Correspondence

Reallocate funds to in our cooperative urges and once held Beit fellowships were I testified to this committee on boost performance instead act selfishly?” (Nature Alexander Todd (chemistry, the rationale for selecting Luna 489, 427–430; 2012). In 1957), Fred Sanger (chemistry, and its environs as the preferred Last month’s report by the answering affirmatively, they 1958 and 1980), Macfarlane initial option for America’s Council of Canadian Academies, confirm an observation made Burnet (physiology or exploration beyond Earth orbit. prepared at the government’s 125 years ago by the Republican medicine, 1960), Bernard Katz All that I have learned in the request, reveals that Canada’s Senator for California, Leland (physiology or medicine, 1970) past year has just reinforced that research output and impact rank Stanford. and Tim Hunt (physiology opinion.” seventh and sixth in the world, Stanford had introduced a bill or medicine, 2001). Some Let’s hear and act on those respectively (see go.nature.com/ to foster worker cooperatives 10% of Beit fellows have words. Rather than exploring pyvwlk). Shouldn’t the country in 1886, and was interviewed gone on to become fellows of new options, we should begin be performing better, given its by The Cincinnati Enquirer. the Royal Society, including building the hardware, selecting sustained investment in research When Stanford broached the Marjory Stephenson (1914 Beit the landing sites, training the and development (R&D)? issue of women’s rights, the fellowship), who became one crews and planning the details Gross domestic expenditure reporter asked him, “Do you of the first two female Royal of missions that take us to the on R&D by the government not think women will go off Society fellows in 1945. Moon and a future of new and higher-education sectors on sentimental issues if they The scheme merged with the discoveries. was 0.77% of gross domestic undertake the business of Wellcome Trust Intermediate David A. Kring Universities product (GDP) in 2008 and has government and break up the Fellowship in 2009 to create the Space Research Association, been maintained throughout organizations by which men Wellcome–Beit Prize Fellowships Lunar and Planetary Institute, the global financial crisis (0.79% work out large ends?” Stanford (see go.nature.com/i2tofa). Houston, Texas, USA. in 2010). Although Canada replied, “Oh! It is not sentiment Andrew McMichael Weatherall [email protected] performs well given its small that we have to fear so much as Institute of Molecular Medicine, Jack O. Burns University of population, its GDP is relatively we suppose. A man’s sentiments University of Oxford, UK. Colorado Boulder, Colorado, USA. high because of natural-resource are generally just and right, [email protected] D. Ben J. Bussey Johns Hopkins exports, so these figures may be while it is second selfish thought Cyril Chantler UCL Partners University Applied Physics underestimates. Its 2008 R&D which makes him trim and Academic Health Science Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, investments exceeded those of adopt some other view. The best Partnership, London. USA. Japan and of every European reforms are worked out when Competing financial interests Union member except Finland sentiment operates, as it does in declared; see go.nature.com/4exu7l. and France (see go.nature. women, with the indignation of Timely reminder to com/59dg8f). righteousness.” (See go.nature. return to the Moon Canadian academia can com/i6b91d.) Bureaucracy bypass improve returns on this public Stanford’s discernment of The death of astronaut Neil let research flourish investment. Stimulating rapid, pro-social sentiment Armstrong (see Nature 489, competition and responsibility and slower, selfish calculation 368; 2012) reminds us that, The remarkable success of the for delivering research output is but one part of a larger body 43 years after he set foot on the UK Laboratory of Molecular and impact would support the of thought on the potentials for Moon, the satellite is still a hot Biology in Cambridge government’s commitment to cooperation in the economy, target. (W. Bynum Nature 490, 31–32; fiscal accountability. For example, which we may find worth It is the best and most 2012) might be explained in the it could assess researchers every revisiting today. accessible place in the Solar words of Max Perutz. When 5–10 years and reallocate a small Lee Altenberg Maui, Hawaii, System for robotic and human asked what makes creative amount of existing public funding USA. assets to address fundamentally research, he would say: “No to the highest performers. These [email protected] important scientific questions politics, no committees, no measures could bring Canada while expanding our referees, just talented highly in line with other developed technological capabilities. motivated people” (G. Radda countries, such as the United Beit fellowships Most of the Moon remains Nature Med. 8, 205; 2002). Kingdom and Australia. forge a Nobel link unexplored: we have never been Four of the greatest discoveries Andrew J. Tanentzap York to its far side, or to its polar of the twentieth century — the University, Toronto, Canada. The Beit Memorial Fellowship regions. structure of the atom, quantum [email protected] scheme, the first specifically In the last year of his life, mechanics, the theory of relativity to support young UK medical Armstrong told a committee and the structure of DNA — were researchers, has made a appointed by the US Congress made without project reviewers or Social insight rings remarkable contribution to that the larger human- grant-giving agencies (B. Gal-Or true 125 years on British biomedical science exploration goals lie beyond low Cosmology, Physics, and over the past 100 years. John Earth orbit, namely: “Luna, the Philosophy p. 493; Springer, 1983). David Rand and colleagues Gurdon’s Nobel prize this year lunar Lagrangian points, Mars Min-Liang Wong College of pose the question: “Are we (see go.nature.com/yo3cxf) is and its natural satellites, and Veterinary Medicine, National intuitively cooperative, with the seventh to be awarded to a near-Earth objects including Chung-Hsing University, reflection upon the logic of former Beit fellow. meteoroids, comets and Taichung,Taiwan. self-interest causing us to rein Other Nobel laureates who asteroids”. He went on: “Last year [email protected]