More than 300 scientists from the University of California system are protesting proposed state budget cuts that they warn will endanger California's science and technology enterprise.

In a 6 July letter to Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the scientists caution that the cuts “are likely to destroy” the university's status as “the leading public university in the United States”. The cuts would lead to salary reductions, resignations and would jeopardize the university's ability to attract new faculty members, the document says.

A spokeswoman for the governor says the state's US$26-billion budget deficit has created a “worst-case scenario” in which the cuts are unavoidable.