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A CRESCENDO OF DISCOVERY IN THE 21st CENTURY MUST REACH

September 29, 1999

Lord David Puttnam and Professor Susan Greenfield, director of the Royal Institution
of Great Britain (RI), are urging all scientists to communicate meaningfully with the
public. Dialogue between scientists and the public is essential to determine the way
our lives are shaped in the next century. This theme will be central to an evening of
debate (4 October) to be held at the Royal Institution in central London when Lord
Robert Winston, Sir Robert May, Sir Martin Rees and Professor Lisa Jardine will join
Lord Puttnam and Professor Greenfield.

The debate, entitled 'Science Today: Delivering the Future?,' marks the launch of the
'Heart of Science' campaign to raise £5 million to refurbish the RI, the UK's oldest
independent research institution. The campaign will enable the RI to build on its
strong tradition in communicating science to public audiences, most notably the annual
Christmas lectures. The RI's Davy Faraday Research Laboratories are badly in need of
renovation, yet are the source of world-class research into superconductivity and
electromagnetism as well as 14 Nobel prizes.

Chairing the debate, Lord Puttnam, who is chairman of the National Endowment for
Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), said, "In the early part of the 21st
century, scientific enquiry and the disinterested pursuit of knowledge will become ever
more critical to the functioning of healthy, progressive, plural democracy. In particular,
the ability of scientists to communicate relatively complex ideas to the public will
become increasingly important in the face of a plethora of misinformation and spin
which is likely to crowd in on us from every conceivable source."

The complex ideas range from genetics to astronomy. Lord Robert Winston, professor
of fertility studies at Imperial College School of Medicine in London, believes that
understanding genetics will be the most powerful tool known to mankind for many
centuries. "The major ethical principle is that life is sacred and must be protected at all
times. Not to use genetics for our benefit is unethical," he said.

Beyond genetics is the quest to understand the origin of life, other solar systems and
the universe itself. "The next century will see a crescendo of discovery," said Sir
Martin Rees, astronomer Royal. Sir Martin anticipates that these topics are likely to
inspire the public in the way Darwinism has during this century. "Contrary to what is
claimed, our knowledge of the world around us is only just beginning," he said. "There
have been claims that we know the answers to 'big questions,' but as the frontiers of
science advance, ever more probing questions are raised."

That developments in information technology increasingly give millions of people
access to the facts and the opportunity to participate in debate, identifies a major
sociological change. "One of the benign spin-offs from IT is that anyone anywhere in
the world can download information," said Sir Martin.

The unforeseen application of yesterday's basic research pervades our lives everyday in
the home, marketplace and at work. "As the world becomes effectively smaller and
more competitive, we need to do a better job of engaging the general public, especially
younger people, in their awareness of the acceleration of scientific understanding," said
Sir Robert May, chief scientific advisor to the UK Government.

"The public has finally woken up to the crucial part that science plays in all their lives.
Now it is our responsibility to move scientists into dialogue with the wider
community," said Lisa Jardine, professor of renaissance studies at Queen Mary &
Westfield, London

There may well be people who are now well-informed about current scientific issues,
such as GM crops, technology and the effects of drugs. "That still leaves a huge
number of people who are victims of scare-mongering because they don't understand
what cloning and genetic engineering means," explains Professor Greenfield. "We are
becoming a society divided by the scientifically literate and the scientifically scared."

"We need to foster the two-way dialogue between scientists and the public and the
Royal Institution epitomises these aspirations at their best," said Sir Robert. The RI,
therefore, is the perfect environment to bring together people of all ages and from all
walks of life. For the 'heart of science' campaign, Professor Greenfield wants to
create a 'salon for science' at the RI, a place where anyone can drop in and find out
about the latest research. The planned bar and restaurant will encourage people to talk
about the practicalities, of, for instance, living until the age of 120; or discuss the ethics
of animal organ transplants. This blend of science and society also makes the RI an
ideal independent location for scientists to understand the public's concerns and
suspicions.

Scientific research is largely paid for by the tax-payer and charities and unless more
scientists recognise their responsibility to the public, science itself could dwindle.
Professor Greenfield says, "The best scientists in the 21st century will speak out and
see their subjects in a wider context."

END


Snell Communications Ltd