Commentary in 1998

The green movement has an impressive history of drawing attention to environmental problems. But if these are to be solved it must be more closely engaged in forging partnerships with business and government.

Economists and ecologists misunderstand each other about the environment. Improving interdisciplinary communication should enable natural scientists to take economic analysis and prescriptions more seriously.

The global stockpile of separated plutonium is expensive and hazardous to reprocess, vulnerable to terrorist threat and disposal is costly. But there are apparently simple ways to reduce this problem.

It can be difficult to discuss ethical dilemmas in the academic environment. One way of doing it is through ‘science-in-fiction’. The following ‘science renga’ shows how this is done with virtually total anonymity.

Unregulated forensic science practices have led to a spate of wrongful convictions. There are too many ‘cowboy’ practitioners whose services can be bought at a price.

The US government sometimes funds research in private companies. But there has been disagreement about the type of research that should receive public money. A consensus may be beginning to emerge.

Life insurers claim they stand to lose unless allowed access to applicants' genetic information, but consumers insist such data should remain out of bounds. Could both sides be right?

Two of Japan's government agencies are set to be merged in an attempt to raise the country's scientific standards. But unless a ‘bottom-up’ approach to science is adopted, the culture of basic research may be damaged.

Anniversaries of note this year range from the discovery of alpha particles and inert gases to a plague of medical breakthroughs, the creation of a health service to make them available⃛ and the invention of an ice-cream freezer.