Policy Concentrates POLICY
U.S. dominance in science and engineering waning R&D investments by China and other nations continue upward trend, report says The U.S. continues to lead the world in science and engineering, but other nations are making quick progress that threatens U.S. supremacy. Science & Engineering Indicators 2018, released earlier this month by the National Science Board (NSB), shows that the U.S. and Europe no longer dominate international science. Instead,
many nations are increasingly competing on equal footing, with China leading a pack of countries that see science as a way to build a modern, successful economy. “It is very clear that China is placing great emphasis on developing its science and technology capabilities,” says University of Oregon chemist Geraldine Rich-
Other U.S. numbers from the NSB report
16% 6.7% 11% Percentage of patents related to chemistry and health in 2016, down from 20% in 2000
R&D intensitya of chemical manufacturing in 2015, compared to 3.9% overall for U.S.
5.1%
Percentage of chemistry publications out of 409,000 in Scopus in 2016; China, India, Japan, and the EU all had higher percentages of chemistry publications
Percentage of chemicals sector R&D funding provided by foreign sources, compared to 5% overall for U.S.
76%
Percentage of students who began high school in 2009 who took chemistry during high school; 98% took biology and 42% took physics.
a R&D intensity is spending on R&D as a percentage of overall sales. Source: Science & Engineering Indicators 2018
mond, who chaired the NSB committee that created the report. China’s investment in R&D has averaged increases of 18% a year since 2000, a sustained growth rate that Richmond called “quite remarkable.” The U.S., by contrast, has averaged 4 to 5% growth over that same period, primarily fueled by business investment because U.S. federal government funding for research has remained flat or declined. China’s investment is not just financial. China now produces more undergraduate science and engineering majors than any other country worldwide. The U.S., by contrast, produces just 10% of worldwide science and engineering majors. The U.S. continues to award more doctoral degrees than any other nation, though 40% of those go to temporary residents. Historically, two-thirds of doctoral degree recipients have stayed in the U.S., but the report shows those from China and India are returning home at increasing rates. After steady increases since 2012, the number of graduate students in the U.S. declined in 2017. The U.S. has had a hard time recruiting more science students internally, especially from minority groups, points out France Córdova, director of NSF, which is overseen by the NSB. To remain successful, she says, “we will need to broaden the participation of our citizens in STEM.”—ANDREA
WIDENER
ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS
EU to lower limit for bisphenol A migration A draft European Commission regulation that lowers the amount of bisphenol A (BPA) allowed to migrate into or onto food from packaging materials is expected to be finalized in the coming months. Members of the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health, & Food Safety Committee voted on Jan. 11 to reject a proposal to ban BPA in food packaging. The committee instead endorsed the Commission’s proposal to lower the migration limit from 0.6 mg of BPA per kg of food to 0.05 mg/kg.
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BPA is used to manufacture polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins found in coatings that line food cans. Concerns about BPA’s estrogenic activity have prompted regulators around the world to evaluate the substance’s risks in materials that contact food. The Commission’s proposal cites “potential health effects of BPA on the mammary gland, reproductive, metabolic, neurobehavioral, and immune systems.” The draft regulation prohibits any BPA from migrating into infant formula and baby food, essentially banning use of
the chemical in materials used for those products. Environmental and public health activists say the regulation does not go far enough to protect consumers. “The adverse health effects of bisphenol A, even at low doses, are so well documented that it should already have been banned from all consumer products a long time ago,” says Natacha Cingotti, policy officer on health and chemicals at the Health & Environment Alliance, an environmental group.—BRITT ERICKSON
