Review of Session 2001-2002

The Royal Society of Edinburgh Review 2003 (Session 2001-2002)
THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH REVIEW OF THE SESSION 2001-2002
The Royal Society of Edinburgh 22-26 George Street Edinburgh, EH2 2PQ
Telephone : 0131 240 5000 Fax : 0131 240 5024 email : rse@royalsoced.org.uk Scottish Charity No SC000470
Printed in Great Britain by J W Arrowsmith Ltd, Bristol, BS3 2NT Cover illustration by Aird McKinstrie. Design by Jennifer Cameron
THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH REVIEW OF THE SESSION 2001-2002
PUBLISHED BY THE RSE SCOTLAND FOUNDATION ISSN 1476-4342
CONTENTS
Proceedings of the Ordinary Meetings .................................................. 3 Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting ...................................... 5 Trustees report to 31 March 2002 ...................................................... 17 Auditors Report and Accounts ........................................................... 29 Schedule of Investments .................................................................... 51 Activities Prize Lectures ............................................................................... 55 Lectures ....................................................................................... 71 Conferences, Symposia, Workshops and Exhibitions .................... 127 Publications ................................................................................ 149 Fundraising ................................................................................. 151 The Scottish Science Advisory Committee ................................... 153 Evidence, Advice and Comment ................................................. 157 Inquiries ..................................................................................... 159 Public Policy Seminars ................................................................ 161 Links with Industry ...................................................................... 163 Events for Young People ............................................................. 165 Research Awards ........................................................................ 167 Medals, Prizes And Prize Lectureships ......................................... 173 Grants Committee ...................................................................... 175 International Programme ............................................................ 177 Fellows Social Events ................................................................. 179 Grants, Sponsorship and Donations .................................................. 181 Changes in Fellowship During the Session ........................................ 183 Staff Changes during the Session ..................................................... 185 Index ............................................................................................... 187
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ORDINARY MEETINGS

5 November 2001
Chairman The Rt Hon Lord Ross PC, VPRSE Formal Admission to Fellowship Professor Roger Crofts, Professor Hugh Miller, Professor Susan Smith and Professor Michael Summerfield. Lecture (chaired by Professor J S Beck, FRSE) Therapeutic Cloning and Reprogramming in Stem Cell Research. Dr Harry Griffin, Roslin Institute and Professor Michael Steel FRSE, University of St Andrews. (page 71)
4 February 2002
Chairman Sir William Stewart FRS, PRSE. Formal Admission to Fellowship Professor Peter Humfrey. Lecture Muslims, Jews and Christians - the Quest for Human Solidarity. Prince El Hassan bin Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. (page 81)
4 March 2002
Chairman The Rt Hon Lord Ross PC, VPRSE. Election of Fellows Following a ballot, those Fellows shown on page 183 were elected to the Fellowship. Scrutineers Professor V B Proudfoot and Dr C D Waterston. Lecture Regeneration of the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals. Professor Roland Paxton MBE, FRSE, Honorary Professor, Department of Civil and Offshore Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Mr Jim Stirling, Director of British Waterways and Professor George Fleming FRSE, Professor and Head of Water and Environmental Management Division, Strathclyde University. (page 89)
3 December 2001
Chairman Sir William Stewart FRS, PRSE. Lecture Options and Opportunities in a Pandemic of Diabetes. Professor Ray Newton and Dr Andrew Morris, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee (page 75)
7 January 2002
Chairman Sir William Stewart FRS PRSE. Lecture Knowledge for Vision: Vision for Knowledge. (Royal Society Medawar Lecture. Professor Richard Gregory CBE FRS FRSE, Professor of Neuropsychology, University of Bristol. (page 79)
Review of the Session 2001-2002
13 May 2002
Chairman Sir William Stewart FRS PRSE. Lecture How and Why We Age. Professor Tom Kirkwood, Professor of Gerontology, University of Newcastle. (page 98)
