Debating Matters - Science - Can we Trust the Experts?

This is an important issue that has come to the forefront in the past few years following a number of disasters, hyped prospects and the involvement of huge sums of money in the scientific development. The essays address the objectivity of science, responses to uncertainty and risk and the choice of experts to advise. The main problem is that so few of the experts or researchers are truly independent since they depend for research money either on government or, increasingly, industry. At the very least we need more transparency and declaration of interests so that we know where experts are coming from.