Biophysical Society Bulletin | November 2023

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investment in research and devlopment from ~3.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) a decade ago to >4.9% in 2022. Only Israel, which spends 5.9% of GDP on research and develop ment, ranked higher, while U.S. spending comes in at 2.6%. A significantly revamped budget was adopted at the end of August by the State Council. It included the equivalent of $19.5 billion for science and engineering—boosting invest ment in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and space launch technologies. However, funding for basic research will be cut by 6.2% and funding for national research institutes, including the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Tech nology and the Institute for Basic Science, will face cuts of 9.4%. In addition, the South Korean Health Ministry announced a new initiative to create a version of the U.S. Advanced Re search Projects Agency for Health, which seeks to fund high risk, high-reward biomedical studies. The plan calls for it to receive the equivalent of $1.3 billion over 10 years, depending on future appropriations. The National Assembly is expected to vote on the budget by December. United Kingdom’s ARIA Names Program Directors The United Kingdom’s recently formed Advanced Research & Invention Agency (ARIA) announced the eight program directors (https:/www.aria.org.uk/our-team/) who will each oversee up to £50 million for “high-risk, high-reward” research. The effort, modeled on the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has an £800 million budget cov ering a four-year time span. New program directors have not

yet developed concrete programs, according to the agency’s announcement, but “areas of exploration” that they may pur sue at ARIA include noninvasive neuropsychiatric treatment and enhancing plant resilience in the face of climate change. Critics have been skeptical of whether the ARIA, which does not focus on a specific mission, is built in the right way to achieve the outcomes of its counterpart model. United Kingdom Rejoins Horizon Europe An agreement in principle has been reached for the United Kingdom to rejoin the European Union’s (EU’s) €95 billion research-funding program known as Horizon Europe. This agreement would restore scientists’ access to a major source of grants lost during “Brexit” in 2020. Horizon Europe funds individual researchers and cross-border scientific consortia in the EU and “associated” non-EU countries, which pay into the scheme in return for the chance to win grants and join international collaborations. Beginning in January of 2024, the United Kingdom will pay €2.6 billion per year for access to the scheme. Should researchers from the United King dom be awarded significantly less money than the country contributes, they will be able to recoup funding. The deal still requires approval by EU member states.

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