Scientists meet to advise EC on Biosciences Summit

A group of scientists from EU member states met for the first time on 27 April to begin work on assessing the European public's level of biosciences knowledge and how the EC should communicate information regarding such topics as GM crops and human cloning.


Brought together by the EC Commissioner for Research, Philippe Busquin, the nine scientists will “prepare the ground for a Biosciences Summit”, which is planned for November.

The EC is concerned that the public’s level of bioscience knowledge is too low and that the public has little trust in farmers’ associations, public authorities, universities and even environmental protection agencies when seeking reliable information.

An opinion poll commissioned by the EC shows consumer organisations have gained the greatest share in the public’s trust in biosciences information, followed by the medical profession.

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