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These are testing times for the United States. The country’s commanding scientific position is being thrown into question by the current administration’s controversial policies. Nature Index 2017 United States reveals that the country’s output of high-quality research in the natural sciences has declined over the past five years, following on from long-term declines in federal funding for research and development. At the current pace, China could overtake the US as the top contributor to the Nature Index within a decade.