research
A rise in US visa denials for Chinese academics and intensified scrutiny of alleged links to Beijing over fears of potential espionage are having a chilling effect on long-standing research collaboration, researchers say. American and Chinese scientists have co-authored thousands of papers each year, far outpacing the output from scientific collaborations between any other two nations, according to a 2018 survey by academic database Nature Index.
The dossier on cancer researcher Xifeng Wu was thick with intrigue, if hardly the stuff of a spy thriller. It contained findings that she’d improperly shared confidential information and accepted a half-dozen advisory roles at medical institutions in China. She might have weathered those allegations, but for a larger aspersion that was far more problematic: She was branded an oncological double agent.
Last week, The Washington Post reported that pharmaceutical firm Pfizer has data showing that an arthritis treatment it owns called Enbrel may also lower the risk of getting Alzheimer’s by 64 per cent. But, according to critics, Pfizer has elected not to develop the drug for this condition because the patent on it will soon expire, meaning the company won’t profit from pursuing it further.
NASA has big plans for its immediate future, including missions to Mars and of course the Moon 2024 effort that was completely unaccounted for in the most recent federal budget. When it comes to science, funding can be hard to come by, and many of NASA’s projects are pricey.
The U.S. must continue to develop and support an innovation economy that, “collaborates with allies and partners, improves STEM education, draws on an advanced technical workforce, and invests in early-stage research and development,” according to the latest U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS).4 Further, the NSS asserts that the nation must continue to be the destination of choice for the “innovative and the inventive, the brilliant and the bold.”
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released its FY 2016 annual report for the $2.4 billion obligated by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and $313.6 million by the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The report includes the number and dollar amount of SBIR and STTR awards for each state.
More and more research institutions are cutting their ties to Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications powerhouse, either officially or unofficially. And institutions have reasons to be wary of research money from the world’s largest supplier of telecom equipment, given that Huawei’s been accused of serious crimes in the U.S. It’s also hard if not impossible to separate Huawei from the Chinese government.
Despite its limitations, publicly available data on research and development (R&D) expenditures remains one of the best metrics for measuring state progress in the innovation economy. Defined as the sum of multiple National Science Foundation (NSF) measures - including business and industry R&D, higher education R&D, and R&D at federally funded centers...
Speaking to chief information officers and other senior technology officials at the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, Mr. Johnson said the drop in federal research-and-development funding is one of the key drivers behind declines in U.S. productivity growth, which has averaged 1.3% a year for the past decade, down from 2.8% a year in the decades before 1970.
The success of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) programs shows that effective public-private partnerships can play an important role in stimulating America’s innovation economy. In general, the SBIR and STTR programs have been highly successful and deserve Congress’s continued and enthusiastic support.