Policy News

1 September 2010

Scientists must fight for their funding

Evan Harris issues a call to arms to British scientists facing swingeing cuts in funding in the forthcoming spending review. The science community is getting increasingly apprehensive about the prospect of significant cuts in funding when the public spending review takes place in October. Don't the prime minister and his chancellor recognise that investment in science (both pure and applied) has a vital role in creating the economic growth we need to solve our problems? Scientific investment creates and exploits new knowledge, as well as attracting inward investment. It also generates both new businesses and a highly-skilled workforce. 

UK scientists on collision course over £1bn research cuts

"If we have 25% cuts and you want to protect every major facility or project – like Diamond, Isis, Cern, the National Physical Laboratory, the British Antarctic Survey, the Geological Survey – then you might be able to do that, but it will come at the cost of research grants and studentships," said [Imran] Khan. "We could see a lost generation of scientists and engineers, with there being insufficient PhD and post-doctoral places for hugely talented individuals." 

Wanted: EU chief scientist

The EU executive has yet to appoint a chief scientific advisor, almost one year after European Commission President José Manuel Barroso announced plans to recruit a top scientist to offer advice on controversial issues including climate change and genetically-modified food.

Although the job has not been advertised and there is no immediate plan to do so, the Commission has agreed that the ideal candidate should have "appropriate professional experience of at least 15 years" and will be paid the same rate as a director-general. 

Interacademy Council report recommends fundamental reform of IPCC management structure

“Operating under the public microscope the way IPCC does requires strong leadership, the continued and enthusiastic participation of distinguished scientists, an ability to adapt, and a commitment to openness if the value of these assessments to society is to be maintained,” said Harold T. Shapiro, president emeritus and professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University in the United States and chair of the committee that wrote the report. 

What makes a good doctor?

The attributes of a good doctor vary according to the population surveyed. Patients value communication and care, colleagues seek competence and camaraderie, medical students prize cheerfulness. By contrast, admission panels focus on chemistry grades, as if knowledge of ionic bonds is somehow a proxy for the complex human and organisational bonds between doctors, their patients, and colleagues. As a result, most people seeking a career in medicine must first master chemistry; those who cannot do so are unlikely to become doctors.

Donald Barr questions whether medical schools' scientific bias actually selects the best doctors.

Public service union mounts legal challenge to government's health white paper

Unison, the UK's largest public service union, is seeking a judicial review of the coalition government's proposed healthcare reforms, on the grounds that the health secretary has failed to consult the public on the plans. The move coincides with the launch of a national online petition by an independent pressure group, the NHS Support Federation. The federation believes that the government's proposals will result in the break-up of the NHS. It signals the start of a concerted union campaign to try to derail the plans. 

Is it time to call a truce in the war on drugs?

There is no intrinsic logic to the legality and illegality of drugs so why do we criminalise the use of some drugs and not others, asks Professor David Nutt, former chairman of the advisory council on the misuse of drugs. 

FSA to examine UK food attitudes

A new examination into the reaction of UK consumers' attitudes and behaviours to food issues is being undertaken by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), with the aim of better understanding how these views change between population groups and over time. 

Why the case for GM salmon is still hard to stomach

Proponents of GM promise bigger cuts of meat, more efficient farming and animals less prone to disease, but is it an unnecessary abuse of nature? 

Wheat genome may help tackle food shortages

UK scientists have released draft sequences of the wheat genome, which they think could make a vital contribution to securing global food supplies. The researchers also say their efforts could help British farmers to develop new strains with greater yields. The wheat genome is five times larger than the human genome and is known to be a very complex structure, comprised of three independent genomes. 

Food figures need a pinch of salt

The idea that the world needs to double its food production by 2050 in order to feed a growing population is wrong, says Isobel Tomlinson from the Soil Association. In this week's Green Room, she says the misuse of data could be used to allow even greater intensification of the global agricultural industry. 

Brazil's agricultural miracle: How to feed the world

The emerging conventional wisdom about world farming is gloomy. There is an alternative. Brazil’s progress has been underpinned by the state agricultural-research company and pushed forward by GM crops. Brazil represents a clear alternative to the growing belief that, in farming, small and organic are beautiful. 

Industry’s ideas for growing and eating more fruit and veg

Members of the fruit and vegetable industry have presented ideas for increasing production and consumption of fruit and vegetables in England.

The report, by the industry-led Fruit and Vegetable Task Force, includes proposals for action by industry, as well as ideas for the Government to consider. The Task Force was asked to put forward practical proposals for action, their response focuses on:

- Removing regulation;
- Sustaining R&D capability;
- Improving skills and attracting new entrants in to the industry;
- Encouraging collaboration;
- Improving supply chain relationships;
- Expanding market opportunities;
- Improving existing Government behaviour change campaigns;
- Encouraging industry promotions;
- Aligning VAT with the 5 A Day objective; and
 -Supporting Grow Your Own.

