Researchers usually don't complain about their working conditions, but they aren't keen on working in run-down labs. Trouble is, it is getting more expensive to build new facilities.
For the third year running, the costs of building labs have gone up, says R&D Magazine. This is, says the magazine's article Lab Construction Costs Continue Climb, partly because construction costs in general have gone up. Things like Hurricane Katrina and a building boom in New York have their knock on impacts, for example.
So expect to pay between 6 and 10% more to build a lab in the USA this year. And don't think that doing things abroad will bring much respite. The boom in Asia means that labs cost more to build there too.
The magazine cites something called the "HLW/AccuCost Cost Index," and says that "Asian cities such as Beijing, Bombay, Chonquing, Jakarta, Seoul, and Shanghai will all experience an increase in construction costs averaging 5.7%".
But from what we heard in Shanghai earlier this year, that is nothing beside the huge pay rises that scientists can demand in those markets.
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