Sir

Your correspondents M. J. Hsu and G. Agoramoorthy (Nature 431, 627; 200410.1038/431627c), seem to deny to scientists a right that lawyers, financiers, writers and even movie stars claim for themselves, which is direct involvement in political processes.

If this was ever a wise policy it is surely no longer, when science is so often the pawn of politics and individual politicians. The law on stem-cell research, for example, varies from one country to another according to political dogma. As a postgraduate researcher at a British university, I urge scientists to spare such time as they can afford to be involved with politics — as I have done myself, serving on a local council and even standing for parliament.

There is no good reason why lawyers and movie stars should have an exclusive right to debate science matters, any more than scientists should have the final say in the film industry or the law.

The fewer impenetrable membranes with which scientists surround themselves and their work, the better.