Image by Ousa Chea.

Once Upon a Time

There was a time not too long ago when American scientists and American research facilities were the envy of the world. In those days, our scientists typically swept Nobel and other international prizes. Not anymore; the Trump administration’s drastic cuts in scientific personnel and budgets will “essentially end America’s longstanding role as the world leader in science and innovation,” said Toby Smith, senior vice president for government relations and public policy at the Association of American Universities.

The results are clear: As two economists recently wrote, in cutting-edge scientific research, whereas in 2017 the US led China in eight categories, by 2023, it led in only one (quantum computing).

We sometimes forget how important government-supported scientific research at university and other laboratories is in ordinary life. One study mentions as examples, “lifesaving medicine, commercial agriculture, and virtual communication. . . . Of the 356 new drugs approved over the past decade, 354 received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world’s largest supporter of biomedical research.”

The smartphone,........

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