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The difficulty and delay in ratifying the Maastricht Treaty cast doubts on the soundness of the project and demand a greater sense of vision from those who would make Europe a reality.
How can governments ensure that wealth is created from the scientific enterprise? In an abbreviated version of his talk at Nature's recent meeting1, Sir Mark Richmond assesses the probable British strategy.
Astronomy, as opportunistic a discipline as can be imagined, has been electrified by the lucky appearance of a supernova in a nearby galaxy. The spirit of 1987 is reborn.
