It’s a bit complicated to explain, but in general it comes down to access to tech, access to other researchers, and access to databases (I’ll put a tldr at the bottom).
In the lab I was last working at, it was super eclectic. At one point I was using spare packaging peanuts to insulate a banged up rotating field generator, so that it could generate fields I needed without heat interfering with readings from a laser I was using (which was itself duct taped into position). We also had some bleeding edge tech though, such as a thermal imaging system on loan from the Dutch military. Once the UK left the EU (and it’s highest level of defence cooperation, such as the Galileo satellites), we had to give systems like that back.
In terms of access to researchers, the UK government has said it wants to put red tape in place on things like freedom of movement and collaboration. This makes it harder for UK scientists to be involved with international projects, or to share ideas and work with other scientists in their field (the species I was working with have populations in Belgium, Denmark, and Norway, so collaborating with them was key).
In terms of databases, my field of study relies heavily on access to genetic data. I would get this data from the main EU database (which was based in London, but has of course been moved) and the main Japanese databse. The EU and Japan give each other free access to their genetic databases as part of their current trade agreements, but Japan has said it’s not interested in giving the UK access (since the UK doesn’t have an equivalent database to offer).
Moving to anywhere that’s a part of the EU would pretty much fix all of those problems instantly. As for why German in particular, it’s partly because the language is spoken in a number of different parts of Europe, but also because Germany has so many leading scientific institutes and laboratories. Germany is also expected to get almost €20billion worth of additional science funding from the EU over the next few years, on top of its own national level science fund, so it’s really looking like the place to be for science.
Tldr: Isolationism isn’t great for something that relies on collaboration.
Also, I’m not at all trying to mean this as a post where I’m telling people to be against brexit, this is just an attempt at explaining why it’s not been so good for me personally. I realise that most people do not work in the field I do (or rather, did until recently), and that these things will have no effect on most peoples lives. If you do happen to support brexit, I would still just as happily call you my mate and treat you as I do anyone else, as at the end of the day we’re all just trying to go about our lives peacefully 
Thanks! I’ve literally only just started (Spanish and French were what I studied at school), but it’d be great to chat with you about it Do you have any ways of private messaging (ie, social media)?
