Scientists in the US are in a state of confusion and panic after the Trump administration issued an order freezing billions in federal research funding last week.

The administration walked back its planned halt of federal grants and loans within two days, but a review of thousands of federally-funded programs continues. A pause on research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) remains in place.

The NIH is the world's largest biomedical institution, providing more than $40 billion (€38.7 billion) annually to health research. It funds more than 300,000 researchers at more than 2,500 universities and other research institutions, primarily in the US.

Owing to concerns that further NIH research funding could be denied for speaking out against the Trump administration's actions, one scientist from Harvard University spoke to DW on condition of anonymity.

"It's chaos, really scary. It's a threat to academic freedom. Many scientists and technicians are panicking and don't know if they can have a future in research," the source said.

Kenneth Evans, an expert in science and technology public policy at Rice University, Texas, said the Trump administration has now made the US "a hostile place for researchers."

"There is no good news for US science. Coupled with the attacks on [the job security of] civil servants, thousands of which are scientists, the Trump administration has made the United States a hostile place for researchers," he........

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