Medical education in the United States should place more emphasis on basic scientific competence, says a report published this month.

Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians, by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a committee of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), warns that pre-med and medical-school curricula have not kept pace with advances in scientific knowledge. Areas for improvement include a better understanding of the natural sciences in fields such as the biology of microorganisms and the principles of pharmacology. The AAMC is studying the report as part of a review of its medical college admission test.