Lord Sainsbury announced yesterday his new grants for public engagement with science, one of which is funding a new Demos project with Lancaster University. After See-Through Science, we are squaring up to our own challenge and doing some innovative public engagement experiments with a handful of organisations who have different approaches to 'science' and 'the public'.

For more info on this project, which we call Nano-Dialogues, email me.

Last night, I was part of another form of nano-engagement at the Science Museum's new Dana Centre. I was on a panel looking at attitudes to innovation and nanotech in the US and the UK. We had Harry Kroto (nano-pioneer) beamed live from Florida, George Gaskell and the excellent Alexis Vlandas. We started politely enough, but strayed off-message. By the end, I was in an argument with a couple of audience members about MMR safety. They thought I was being 'anti-science'. I tried to remind them that it is not 'anti-health' to try to democratise and engage with health policy. Nor is it 'anti-education' to discuss what is best for our kids. The debate smoulders on...

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