Nature Podcast NSF terminates huge number of grants and stops awarding new ones
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May 12, 2025 Dan Garisto, a reporter for Nature specializing in science policy, breaks down the alarming recent decisions by the National Science Foundation to terminate numerous research grants and freeze funding for new projects. He discusses how these cuts, particularly aimed at diversity and misinformation research, could have lasting impacts on the scientific community. The conversation also delves into the proposed budget cuts from the Trump administration, raising concerns about funding shifts away from critical areas like health and climate change.
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NSF's Abrupt Grant Terminations
- The NSF has terminated about 1,400 research grants abruptly, many related to diversity and misinformation topics.
- This termination breaches contractual obligations and provides little explanation, causing concern in the research community.
NSF Overhead Funding Cap Impacts
- NSF froze funding for new grants and additional funds for existing grants amid a new 15% cap on overhead costs.
- This cap drastically reduces indirect cost recovery, threatening researchers' ability to sustain operations.
Censorship Research Grant Terminated
- A researcher studying censorship and tools to evade authoritarian government firewalls had their grant terminated without explanation.
- This termination impacts millions relying on such tools and highlights politically sensitive research risks.