UK scientists had been shut out of the multibillion-euro scheme amid drawn-out Brexit negotiations. UK researchers are optimistic that they will soon regain access to the European Union’s flagship Horizon Europe funding programme, after the United Kingdom and the EU reached an agreement on the status of Northern Ireland after Brexit. For the past two […]
UK
Will UK science’s ‘lost’ £1.6 billion ever come back?
Negotiations on Horizon Europe dragged on — and UK-based researchers came up short. The UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is quietly returning £1.6 billion (US$1.9 billion) in funding to the Treasury that had been earmarked for research collaborations with the European Union in its 2022–23 budget. But the government swears that the […]
UK government announces new science department and minister
Former universities minister Michelle Donelan is appointed head of newly-created Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in mini-reshuffle. The United Kingdom has a new government department dedicated to science and technology. On 7 February, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak split the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) into three new departments, creating the Department […]
Europe’s Nobel laureates step up warnings about Brexit’s effect on science
Leading scientists and mathematicians urge UK and European Union leaders to strike a deal on research amid stalling negotiations. Nobel-prizewinning scientists from across Europe have called on UK and European Union leaders to maintain the “closest possible cooperation” on science after Brexit, and warn that any barriers to research collaboration in the EU will be […]
Brexit Vote Will Likely Cause Problems for UK Fishers
Fishers were part of the “Leave” push, but it may not work out as they’d hoped. The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union in last week’s “Brexit” referendum will have profound effects on how fisheries are managed in both the UK and the EU. For now, it’s unclear exactly what those effects will […]
Winners and losers emerge in UK funding shake-up
Government’s ‘global challenges’ fund hoovers up extra cash for developing-world problems, cutting grants elsewhere. Funds dedicated for research on developing-world problems will eat into the core science grants of the United Kingdom’s research councils over the next five years, documents released by the councils show. After enduring years of flat funding, scientists had celebrated in […]
Nurse review paves way for merger of UK research councils
Paul Nurse, president of the Royal Society, has called for an overarching body to encompass all the UK’s research councils in a long-awaited review released last week. A review of the UK’s research funding system has recommended tighter integration of the country’s seven discipline-specific research councils under a single, new umbrella organisation that would oversee […]
BMA votes to end investment in fossil fuels
The British Medication Association set an international precedent with a vote to end its investment in fossil fuel companies. The motion also urged the BMA to switch its electricity supply to renewable sources and to help create an alliance of health care bodies to promote the health benefits of reducing greenhouse gasses. Read more in CMAJ.
Women and minorities still face uphill struggle in UK science
Campaign group suggests ‘quick wins’ to begin levelling the playing field. Even with the government’s attempts to increase the representation of women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities in science and mathematics, progress in the United Kingdom has remained too slow, according to a report published today by a UK non-profit organization. “Looking back over […]
UK foreign aid turns to research
£375 million from development budget will be redirected to science partnerships with middle-income economies. The United Kingdom has launched a five-year, £375 million (US$630 million) fund to support science and innovation partnerships with researchers in developing countries that will focus on economic development. Read more in Nature.