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The increasing interest of pharmaceutical companies in the results of genetic studies of human population groups is already raising intense debate over the 'ownership' of genetic information. Few expect to find easy solutions.
Scientists are increasingly dependent on the Internet and the World Wide Web. Although global demand is currently causing congestion, deregulation and clever use of the Web point the way forward.
Is scientific risk assessment the best way to make decisions about environmental threats? Republicans in the US Congress, and many in industry, think it is. Others — including environmentalists—are less convinced.
The insurance industry is likely to find it more difficult to use genetic data on disease susceptibility than some of its critics claim. But it is already contesting demands for strict controls on the way this data is used.