Is US losing human resource in Science?

In response to your news feature (Nature 648, 530-531 (2025), I share a first hand experience of how the US is losing its immigrant pool of scientists and professors who actually are integral part of the shining US science and Technology (1). I was almost offered a lectureship job in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in University of Texas but due to Trump administration new regulations my appointment was cancelled and now with heavy fees imposed on H1B visas ( almost 1 million USD for Indians), I don't see any any remote possibility of joining the US higher education academia. I had given several interviews in US Universities in the past couple of years but now I have stopped applying because the scenario is bleak. Long ago, in 2017, celebrated Physicist Michio Kaku commented that the H1B visa attracts more talent to the USA than anything else (2). Being able to attract global talents to live the American dream has fueled American innovations in the past. Professor Kaku predicted rightly without immigration, "we’d be a third-rate country," (2). Already China has flipped the card by leading Tech Innovations (3) and this year and the number of Indian H1B visa applicants were slashed down by 70% as compared to 2015, hitting an all time low (4). I know several Indian post docs in my circle faced job cuts and this will open a floodgate of exits of talented scientists and professors from the US to reach the greener pastures of China, South East Asia and the Middle East. In fact, China has now introduced a new visa , K visa to attract global talents post Trump visa blockage (5). Overall, the Trump administration is blocking the immigration via Science and Tech which will impact more than fund cuts because of talent shortage. References; 1. Grant cuts, arrests, lay-offs: Trump made 2025 a tumultuous year for science. (2025) Nature 648, 530-531 (2025) 2. This Celebrated Scientist Says Trump Is Wrong About Immigration (2017) https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/innovation/beloved-scientist-says-trump-wrong-about-immigration-n719646 3. China leads research in 90% of crucial technologies — a dramatic shift this century 4. New H-1B Approvals For Indian IT Fall To 4,573, Lowest In 10 Years. (2025) https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/new-h-1b-approvals-for-indian-it-fall-to-4-573-lowest-in-10-years-9728775 5. As Trump Tightens Visas, China Woos World’s Science Graduates (2025) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/world/asia/china-tech-workers-visas-us-h1b.html

Will Hand Writing be gone forever?

It was interesting to read a book review by Andrew Robinson on written scripts and its evolution from ancient times (1). As a teacher of science in a career spanning 2 decades and covering more than 4 diverse states of India I have observed the amount of handwritten answer scripts, lab journals etc are becoming less and less as typing on screen and keyboard is increasing more and more. In fact, I wonder how slowly human beings will cease to write with their hands. All the written admission tests and entrances earlier used to be pen and paper based. You had to visit exam centres and write the answers with your hands. Now most of the entrances and tests including international ones like GRE,TOEFL, SAT, GMAT, IELTS have become online with typing on keyboards or screen. India is scrapping handwritten tests by computerising its popular entrances like IIT JEE, NEET,CUET (2). During 2 years of covid lockdown I resorted to taking online exams, mostly MCQs for my students. Earlier in my generation we had to write lab journals and notebooks by hand. Nowadays my students write only observations, results and discussion of a lab notebook with their hands, everything is typewritten or copy pasted. Our offices, workplaces have resorted to online apps or word processing tools so that handwriting is required during signatures on documents only; other than that an adult is writing very less with their own hands. In my time, pens, pencils and stationeries were treasured, we had to write impeccably in reams to fetch good marks in exams. We put a lot of effort into choosing writing tools like ink pens, ball point pens, chiseled pencils etc. The pens used to be costly. Now, even with cheaper use and throw plastic pens available, the art of handwriting is scarce. Except in schools nobody writes with their hands any longer. In higher education and daily life writing by your hands is becoming less and less, which begs the question, Will we slowly stop writing by our hands?This has already been pointed out by the venerable BBC in 2017 (3). Smat phones, tabs and laptops are here to stay and there will be more online tools to increase typing on screen (4). As a seasoned academician I do feel sad to see the decline in handwriting and I see no change unless the teachers start forcing handwritten journals and exams for the students. References: 1.Andrew Robinson (2026) Technology is changing how we write — and how we think about writing. Nature 649, 1099-1101 (2026) doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00245-0 2. Sanjay Sharma (2025) From-digital-to-paper-can-pen-and-paper-exams-end-ntas-test-turmoil-and-shape-the-future-of-jee-neet-and-cuet. Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/from-digital-to-paper-can-pen-and-paper-exams-end-ntas-test-turmoil-and-shape-the-future-of-jee-neet-and-cuet/articleshow/126032346.cms 3. Ewen Hosie(2017) The uncertain future of handwriting. BBC https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20171108-the-uncertain-future-of-handwriting 4. Chritine Rosen (2025) Signature moves: are we losing the ability to write by hand? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/jan/21/signature-moves-are-we-losing-the-ability-to-write-by-hand