Opinion in 1989

INSERM has done the only decent thing by confirming Dr Jacques Benveniste in his post. But what happens now?

Britain's Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution has produced unexpectedly cautious proposals for the regulation of the release of engineered organisms into the environment, but they are none the worse for that.

Next week's summit in Paris should pay more attention than planned to the benefits of technology.

The general recognition that Mr Mikhail Gorbachev may be skating on thin ice has caused widespread dismay, but the future is not nearly as bleak as it seems. Adventurous decisions now could assure the future.

Whatever the failures of the revolution 200 years ago, it seems to have left French science unscathed.

This week's summit meeting of European politicians at Madrid argues for a redefinition of Europe.

The proposed amalgamation of the British research councils (another reorganization, and suspect on that account) deserves a welcome if its management can satisfy some obvious tests.

Sakharov, an angry man, must square his own emotional circle before squaring the Soviet Union's.

Readers should not fail to remark the importance of the first of the letters in this week's correspondence section.

Last week's election of members of the European Parliament was more interesting than anyone expected. But will those with lessons to learn eventually take them to heart?

New York City authorities ask whether the time has come to trace the contacts of AIDS patients. It has not.

Animal rights extremists, like terrorists everywhere, seem to be gathering strength and boldness. Societies that value personal liberty should pay more attention.

Confusions about the forensic applications of DNA fingerprinting should not disguise the technique's promise.

The turmoil in the foreign exchange markets calls for more durable remedies than now exist.

President George Bush has won just praise for his performance in Europe last week, but the difficult decisions remain unmade, not just in Washington, but in London and Paris.

The past month's turmoil in China may eventually benefit Chinese science, but the outlook is not cheerful.

The European Community, perpetually in crisis, is about to make a series of crucial decisions as well as to elect a parliament. It would be well advised to pay more attention to the second task than is its habit.