Britain has taken a further step towards establishing itself as the world leader in embryonic stem (ES) cell research by extending regulations permitting research on ES cells and cells derived by nuclear transfer, and announcing that it intends to create a national stem-cell bank.

paris A global 'science summit' in Hungary next June is expected to be the most important international meeting on the relationship between science and politics for 20 years.

Sharp differences in the attitudes of those who provide genetic services in China and other developing countries compared with those in the West are expected to be revealed in the results of an international survey due out later this year.

Roche fails to get European patent on Taq polymeraseLondon.The European Patent Office (EPO) has rejected a claim from pharmaceutical company Hoffman-La Roche for a patent on the naturally occurring version of

Bleak prospects for physics research councilLondon.Britain's Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), set up two years ago as the main channel of funding for basic research in these two disciplines, has warned that a lack of new programmes resulting from pressures on government spending means that

MPs back increase to fund hadron colliderLondon.A parliamentary committee has supported Britain's particle physicists in their efforts to persuade the government to provide an extra £60 million (US$92 million) towards the

equipment fund meets with mixed reactionLondon.Britain's universities, faced with growing difficulty in maintaining their research facilities, have given a cautious, if slightly sceptical, welcome to a scheme announced by the government last week for competitive grants for new equipment.Under the scheme, which was announced by Ian Lang, the cabinet minister responsible for science and technology, the government is making available a total of £18 million for two schemes, for equipment costing below and above £250,000 respectively.In both cases, the

UK chemists seek a greater role in policing arms banLondon.British chemists are mounting a last-minute appeal to the government to give academics a greater voice in the implementation of restrictions on research materials which could, in larger quantities, be used to manufacture chemical weapons.The restrictions are included in the measures that the government is planning to adopt in order to comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention.The text of this treaty was agreed in principle in 1993, and now awaits ratification by at least 65 states before taking effect -which is widely expected to occur within the next 12 months.As part of its implementation plans, the British government is proposing that all researchers using the chemicals listed in the proposed treaty will have to be registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the body that will be responsible for ensuring observance of the treaty.Under certain circumstances, indeed, such research could even be banned.Last week, during a debate in the House of Lords, the government released further details of how its licensing process will operate.In particular, Lord Fraser, minister of state at the DTI, specified that scientists who use small quantities of agents such as cholinesterase inhibitors for studies of nerve