The massive changes in US research brought about by the new administration of President Donald Trump are causing many scientists in the country to rethink their lives and careers. More than 1,200 scientists who responded to a Nature poll — three-quarters of the total respondents — are considering leaving the United States following the disruptions prompted by Trump. Europe and Canada were among the top choices for relocation.
The trend was particularly pronounced among early-career researchers. Of the 690 postgraduate researchers who responded, 548 were considering leaving; 255 of 340 PhD students said the same.
“Consider” is such a low threshold that this doesn’t mean much.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that 75% of scientists are going to leave, but it certainly means something
Whoever gets these remnants will be growing faster than their peers, most likely will be china, and either a shared EU group or individual member states like Spain, France, Italy, Poland and Germany
Consider really just means “If I was given a good offer.” Considering European countries have been discussing giving offers, it could really mean quite a bit.
It’s a very worrying signal for the US, whichever threshold you use.