Correspondence

correspondence

2000) comes as a surprise to us. We precarious teaching contract with the Funding assured for represent 90% of the senior investigators UAB. The posts are occupied by PhDs, working at the ICGEB, New Delhi, and we some of them with research experience India’s international do not agree that there have been abroad. Such positions are equivalent to biotechnology centre … “deteriorating working conditions” at our teaching assistantships in the US academic centre. If Nature had solicited views from system (not to assistant professorships, as Sir — We are writing to you in our capacity a wide range of scientists working at the the letter says). After the fifth year, there as president of the board of governors of ICGEB you would have got a completely will be tenured positions by public and the International Centre for Genetic different view of the working conditions open competition, and any citizen with a Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), and atmosphere here. PhD is welcome to apply. and director general of the ICGEB, respec- The healthy scientific atmosphere at the Academic rights within the UAB were tively. We are utterly surprised by the ICGEB, New Delhi, is reflected in the established through our democratic bylaws content and the tone of your Editorial and scientific output of the centre. In addition 15 years ago; they are our ‘constitution’. News item about this centre (Nature 408, to a growing list of publications in Unfortunately we could not predict, so 121 & 127; 2000). international scientific journals, ICGEB long ago, that the Ministry of Education Last November a meeting of the board investigators have been successful in would select and fund reincorporated of governors, representing the 43 countries attracting grant support from a wide range scientists. This is why they are not now involved, very positively appraised the of international funding agencies represented on the university’s elected activity of both the Italian and the Indian including the Wellcome Trust, Howard body. This issue, however, may be revised components of the ICGEB and confirmed Hughes Medical Institute, the World in the near future to allow for this and the board’s total confidence in the ICGEB Health Organization, the European other unforeseeable situations. In other management, including Professor Commission, the Rockefeller Foundation, important aspects of academic life, people V. S. Chauhan, director of the New Delhi the (US) National Institutes of Health and in these situations face no discrimination, component. This positive evaluation the Human Frontiers Science Program in to the best of my knowledge. was also based on a glowing report by the recent years. The scientific community considers ICGEB council of scientific advisers — Moreover, the activities of the ICGEB it an absolute priority for Spain to improve an independent body of 15 distinguished are reviewed annually by an independent its efforts in R&D. Let me emphasize that scientists. council of scientific advisers (CSA), which we consider young researchers with The board was totally satisfied that the includes two Nobel laureates. The two CSA experience in good universities and turnover of personnel is at a normal level members quoted by your correspondent prestigious research centres to be essential for a research institution and that the had only positive things to say about the for the future of our society. hiring of all personnel is done in full scientific work of the ICGEB, New Delhi. Carme Picallo transparency, without any external We believe that the quality of our scientific Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, pressure, political or otherwise, but purely research is a direct reflection of the healthy Edifici A–Rectorat, 08193 Bellaterra on professional grounds. Furthermore, the working atmosphere prevailing here. (Barcelona), Spain morale of the scientists working at the S. K. Sopory ICGEB is quite good, as witnessed by the Other signatories to this letter: accompanying letter that has been sent to V. Siva Reddy, Raj Bhatnagar, Sunil Kumar Mukherjee, you by the New Delhi scientific staff. Nirupama Bhatnagar, Kanury V. S. Rao, Suresh Nair, Difficulty in reconciling Their morale has been further N. Tuteja, Neeti Sanan Mishra, Nirupam Roy Choudhury, global-warming data heightened by the outcome of the board’s M. K. Reddy, Raman Rajagopal, Krishnamurthy Natarajan, meeting: the government of Italy has just Suman Dhawan, Chetan Chitnis, Pawan Malhotra, Sir — According to your Special Feature on passed a law to triple its annual contri- Sadhu Leelaavathi, Ashima Kushwaha, Sunil K. Lal, global warming (Nature 408, 896; 2000), a bution to the centre (hardly a sign of Deepak Sehgal, S. Swaminathan, N. Khanna, Shahid Jameel, scientific report issued by the US National 1 “donor fatigue”) and the government of Anand Ranganathan Academy of Sciences concluded that the India has promised to do likewise. All the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and discrepancies between temperature other governors present at the meeting Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, 110 067 New measurements made at the surface have assured that their countries will fulfil Delhi, India (showing a warming trend since 1979) and their financial commitments to the from satellites (showing little if any tropos- ICGEB. Furthermore, grants to ICGEB pheric trend) “were now reconciled and scientists from several major international that they pointed to a warming planet”. foundations and agencies are steadily on Doing our best for To be precise, the NAS panel, which the increase. returners to Spain included some of the severest critics of the Adolfo R. Taylhardat, Arturo Falaschi satellite data, could not reconcile the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Sir — The letter signed by Pau Ferrer et al. disparity between the two trends. In fact, Biotechnology, Padriciano 99, 34012 Trieste, Italy (Nature 407, 941; 2000) accurately the disparity is opposite in direction to describes the severe problems that young expectations based on climate models: researchers face in rejoining the Spanish climate models all predict a stronger research system after several years abroad. warming trend for the mid-troposphere … and senior staff say Although I fully share their frustration and than for the surface. there’s no problem concern, the letter contains some S. Fred Singer statements that need clarification. Science & Environmental Policy Project, Sir — The description of the working The writers mention a “lecturing policy 1600 South Eads Street, Suite #712-S, Arlington, conditions and scientific atmosphere at the document” produced by the Universitat Virginia 22202-2907, USA International Centre for Genetic Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). Our 1. National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), policy has been to create transitory five-year Reconciling Observations of Global Temperature Change in your News report (Nature 408, 127; posts for people who already had a very (National Academy Press, Washington DC, 2000).

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