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Large corporations are retreating from high-stakes investments in basic research. They are instead outsourcing the production of knowledge needed to drive innovation to academic and government institutions. Nature Index Science Inc. 2017 investigates the changing role of corporate institutions in the world of science and the costs and benefits to high-quality research of these evolving arrangements.
Academic life isn’t for everyone. Here we profile scientists who have made the switch from academia to industry, all motivated by a desire to see their discoveries translated into real-world solutions.