Best science headline of the week

By hrynyshyn on March 12, 2009.

"Neuroscientists fear brain drain" (Globe and Mail, March 12, 2009)

It's about research funding drying up in Canada, while Obama pours more into U.S. labs.

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The article seems to be more about Canadians fearing the loss of top medical researchers to the U.S. (or other better funded medical researching countries). Here is my question for those more familiar with scientific/medical research (I am a simple engineer, for now) ... does it really matter where the research is done? I realize that it would probably be better if both the U.S. and Canada were well-funded, but what effect does successful medical research actually have on a country/city?

"We are going headfirst into a cement wall. The very best scientists will leave. We will lose the very best ones."

It's not like we are losing the best researchers altogether, they are just doing their research in a different location. So is this such a bad thing for medical research? Or is it more of a negative for Canada (and if so, how)?

Hey the americans are paying for Canadian research.

uoflcard: It is a Canadian rather than global problem, but any country or scientific community is rightly concerned about losing its best researchers. Not only is there the loss of prestige (and thus research income - and the top people will often bring in grants that employ many others in addition to themselves), but good researchers who are enthusiastic about their subject inspire others - both to choose it as a career path and to emulate their heroes' achievements. Losing top researchers may mean a shortage of new clinical staff a decade down the line, in addition to the more immediate issues.

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