Council (PPARC), Professor at Imperial College London, Head of Physics and Dean of the Graduate School at Swansea University, member of the Governing Council of the European Science Foundation, Board Member of the European Research Advisory Board (EURAB). (page 107)
1 July 2002
Chairman Sir William Stewart FRS, PRSE. Formal Admission to Fellowship Mr Richard Armstrong, Professor David Nevin Fraser Bell, Professor Sergio Della Sala, Professor Andrew Harrison, Ms Margaret Patricia Henton, Professor Derek William Johnston, Professor Robin Law, Professor Thomas Frederick Melham, Professor Ilya Molchanov, Mr Ian Cleland Ritchie. Lecture Basic Science and the Wealth of Nations. Professor Ian Halliday FRSE, Chief Executive, Particle Physics and Astronomy Research
30 September 2002
Chairman Professor Andrew Walker VPFRSE. Formal Admission to Fellowship Professor Kenneth Norrie, Professor Jane Plant CBE. Lecture Scotland and China: Growing Together. Professor Stephen Blackmore, Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE). (page 112)
PROCEEDINGS OF THE STATUTORY GENERAL MEETING

Minute of the Statutory General Meeting held on 28 October 2002, ending the 219th Session
The Annual Statutory Meeting took place in the Societys Wolfson Theatre on Monday 28 October 2002 at 4.45pm. Sir William Stewart, FRS, FRSE, President, took the Chair. The Minutes of the Annual Statutory Meeting held on Monday 29 October 2001, which had been circulated to Fellows prior to the meeting (also see Review 2002, page 7), were taken as read, approved by those Fellows present and signed by the President as a correct record. Presidents Welcome The President welcomed Fellows and commented that he was pleased so many Fellows had stayed on for the formal business of the ASM after the outstanding lecture just given by M. Philippe Busquin, EU Commissioner for Research, whose very busy schedule meant he was unable to present his lecture after the final business had been concluded. The President remarked that M. Busquins lecture was a most fitting conclusion to what had been a remarkable Session, other highlights of which had been outlined in the Annual Report, circulated beforehand to Fellows. He commented briefly on the recent Jubilee Dinner, attended by HRH The Princess Royal, Hon FRSE, to mark the Golden Jubilee of the
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Societys Patron. He also reported that the fundraising campaign, launched in August 2001 during a visit to RSE by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, HonFRSE, had already reached its various targets indeed it had exceeded the overall target of 5 Million. He warmly thanked all those who had helped achieve this most pleasing outcome. Dr Arthur and Professor Proudfoot were nominated as Scrutineers for the ballot to elect Officers and Council of the Society for the 220th Session. The President then invited the General Secretary and Treasurer to present their reports. General Secretarys Report Professor Andrew Miller, CBE, FRSE, said This General Secretarys report is a review of the activities of the RSE during the 2001/2002 Session. During this Session, the RSE has become an integral part of the Scottish Executives Scottish Science Strategy. As part of the first integrated Scottish Science Strategy, the Scottish Executive charged the RSE with the setting up of the Scottish Science Advisory Committee (SSAC) to identify priorities, inform policy in science and technology and advise Scottish Executive Ministers on
issues of scientific importance. The Committee, chaired by Professor Wilson Sibbett FRS, FRSE, and drawn from a range of sectors, including education, business, science communication, academia and research, was appointed by the RSE and has been developing its future work plan. The SSAC is, of course, independent of the RSE in its deliberations and its conclusions. This Session has also seen the development of the RSEs fundraising initiative and I am grateful to all those who have contributed. The Fellows Fundraising campaign got under way in November 2001, with a target for Fellows donations set at 400,000 and at time of going to press it was close to being achieved, with over 355,000 pledged. The 5million target for partnership activity has also been achieved, thanks to major grants from Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and the Gannochy Trust. Such fund-raising efforts will help provide the resources for the RSE to deliver the goals and objectives of its Corporate Plan, promote learning and put the multidisciplinary expertise of its Fellows to work for the good of Scotland. The aim of the next stage of the fundraising campaign is to raise significant money from major corporations. Young Peoples Activities The Societys Young Peoples
