Reports a survey indicating that Americans lean toward optimism regarding biotechnology, but a substantial minority has concerns. "Controversy in this area is unlikely to go away any time soon."
In letter to the editor, Lancet is criticized by a representative of the Biotechnology Industry Organization for placing politics and tabloid sensationalism above its responsibility to report and assess new science.
Letter to the editor regarding publication of research by Stanley Ewen and Arpad Pusztai regarding effects of genetically modified potatoes on rat small intestines.
Survey data are presented on opinions about agricultural biotechnology and its application held by agricultural science faculty at highly ranked programs in the United States with and without personal involvement in biotechnology-oriented research. Findings prompt authors to argue that where even experts are divided, public opposition cannot reasonably be attributed to poor public understanding or sensationalistic media accounts.
