sip AUTUMN 2013 7/10/13 15:27 Page 1 SCIENCE IN PARLIAMENT sip AUTUMN 2013 2 1 3 5 4 8 6 7 9 The Journal of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee www.scienceinparliament.org.uk sip AUTUMN 2013 7/10/13 15:27 Page 2 sip AUTUMN 2013 7/10/13 15:27 Page 3 from Cuadrilla’s CEO about the Earlier this year we discussed energy stored beneath the issues arising from the SCIENCE IN PARLIAMENT Lancashire. It is clear from recent absence of new antibiotics, and polling that the media coverage heard from the CMO (Dame of the story fails to reflect public Sally Davies), as well as from opinion even in areas where industry about the costs of drug pilot wells have been drilled. development. The public sector sip clearly has a role to play, and More recently Monsanto has Parliament needs to define this. followed Syngenta’s example The Journal of the Parliamentary and Andrew Miller MP and withdrawn from the More recently commenting Scientific Committee. The Committee is an Associate Chairman, Parliamentary and European debate on GM crops. on the Duchess of Cambridge’s Scientific Committee Parliamentary Group of members of Some campaigners correctly pregnancy, there has been a silly both Houses of Parliament and British I am (only) occasionally identify this as a major victory. suggestion that pregnant members of the European Parliament, representatives of scientific and asked “What is the point of the Yet all of them wear clothes women should not travel in new technical institutions, industrial P&SC?” made from GM cotton, and this cars, and resist from the organisations and universities. First, let us be clear, the P&SC has contributed to a reduction in temptation to paint the new has no political agenda. It exists the death rate (from baby’s room. (The Duchess to promote open discussion and organophosphate insecticides) perhaps more than most, knows debate between the scientific of cotton farmers in India and the smell of new cars and and political communities, in the China. All (or most of them) freshly painted buildings). Such expectation that evidence will drink cordials sweetened with unfounded scare stories need to sometimes (often?) influence High Fructose Corn Syrup. 90% be stamped on. Fortunately Science in Parliament has two main policy. of maize is GM. Many of them P&SC is not alone, and we objectives: eat chicken fattened on GM should acknowledge the sterling 1. to inform the scientific and industrial In the spring of 2012, we ran soya. By campaigning to reduce role played by the Science communities of activities within a discussion meeting on HS2. Parliament of a scientific nature and This is still pending, but at least crop yields, they are, perhaps Media Centre and Sense About of the progress of relevant legislation; the facts were teased out. It is inadvertently, encouraging the Science, both of whom have destruction of the Amazon forest been fearless in debunking 2. to keep Members of Parliament not the ten minutes reduction in abreast of scientific affairs. transit time for the suited to grow more soya. rubbish. business community. However On the matter of the MMR Science may not always have the argument for increased scandal, rejecting scientific the correct answer today. But capacity of the line to transport evidence has led to only a few the alternatives yield nothing but people was well put. dead children from measles, but hunger for billions, the lights Later in 2012, we discussed Swansea had a very narrow going out, and people facing “Fracking”, and were able to hear escape. unnecessary risk. CONTENTS LEADING THE WAY: DIVERSITY AT THE ROYAL UK FOOD ENFORCEMENT WANTS MORE MONEY, PARLIAMENTARY LINKS DAY: SCIENCE AND SOCIETY 2 BUT DOES IT NEED IT? 14 DIVERSITY 36 Professor Dame Julia Higgins Professor Declan Naughton, Professor Andrea Petróczi SCIENCE AND THE ASSEMBLY 2013 39 ASPA 1986 4 and G Taylor Leigh Jeffes Ida Barlow BIRAX REGENERATIVE MEDICINE INITIATIVE 16 OUR LIVING SOLAR SYSTEM 40 Matthew Gould MBE SKILLS 5 HOUSE OF COMMONS SELECT COMMITTEE ON Address to the P&SC by Diana Garnham THE VALUE OF DIAGNOSTICS 18 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 41 Doris-Ann Williams INNOVATION IS GREAT BETWEEN THE UK AND HOUSE OF LORDS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INDIA 7 DRIVING ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE 20 SELECT COMMITTEE 43 Tom Wells Christoph Wiesner and Catherine Condie HOUSE OF COMMONS LIBRARY SCIENCE AND ITALY: THE SEA, THE SUN, THE SAINTS AND THE RESOLVING THE CRISIS OF ANTIBIOTIC ENVIRONMENT SECTION 44 SCIENTISTS 9 RESISTANCE 22 PARLIAMENTARY OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND Laura Nuccilli and Alessandra Ferraris Professor Laura Piddock TECHNOLOGY 45 LA MERIDIENNE VERTE 11 ANTIBIOTICS 23 SELECTED DEBATES 47 Professor Alan Malcolm Addresses to the P&SC by Professor Dame Sally Davies, SCIENCE DIRECTORY 48 HOW DO WE INSPIRE OUR FUTURE SCIENTISTS? 