Commentary in 1994

The Delaney clause, embodied in US legislation in 1958, prohibits the addition to food of any level of any carcinogen. This position cannot be sustained in the face of progress in understanding chemically induced cancer.

Wildlife conservation is incompatible with global markets or private ownership. What is needed is a 'tribal' system of management such as that in North America that creates both wealth and jobs while sustaining resources.

The chance that Québec will separate from the rest of Canada grows as time passes without persuasive steps to keep the country together, but science is unlikely to be a casualty of separation.

Although some of the initial controversy surrounding DNA profiling has been resolved, courts have been misled about the strength of DNA evidence.

Despite attempts by a few journalists to portray the spread of AIDS in African countries as fictitious, the situation in Zambia shows that such views are completely misguided.

In this article, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, explains the preparations for the organization's second assessment, to be published in September next year.

The right to a university education in any subject is enshrined in German law. But the system has become hopelessly cumbersome and is ripe for radical reform.

The "Gardner hypothesis" suggests that an excess of childhood leukaemia near a nuclear reprocessing plant is caused by paternal exposure to ionizing radiation. But the evidence shows that this explanation is wrong.

Instead of becoming embroiled in bureaucracy and the misplaced support of ‘network’ projects, the European Commission could provide an exciting, long-term science policy.

How can we extend the Montreal Protocol to other ozone-depleting chemicals, such as fuel from the Space Shuttle and pharmaceuticals, when the life cycles of these compounds and the scales of the industries are different?

Abraham Ortelius suggested the basic elements of the continental drift theory in 1596, thus antedating by more than 150 years other writers credited with early fomulations of the theory.

Large relative and absolute declines in health status in Central and Eastern Europe since the mid-1960s place the countries of this region at a considerable disadvantage as they strive to compete and participate in the new Europe.

Understanding the intricacies of colour vision, the origins of the DNA industry and the classification of stars are but three of the scientific birthdays celebrated in this year’s anniversarial feast.