The editorial in the February issue of Nature Immunology, “Increasing public awareness” (subscription required) discusses ways in which scientists and universities can benefit from mobilizing the power of public support.

“In the academic scientific community, a furor rages over the ever-tightening National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget that funds non-bioterrorism-related biomedical research. This past year, the topic was a fixture among the headlines of science journals and magazines, but it was buried deep in the ‘issues’ sections of most political candidates’ websites and was rarely featured in mainstream news periodicals.”

Scientists need to communicate to the US public so it is more aware of the situation and the role it can play in demanding more support for research. The editorial discusses several examples of how scientists have raised public consciousness, and provides some suggestions for more of the same. As the editorial concludes: “Whether the NIH budget will rebound anytime soon is not known. It therefore is up to scientists and universities to tap every available resource, particularly one as powerful as the American public”.

From: Nature Immunology 8, 109 (2007); doi:10.1038/ni0207-109.