The Trump administration has brought biomedical research to the brink of crisis by holding up much of the $47 billion the United States spends on the field every year. The world’s leading medical labs can be found in the United States, and they rely on grants from the National Institutes of Health. The agency has stopped vetting future studies on cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and other ailments. Trump aides have said they just need time to review spending their predecessors had promised, but it’s unclear what they’re looking for at the N.I.H. or when scholars can expect to start receiving money again. Scientists are panicked, and hundreds of studies are at a standstill, including ones on pancreatic cancer, brain injuries, and child health. The administration has also proposed other big changes, saying that universities should bear more of the “indirect costs” of research: maintaining lab space, paying support staff.
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