Chinese scientists in the U.S. are under scrutiny

The F.B.I. and the National Institutes of Health have begun a vast effort to root out scientists in the U.S. stealing biomedical research for other countries.

Almost all of their cases center on Chinese scientists, including those who are American citizens, allegedly stealing for the Chinese government. The investigations have fanned fears that China is exploiting the relative openness of the American scientific system.

Details: Some researchers under investigation have obtained patents in China on work funded by the U.S. government and owned by American institutions, the N.I.H. said. Others are suspected of setting up labs in China that secretly duplicated American research, according to government officials.

Case study: Among the redacted emails provided to The Times was one by a scientist planning to whisk proprietary test materials to colleagues in China. “I should be able to bring the whole sets of primers to you (if I can figure out how to get a dozen tubes of frozen DNA onto an airplane),” he wrote.