Clearly, someone got the Times to look at
http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/meetings/NIHPeerReviewReportFINALDRAFT.pdf

But the problem with this editorial is that it may sound like nothing more
than research people, after a decade of high living, being upset because
their piece of the pie is now smaller.  Doesn't sound that much different
from a lot of other groups facing tighter budgets.  Saying "academic
institutions are complaining..." is not going to get much sympathy.

You need to say more than just that the public will "benefit from better
and cheaper treatments."  I think there is still a perception out there
that biomedical advances, if not all of science, is a big hit-or-miss,
"hope I'm lucky", kind of endeavor, and that advances stem from chance
alone.  In fact, what needs to be done to solve major problems, in cancer
for example, is to put up the $$ for the work that is already obvious and
planned.  If the public understood how important each new set of
experiments are, and how crucial postdocs are to those efforts, and how
many postdoc salaries could be covered by the money spent on a SINGLE
(useless?) TV commercial for yet another lipid lowering drug...they might
better appreciate what $29 billion means and the gravity of the facts in
this editorial.

Charlie

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