Nature doesn't stand still. That reality has amplified the impact of this month's U.S. government shutdown for scientists conducting long-term ecosystem studies. Scientists accept having peers pull the plug on their research as part of the merit review process. They also know that some interruptions are an inevitable part of doing fieldwork. But they bristle at the fact that a political brawl-even if Congress reaches a deal this week-has jeopardized their ability to sustain decades-old time-series data sets used to tease out subtle shifts in the natural world.
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