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Nature 412, 259 (19 July 2001) | doi:10.1038/35085706

Physical sciences lose ground as US shifts towards biology

Jonathan Knight

The number of graduate students enrolling in physical sciences in the United States is still falling sharply, despite an expansion in the government's overall research budget, according to the National Research Council (NRC).In its latest study, the NRC finds that recruitment has dropped in chemistry, physics, mathematics and engineering as federal funding shifts towards the life sciences.