蘑菇传媒

In an op-ed published in , Provost and Executive Vice President Jerry Balentine, D.O., warns that proposed funding cuts for basic scientific research would be a grave mistake for our nation’s long-term economic success. 鈥淔ar from reducing the debt burden, cuts to federal funding contribute to it by diminishing the fund of new knowledge that drives economic growth,鈥� he writes.

The for-profit sector can take basic research and turn it into useful products, but often, their origin point isn’t a business. It’s research institutions or universities, operating with federal funding. 鈥淧roposed cuts would have far-reaching consequences for more than 300,000 researchers across the country,鈥� Balentine notes. And if funding dries up, potential breakthroughs slip out of reach, as science typically advances incrementally, with discoveries building upon decades of previous work.