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Nature 421, 677 (13 February 2003) | doi:10.1038/421677b

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Biologists wary that cash up front could mean cuts later

Erika Check

A new way of allocating grants at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) could leave the agency vulnerable to budget cuts, biology researchers have warned.President George Bush's 2004 budget request, made last week, asks the NIH to award 322 new research grants using a "fully funded" mechanism, under which all the money for the grant would be paid at the start.