Defra will discuss with the relevant departments the Task Force’s proposals which concern other Government departments, taking into consideration wider policies and contexts including practicality and cost.

The report is available here.   

UK biofuels 'falling short' on environmental standards

The Renewable Fuels Agency says it is disappointed that the vast majority of biofuels sold on UK forecourts do not conform to environmental standards. The body said fuel suppliers were meeting legally binding volume targets but some were falling "well short" on achieving voluntary green standards. But since biofuels have had to be mixed into forecourt fuel, there had been a reduction in emissions, it added. 

Conservation and compassion: First do no harm

In putting conservation into practice, we often cause great suffering to animals. Marc Bekoff argues that we need a new ethical perspective. 

A role for the public in ensuring planning decisions meet their environmental and developmental interests

One of Defra’s top three priorities is protecting the environment and enhancing biodiversity. Under this priority, a key commitment is to publish a White Paper on the natural environment by 2011, the first stage of which is an open consultation process aiming to shape the development of this paper. This is an important step in a move towards greater consideration of public interest with regard to the environment and its protection.
However, the work of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) highlights that the public needs a greater role in planning decisions to ensure that the public’s environmental and developmental interests in relation to society are met. 

Stricter controls urged for the UN's climate body

The UN's climate science body needs stricter checks to prevent damage to the organisation's credibility, an independent review has concluded. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has faced mounting pressure over errors in its last major assessment of climate science in 2007. The review said guidelines were needed to ensure IPCC leaders were not seen as advocating specific climate policies. It also urges transparency and suggests changes to the management of the body.

The IPCC has admitted it made a mistake in its 2007 assessment in asserting that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035. But it says this error did not change the broad picture of man-made climate change. The review committee stressed that previous IPCC science assessments had been successful overall, but it said the body's response to revelations of errors in its 2007 report had been "slow and inadequate". 

Bjørn Lomborg: $100bn a year needed to fight climate change

The world's most high-profile climate change sceptic is to declare that global warming is "undoubtedly one of the chief concerns facing the world today" and "a challenge humanity must confront", in an apparent U-turn that will give a huge boost to the embattled environmental lobby.

Bjørn Lomborg, the self-styled "sceptical environmentalist" once compared to Adolf Hitler by the UN's climate chief, is famous for attacking climate scientists, campaigners, the media and others for exaggerating the rate of global warming and its effects on humans, and the costly waste of policies to stop the problem.

But in a new book to be published next month, Lomborg will call for tens of billions of dollars a year to be invested in tackling climate change. "Investing $100bn annually would mean that we could essentially resolve the climate change problem by the end of this century," the book concludes. 

Area of new biological research gets wary welcome

The emerging research area of synthetic biology may not suffer the general opposition which greeted other controversial technologies like GM crops, but its risks will need careful regulation if its promise is to be realised. These are the initial conclusions from a novel public dialogue project – using a card game – released by the ESRC Genomics Forum, based at the University of Edinburgh.

Top line project results also reveal that:

• from this first sample of UK citizens there did not emerge a serious fundamental objection to the very idea of synthetic biology.
• virus research, ‘garage biology’ and the potential use of synthetic biology for terrorist purposes were all identified as problematic, suggesting that these risks need addressing in policy. Issues of monopolies, patenting and private ownership were also noted.
• synthetic biology is a relatively difficult subject for the average citizen to engage with. It would be premature to draw strong conclusions about overall support for or concerns about synthetic biology. People are not familiar enough with the issues and will need more time to digest and reflect.

  Famous female scientists are unknown to UK public

  Two-thirds of the British public are unable to name a single famous female scientist, according to an ICM poll. The same survey, organised by the Royal Society, revealed that 90% of 18-24 year-olds could not name a female scientific figure - either current or historical. Almost half were able to name at least one famous male scientist, such as Albert Einstein.

  The Royal Society's Lorna Casselton described the results as "frustrating". But the same poll also indicated that parents see scientists as good role models for their daughters.

   

  Member Organisation Events

  See the full listings on our webpage and contact us if you would like to highlight an event on this page. 

  Events

  PolicyNet

  The next PolicyNet meeting will take place at The Royal Academy of Engineering on Thursday 9 September from 12:30-2:30pm.

  Huw Irranca-Davies, MP for Ogmore and Steve Baker, MP for High Wycombe will debate and constructively discuss “The role of engineering in rebalancing the UK economy – views from the House”.

  If you wish to attend please email policynet@raeng.org.uk.

   

  Open consultations

  See http://www.societyofbiology.org/policy/consultations