America’s R&D Lead is NOT Guaranteed

American’s racked up another science Nobel this year, not only securing the coveted prize in medicine, but marking the first time a woman has won the award. This time it went to a team of three researchers who were looking into an obscure problem in cell biology. Their discoveries were made 20 years ago when the scientists were doing basic research on a question that seemed to have no practical purpose. As it turned out, they unlocked a door that opened up our understanding of cancer and diseases related to aging.

The research by Elizabeth H. Blackburn of the University of California, San Francisco; Carol W. Greider of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; and Jack W. Szostak of Massachusetts General Hospital on what are known as telomeres, turned out to define when a cell stops dividing. This information is important because short telomeres play a role in certain diseases of aging, and in cancer -- a disease in which control of cell proliferation is lost.

In interviews published in The New York Times the scientists said the prize is an acknowledgement of the importance of doing basic research. It's an emphasis that is notably American, but might not stay that way.

Dr. Blackburn told the Times that he moved to the U.S. because it was a “notably attractive” place to do science, something that she warned “one shouldn’t take for granted.”

If we want to keep winning those Nobels, and benefitting from that kind of research, we need to enact policies that engender discovery. That research is expensive, time consuming, often leads to more dead-ends than Nobels, but is critical for the American economic health.

Dr. Blackburn wasn’t attempting to get down in the weeds of public policy, but her warning points out the need for policies like the research and development tax credit. The R&D Credit encourages businesses to increase U.S. based research and development projects. As often as not, it funds research that sometimes seems to have no practical purpose, but in the end leads to discoveries that create jobs, save lives and give America the right to be proud.

Unfortunately this valuable tool is at risk. Congress has yet to extend the R&D credit, despite it’s proven effectiveness. It’s time for Congress to act on the credit so we can spur on the economy, and maybe rack up a few more of those little Swedish prizes.