As shutdown looms, will U.S. Congress cut spending and restrict research?

A flat budget isn’t something that scientists typically welcome. But for the U.S. research community, that’s the best-case scenario in the short run as Congress returns this month from its summer recess and tries to agree on spending levels for the 2024 fiscal year that begins on 1 October. The government could shut down if Republicans and Democrats don’t declare a truce.