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You have full access to this article via your institution. Download PDF HEALTHY ECONOMY SPURS NEW UK REVIEW OF SCIENCE SPENDING London The UK government has told the research councils to

bring forward their next priority-setting exercise, as part of a broad review of public spending that is to take place at least six months earlier than expected. The move has been prompted

by the Treasury's desire to re-examine its spending plans in the light of a strong economy and a lower then expected rate of inflation. Some see it as an opportunity to bid for extra

funds for areas of science — such as European physical sciences projects — that did relatively badly in the last spending round. But, while there is optimism in the research councils at this

prospect, there is also awareness that it will take a considerable effort to ensure that science does as well as it did in last year's Comprehensive Spending Review, which resulted in

an increase in the councils' budget of £700 million (US$1.14 billion) over the three years up to 2001. BIODIVERSITY SURVEY IN US REVEALS MOUNTING PROBLEMS Washington US ecologists are

hoping that a new, comprehensive survey of the country's biological resources released last week will help policy-makers understand the pressures on ecosystems — and persuade them to

provide more money for studies of biodiversity. The survey brought together more than 200 authors to conduct a detailed, region-by-region audit of the country's ecosystems and the

problems that confront them. According to Michael Mac, head of fisheries research at the biological resources division of the US Geological Survey, and lead author of the 1,000-page

document, these problems continue to mount. “In summary, it's all bad news,” he says. COMPUTER MUSICIAN STRIKES GOLDEN NOTE Paris This year's Médaille d'Or of France's

national research agency, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, has been awarded to Jean-Claude Risset, a scientist who specializes in computer-generated music. During a career

that began in the mid-1960s, Risset has focused on simulating instruments electronically and studying perceptions of sound. At the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

Risset developed a program that allows a computer to respond to a pianist and act as a real-time accompanist. Risset has also composed and recorded works that combine instruments, voice and

computer-generated sounds. US AND SOUTH AFRICA IN PACT OVER AIDS DRUG PRICES Cape Town The United States and South Africa have come to a verbal agreement over South African legislation which

the United States believes would allow the South African health minister to violate international principles of patent protection to procure AIDS drugs and other medicines at reduced

prices. In a statement released in Washington last week, US trade representative Charlene Barshefsky said the United States “very much appreciated South Africa's assurance that, as it

moves vigorously forward to bring improved health care to its citizens, it will do so in a manner consistent with international commitments and that protects intellectual property rights”.

RUSH FOR FUNDS FOR INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH Munich Germany's federal research ministry has been overwhelmed by nearly 500 applications for its InnoRegio competition, an initiative launched

earlier this year by Edelgard Bulmahn, the federal research minister, to promote cooperation between research institutes and small and medium-sized companies in east Germany. Despite the

unexpectedly high response, the jury of independent experts will meet its November deadline for selecting 25 projects for the next round, says Michael Catenhusen, state secretary for

research. Each will receive DM300,000 (US$160,000) to develop their proposals. The winners, to be selected next summer, will share DM500 million of federal funding over a five-year period.

The initiative is modelled on the successful BioRegio competition, which Bulmahn's predecessor, Jürgen Rüttgers, launched in 1995 (see _Nature_ 384, 298; 1996). ARIZONA AND AUSTRALIA

LOOK OUT FOR ASTEROIDS San Diego The University of Arizona and the Australian National University are collaborating to upgrade and operate a telescope in Australia to provide a much-needed

asteroid survey in the Southern Hemisphere. The telescope, at the Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran, New South Wales, will complement the surveys of near-Earth objects being

carried out at five sites in the United States. The US space agency NASA, which is funding the observation sites, is expected to provide additional funding later this year to computerize the

Schmidt-style telescope at Siding Spring. Arizona has contracted the Australian astronomer Robert H. McNaught to provide observations of potentially hazardous asteroids. US UNIVERSITIES PAY

UP IN ‘IMPROPER BILLS’ SUIT San Diego The University of California at San Diego (UCSD) and the University of Washington in Seattle agreed last week to pay a total of $8.3 million to settle

a federal lawsuit that alleged they had improperly billed government health programmes for experimental heart devices. UCSD will pay $4.7 million and Washington $3.6 million to settle the

lawsuit, filed by a former medical equipment salesman. The universities had argued that they were trying to provide the best treatment for patients under rules that were ambiguous. The

Department of Justice is continuing to investigate similar allegations against more than 100 other medical research institutions. WELCOME TO THE UNDERSEA WORLD OF DESIGNER FISH Boston Fishy

tale: design-a-fish program will enhance understanding of behaviour, says museum. Credit: BOSTON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE The Museum of Science in Boston has launched a ‘virtual fish tank’ that

demonstrates how simple rules can create complex behaviour patterns in nature. The simulated undersea world (above), which measures 160 square metres, lets visitors design and launch their

own fish — and watch the behaviour patterns that emerge. The museum says that the tank is a compelling example of the value of computer simulations and high technology in understanding

science. The FishTank, first launched in June 1998 at another site, combines 3D computer graphics and real-time interactive character animation, and now features a side view of the aquarium.

It is hoped that the exhibit will attract more than 1.8 million visitors a year. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE News in brief. _Nature_

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