Autumn 2006 SCIENCE IN PARLIAMENT Sustainable Concrete Human Reproductive Technologies Open Access Publishing State of the Nation 2006 MacRobert Award Winner, Optos plc The Journal of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee http://www.scienceinparliament.org.uk A good reason to choose concrete To help ensure a sustainable environment for tomorrow, we need to build responsibly today. That means choosing a building material with the strong environmental credentials of concrete. Concrete’s thermal mass keeps homes and offices naturally cool in summer - important as we experience the effects of global warming. Unlike other building materials, Britain is self-sufficient in concrete, meaning no need for imports and less transport-related CO2 emissions. Concrete protects our quality of life by providing safe, secure and quiet homes, which have excellent fire resistance and indoor air purity. Concrete - a sound investment for our children’s future. For more information, visit www.concretecentre.com SCIENCE IN Science in Parliament has two main objectives: a) to inform the scientific and industrial communities PARLIAMENT of activities within Parliament of a scientific nature The Journal of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. and of the progress of relevant legislation; The Committee is an Associate Parliamentary Group b) to keep Members of Parliament abreast of members of both Houses of Parliament and British members of the European Parliament, representatives of scientific affairs. of scientific and technical institutions, industrial organisations and universities. Welcome to the Autumn edition of Science in Parliament. As Chairman of the Editorial/Management Board of this Journal, I have been trying to encourage more Contents coverage of the controversial aspects of science that might generate a “Letters Page”. Autumn 2006 Volume 63 Number 4 We welcome your views on the issues that Opinion by Claire Curtis-Thomas MP 2 we cover and others of current interest. News that a single stem cell can be removed Mission Impossible? 3 Opinion by Phil Willis MP from an embryo, apparently without Changes in 25 years of Computing 4 Charles Hughes, BCS preventing normal development of the Why Nuclear Power is needed in a low carbon economy 5 Professor Sir David King embryo, and that an adult cell can be Being NICE 6 Professor Sir Michael Rawlins “wound back” to a stem cell have given Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester 8 Dr Ian Griffin great hope to this rapidly developing Enriching the Science Learning Experience 10 field of science. Yvonne Baker, SETNET The GM crops debate is back on the agenda Science Cities 12 with BASF’s announcement of a blight-free Professor Christopher Edwards potato. With most countries in North and The Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award 14 South America, China and India, and even Research finds Masonry Homes can have lowest whole life CO2 Impact 16 countries closer to home, such as Spain, now Andrew Minson, the Concrete Centre growing GM crops, how long can Britain State of the Nation Report 18 remain GM crop free? Some argue that Quentin Leiper, Institution of Civil Engineers public reaction to GM crops has damaged Human Reproductive Technologies 20 Britain’s biotechnology industry badly. We Addresses to the P&SC by Lord Winston and Prof Peter Braude need a sensible and well-informed debate Is Open Access the Future for Scientific Publishing? 24 free of the emotion of earlier debates. Addresses to the P&SC by Prof Mark Walport, Robert Campbell, This Summer has seen the publication of the Prof David Nicholas and Dr Ian Rowlands usual Annual Reports of a plethora or Science and Globalisation 30 organisations – State Departments and their The Ageing Countryside 32 agencies included. For those who have the Book Review by Lord Haskins time to read them, they contain a wealth of UK-Singapore: Partners in Science 33 information which, fortunately, suggests that Brian Ferrar, British High Commission, Singapore our science base is healthy for the time School Meals 34 being. The Food Standards Agency Prof Alan Malcolm published its “Science Strategy 2005-2010” The DTI’s Energy Review 35 in July (http://www.food.gov.uk/science/). Robert Freer I congratulate Universities UK for publishing Letters to the Editor 36 “EurekaUK”, which describes “100 House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee 37 discoveries and developments in UK House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology 38 universities that have changed the world”. I Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology 40 had great pleasure, on 25 July, in presenting the President of the American Chemical Debates and Selected Parliamentary Questions and Answers 41 Society with a copy. Digest of Parliamentary Debates, Questions and Answers 45 Euro-News 51 Dr Brian Iddon MP European Union Digest 51 Chairman, Editorial Board 2006 Volume Index 54 Science in Parliament Science Directory 55 Science Diary 64 Front