Diet studies send people rushing for comfort food

Washington

Many Americans, confronted with a profusion of conflicting studies on diet, have joined a 'nutrition backlash' and embraced unhealthy eating, says a study in this month's Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

The study, by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, found that over 40% of respondents to a survey were tired of hearing about what foods they should or should not eat. The diet of this group — which included an even higher proportion of the elderly, the poor and young men — contains more fat and less fruit and vegetables than average.

“The majority of the public still care about their diet and health, but there are definitely some sub-groups that have just plain had it,” says Ruth Patterson, lead author of the study.

American Physical Society sets up electronic archive

Washington

The American Physical Society will this month begin sending a complete electronic archive of eight of its journals to the US Library of Congress for permanent safekeeping.

The archive, which will be updated continually, contains more than a century of physics, dating to the first issue of Physical Review in 1893. The society is in the process of electronically scanning older issues of the journal, and members can subscribe to the archive for an annual $100 fee.

Onsite library users will have free electronic access to all eight archives. In return, the society will get a second repository for its collection.

Australian TV axes science programmes

Sydney

Up in arms: ABC TV and radio staff protest over the axing of science and other programme units. Credit: PETER POCKLEY

Australian scientists are in uproar over the planned closure of Quantum, a science show that has run for 16 years on national television, and the axing of the Science TV Unit at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

The Australian Academy of Science, which persuaded the ABC to begin science programmes in 1964, branded the removal of in-house competence as “a leap backwards”. Other universities and scientific groups have also attacked the changes.

In a letter to Jonathan Shier, the ABC's new managing director, Peter Doherty, the Australian Nobel laureate in medicine, wrote: “It will be national tragedy if the capacity of the ABC to offer high quality, in-depth reporting of the arts and sciences is further compromised.” But Shier says that “drop dead day”, his own description of the proposed restructuring, will enhance science coverage on television.

Bioethics body calls for reform of clinical trials

Washington

The US National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) has advised the federal government to spend more on broader oversight to protect research subjects.

The NBAC's report calls for Congress to create a single agency that would monitor all clinical trials. The committee also urged federal sponsors of biomedical research, such as the National Institutes of Health, to spend more on monitoring clinical trials.

The report was released at the end of last month and is available for public comment until 17 February.

→ http://www.bioethics.gov

Hungary gives science budget a 50% boost

Budapest

The Hungarian government last month approved an increase in public spending on science and technology of more than 50%. The move reinforces Hungary's efforts to become a leader in science in central and eastern Europe.

Over the next two years, a rise in the science budget of 140 million euros ($US132 million) will fund higher salaries and more research grants. Private companies will be allowed to write off double what they spend on research and development against tax.

Norbert Kroo, secretary-general of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, says that Hungary's participation in the European Union's Framework Programme “paved the way” for the research boost.

Awards for Mediterranean geneticist and physicist

Paris

André Megarbane, a geneticist at the Université Saint Joseph in Beirut, and Abderrahmane Tadjeddine, deputy director of the LURE synchrotron laboratory in Orsay, France, have jointly won the 2000 Rammal Award for their contributions to scientific collaboration in the Mediterranean region.

The award, named after the Lebanese physicist Rammal Rammal, is made each year by Euroscience, an association that promotes European science.

Megarebane was selected for his research in the Lebanon and his collaborations with scientists in ten other Mediterranean countries. Tadjeddine was cited for supporting education in Algeria and his role in plans to relocate a synchrotron from Germany to Jordan.

British BSE committee opens up to the public

London

Going public: the inquiry into the British BSE epidemic condemned a 'culture of secrecy'. Credit: HOLT STUDIOS

Advisors to the UK government are planning to open up their discussions on mad cow disease and variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) to the public for the first time.

A recent public enquiry into the BSE epidemic found that a culture of secrecy had contributed to its spread (see Nature 408 , 3–5; 2000). To help regain public confidence, some members of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee — a group of experts who advise ministers on the science of BSE and vCJD — are pushing to have some of their sessions made public. Sessions involving commercial or patient confidentiality will remain closed.

Currently, press briefings are held after each meeting of the committee. But Peter Smith of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the committee's deputy chairman, says that it will meet in public during 2001.