The Economist reported that in 1990, North America, Europe, and Japan carried out more than 95 percent of the R&D done in the world, and by 2007 that number had dropped to 76 percent, while China's spending on R&D is skyrocketing and the number of scientists there is set to overtake both the US and the EU. S. Pelech comments that while much of the research in North America is actually performed by Asian researchers living abroad, and it is actually nice to see places like China and India contribute more to the growth of global biomedical research, because ultimately we will all benefit in terms of improved diagnostics and therapeutics as well as new knowledge. Read More...

Tags: R&D spending, Publications, China

Blogger Nathan Ley in the Guardian described the difficulty he and his acquaintances have recently experienced in getting accepted into a PhD training in graduate school due in part to cutbacks in science funding and the stiff competition for limited spots. S. Pelech notes that without any advertisement, last year he has received over 150 enquiries for a graduate student position in his academic lab, the vast majority arising from China, India and Iran. China's higher education institutes had over 31 million students, an increase of some 35% from 2005 levels, so it is not surprising that many of the best and brightest of students from China and other developing countries are looking to the West for graduate and post-graduate training, and probably subsequently permanent jobs. Read More...

Tags: Career, Graduate training, China

John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, has argued that by working with China, the US can encourage the country to change, while Frank Wolf (R-Va.) has suggested detachment would show that the US opposes a number of China's policies, and has drawn up a proposal for a ban on bilateral science talks with China. S. Pelech points out that government organizations in numerous countries have designated significant funding to support scientific research with specific partnering countries to induce collaborations, but this is usually at the expense of funding for other research programs that are less politically-motivated. Effective collaborations arise from the congruent interests of scientists throughout the world, and geography is not really a barrier except when politics intervenes. Read More...

Tags: China, US foreign policy

Mara Hvistendahl in ScienceInsider reported that China's Premier Wen Jiabao announced his government has earmarked $5.14 billion for basic research in 2012, a 26 percent increase from 2011. Overall spending on science and technology in China will rise 12.4 percent to $36.23 billion. S. Pelech feels that it is actually wonderful to see places like China contribute more significantly to the growth of biomedical research, because ultimately we will all benefit in terms of improved diagnostics and therapeutics as well as new knowledge. He speculates that the rise of the Far East might actually further encourage North America and Europe to increase their own commitments to biomedical research. Read More...

Tags: China

Michael Price at ScienceInsider reported that the health-research organization Research!America has conducted a new poll that shows that about half of Americans think that another country will surpass the US in healthcare, science, and technology prowess by the year 2020. "Of the 1,005 likely voters polled, 47 percent said they thought the United States would lead the world in healthcare by 2020. … Only 42 percent said they thought the United States would retain its position as the world leader in science and technology by 2020, while 26 percent predicted China would assume that mantle, and 23 percent chose India." S. Pelech reflects that a lot of the present rhetoric going around about the decline of American dominance in science and technology reminds him about the hype in the late 50's and 60's about the West lagging behind the East (at that time the East meant the Soviet Union) with the space and nuclear arms race. The calls to action resulted a marked escalation of funding to advance scientific research in the West. Read More...

Tags: Research Competition, China

Hao Xin in ScienceInsider wrote that Merck plans to spend about $1.5 billion on R&D in China over the next five years, starting with a staff of 260 in a Beijing facility to be expanded to ultimately 600. S. Pelech comments that Merck's increased investment in research in China will most likely be accompanied by further reductions in R&D spending in Europe and North America. The Chinese government's policy of restricting the export of clinical material out of China has made it necessary for pharmaceutical companies to undertake the evaluations of their clinical trials within that country. Read More...

Tags: China, Merck