BBC news is reporting on a new type of research that may get aboard the International Space Station in 2013.  This Russian-led endeavor would try to use the vacuum of space to create ultra-pure crystals.  We can't do this on Earth because, unlike a perfect vacuum, there is always something hanging out that will lead to an impurity in the crystal.

Vice President Biden and Secretary Chu will be speaking today about a new report showing how ARRA funds have benefited science and technology.  It should be pretty interesting.

As I was reading the financial pages today, I came across this story on Yahoo! finance about a type of glass discovered by Corning nearly 50 years ago becoming the next generation screen for televisions and technology devices, I was struck with critical importance of basic research.   Even though, discoveries may not have economic pay offs immediately, investments in scientific understanding can lead to products and services that propel our economy forward in the future.  It would be a shame if investments in science are no longer supported a sustainable level.  Without the funding we can't make the discoveries.  What do you think?

Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the NIH spending bill.  Funding NIH at $32.007 billion  - the same level as the president's budget and the House of Representatives. This funding level is a $1 billion increase over last year and is equal to the rate of biomedical inflation.

Earlier today the Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee  approved its FY 2011 spending bill. The subcommittee approved a $1 billion increase for NIH (same as the President’s budget and the House subcommittee bill).  Senator Specter raised the issue of increasing the NIH budget level but Chairman Harkin thought the numbers were at the proper level given the tight overall budget. ...

I just read in today's BBC that the European Union is planning on increasing its hi-tech research budget by 12 percent next year.  This is a sizable increase especially since European countries are facing significant budget deficits. 

I bumped into the beginning of what appears to be a great series of articles chronicling a University of Michigan grad student's short policy adventure in DC.

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The Washington Post has published an article today on the growth of scientific research in China.  The article, entitled "China pushing the envelope on science, and sometimes ethics",  is a nice read.

While the U.S. is tightening its belt, China is continuing to invest heavily in research and development.  It may be enough for China to catch up.  From the article:

Centuries after it led the world in technological prowess -- think gunpowder, irrigation and the printed word -- China has barged back into the ranks of the great powers in science. With the brashness of a teenager, in some cases literally, China's scientists and inventors are driving a resurgence in potentially world-changing research.

Unburdened by social and legal constraints common in the West, China's trailblazing scientists are also pushing the limits of ethics and principle as they create a new -- and to many, worrisome -- Wild West in the Far East.

A decade ago, no one considered China a scientific competitor. Its best and brightest agreed and fled China in a massive brain drain to university research labs at Harvard, Stanford and MIT.

But over the past five years, Western-educated scientists and gutsy entrepreneurs have conducted a rearguard action, battling China's hidebound bureaucracy to establish research institutes and companies. Those have lured home scores of Western-trained Chinese researchers dedicated to transforming the People's Republic of China into a scientific superpower.

I am all for healthy competition in science.  To compete, we are going to have to continue investing in research and development even as our federal budget gets squeezed.  Sounds like another great chance for me to plug the America COMPETES reauthorization.  The House has passed it.  Come on Senate!

In today's Politico five members of Congress write an opinion piece on the need for innovation to "jump start" the economy.  The piece begins with
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