Space science, biology and politics
in the specialised world of modern science, it is difficult to find cosmologists, planetary scientists and microbiologists in the same room. But a host of disciplines gathered in Washington dc, recently to discuss the expansion of work on the origins of the universe, planetary systems and life itself. The goal was to convince the us government that further cuts in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (nasa) budget will hamper efforts to understand how life emerged (Science, Vol 274, No 5289).
The conference