The UK government will spend £1bn on biotechnology by 2008, according to newly announced science spending plans. The money will come out of a projected £10bn to be spent on UK science over the next three years, outlined in the spending review last year. The biotech funding will cover research on stem cells, with a view to developing new therapies for disease. The government has previously stated that it is committed to making the UK the best place to do science. In addition to the more than £1bn for the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), funding for the Medical Research Council (MRC) will rise to £1.5bn. About £440m of the MRC’s funds will go on clinical research into diseases such as mental health, stroke, cancers and diabetes. The government has also pledged £150m to energy research in order “to help the UK lead in climate change science”. Trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt announced the plans as part of the government’s science spending allocations, which reveal how the overall £10bn cake will be sliced up and distributed between the different research councils.
