Are the good times over at National Institutes of Health?
Washington — The National Institutes of Health are in for a leaner fiscal year 2004 if President Bush’s budget is adopted. Bedside and clinical applications — the tangible medical advances that doctors look toward to help their seriously ill patients — may be among the areas of science that feel the impact of this lower-than-hoped-for funding level. After five years of 14% and 15% annual increases that resulted in a near doubling of the NIH budget — a much-touted goal — the president’s proposed 2% increase feels something like a dousing with a bucket of ice water.
