Critical health and science research is on the chopping block as Trump actions trigger shutdowns and confusion

CNN — Scientists, faculty and staff at Emory University received an alarming email Saturday: An announcement of funding caps from the National Institutes of Health meant scientists and their labs at research institutions across the US would need to tighten their belts. “To put it simply, this development could affect nearly every academic unit at Emory, with both immediate and long-term consequences for our scientific research, clinical trials, patient care, and other academic pursuits,” the memo said. “Without having sufficient funding, I don’t know how many universities are going to be able to continue to be leading research institutions in the world, quite frankly.” A White House official defended the administration’s actions, adding that it is doing an “audit” of what federal funding is going out the door. “I understand there’s a sense of concern here, but this isn’t an anti-science administration.” How the science gets done The federal government funds about 40% of the basic research conducted in the United States, according to the National Science Foundation; pulling that funding pipeline would deliver a crippling blow not just to America’s universities but to progress in cancer research, climate science and more. In response to a question about whether they could get another job and still be paid severance, the email encouraged it: “The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector.” “So I’ll just be doing my low-productivity NIH job, inhibiting American prosperity,” one health researcher told CNN.