Is R&D valuable? (research and development)(Editorial)

Research-intensive industries have played a leading role in U.S. economic growth for decades. Government laboratories, government-funded or sponsored work in the private sector, and corporate laboratories have all contributed to the technological foundations of the aerospace, electronics, software, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other industries. Each owes its existence to research & development.

In these times of budget-cutting and re-engineering, the importance of research to our economic well-being is often obscured. Only fifty years ago, Winston Churchill delivered his "iron curtain" speech in Missouri. Scientists dedicated the first digital computer in …