The number of scientists in the biomedical field is growing exponentially at rates that outstrip funding. The present system of short-term research grants, resulting in armies of postdocs without career prospects, must be changed.
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* Ernst & Young, Inc. 12th Biotechnology Industry Annual Report: New Directions 1998 and European Life Sciences 1998: Continental Shift. 5th Industry Annual Report.
Acknowledgements
I thank the following people for statistical data on the various organizations: David Smith, MRC; Hubert Markl, Max-Planck Gesellschaft; Harold Varmus, NIH; Rose Grimm, FASEB; T. D. Inch, Royal Society of Chemistry; Philip Diamond, Institute of Physics; M. Bowen, American Chemical Society; Roman Czujko, American Institute of Physics; James Watson, CSHL; Mary Holmes, EMBL; Heinrich von Diek, Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker; and Heinz Metzger, Gesellschaft für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie. I thank S. Solomou for advice on economics.
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Perutz, M. Will biomedicine outgrow support?. Nature 399, 299–301 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/20538
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/20538
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