UK science funding boost

Abstract

Three major UK funding initiatives have been announced recently that are designed to greatly increase research in the areas of bioinformatics, structural genomics and proteomics. The British government announced a £725m increase in the overall science budget over the next three years, incorporating a £356m increase for basic research. This is broken down in two parts: £252m targeted specifically at the areas of genomics (including gene function, structural analyses and the development of postgenome technologies), e-science (bioinformatics, terascale computing and high-performance visualization) and basic technology (notably in nanotechnology). The remaining £104m will go to the research councils to boost their own budgets. A further £10m fund is to be set up to aid the commercialization of research funded by the public sector, providing funds to bridge the gap between the end of research funding and the stage at which the private sector might become involved. This welcome boost to UK science funding is enthusiastically backed by the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, recognizing the importance of science to the economy. The government has also promised to continue to increase science spending, reversing the underinvestment imposed by previous governments. D.S.