france, ghana

Four years ago, French politicians managed to drive the country's science community up the wall and into a large scale grassroots revolt, about which I have written on various occasions. Now with a new president, any lessons from that tumultuous past appear to have been forgotten, so they are stepping on people's toes again. Read my story in today's issue of Current Biology:

French research split (page R495).

In the same issue, on page R498, I also have a news feature on an alternative approach to wildlife conservation in Africa, as pioneered by Ghana's CNRC. The idea is that rather than governments imposing national parks and similar features, conservation measures should work from the bottom up, involving local communities and taking their needs into account:

Cocoa solid (page R498).

Both pdf files are limited access, should work from within most universities, though.