‘We’re no longer attracting top talent’: the brain drain killing American science
Hacker News
February 19, 2026
AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary
The Trump administration's drastic cuts to science funding are causing a severe brain drain in American research, with young scientists like Ian Morgan facing an uncertain future. The NIH, a global leader in biomedical research, has seen billions slashed from its budget, thousands of grants canceled, and hundreds of employees laid off. This financial turmoil has forced labs to choose between exorbitant maintenance fees or abandoning critical experiments, leaving promising researchers like Morgan struggling to continue their work.
The impact on innovation is profound. Superbugs, antibiotic-resistant pathogens that already claim tens of thousands of lives annually in the U.S., are a growing threat. Without sustained research, these "superbugs" could surpass cancer as a leading killer by 2050. However, the NIH's hiring freeze and loss of talent—a ratio of 11 departures to every new hire—threatens this critical work. Over 10,000 postdoctoral researchers have left federal positions in recent years, creating an existential crisis for American science.
Young scientists like Morgan are bearing the brunt of these cuts. Blocked from starting their own labs and facing an uncertain career path, many are forced to seek opportunities abroad. This exodus is not just a loss of talent but a stifling of new ideas that drive scientific progress. As John Prensner, a pediatric cancer researcher at the University of Michigan, notes, the next generation of scientists is essential for groundbreaking
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Originally published on Hacker News on 2/19/2026