to respond to emergencies.
Revolutionary technologies like CRISPR are founded on discoveries uncovered through basic research that attracts very little attention.
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On average, important new lab techniques like CRISPR take 23 years to develop – but there is a public expectation that scientific breakthroughs occur quickly and efficiently.
Federal and university employees normally work side by side on many big science projects.
ITAE
Lots of academic scientists collaborate with federal employees and resources on their research projects. And at the moment they can’t. A climatologist explains the bind they’re in.
Ongoing wildlife studies are one kind of federally funded research that’s sidelined during a shutdown.
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Setting aside personal hardships for workers who don’t see a paycheck during the shutdown, the research enterprise itself loses out, too. And unlike back pay, this lost time can never be made up.
Kindling interest might be better than filling people with facts.
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The scientific community always wants more cash to fund research. A new study examines whether more concrete knowledge of science or more general interest in it is likelier to loosen the pursestrings.
Money doesn’t grow in flasks – scientists have to find funds outside the lab.
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Money always seems tight for university scientists. A sociologist conducted hundreds of interviews to see how they think about funding sources and profit motives for basic and applied research.
You can’t keep a good scientist down.
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President Trump’s first year was a rough one for scientists and others who value truth and expertise. Many rallied to the cause, while others used research to make the case for the value of science.
Basic research and applications coexist in a tangled two-way ecosystem.
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Research dollars don’t stay locked up in academia and government labs. R&D collaborations with the private sector are common – and grow the innovation economy.
Fishing boats docked at Hobart, Tasmania
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Peter C. Doherty, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
In its broadest sense, the March for Science aims to cause US legislators to reflect a little and understand what they risk if they choose to erode their global scientific leadership.
Australians support science, but nuanced views are found amongst people with differing incomes and education.
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The research community tends to assume advocacy doesn’t mix with objectivity. One study suggests there’s room for scientists to make real-world recommendations without compromising their trusted status.
Not much science will get done without the money to fund people and equipment.
Michael Pereckas
What are research dollars actually spent on? Rather than looking at artifacts like publications and patents, a new initiative directly tracks the people and businesses that receive research funding.
In the wake of the Flint water crisis and with a new notably anti-science president, U.S. scientists are reevaluating how to navigate the tension between speaking out and a fear of losing research funding.
A work of fiction gives an interesting insight into the real world of science research.
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Thomas Barlow is more used to writing factual reports on science innovation, so his first novel gives an entertaining insight into the science community.
The new Science Minister, Senator Arthur Sinodinos.
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