Viewpoint

As the most expensive experiment in history gets off the ground, the Large Hadron Collider should provide inspiration for European research as a whole.

Across the world innovation policy remains largely dominated by an “assembly line” Fordist-style thinking – but 21st-century innovation is based on fuzzy logic, says NESTA’s Sami Mahroum.

Too many initiatives in the European Union are blunted by lack of clarity. That can’t happen with cluster policy, says the Science|Business Innovation Board.

Biofuels’ fall from grace must not be allowed to undermine research into sustainable, climate-friendly, second-generation biofuels.

Slovenia has done much ito advance causes in which Science|Business and its readers take an interest. The French Presidency must maintain this momentum.

A single structure for start-up companies is critical for innovation, said Commissioner Charlie McCreevy at the launch of the Small Business Act for Europe.

The tightening financial scene presents fresh perils for start-ups. Experts gathered together by the a UK regional biotech initiative suggest some coping strategies, Nuala Moran discovers.

The controversy over embryonic stem cell research will not dissipate until the technology proves itself in the clinic. Now the regulators have to move, say Science|Business’s Nuala Moran.

Basic science remains of central importance, John Denham, UK Secretary of State for Innovation reassured the UK’s leading scientists in a speech last month.