SCIENCE-NEWS for Commoner.

[gaddeswarup]

There are a couple of interesting artcles in The Guardian today. The first is about the difficulty of engaging the public in science debates:
http://education.guardian.co.uk/high...501271,00.html
The author says:
"Democracy is about informed choice, but science is now so vast and complex, that no single individual could ever be well enough informed to make this level of dialogue feasible. "...
"Of course there are plenty of issues involving science that are worthy of public discussion and debate: the ethics of embryo research, the risks of nuclear powers versus its benefits for climate change, the possible environmental and health implications of GM crops - the list is endless.

But scientists are too busy discovering hard fact to inform debate in all these controversial areas. Many of us are frustrated - not because no one is listening to our opinions - but because public debate is occurring but no one is listening to the facts. "
On the otherhand, I find that many scientists are too specislised and often do not have the overall perspective to discuss on public issues (just take a survey on how many scientists know the difference between DNA and RNA).
The other artcle is about the evolutionary role of the difference between male anf female orgasms:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/scien...501314,00.html