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Programme has undertaken a number of events this year across the breadth of Scotland. The Christmas lecture by NASA Astronaut, Dr Bonnie Dunbar, Corr FRSE, was held at Dumfries Academy and described the importance of exploration, from the early explorers at the turn of the 20th Century to those who explore space today. The nonresidential Science Summer Camp, supported by Shell Expro, was held at Satrosphere and University of Aberdeen this year. The theme of the event was Waste and the Environment and included a mixture of talks, hands on activities and field trips. The Startup Science Masterclasses, supported by Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland, ran at locations across Scotland, including the University of Glasgow, the University of St. Andrews, HeriotWatt University, the University of Dundee and Satrosphere (in association with the University of Aberdeen). The RSEs Saturday Maths Masterclasses were held this year at Dalmeny Primary School and Kelvinside Academy, Glasgow, and the Physics Masterclasses were held in conjunction with the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow. The Schools Lectures took place at venues from Livingston to the Isle of Lewis and were part of TechFest and National Science
Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting
Week. A Discussion Forum for S56 pupils (supported by the Darwin Trust) on the technology and ethics underlying therapeutic and reproductive cloning was held at Stirling University, and the RSE Roadshow, with talks and workshops for local primary and secondary students, as well as the general public, was held at Eyemouth High School in Berwickshire. For the first time, in recognition of all this activity, 12 certificates were presented at the RSEs Annual Awards Reception in July to those who have made an outstanding contribution to the Societys activities for young people. Links with Industry The Society has continued to strengthen the links between industry and academia. Two further high-profile Foresight Seminars were held in November 2001 and February 2002 on the topics of Lab on a Chip Technology, at the RSE, and Transport Technologies and Logistics, in Glasgow, in partnership with the Scottish Executive and SHEFC. One particular highlight in this area included the very successful Innovation in Scotland in the 21st Century Matching Knowledge and Enterprise Conference at the Glasgow Thistle Hotel. This event was co-hosted by the Scottish Higher Education Fund-
ing Council, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Executive and was attended by 320 people. Another well-attended event was a half-day conference on Managing Intellectual Property in Scottish Higher Education at the RSE on 28th June, supported by the RSE, Scottish Enterprise, SHEFC and Universities Scotland. Research Awards The Society supports research across a broad range of disciplines, and recognises research excellence, through its fellowships, prizes and prize lectureships. We were delighted that Scottish Enterprise committed 5.5 million for a second round of Enterprise Fellowships from 2002 to 2007, allowing the Society to award 80 new Fellowships over this period. This followed a very positive independent review and evaluation, by Segal Quince Wicksted, of the 13 Enterprise Fellowships that had been completed since Spring 2001. In the latest round of awards, the Society awarded nine Enterprise Fellowships, one PPARC Enterprise Fellowship, one BP Fellowship, and two Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Personal Fellowships and four Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland PhD Studentships. With the additional funding from the Scottish Executive Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department now in place, the Society was also able to award a larger number of
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Personal and Support Fellowships this year, and awarded two Personal Fellowships, three Support Fellowships and two new Science Fellowships for Teachers. These new Fellowships for science, engineering, technology and careers teachers in Scottish secondary schools provide the opportunity to take up to three months away from teaching duties to spend time in an industry, research or business environment; funding for a replacement teacher in the applicants school is also provided. In honouring outstanding achievement the RSE presented a number of Prizes and awards this Session. This year was the third round of Royal Medals for outstanding achievement, which were awarded by HRH The Princess Royal, Hon FRSE, at a dinner in the Signet Library on 3 October. This years medals were awarded to: Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri FRSE, Professor John Mallard OBE, FRSE and Professor Sir Alan Peacock FBA, FRSE. In addition, the James Scott Prize Lectureship on the fundamental concepts of natural philosophy was awarded to Professor Sir Michael Berry FRS; the BP Prize Lectureship in the humanities was awarded to Dr Colin Kidd; the Makdougall-Brisbane Prize for distinction in the promotion of scientific research was awarded to Dr Dario Alessi FRSE and the Neill
