UKRI, the UK's science funding body for research and innovation, consists of seven research councils including the Medical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Life Sciences Research Council. Before Christmas, UKRI distributed its four-year £38.6bn allocation from the Government to various councils through three priority 'buckets'. Some went to the commercialization of cutting-edge technologies and £14bn to "curiosity-driven research". Following the announcement, several councils experienced unexpected funding cuts and grant funding "pauses". The Medical Research Council has suspended funding opportunities including projects in infection and immunity, molecular and cellular medicine, neuroscience and mental health, and population and systems medicine. The UKRI website says they will announce a precise timetable for reopening funding opportunities in the spring.