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Nature 437, 601 (29 September 2005) | doi:10.1038/437601a; Published online 28 September 2005

Open Innovation Challenges

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Use of NIH funds placed under a spotlight

Emma Marris

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Congressman questions whether grants are being wisely.

Congressman Joe Barton wants to know whether biomedical researchers funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) are spending their grants haphazardly — overpaying research assistants, for example, or winning funds for phantom projects that they then use to do other research.Barton, a Republican representative for Texas, heads the committee in the House of Representatives that oversees the NIH.