Opinion in 1996

As the time approaches for negotiations over the next Framework programme of research and development, Europe's governments have begun to make their views known. Some aspects of the current programme may need protection.

Charges by parts of the US energy industry that a recent report on global climate change has been 'scientifically cleansed' should not be allowed to undermine efforts to win political support for abatement strategies.

European space scientists learnt a hard lesson last week: there is no such thing as a free launch.

Recent events notwithstanding, significant problems lie ahead from increasing concentrations of some constituents of the lower atmosphere. Solutions depend not only on regulation but also on changes in the way environmental science is supported.

California's links between science, technology and the economy of the state still set the standard for others to follow.

As European countries engage in diplomatic battle over the banned exports of British beef and its products, lessons can be drawn from the sorry history of the British government's selective responses to expert advice.

Tertiary education is a competitive business with growing export potential. A recent report highlights the importance of postgraduate training, but governments are undermining universities' abilities to compete in an expanding market.

India should not threaten the success of the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty in its quest for disarmament.

There are deep disagreements about how science should deal with the problem of consciousness. But neuroscientists should soon be in a position to set the agenda. The result is likely to be rapid progress.

The consequences of the Chernobyl accident have given health physicists and geneticists a wealth of information about the effects of radiation exposure. Some is reassuring, some less so, but support for structured follow-up studies remains essential.

There are problems In getting collaboration on the LHC off the ground, but it should be possible to overcome them, to the benefit of all concerned.

The British government should admit that its proposed solution for equipment funding in universities is mistaken.

Environmental threats makes the need for enhanced atmospheric monitoring obvious, but the will and organization to fund it are insufficient. Less obviously, global monitoring of fundamental geophysical parameters would bring great benefits.

Despite well publicized cases of scientific fraud, and less publicized examples of other misbehaviour by researchers, calls for enhanced external policing of science need to be greeted sceptically.

The future of the Internet as a research tool looks healthy, but there are dangers in excessively rapid communication.

The scare in Britain over infections across species by prions was badly handled. Whether the research community can do more to prevent future public crises of confidence needs to be examined in the light of the past influence of interested parties.

A projected catastrophe for science in the United States undermines government credibility

The Clinton administration is sticking to its desire to fund key technology developments in industry, in the teeth of political and scientific opposition, and with little past success to build on. The president should give way.

Pressures following reunification threaten a fine example of collaborative support for science.

Media coverage of genetics research, and scientists' responses to it, tend to have a short-term perspective. But enough is now foreseeable for longer-term thinking about the impact on society to be more developed, and to have a higher profile.