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Medal for an outstanding publication in natural history, was awarded to Professor Philip Corbet FRSE. Evidence, Advice & Comment In fulfilling our role as a provider of expert evidence and advice to Parliaments and Governments, the Society has responded to 29 requests for comment in the 2001-2002 Session. These have included topics such as managing radioactive waste safely, regulations on the deliberate release of GMOs into the environment, a review of arts and humanities research funding and research and knowledge transfer in Scotland. In addition to responsive evidence, the Society has also instigated a number of proactive Inquiries. In February, prompted by a symposium on Medical Practice and the Growth of Litigation in the UK held at the RSE last year, the Societys Working Group, chaired by Lord Ross, published its report Encouraging Resolution which explored mediation as a means of resolving clinical negligence disputes. In June, the Societys Working Party on Infectious Salmon Anaemia, chaired by Professor Sir Roderick MacSween, published its report The Scientific Issues Surrounding the Control of Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA) in Scotland which looked into the
science behind legislation governing the control of Infectious Salmon Anaemia, which had been damaging one of Scotlands most important industries. In July, the Societys Inquiry Committee into Foot and Mouth Disease in Scotland, chaired by Professor Ian Cunningham, published its report Inquiry into Foot and Mouth Disease in Scotland which investigated the outbreak, spread and control of Foot and Mouth Disease in Scotland during the 2001 epidemic, including the effects on the rural and tourist economies of Scotland. The RSE attracted particularly high levels of press and media coverage for this report and its findings, with journalists showing particular interest in vaccination, import controls and public confidence in vaccinated meat. Meetings The Society has again increased the number and variety of events in its meetings programme. The quality of meetings remains high, and with positive feedback from audiences the Society is succeeding in raising its public profile. Successful events this year have included a lecture from Dr Bonnie Dunbar, Corr FRSE, Astronaut and Assistant Director of University Research and Affairs, NASA entitled From RSS Discovery to Space Shuttle Discovery: Leading
the way for Exploration of the Space Frontier. This event was jointly hosted with Heriot-Watt University and filled 550 seats at the Riccarton Conference Centre. Other highlights have included: a public lecture on the Regeneration of the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals, by Professor Roland Paxton MBE FRSE, Mr Jim Stirling and Professor George Fleming FRSE, including details of the construction of the Falkirk Wheel; a Regional Event at the University of Dundee on Strangers in a Strange Land? Two Centuries of the Irish in Scotland by Professor Tom Devine, describing Scotlands largest immigrant group; a public lecture on Epidemics of Infectious Diseases in Livestock by Professor Roy Anderson, jointly hosted with the Scottish Agricultural & Biological Research Institutes at the Macaulay Institute in Aberdeen, which discussed the interface between scientific research and policy formation, in light of the 2001 Foot and Mouth epidemic and the BSE epidemic. This years CRF/RSE International Conference was on the topic of Memory: Physiological Processes and Clinical Implications, and attracted 156 participants from the UK, the USA and Canada. The event covered a range of topics
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including amnesia, epilepsy and the consequences of neurodegenerative disease. Publications The Society published six issues of Proceedings A: Mathematics and three issues of Transactions: Earth Sciences (including one double issue), and a steady rate of submission of papers to both journals has been maintained. The new look RSE News ReSourcE has been published twice this year in its more user friendly format and has been disseminated widely. Contributions from Fellows for additional material continue to be as welcome as ever. Fellowship Matters The election year 2001 - 2002, culminating in the election of Fellows in March 2002, was the second of an initial three-year exercise following the recommendations of Professor Lavers Working Party on the Balance of the Fellowship. In March 2002, the Society elected 62 new Fellows: four Honorary Fellows, four Corresponding Fellows and 54 Ordinary Fellows. With respect to age and gender, the average age of the new Ordinary Fellows was 50.4. Seven women were elected as Ordinary Fellows and one woman was elected as an Honorary Fellow. Current statistics show that the Fellowship is comprised of 67 Honorary Fellows, 14 Correspond10
