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Citations are an important component in the assessment of academic performance. Yet, the growing literature, combined with format constraints of journals, encourage citation of reviews in preference to primary research. This diverts academic credit from the discoverer.
Silvio Berlusconi's government seems set on its course to reform Italy's troubled education system through heavy cuts in funding to schools, universities and scientific research, prompting a belated flurry of protests.
This year's Nobel Prizes mark the most significant technological advance in cell biology, GFP et al., as well as two discoveries in virology with major health implications.
Biological research is benefiting from an explosion of data. There is an urgent need to invest in bioinformatic infrastructure and education to interpret this data and guarantee its archiving.