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"Immigration fuels innovation in the U.S."

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Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencejournal.blogspot.com).

 

March 12, 2025: How immigration fuels innovation in the U.S., language groups based on the body, and the top 10 states for low-emission mass transit. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

TODAY'S NEWS

The Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington D.C. John M. Chase/Getty Images

• NASA has begun mass firings (including top advisors in the now-closed Office of the Chief Scientist) amid a government-wide downsizing mandate. | 3 min read

• These are the top 10 states that have the most climate-friendly transportation systems. | 2 min read

• Bird flu update: No new human cases of avian influenza have been reported, and poultry infections are low so far in March. But infections in cats are continuing, and new research is raising concerns about the virus. | 3 min read

• Most clicked yesterday: Microplastic pollution is messing with photosynthesis in plants. | 3 min read

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TOP STORIES

Rob Dobi

Immigration Fuels Innovation In U.S. science, technology and engineering companies, foreign-born employees make up 43 percent of workers who hold doctoral degrees. That number is nearly 60 percent in computer science and certain other fields. “Immigrants are a big part of what has made America a global leader in science and technology,” write the editors of Scientific American. Restricting the entry of skilled workers into the country will have profound effects on U.S. innovation and the economy.

Why this matters: The U.S. will need more than one million additional STEM workers in 2033, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The pipeline for domestic talent alone is unlikely to fill looming employment needs. As I wrote yesterday, U.S. math scores have been in decline for years; only half of U.S. high schools offer calculus, and only 60 percent provide physics classes. Both are critical for designing quantum computers and achieving innovations in artificial intelligence. A large cadre of international students are critical to sustaining current levels of research in U.S. graduate programs, according to a 2024 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. What can be done: The government could raise caps on the number of H-1B visas granted annually (currently 85,000 in total) and institute much needed reforms to the visa program—especially to ensure that visa holders are not exploited, say the editors. Employers could do their part by seeking out underutilized programs such as the 0-1A temporary work visa for individuals with “extraordinary ability.” The administration could also make permanent residency easier for international students who complete college here. An anti-immigrant attitude will only dry up U.S. innovation in the coming years.

Words From the Past The Great Andamanese people lived in isolation on the Andaman Islands in the southeast Bay of Bengal for tens of thousands of years, and their languages evolved there without outside influence until the British arrived in the mid-1800s. Their languages conceptualize the world through their bodies, according to studies of their grammar. For example, the language marker a- is related to the mouth and the marker o- is related to the legs or lower half of the body.  Why this matters: Because this language system has been preserved for so long, it suggests that the world's earliest languages were potentially based on the body. The many languages in this family are some of the roughly 7,000 languages spoken by humans today, half of which will fall silent by the end of this century.  What the experts say: In order to survive in an era of globalization, urbanization and climate change, indigenous communities face replacing their traditional ways of life and languages with those of the dominant society. “With every language lost, we lose a wealth of knowledge about human existence and evolution, not to mention all the ways we perceive the world, nature, and survival,” writes Anvita Abbi, a linguist specializing in Indigenous languages.

EXPERT PERSPECTIVES

• "We are now confronted with a federal government that ignores the best-available science," write an economist, an astrophysicist and a climate scientist. "The new administration has mounted a concerted campaign of intimidation, gutting funding for the scientific enterprise and firing thousands of dedicated scientists, among other vital civil servants." The U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has a special responsibility to push back against these actions, they say, having been established by an act of Congress in 1863 as an elected scientific society. "The National Academy of Sciences, of all scientific institutions, must speak up. Thousands of dedicated federal scientists working on critically important issues are being summarily dismissed. These dismissals hurt all Americans—not just those fired." | 4 min read

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WHAT WE'RE READING

• Two bills in Congress would block the EPA from using test results produced by its toxicity research program. | ProPublica • The animated movie "Flow" won an Oscar. And pets love it too. | The New York Times • Where is the world's best tap water? This competition picks the winners. | The Washington Post

I was thrilled to learn of a global competition for the best-tasting tap water. I've been lucky in water in my life, having grown up with delicious well water and now enjoying what's been called the "champagne of tap water," here in New York City (although repairs to the city's main aqueduct have temporarily relocated the tap water source). A water's balance of minerals influences its taste and mouth feel (so much so that so-called water sommeliers rate the flavor and character of different waters). Water's minerals can also affect human health and bodily functions.

How's your water? Let me know and send any other comments to: newsletters@sciam.com. See you tomorrow.

—Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

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