Can we expect a MIRAcle for biomedical researchers in the US?

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the US National Institutes of Health has come up with a new system for funding researchers. Will the new Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) prove beneficial?

There is no question that the proportionally decreasing National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding in the USA for biomedical research is having short-, mid- and long-range negative effects on science.

Fewer positions are opening for new investigators, and in many cases universities are hesitant to hire young postdocs who are not yet funded, often preferring 'lateral recruitments' of established researchers from other institutes.