The Trump administration took office, stolen workers and shut down the diversity program. But behind the scenes, biomedical research has been on the brink of crisis by maintaining much of the $47 billion that the US spends on the field each year.
The world's leading medical labs can be found in the US and relies on grants from the National Institutes of Health. The agency has suspended review of future research into cancer, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease and other diseases. Trump's aides say they need time to review what their predecessor has promised, but it's unclear what they're looking for at the NIH and what academics can expect to receive the money again.
In today's newsletter we'll explain what happened and why it matters.
A complex machine
When the Trump administration froze government grants later last month, a federal judge said he couldn't contain the money Congress agreed to spend. However, spending money at NIH, which awards more than 60,000 grants per year, is not so simple.
That's because new grants endure the bureaucratic process that has been tortured. Government agencies must notify the public of grant review meetings in the federal register, a government publication. Scientists and NIH officials then meet to discuss the proposal. The problem is that the Trump administration has banned these announcements “indefinitely.” Therefore, new research projects will not be approved.
In effect, scientists say the Trump administration is circumventing court orders. Health officials have not blocked the research entirely, but by shutting down the process, they have yet to spend much of the money that Congress has allocated to various research goals.
The administration has also proposed other major changes, saying universities should take on more “indirect costs” of research. Maintaining the lab space and paying for support staff. Aide Trump says the change will reduce administrative bloat and free up more government money for research.
The lab will be suspended
Scientists have panicked, with hundreds of research halting, including those on pancreatic cancer, brain damage and child health. Last week alone, the NIH cancelled 42 of its 47 scheduled meetings to evaluate the new grant. Some examples of stalled projects:
For years, Stephanie Strasdy of the University of California, San Diego, has been studying overdose that kills around 100,000 people each year in the United States, following drug users. Her investigation into HIV infection in that group was ready to start, but suddenly stopped when the NIH canceled its review panel meeting this month. “Everything is absolutely frozen,” she told me. “It's just sitting there, hanging on Limbo.”
Anthony Richardson of the University of Pittsburgh hoped the review panel would weigh up grants for staphylococcal infections in diabetic patients, more than a tenth of Americans. It never happened. “I'm not 100% sure what their motivation is,” he said.
In response to all uncertainties, the university has been removed. The University of Pittsburgh has frozen its PhD. Enrolled. Columbia University's medical school suspended employment and spending. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has frozen employment for non-popular employees.
Some lab leaders told me they had emergency plans to fire scientists. Graduate students are looking for new sources of funding.
What's next?
It's hard to say how long the hold-up lasts. The Trump administration has not submitted a single new grant review board to the federal register since the day after it took office. And even if it starts adding new ones, agents traditionally give you a few weeks of notice.
Not only tens of thousands of people who award the NIH Awards each year, but also the American domination of biomedical research. Every dollar that agents spend on research generates more than two dollars in economic activity, the NIH said. Many patents continue. Several measures have led the US to generate more influential, health-conscious research than the next 10 major countries combined.
Science is rolling out across the country, including the red states where lawmakers complain about changed changes to indirect costs.
These findings often lay the foundation for drugs and vaccines long before private funders see jobs that are worth investing in.
Even Ozempic goes back partially its roots and works at NIH with animal venom. Scientists have discovered that Gira Monster Lizard toxins appear to have certain physiological effects, ultimately leading to one of the most profitable and promising drugs in the world. It helped.
According to scientists, new advances like those are at risk.
Latest News
Government overhaul
Most were clicked yesterday: photos of immigrants deported from the US as seen through a hotel window in Panama. One woman scribbled “help” with lipstick, while the other hugged the napkin for help.
Living in: Clint Hill was a Secret Service agent who fired in Dallas and jumped into President John F. Kennedy's limo president as he rushed to prevent Jacqueline Kennedy from falling. He died at 93.
Sports
NFL: The Green Bay Packers have submitted a proposal to the NFL competition committee to ban the Super Bowl-winning Eagles' tactic, “Tush Push.”
Scouting Combine: Young players' arms are measured and compared at a rate of 1 inch. Look at what the scouts are looking for.
NBA: The Bulls defeated the 76ers, 142-110. Philadelphia lost eight straight games.
Arts and ideas
Today, 100 years ago, musician Art Gilham entered a studio in New York and tested the soon-to-be-converted tool, the microphone. This technology has changed the performance of artists and our audience. Read on how the microphone changed the music.
Albanian
Croatian
Dutch
English
French
German
Italian
Macedonian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish