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Straits Times
2 days ago
- Science
- Straits Times
World scientists look elsewhere as US labs stagger under Trump cuts
Professor Raj Ladher, of the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India, with PhD students on May 26. PHOTO: NYTIMES World scientists look elsewhere as US labs stagger under Trump cuts NEW YORK - For decades, Bangalore, India, has been an incubator for scientific talent, sending newly minted doctoral graduates around the world to do groundbreaking research. In an ordinary year, many aim their sights at labs in the United States. 'These are our students, and we want them to go and do something amazing,' said Professor Raj Ladher, of the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore. But this is not an ordinary year. When Prof Ladher queried some 30 graduates in the city recently about their plans, only one had certain employment in the US. For many of the others, the political turmoil in Washington has dried up job opportunities in what Prof Ladher calls 'the best research ecosystem in the world.' Some decided they would now rather take their skills elsewhere, including Austria, Japan and Australia, while others opted to stay in India. As the Trump administration moves with abandon to deny visas, expel foreign students and slash spending on research, scientists in the US are becoming increasingly alarmed. The global supremacy that the US has long enjoyed in health, biology, the physical sciences and other fields, they warn, may be coming to an end. 'If things continue as they are, American science is ruined,' said physics and data science professor David W. Hogg of New York University, who works closely with astronomers and other experts around the world. 'If it becomes impossible to work with non-US scientists,' he said, 'it would basically render the kinds of research that I do impossible.' Research cuts and moves to curtail the presence of foreign students by the Trump administration have happened at a dizzying pace. The administration has gone so far as moving to block any international students at all from attending Harvard University, and more than US$3 billion (S$3.8 billion) in research grants to the university were terminated or paused. At Johns Hopkins University, a bastion of scientific research, officials announced the layoffs of more than 2,000 people after losing US$800 million in government grants. An analysis by The New York Times found that the National Science Foundation, the world's preeminent funding agency in the physical sciences, has been issuing financing for new grants at its slowest rate since at least 1990. PhD students at the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India. PHOTO: NYTIMES It is not merely a matter of the American scientific community losing power or prestige. Biology and physics professor Dirk Brockmann, who is based in Germany, warned that there were much broader implications. The acceptance of risk and seemingly crazy leaps of inspiration woven into American attitudes, he said, help produce a research environment that nowhere else can quite match. The result has been decades of innovation, economic growth and military advances. 'There is something very deep in the culture that makes it very special,' said Prof Brockmann, who once taught at Northwestern University. 'It's almost like a magical ingredient.' Scientists believe that some of the international talent that has long helped drive the US research engine may land elsewhere. Many foreign governments, from France to Australia, have also started openly courting American scientists. But because the US has led the field for so long, there is deep concern that research globally will suffer. 'For many areas, the US is absolutely the crucial partner,' said Professor Wim Leemans of the University of Hamburg and director of the accelerator division at DESY, a research centre in Germany. Prof Leemans, who is an American and Belgian citizen and spent 34 years in the US, said that in areas like medical research and climate monitoring, the rest of the world would be hard-pressed to compensate for the loss of American leadership. There was a time when the US government embraced America's role in the global scientific community. In 1945, a presidential science adviser, Vannevar Bush, issued a landmark blueprint for post-World War II science in the US. 'Science, the Endless Frontier,' it was called, and among its arguments was that the country would gain more by sharing information, including bringing in foreign scientists even if they might one day leave, than by trying to protect discoveries that would be made elsewhere anyway. The blueprint helped drive the postwar scientific dominance of the US, said Mr Cole Donovan, an international technology adviser in the Biden White House. 'Much of US power and influence is derived from our science and technology supremacy,' he said. Now the US is taking in the welcome mat. Prof Brockmann, who studies complex systems at the Dresden University of Technology, was once planning to return to Northwestern to give a keynote presentation in June. It was to be part of a family trip to the US; his children once lived in Evanston, Illinois, where he taught at the university from 2008 to 2013. He cancelled the talk after the Foreign Ministry issued new guidance on travel to the US following the detention of German tourists at the US border. That warning he said, 'was kind of a signal to me: I don't feel safe.' Mr Donovan said it was too early to tell whether Europe, say, or China could take over an international leadership role in science. Prof Ladher, the Bangalore researcher, said that so far, Europe has been taking up some of the slack in hiring his graduates. 'Austria has become a huge destination for many of our students,' he said. In Bangalore, one graduate student who is waiting to defend her doctoral thesis on cell signalling and cancer said it was widely believed in India that US labs were unlikely to hire many international students this year. That has led many of her colleagues to look elsewhere, said the student, who asked not to be named because she still planned to apply for positions in the US and did not want to hurt her chances. The American scientific community, she said, has long been revered abroad. 'It is sad to see that the hero is coming down from the pedestal,' she said. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
World Scientists Look Elsewhere as U.S. Labs Stagger Under Trump Cuts
For decades, Bangalore, India, has been an incubator for scientific talent, sending newly minted doctoral graduates around the world to do ground breaking research. In an ordinary year, many aim their sights at labs in the United States . "These are our students, and we want them to go and do something amazing," said a professor at the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, Raj Ladher. But this is not an ordinary year. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trading CFD dengan Teknologi dan Kecepatan Lebih Baik IC Markets Mendaftar Undo When Ladher queried some 30 graduates in the city recently about their plans, only one had certain employment in the United States. For many of the others, the political turmoil in Washington has dried up job opportunities in what Ladher calls "the best research ecosystem in the world." Some decided they would now rather take their skills elsewhere, including Austria, Japan and Australia, while others opted to stay in India. As the Trump administration moves with abandon to deny visas, expel foreign students and slash spending on research, scientists in the United States are becoming increasingly alarmed. The global supremacy that the United States has long enjoyed in health, biology, the physical sciences and other fields, they warn, may be coming to an end. Live Events "If things continue as they are, American science is ruined," said David W. Hogg, a professor of physics and data science at New York University who works closely with astronomers and other experts around the world. "If it becomes impossible to work with non-U.S. scientists," he said, "it would basically render the kinds of research that I do impossible." Research cuts and moves to curtail the presence of foreign students by the Trump administration have happened at a dizzying pace. The administration has gone so far as moving to block any international students at all from attending Harvard University, and more than $3 billion in research grants to the university were terminated or paused. At Johns Hopkins University , a bastion of scientific research, officials announced the layoffs of more than 2,000 people after losing $800 million in government grants. An analysis by The New York Times found that the National Science Foundation , the world's preeminent funding agency in the physical sciences, has been issuing financing for new grants at its slowest rate since at least 1990. It is not merely a matter of the American scientific community losing power or prestige. Dirk Brockmann, a biology and physics professor in Germany, warned that there were much broader implications. The acceptance of risk and seemingly crazy leaps of inspiration woven into American attitudes, he said, help produce a research environment that nowhere else can quite match. The result has been decades of innovation, economic growth and military advances. "There is something very deep in the culture that makes it very special," said Brockmann, who once taught at Northwestern University . "It's almost like a magical ingredient." Scientists believe that some of the international talent that has long helped drive the U.S. research engine may land elsewhere. Many foreign governments, from France to Australia, have also started openly courting American scientists. But because the United States has led the field for so long, there is deep concern that research globally will suffer. "For many areas, the U.S. is absolutely the crucial partner," said Wim Leemans, the director of the accelerator division at DESY, a research centre in Germany, and a professor at the University of Hamburg . Leemans, who is an American and Belgian citizen and spent 34 years in the United States, said that in areas like medical research and climate monitoring, the rest of the world would be hard-pressed to compensate for the loss of American leadership. There was a time when the U.S. government embraced America's role in the global scientific community. In 1945, a presidential science adviser, Vannevar Bush, issued a landmark blueprint for post-World War II science in the United States. "Science, the Endless Frontier," it was called, and among its arguments was that the country would gain more by sharing information, including bringing in foreign scientists even if they might one day leave, than by trying to protect discoveries that would be made elsewhere anyway. The blueprint helped drive the postwar scientific dominance of the United States, said Cole Donovan, an international technology adviser in the Biden White House . "Much of U.S. power and influence is derived from our science and technology supremacy," he said. Now the United States is taking in the welcome mat. Brockmann, who studies complex systems at the Dresden University of Technology, was once planning to return to Northwestern to give a keynote presentation in June. It was to be part of a family trip to the United States; his children once lived in Evanston, Illinois, where he taught at the university from 2008 to 2013. He cancelled the talk after the Foreign Ministry issued new guidance on travel to the United States following the detention of German tourists at the U.S. border. That warning he said, "was kind of a signal to me: I don't feel safe." Donovan said it was too early to tell whether Europe, say, or China could take over an international leadership role in science. Ladher, the Bangalore researcher, said that so far, Europe has been taking up some of the slack in hiring his graduates. "Austria has become a huge destination for many of our students," he said. In Bangalore, one graduate student who is waiting to defend her doctoral thesis on cell signaling and cancer said it was widely believed in India that U.S. labs were unlikely to hire many international students this year. That has led many of her colleagues to look elsewhere, said the student, who asked not to be named because she still planned to apply for positions in the United States and did not want to hurt her chances. The American scientific community, she said, has long been revered abroad. "It is sad to see that the hero is coming down from the pedestal," she said.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Sunday Read: Nature's wingmen
Butterfly migration Bangalore Butterfly Club . native vegetation . Every year, during pre-monsoon months, butterflies pass through the city in large numbers. Intrestingly, years with intense butterfly activity often coincide with higher rainfall. This suggests butterflies may be responding to wind and rain patterns using nature's cues as their navigation –Haneesh M, Bangalore Butterfly Club When migration is mentioned, images of thundering herds across Africa's Masai Mara often come to mind. Yet, right here in Bengaluru, a quieter, more delicate spectacle unfolds every year — the seasonal migration of butterflies gliding across South India's Western and Eastern despite their fragile appearance, are powerful bio-indicators of a region's ecological health. Their presence reflects the diversity and condition of local flora. Bengaluru, situated along a crucial migratory corridor, witnesses thousands of butterflies each year during their seasonal journey, according to Haneesh KM, a founding member of the. The community actively documents butterfly sightings and contributes its data to the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS).'Every year, during pre-monsoon months, butterflies pass through the city in large numbers. Interestingly, years with intense butterfly activity often coincide with higher rainfall,' Haneesh observed. 'This suggests butterflies may be responding to wind and rain patterns, using nature's cues as their navigation system.'India is home to an estimated 1,200 butterfly species, of which more than 170 have been recorded in Bengaluru alone. Karnataka's Western Ghats boast over 340 species. The city's common migratory species belong to the Danainae subfamily, including the Dark Blue Tiger, Blue Tiger, Common Crow, and Double Banded Crow. While the average lifespan of a butterfly is one to two weeks, migration can extend this to three or even four recent uptick in butterfly sightings aligns with pre-monsoon showers, says Sammilan Shetty, founder of the Butterfly Park, Belvai.'Butterflies tend to move just ahead of the southwest monsoon. This could be an evolutionary strategy to escape the harsh conditions of the monsoon, particularly in the higher elevations of the Ghats.' He notes that certain species, like the Common Emigrant, follow a coastal route along the Arabian Sea and then head inland just before the rains arrive. 'It's a carefully timed survival tactic,' he butterfly migration is not a newly observed phenomenon, public awareness has grown significantly in recent years. But this awareness has also brought challenges. Shetty warns against replacingwith ornamental plants in artificial butterfly gardens. 'Such interventions can harm butterflies, whose breeding cycles depend on indigenous host plants. Preserving native flora is crucial,' he enthusiasts, like Sahana M, have been tracking butterfly behaviour for years. 'I've always been drawn to birds and fragile, yet vibrant,' she shares. This year, Sahana observed an early migration of Danaid butterflies. 'That often signals an early monsoon,' she points out, reinforcing the idea that butterfly patterns can act as a natural weather being cold-blooded, are extremely sensitive to changes in their environment. Kiran Kiggal, Associate Professor of Electronics and a keen wildlife photographer, notes that butterflies rely on sunshine and nectar. 'During heavy rains, nectar becomes scarce. So, they often shift eastward to avoid these conditions. Many begin migrating even before the monsoon sets in, sensing early showers caused by low-pressure systems,' he to Dr Abhijith APC from Team Saaliga, butterfly migration is not just about movement, but survival. 'They migrate to preserve their lineage. It's an instinctive intelligence,' he explains. Many butterflies are host-specific; the Common Lime butterfly relies on citrus plants, while the Common Crow prefers Ficus trees. The pre-monsoon season offers fresh vegetation, making it ideal for and nature lovers agree: Butterfly migration is more than a visual delight; it's a strategic and essential survival mechanism deeply tied to ecological too can play a role in this natural phenomenon. Planting native species, especially host and nectar plants, can provide critical support to migrating such green corridors not only aids their journey but also helps reduce roadkill. Citizen participation in recording butterfly movements can further contribute valuable data to scientists tracking their the heart of India's Silicon Valley, the flutter of delicate wings tells a timeless story of survival, adaptation, and harmony with nature, a reminder that sometimes, the most extraordinary migrations happen right in our backyard.
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
In a lecture at the Science Gallery Bengaluru, ecologist Mahesh Sankaran stressed the importance of grasslands, and why we must conserve them
Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Dr. Mahesh Sankaran, explained the evolution, diversity and conservation challenges of the grassland ecosystem during his lecture The Untold Story of Grasses held recently at the Science Gallery Bengaluru. Mahesh's research includes studying grasslands in Africa and India and determining how these ecosystems have evolved and contribute to the biosphere. With over two decades of experience working on the subject, Sankaran emphasised on the need to conserve the second most widespread habitat. 'Grasses have influenced our biosphere in so many ways, supporting the evolution of ungulates and herbivores. All of these grazers, eat grass and could have evolved only after grass evolved,' he said. He also explained how savannas and grasslands have played an important role in the evolution of human society. 'As many as 35 grass species have been domesticated over the years as cultivated crops. About 17% of cultivated crops are grasses and they affect our nutrient cycle and diet,' 'There are many other ways we use grasses — for instance bamboos are used for building houses, to thatch roofs, for sweeping, and even to make alcohol.' Conservation challenges However, he mentions that India's grasslands face many conservation challenges. 'I think one of the biggest reasons is that most of them are administratively classified as wastelands; this is a legacy from colonial foresters who looked at vegetation only from the perspective of forestry. Anything that didn't generate revenue was classified as a wasteland. Unfortunately, that is still the case today.' He explains that since wastelands do not get protection status, one can easily convert them for any other land use without a hassle. 'People don't always see grasslands as important. It is something called bio-awareness disparity, where people seem to value trees more than they do grasslands.' 'Most of the time people plant trees in grasslands to reduce the effect of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but these invasive plantations often fail to bring the anticipated benefit. What they don't understand is that grasslands are ancient ecosystems which evolved more than 100 million years ago and continue to shape the entire world.' The first evidence for grasslands was observed when scientists spotted traces of grass fossilised between the teeth of dinosaurs. Now there are over 12,000 species of grasses and 10 percent of these species are found in India. But unfortunately, DSankran says that 70 percent of the grassland habitats across the Western Ghats have been lost in the last 100 years. 'I think if people just appreciate grasslands and are aware of their importance, the rest of the actions to conserve them will follow. Grass is more than just a patch of green below your feet,' he concluded the lecture, held as part of the six-day Sci560 programme hosted by the Science Gallery Bengaluru from May 4 to May 17. Sankaran completed his PhD from Syracuse University in the US and carried out postdoctoral research in both the UK and the US before joining NCBS in 2009. His distinction has been recognised at the Fellowship of the Indian Academy of Science (2020) and the Indian National Science Academy (2021).
Scroll.in
17-05-2025
- Health
- Scroll.in
Indian academia is rife with research and publishing misconduct
In July 2021, the Bengaluru-based National Centre for Biological Sciences withdrew a paper published in Nature Chemical Biology, a premier journal, after discovering instances of data manipulation. The study, which announced a breakthrough in chemical biology, was withdrawn after being found to have manipulated images. In September 2024, the journal Drug Safety retracted a study conducted by researchers from Banaras Hindu University on the long-term safety of Covaxin, India's indigenous Covid-19 vaccine. The withdrawal was due to concerns that the reported adverse events could lead to ambiguous or incorrect interpretations regarding the vaccine's safety. In close to two decades now, faculty members from the premier Indian Institutes of Technology have retracted a staggering 58 papers, primarily due to plagiarism and duplication. As India strives towards Viksit Bharat 2047 – the goal of becoming a developed nation – strengthening research integrity, research funding and innovation ecosystems will be crucial. However, rising cases of research misconduct, including plagiarism, data fraud and fake peer review, pose a serious threat to this vision. Research misconduct refers to unethical practices in conducting, reporting or reviewing research. Such misconduct often leads to retractions. According to Retraction Watch, a global database, common reasons for retraction include fraud and misconduct, ethical violations, errors and mistakes, publication issues, and legal and policy violations. Such unethical practices not only damage the credibility of Indian institutions but also erode trust in research, affecting international collaborations and funding opportunities. Addressing these challenges requires urgent reforms in research evaluation, stronger institutional oversight and a shift towards quality-driven academic assessments. Research, rising retractions India's research output has increased rapidly over the past decade, with hundreds and thousands of papers published annually in reputed journals. Th National Science Foundation, 2022 report ranks India as the third-largest producer of science and engineering articles, after China and the United States. According to the scientific abstract and citation database Scopus, India has produced 3.67 million papers since 1867. Of these, 3,446 (0.09%) are retracted. While the growth of research is promising, the rising number of retractions is concerning. A study by this author shows primary causes of retractions are plagiarism, data fraud and fake peer review. Retractions due to these increased by 6.3% from 1991-2000 to 2001-2010. The upward trend has continued: retractions rose by 32% from 2001-2010 to 2011-2020. Quantity over quality When a scientist's survival is determined by impact factors, ethics becomes the privilege of a few who can afford to be ethical', said a scientist at the University of Pune, who was quoted in an article on research misconduct in India. Impact factor refers to the average number of citations to recent articles published in a journal, indicating the journal's influence in an academic field. Publishing in high impact factor journals translates into appointments, promotions, institution rankings and research grants. And here lies the root of the problem – evaluating scientific success by over-relying on impact factors, publication counts and rankings among organisations. This creates immense pressure, pushing researchers toward unethical practices. There are comprehensive guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics –a non-profit organisation that provides guidance to editors and publishers on all aspects of publication ethics, especially research and publication misconduct – and mandatory research ethics courses for students before they start PhD programmes. But whether the practices outlined by these efforts are genuinely practiced and embraced, or treated merely as formalities, remains a subject of debate. One of the primary reasons for the rising pressure on academics is the 'publish or perish' culture, where academic promotions and funding are heavily tied to publication volume rather than research quality. This intense pressure pushes some researchers toward unethical shortcuts, including plagiarism, fake peer review and data fabrication. This author's study revealed that fake peer review is the leading cause of retractions in India, accounting for 33% of total cases, followed by data fraud (17.2%) and plagiarism (14.8%). Among higher education institutions/universities, private institutions contributed to 60 percent of retractions, while public institutions accounted for 33.7%, and medical institutions made up 6.7%. Enforcing research integrity Without urgent and necessary changes in research evaluation and academic incentives, addressing research misconduct will remain a significant challenge. The presence of legally enforceable misconduct policies and a strong academic culture where research undergoes rigorous scrutiny from peers, mentors, and society, can serve as deterrents for such misconduct. Countries that offer cash rewards for publications may appear to encourage researchers, but ironically face a higher risk of misconduct. This suggests that such incentives might encourage negligence or unethical practices within the research community. Addressing research misconduct thus requires a multifaceted approach that respects the autonomy of researchers while establishing clear boundaries against unethical practices. In India, given the diverse research ecosystems and financial structures across Indian institutions, implementing a uniform national solution is challenging. The University Grants Commission recently discontinued the UGC-CARE (Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics) system of listing quality journals. The idea is to move towards a decentralised approach – empowering individual institutions to set their own criteria for journal selection, fostering academic freedom and encouraging more rigorous and context-specific evaluations. The reasons cited for the discontinuation include a number of poor quality journals and pay-and-publish or predatory journals which had found their way into the list, while several Indian language journals were left out. The new system allows for a broader range of journals – based on certain parameters – for the faculty to publish in. Indian institutions need to develop and enforce comprehensive research integrity policies, including mandatory training in research ethics. Establishing dedicated committees to oversee research conduct can also ensure adherence to ethical standards. Promoting open peer review processes and encouraging researchers to share data and methodologies can enhance transparency and accountability in research. Such practices deter misconduct by subjecting research to broader scrutiny. Kiran Sharma is Assistant Professor at the School of Engineering and Technology, BML Munjal University. She also leads the Center for Advanced Data and Computational Science. Her research integrates data science, the science of science, computational social science, machine learning and network science.
