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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. & LONDON, July 28 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ –

Over the last two decades, the United States has seen its share of world
output of scientific papers steadily decrease, while the collective shares of
nations in the European Union (EU) and the Asia Pacific region have increased,
according to a recent study published in Science Watch, the bimonthly
newsletter of Thomson Scientific, a business unit of The Thomson Corporation.

The study was conducted using citation data from the more than 8,700
prestigious, high-impact journals archived in the National Science
Indicators(R) database.

U.S. World Share Decreases, EU and Asia Pacific Grow Steadily
In the mid-1990s, the United States’ declining share of world science
output was intersected by that of the ascending European Union. Today, the EU
has reached almost five percent more than the United States’ share. The Asia
Pacific region enjoys the most dramatic increase in share percentage, up by
approximately 12 percent. If current trends continue, the Asia Pacific region
will likely outstrip the United States by 2011.

In 1981, when the company began tracking the data, the United States
accounted for 39.7 percent of the total number of papers published in the
world (172,132 papers); the EU accounted for 32.3 percent (139,954 papers);
and the Asia Pacific region accounted for 13 percent (56,644 papers).
By 2004, the EU accounted for 38 percent of the total number of papers
(292,067); the United States accounted for 33.3 percent (256,374); and the
Asia Pacific region accounted for 25.3 percent of papers (195,001).

When looking at individual fields of study, the EU and Asia Pacific
nations both produced a higher percentage share in five of the Thomson
Scientific indexed fields: Agricultural Sciences, Chemistry, Engineering,
Materials Science and Physics.

Is This Data Evidence of a Scientist Shortage?
Though the National Science Board in 2004 warned of an impending scientist
shortage in the United States due to international competition and a post-9/11
culture, Thomson Scientific experts don’t feel the United States’ loss in
share is necessarily reflective of such a trend.

"It’s important to note that, while the percentage of share of these
countries may have fluctuated, the numbers of papers published in all regions
have increased," said Henry Small, chief scientist of Thomson Scientific.
"This makes it particularly difficult to attribute this trend to any purported
U.S. shortage of scientists.

"These fluctuations in share can be attributed to a number of factors -
it’s a complicated matter," said Small. "Globalization and increased
international collaboration have likely played a role - particularly in the
Asia Pacific region, where the rise as a percentage has been the most
significant."

While the United States’ share of world science has lessened, it doesn’t
mean it has been publishing any less. In fact, the United States published
nearly 50 percent more papers in 2004 than it did in 1981, the first year of
available data, while the world total of papers increased by 56 percent (near-
parallel growth).

For more information on the Science Watch survey, or for raw data
information from the survey, contact Rodney Yancey at (215) 386-0100 ext. 1396
or rodney.yancey@thomson.com.

About the Thomson Corporation
The Thomson Corporation (http://www.thomson.com), with 2004 revenues of
$8.10 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information
solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-
added information, software tools and applications to more than 20 million
users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher
education, reference information, corporate e-learning and assessment,
scientific research and healthcare. With operational headquarters in Stamford,
Conn., Thomson has approximately 38,000 employees and provides services in
approximately 130 countries. The Corporation’s common shares are listed on the
New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; Toronto).

Thomson scientific information solutions can be found at
http://www.scientific.thomson.com and include, ISI Web of Knowledge(SM) -
facilitating discovery by offering seamless navigation to high-quality,
multidisciplinary journal (Web of Science(R)), patent (Derwent World Patents
Index(R)), and Web content, evaluation tools, and bibliographic management
products (EndNote(R)); Thomson Pharma(SM) - an integrated information solution
for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets; Delphion(R) - providing
access to full-text patent documents from the world’s leading patent
authorities; Techstreet - offering a wide variety of engineering codes and
standards; BIOSIS Previews(R) - the world’s most comprehensive reference
database for life science research; and Information Holdings Inc. - a leading
provider of intellectual property and regulatory information products and
services for professional end users in corporate and legal markets.

Contacts
Rodney Yancey
Manager, Corporate Communications
Thomson Scientific
(215) 386-0100 extension 1396
rodney.yancey@thomson.com

Chris Lukach
Anne Klein & Associates
(856) 988-6560 extension 15
chris@mail.akleinpr.com

SOURCE: Thomson Scientific

CONTACT: Rodney Yancey, Manager,
Corporate Communications of Thomson Scientific,
+1-215-386-0100, ext. 1396,
rodney.yancey@thomson.com, or

Chris Lukach of Anne Klein & Associates,
+1-856-988-6560, ext. 15,
chris@mail.akleinpr.com, for Thomson Scientific

Web site: http://www.thomson.com
http://www.scientific.thomson.com