United States

摘要

Still the superpower of science and the home of five of the top ten research institutions, the United States dominates the Nature Publishing Index. But as US federal support for research falters, other nations are making ground. There is no question about which country dominates the world's scientific scene. Half of the six researchers who shared the 2012 Nobel prizes in chemistry, medicine and physics are based at US institutions. The US corrected count (CC) in 2012 is up 8.5% from 2011, and exceeds the collective CC of the subsequent 12 countries in the Nature Publishing Index (NPI). Overall, the US government funded US$63.4 billion in basic and applied research in the 2012 fiscal year (the fiscal 2013 year total is lower but not yet finalized). For fiscal 2014, which begins on 1 October 2013, President Barack Obama has called for $68.1 billion, a 7.5% rise from 2012, plus initiatives such as $3.1 billion for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. However, most Congressional observers don't expect these totals to be passed.