AFPDonald Trump's assault on science could threaten the United States' position as the world's leading research nation and have knock-on effects worldwide, Nobel Prize officials in Sweden told AFP. The United States is home to more Nobel science laureates than any other country, due largely to its longstanding investment in basic science and academic freedoms. Perlmann called the United States "the very engine" of scientific research worldwide. If given a chance to talk directly to Trump, Ellegren said he would impress upon him that it was in America's own interest to maintain academic freedoms and scientific funding. "The United States has invested a lot in research in the post-war period, both privately and federally.