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2005年刊登在《Nature》的文章。

本文主要讲述 Florida 州试图用科研带动经济的想法，由当时总统的兄弟 Jeb Bush 推动，试图吸引 Scripps 到该州开展科研项目。Bush 和 棕榈沙滩郡（Palm Beach County）分别开出 3.1 亿美元和 2 亿美元的 Offer，甚至将 700 多公顷的橘子果园，划拨给项目用于园区建设。

文章从美国关于科研基金拨款入手，从大学与工厂及企业的关系展开，亮点落在 Florida 于 1990 年打败 Massachusetts 获得建造国家重点电磁基地，最后又回到讨论用提升科研能力来振兴地区经济是否可行。

其实，确切的答案并未给出。文章末尾引用了 3 个评论员的话。有些保持悲观，认为科研格局固化，美国其他州想从中分得一杯羹的概率较低；有些保持中立，认为在 2005 年那样的时代，只要能把资源牵到位，时间足够，也是能够享受科技发展带来的经济红利；有些则非常专业，直接指出 Florida 策略在未来会遇到的困难。

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Upstart States

The United States has a settled arrangement for distributing its research budget around the country, and the same states have dominated it for decades. But, as Emma Marris discovers in Florida, the have-nots have had enough. -- Emma Marris

1.Seen from the air, Florida’s Palm Beach looks like paradise. There ‘s the aquamarine sea, the sandy line of beach studded with palms, the pastel cul-de-sacs with their deep-blue squares. It is only as you descend that you realize that the squares aren’t swimming pools, but plastic tarpaulins – makeshift repairs after last summer’s hurricane season. Welcome to the future home of Scripps Florida.

2.Scripps is the state’s heavyweight contender in a battle to win promotion to the first division of science. Jeb Bush, the president’s brother and governor of Florida, has helped to arrange $310 million in state funding to attract the Scripps Institute in La Jolla, California, to the state. Palm Beach County has promised a further $200 million, including a 777-hectare former orange grove as a site.

3.Will the arrival of Scripps succeed in establishing a premier biomedical research center and nurturing a string of spin-off biotechnology companies in this playground for the rich, tanned and famous? It's not only a question for Floridians. Other states that fare badly in the carve-up of federal research funds will be watching Florida’s progress with interest. One way or another, they all want the answer to the same question: is it too late for them to get into the science game?