The Valley of Death refers to the often insuperable gap between a scientific idea and its transformation into a moneyspinning venture. Keen to bridge this gap, the government is consulting on how it can keep good ideas commercially alive (a cluster of biotech companies went bust a few years ago) and within these shores. The structure of DNA was elucidated in Cambridge but its applications largely exploited in the United States. The Commons Science and Technology Committee invites contributions by those who can explain what the barriers to commercialisation are, whether the government’s current policies are a help or hindrance and whether we need more venture capitalists (email scitechcom@parliament.uk by 8th February).

Anne Glover is settling into her new post as the European Union’s first chief scientific adviser—more than two years after the European Commission first pledged to create the job. The Aberdeen University biologist, formerly CSA to the Scottish