ABOVE: © ISTOCK, ANNECORDON
The ongoing US federal government shutdown, which began on December 22, is affecting the research community. Grant proposals are no longer being reviewed at the National Science Foundation, and the agency is likely to postpone its evaluations of postdoctoral fellowship applicants, Nature reports. Meanwhile, at least one researcher at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has had to put a hold on hiring new young scientists to his lab. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA are also among the agencies whose “non-essential” employees have been ordered to cease working during this latest budget crisis.
“Any shutdown of the federal government can disrupt or delay research projects, lead to uncertainty over new research, and reduce researcher access to agency data and infrastructure,” American Association for the Advancement of Science CEO Rush Holt tells Chemistry World.
Because Congress has already approved a budget for the ...
