From Fairfax Digital Nelson calls the research tune July 20, 2005 The Australian Research Council is being exposed to political influence. Governments wield great power over the activities of people because they have an electoral mandate and the control of public money that comes with it. For that reason, robust democracies have multiple checks on political authority over public institutions and funding. Universities are a good example of this. Federal Education Minister Brendan Nelson has announced the abolition of one check on political influence, the board of the Australian Research Council, which is allocating $565 million in grants this year. Replacing the board with a chief executive who reports directly to the minister will, Dr Nelson says, expedite funding and increase certainty. So why aren't the beneficiaries cheering? Universities see the minister's words as euphemisms for one word: control.

From the BBC

Science examines animal suffering
Scientists are carrying out a study to see if it is possible to report levels of suffering experienced by animals during scientific procedures.
The Home Office only issues statistics based on how severe a procedure is expected to be when it is licensed.
The study aims to see if suffering can be assessed and reported after the procedure has taken place.
A report setting out the preliminary findings of the investigation is due to be published.
The work is a collaboration between the Laboratory Animal Science Association (Lasa) and the Animal Procedures Committee (APC).

Gus is happy to report in other great news for lab rats, our Brendan Nelson (cartoon heading this line of blogs) has moved a while ago from Education to the Department of Little Wars (Us Policies — Down Under sub branch) where experiments on blowing brains out are performed on live humans exclusively with surgical precision large bombs...