JULY- Indesign.Indd

In a move that caught many by surprise, hopes to create "a profoundly innovating tives to private societies investing in re the new center-left Italian government ministry with reforms directed to increase search and to direct part of the budget to announced in May that it would merge public and private scientific resources the growth of quality Italian science. the Ministry of University and Science and promote translation of and Technological Research (MURST) promising discoveries into and the Public Education Ministry into useful products," and adds Berlinguer hopes to create one "superministry, 11 to be headed that 11 quality of research has to by prominent Democratic Left Party be evaluated and "a profoundly innovating ministry member Luigi Berlinguer, the rewarded properly. 11 former rector of Siena Words like these with reforms directed to strongly University. seem to be revolu- Many in the research tionary on the increase public and private community express con- IMAGE lips of a prominent cern that the merger of UNAVAILABLE leftist. Particularly scientific resources." the two large ministries encouraging for will undermine the strong FOR many academic scientists 11 One of my highest goals is to make Italy commitment to research COPYRIGHT are Berlinguer's words finally believe that without substantial proclaimed by Italy's new REASONS on the CRUI document, efforts in this direction, our country Prime Minister Romano calling it 11 a very positive won't have any future and will obstruct Prodi during the election sign" that academics its full ingress into Europe," he says. campaign. They fear that want to reach scientific Despite the reassurances to Italy's the current hot debate excellence through scientists, none of Berlinguer's words will over education reform (which cooperative contracts be easy to translate into action, especially involves all lev- with "advanced" indus in a time of serious budgetary els of Italian The new tries. "It is the ministry's intention to constraints. But perhaps the biggest chal schooling, from "superminister" invest much in this direction, trying to lenge facing Berlinguer and his new kindergarten of Italian education combine their interests with those of superministry is not budgetary but social: through gradu and science, other public scientific bodies such as the reconciling the progress of science and ate school) will Luigi Berlinguer. National Research Council," he says. the advancement of technology with so overshadow the Berlinguer also says he is keen to foster cial equity and a guarantee of equal urgent need for proper patenting policies (which have vir opportunity to Italy's depressed south. A reorganization of Italian research. tually never been considered in Italy) and growing threat of secession on the part of Another worry is over the destiny of an to promote the creation of academic spin the wealthy north, coupled with the tra important document drawn up before off enterprises (so far nonexistent on the ditional slowness of decision-making, elections by the "Conferenza dei Rettori" public research scene). will surely test the new minister's words (CRUI), which was to serve as a blueprint Furthermore, in an attempt to foster and. resolve in the months ahead. for reform. The CRUI document offers Italy's commitment to research, MARTINA BALLMAIER seventeen proposals for reworking Italian Berlinguer intends to offer fiscal incen- Milan, Italy research based on an American entrepre neurial model, including profit-sharing on patents and creation of small "high France goes a-sequencing technology" businesses based on close collaboration between academia and A decision to establish a significant genome center in France (Centre de tres grand industry. Some believe that a leftist min sequen,age), capable of sequencing 20 megabases a year, appears to have been made, ister like Berlinguer will not be open to although there was no formal announcement before Nature Medicine went to press. The such market-driven proposals as those proposed center, which could be announced as early as next September, will focus not called for by the CRUI document. only on the human genome, but also on the genomes of small organisms, and is ex However, in an extensive interview pected to rival similar projects in the United Kingdom and the United States. The largest with Nature Medicine, Berlinguer tried to biomedical re.search institute in France (INSERM), the Centre National de la Recherche allay all the fears . He says that by "opting Scientifique (CNRS), and an agency supporting agronomic research (INRA), as well as for a superministry, Italy followed the line several private companies, will be partners in this project. of France and Germany in the firm belief The site of the new center has not been chosen, nor ha.s its annual budget been de that modernization of the country is c.ided. However, Jean Weissenbach, a scientist from the CNRS and currently the based on the axis education-research Scientific Director for Genethon, a joint venture between the Centre d'Etude du innovation.11 Based on this kind of per Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH) and the French Muscular Dystrophy Association (AFM), is spective, research is not doomed to likely to become the proposed center's first director. become the poorer sister of the supermin UTHERlNE TASTEMAIN istry, but rather, 11 research policy will be Paris, France the apple of my eye," he says. Berlinguer

734 NATURE MEDICINE, VOLUME 2. NUMBER 7,JULY 1996