12 Dr Nick Brown and Dr Richard Bax Kirsten Bodley THE IMPORTANCE OF BEES 30 SCIENCE DIARY 56 Addresses to the P&SC by Tim Lovett, Dr Lynn Dicks and Don Pendergrast Science in Parliament Vol 70 No 4 Autumn 2013 1 sip AUTUMN 2013 7/10/13 15:27 Page 4 LEADING THE WAY: DIVERSITY AT THE ROYAL SOCIETY As Chair of the Royal Society’s diversity programme steering group I was delighted to be invited to sit on the panel for Parliamentary Links Day. Parliamentary Links Day is organised by the Society of Biology on behalf of the whole science and engineering community and is supported by a wide range of scientific societies and organisations including the Royal Society. The day was a huge success and brought together policy makers, MPs, ministers and representatives from the STEM community for talks and discussions about diversity in science. Topics covered included the ‘leaky pipeline’ through academia, social mobility, Professor Dame Julia Higgins DBE FRS FREng integrating the sciences in schools, work experience and parental leave. Professor of Polymer Science at Imperial College London and chair of the steering group for the Royal With the number of women Lack of diversity across the The Royal Society’s diversity Society’s diversity project ‘Leading the way: increasing diversity in the holding professorships in scientific community represents programme Leading the way; scientific workforce’. science, technology, a large loss of potential talent. increasing diversity in the engineering, maths and Restricted opportunity and scientific workforce is medicine (STEMM) subjects at diversity limits not only UK investigating ways to remove 15.6% (ECU, 2012), and this competitiveness and prosperity, barriers to entry, retention and pattern mirrored in industry, it is but also vitality in the wider progression within the scientific clear that women’s recruitment, scientific workforce and progression and retention is a creativity in society. The Royal . women’s major issue in STEMM Society is tackling these issues academia. Andrew Miller, Chair on two fronts, internally through recruitment, of the Science and Technology the Society’s Equality and progression and Select Committee, announced Diversity Advisory Network and that an inquiry would be externally through its diversity retention . launched to look at women in programme. workforce. It focuses on gender, STEM careers. The committee The Royal Society’s four-year ethnicity, disability and socio- put out a call for evidence to programme, funded by the economic status in the first which the Royal Society Department for Business, instance and aims to cultivate responded, using information Innovation and Skills, leadership in the scientific community. We are focused on . the ‘leaky pipeline’ . individuals making career transitions. For the purposes of the project, the ‘scientific and data from our diversity complements a programme by workforce’ is taken to comprise programme. We are currently the Royal Academy of all those for whom their awaiting the outcome. Engineering. While the two scientific knowledge, training, programmes are separate, there Diversity in science is wider and skills are necessary for the are areas of overlap including than just gender. Individuals work that they do. comprehensive data gathering, from lower socio-economic pilot activities, and showcasing The programme covers both backgrounds, certain ethnic role models. academia and industry. The minorities and disabled people are all under-represented in education, training and . a large loss of potential talent . employment related to STEMM. 2 Science in Parliament Vol 70 No 4 Autumn 2013 sip AUTUMN 2013 7/10/13 15:27 Page 5 majority of those in the scientific academia, and where they go. ‘An Oral History of British Science’ . workforce work in industry We will combine this into a particularly in small and single report to answer A pilot project has been We held a very successful medium-sized enterprises questions about what the established with Equality Wikipedia ‘edit-a-thon’ last (SMEs) (61.8% of scientific scientific workforce looks like. Challenge Unit and the Athena October focusing on improving workforce work in SMEs). This will be published towards SWAN Charter to look at the the online records of women in Academia therefore represents the end of this year. compatibility of the current science using the Royal Society only a small fraction of the Athena SWAN framework with archives and library followed by the structures and working a panel session led by Professor . individuals making career practices of research institutes, Uta Frith FRS on this topic. The with a view to extending the Royal Society received a transitions . Charter. This pilot involves ‘Wikimedia UK’ award – BBSRC, MRC, NERC, EPSRC and Educational Institution of the workforce. However there are We have commissioned independent research institutes. Year – for the ‘edit-a-thon’ and many successful schemes and research on establishing the It aims to explore research there have been calls to hold initiatives including the Athena business case for diversity in the institute management more such events.