cover image: © Optos plc ISSN 0263-6271 OPINION Claire Curtis-Thomas MP ngineers everywhere are the founders of the Women in doing what they do best as I Science and Engineering (WISE) in Ewrite, they’re beavering away Wales, and along with some and delivering what the customer magnificent, formidable, pioneering ordered, from sky scrapers to a new women we embarked on a central heating system; and therein nationwide schools visits lies our problem, that while we love programme. I was assigned to the what we’re doing, we don’t spend five to seven year olds, and they much time talking, and because we spent years teaching me how to don’t talk about the amazing world make a good paper plane. I have no tremendous women, we established that we are constantly creating, we idea how many of those WISE SET UP – a charity whose primary go largely unnoticed and young children went on to become purpose was to promote science, unsupported. Generally most of us scientists or engineers, but I do engineering and technology to have no problem with that situation know that we all learnt a lot and we young people from the age of five to at all – we want to be left to get on had fun. Irrespective of the fact that eighteen, irrespective of gender, with our work. However, such we all felt good, evangelising on creed or intellectual ability. The systemic and fundamental reserve behalf of our various disciplines, the charity is in its eleventh year and creates problems when you’re trying impact of our programme was we have achieved much together – to recruit young people into negligible; the vast majority of from our earliest days we engineering. teachers knew nothing about committed ourselves to a I became involved in engineering science and engineering, and we programme of work that would last accidentally, and I loved it found that most parents wanted twenty years, would support the immediately and the skilled people their children to go into “clean school curriculum and be subject who spent day after day creating jobs”. We realised that to increase to rigorous quality control. perfection from the elements of the the number of young people going During the annual science week in earth. But, however attractive the into Science, Engineering and March, the SET UP team delivers a position of being the only young Technology (SET) related careers we programme of over 150 events to woman working with approximately would have to sustain our activity four thousand children, half of three thousand men might sound, it for decades and to involve industry whom are under the age of eleven. was horrible for most of the time: – we needed their money to pay for These events include opportunities half of my colleagues didn’t want school visits and we needed their for visits to factories or engineering me in work with them and the employees to join us to talk to work sites or school visits by other half wanted me there, but for young people everywhere. That task engineers or scientists. Our the wrong reasons. Another two seemed impossible then and it still presentations support the national young women started apprenticeships feels impossible now, but thirty curriculum and vary from “What a year after me, but within six years later there is an understanding happens when you flush the toilet” months they had quit, for reasons I that getting young people into to “It’s in your genes – haemophilia understood perfectly well. However engineering is not a task that in the Royal family”. Hundreds of I was determined not be forced out business can leave to government, it volunteers, who have a love of of a job that engaged me absolutely, is something that all companies engineering or science, help to but by then armoured tanks had have to become involved in organise or deliver the SET UP skins which were thinner than themselves if they want to secure programme, as we want to share mine. I was determined that, apart the brightest and best candidates. that with young people so that they from gaining my apprenticeship, I have moved house fourteen times might join us some day – and I would try and encourage more with my work and every time I have gratifyingly some have done so. young women into my world, sought out colleagues who would Today, our volunteers will be knowing that if there were more of be prepared to help me establish a working on next year’s programme; us, it would be easier to survive and schools visit programme locally; engineers and scientists like realise our potential. sometimes these initiatives failed planning and building something I started my recruitment campaign a when I moved on. However in better – I just wish we would talk few years later by becoming one of 1995, along with two other about it all just a little bit more! 2 Science in Parliament Vol 63 No 4 Autumn 2006 OPINION Mission Impossible? Phil Willis MP Chair, House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee “ ission impossible” was to and the expectation from the how one Member of the science and technology community.