Scientists say long-term funding makes it easier to pursue high-risk research. Credit: Weiquan Lin/Getty

China has selected its first group of young researchers to receive funding for up to 15 years, in one of the longest research grants on offer to scientists globally.

Most research funding is awarded in grants that last for five years or less, says Nicole White, a statistician at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. But short funding cycles favour projects that are able to deliver results quickly, which can disadvantage high-risk but potentially ground-breaking research and cut promising work short before its impact is fully realized, she says.…