Hey Tex, do you know if research institutions are working together on this? Sharing research and doing experiments together? If not, they should be as it will add more bright minds to the pool of ideas.
Yes, these researchers get together often to present papers to each other. There is a lot of work that goes into a true peer-reviewed paper, which should not be confused with a press release.
Most researchers will work together, and sometimes can have a great leap forward for others work. The Folding@home project at Stanford University has contributors from around the globe.
That said, there can be a lot of competition between researchers fighting for grants, and no one likes it, but that is human nature.