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Most people assume that a wave, being central to all the phenomena we observe, has a uniform definition. But defining this basic concept isn't so easy.
Showing that a genetically modified food is chemically similar to its natural counterpart is not adequate evidence that it is safe for human consumption.
Europe has been slow to exploit its considerable scientific research expertise for economic benefit. A culture of venture capitalism must be created if Europe is to compete more effectively with the United States.
The drive to squeeze ever more food from the land has sent Europe's farmland wildlife into a precipitous decline. How can agricultural policy be reformed so that we have fewer grain mountains and more skylarks?
The relationship between the scientific community and the general public has never been worse in living memory. The commercialization of research is largely responsible, but scientists can still act on the problem.
It is time for environmental scientists and policy-makers to speak the same language, and to target the achievable, not simply the desirable. A framework is emerging from the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme.
There is urgent need for the development and use of agricultural biotechnology in Africa to help to counter famine, environmental degradation and poverty. Africa must enthusiastically join the biotechnology revolution.
Scientific societies in the developing world must take a stake in their countries' future. They should be proactive in fostering a culture supportive of economic development driven by science and technology.
The number of scientists in the biomedical field is growing exponentially at rates that outstrip funding. The present system of short-term research grants, resulting in armies of postdocs without career prospects, must be changed.
Ergonomists have a say in the design of almost everything in the modern world, but there is little evidence that their methods actually work. Here is an evaluation of those methods and of the worth of ergonomics in design.
How should universities account for the money they receive from governments? The answer is not as simple as it may at first appear. There are valuable lessons that other countries can learn from the US experience.
Does society need protecting from scientific advances? Most emphatically not, so long as scientists themselves and their employers are committed to full disclosure of what they know.
There are strong political pressures to relax the scrutiny of suspected biological weapons activity in Iraq. But the experience of United Nations inspectors in the country points to significant dangers in such a policy.