Europe's Fusion-Reactor Plans Depend On

correspondence Europe’s fusion-reactor plans depend on JET Closing the Joint European Torus may save some money, but at a great cost to physics.

Sir — In your News story “Fusion cash heating techniques, D–T fusion capability giving each country the security of having shortfall leaves JET grounded” (Nature 424, and exploration of effects of ‘fast’ particles its own individual programme. A far more 4; 2003), you cite Alexander Bradshaw’s view (which can only be confined in a large sensible, though challenging, option is for that the “sensible” option for the European device such as JET) in heating and changing directors to make the case for increased Union (EU) fusion programme is to close the stability of the plasma. Thus JET is fusion funding, a restructured and more the Joint European Torus (JET), implying exploring the ‘new’ physics of ITER, and centralized European programme, and to that it is a luxury, low-priority item. developing techniques and understanding centre national resources and programmes This could not be further from the truth. to speed ITER’s research programme. on a few pan-European facilities. JET is the most relevant device to ITER, In recent years JET has been redeveloped JET remains at the forefront of the the planned international magnetic fusion as a model of European collaboration, world fusion programme. With the many reactor, for addressing questions of how enabling even small scientific associations upgrades and new systems coming online scenarios, performance limits, heat loads to have leading roles in key fields for ITER. over the next 18 months, and the vigour and stresses extrapolate with device size. As Without a centrally funded EU facility, injected by its collaborative framework, it a scientist working on JET, I must point out the EU fusion programme would have no has one of the most diverse, dynamic and that it is also developing key techniques that coherence. We should be following the intensive ITER-relevant programmes in would otherwise have to await much more example of particle physics, pooling the world. It should be the last part of the expensive research programmes in ITER. resources at every level in the operation of EU programme to be closed down. Examples include the development of major shared facilities that most directly Richard Buttery tritium and remote-handling technologies, address the development of the field. The Old Nurses Cottage, High Street, Harwell, ion cyclotron and lower hybrid resonant Closing JET may seem the easy option, Oxfordshire OX11 0EU, UK

Consumers don’t want of BSE? This was done in the absence of their bibliographic style files directly on any scientific evidence and solely on the their websites, reducing the problem of GM, so why use it? basis of what you call dogma. format management. Life-sciences journals Sir — The organic movement will be Thankfully the UK government has could easily follow their example. grateful for Nature’s interest in our well- learned some lessons from past food Leslie and Hamilton repeat a familiar being (“Diversity in food technology”, disasters. In particular, it seems willing to objection to LaTeX: the learning curve Nature 424, 473; 2003), but when you urge listen to the market and consumers in a takes away time from research work. This us to abandon “self-damaging dogmas”,I way that the overwhelmingly pro-GM problem has largely been solved in the hope you’ll forgive us for looking at your scientific establishment in the United form of an open-source graphical interface advice a little sceptically. Kingdom finds completely impossible. to LaTeX called LyX (www.lyx.org), You are advising one of the few sectors The UK government has promised providing standard functionality such as of UK agriculture that has a real and growing to protect organic farming from GM cut/paste and spell-checking. New users are market, strongly supported by consumers, contamination, in line with consumers’ relieved of the time investment necessary to introduce a radical change in our product. wishes (and incidentally with the European for using LaTeX alone, yet they still derive We see no evidence, however, that using Union regulation defining organic its well-known performance benefits. The genetically modified (GM) crops would production). As you say, there is increasing Lyx interface handles standard file formats, further the interests of organic farmers, recognition of what organic farmers and most significantly Adobe PDF, which many organic food manufacturers, organic environmentalists have been saying for journals require for electronic submission. retailers or the millions of people who eat nearly a decade: namely that coexistence It is therefore compatible with other tools organic food in the United Kingdom. of GM and organic farming may not be used by authors to view, share and submit In your Editorial you say that the Soil possible in the United Kingdom. We shall their written work. Association “will resist seemingly to their have to make a choice. Leslie and Hamilton discuss one dying breath” the idea that GM could be Peter Melchett standardization tool, the digital object as ethical as conventional plant breeding. The Soil Association, Bristol House, identifier (DOI). But although there is Ultimately the decision is up to consumers. 40–56 Victoria Street, Bristol BS1 6BY, UK substantial incentive for publishers to Given that people who buy non-organic adopt DOI for increased visibility and food have said they don’t want GM in accessibility, the benefits of simply it, it’s hardly surprising that organic changing long-established reference and consumers are even more determined that Open-source answer to citation styles are unclear. LaTeX/LyX may GM should be kept out of organic food. bibliography problem represent a more realistic solution. We The significant areas of uncertainty hope investigators will also consider such described in the UK government’s scientific Sir — David M. Leslie and Meredith J. open-source applications in the broader assessment of GM crops suggest that these Hamilton say in their Correspondence context of conducting their scientific work consumers know what they’re talking “Multitude of reference styles delays as suggested in your Editorial “In praise of about. You say that our determination to publication” (Nature 424, 127; 2003) that a open software” (Nature 403, 229; 2000; keep GM out of organic is “arbitrary and standard format is needed for citation and doi:10.1038/35002141). self-defeating”.Was it “arbitrary and self- bibliography styles. The well-established Michael C. Wendl, David J. Dooling defeating” when the organic sector banned LaTex family of open-source packages is Genome Sequencing Center, Washington University, the feeding of ground-up animal remains such a system. Many journals in the 4444 Forest Park Boulevard, Box 8501, St Louis, to ruminants ten years before the discovery physical and mathematical sciences provide Missouri 63108, USA