ing Fellows and 1211 Ordinary Fellows - 1292 in total. Women Fellows make up 5.7 % of the Fellowship and the average age of the Fellowship stands at 66.8 years. The percentage distribution of disciplines in the Fellowship (as of September 2002) may be summarised under the four Sector Groups: Life Sciences 35% Physical, Engineering and Informatic Sciences 39% Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences 18% Economics, Business and Administration 8%. 72.5 % of Fellows are resident in Scotland, 18.4% in England, 8.5% overseas and 0.6% either in Wales, Northern Ireland or Ireland. Dr Charles Waterson FRSE and Mr Angus Shearer have also succeeded with the first objective in compiling a biographical details database of every RSE Fellow since the Founding of the Society, by creating an electronic record of the basic biographical details of every Fellow. The next phase will be to enter further biographical details. International Activities Our international programme continues to develop and we have made excellent progress in developing and enhancing our links and relations in Europe and beyond. We obtained member-
ship of the All European Academies Network (ALLEA) in the Spring of 2002 and strengthened our links with European contacts notably in October 2002 we also signed a Memorandum of Scientific Co-operation with the Polish Academy of Sciences. In addition, we have hosted Scottish / European events, the most recent being a seminar for the Scottish research community which promoted research opportunities within the upcoming EU Framework 6 programme, in partnership with Scotland Europa and the UK Research Organisation, Brussels. In partnership with the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, we also held a joint life sciences & biotechnology event in Stockholm on 17 October 2002. This was the main pillar of a wider programme entitled Scotland in Sweden, run by the Scottish Executive Sweden, from 16-19 October, to promote and position Scotland in areas such as arts, culture, governance, science and tourism. The Executive commissioned the Society to organise the science event on behalf of Scotland. We were delighted to do so and the President lead a delegation which demonstrated Scotland as being at the leading edge of life sciences. The event was an excellent example of the positive contribution which the Society continues to make to support Scotland
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within the devolution settlement and in further developing its overseas relationships Beyond Europe, the Society signed Memoranda of Scientific Cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the National Science Council Taiwan. The Memorandum with CAS was ratified during a vist to China by a small RSE delegation, led by Lord Wilson of Tillyorn. Work is in hand regarding the practical implementation of both agreements. In addition, His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, spoke at the Society on the 4 February 2002 on the quest for human solidarity between Christians, Muslims and Jews, reflecting on the events of September 11th 2001. As a final international event this Session, the European Research Commissioner Philipe Busquin visited the RSE on 28 October 2002 to give a lecture which, given the scale and importance of European Union funding for research, and the proximity to his launching of the EU Framework 6 programme, is a great coup for the Society. Staffing Matters The staff complement of the RSE has continued to develop to meet the growing activities of the
Society. During this Session there were a number of departures and arrivals. To the following staff who have left the Society I would like to give the Societys thanks for their support and commitment: Ms Jennifer Etchells, Facilities and Conference Co-ordinator Ms Elaine Hay, Research Fellowships Assistant/Telephonist Ms Beth Owens, Assistant to the RSE Foot and Mouth Inquiry Ms Wendy Saunders, Events Coordinator Ms Anna Whitehead, Temporary Events Assistant New staff welcomed in this session are: Mrs Elizabeth Bigelow, Receptionist/Telephonist Miss Rosn Calvert, Events Manager Ms Kirsteen Francis, Facilities Coordinator Ms Sarah Gilmore, Events Assistant Ms Paulette Hughes, Receptionist/ Telephonist Mrs Jenny Liddell, Research Awards Co-ordinator Mr Colin Nelson, Facilities Assistant Mrs Margaret Tait, Receptionist/ Telephonist Mr Duncan Welsh, Temporary Events Co-ordinator Mr Michael White, International Officer (seconded from the British Council).
In setting up the Scottish Science Advisory Committee (SSAC), the Society was similarly pleased to appoint Dr Avril Davidson as the Head of the SSAC Secretariat and Ms Tracy Rickard as Administrator for the SSAC. I would also like to thank Mr Michael Westcott, formerly Assistant Secretary, University of Edinburgh, for his on-going work this Session, in building the architecture for a filing system for RSE archives. This year has been my first year as General Secretary and I will continue to build upon the achievements of my predecessor, Professor Peter Wilson. The Fellows are a national asset of great worth and I will do all I can to stimulate their contribution to Scottish society in the discovery and application of new knowledge. Treasurers Report Sir Laurence Hunter, CBE, FRSE, said I would like to use my time this evening to do three things: 1. Report on the 2001-02 accounts and comment on some of the main factors underlying the figures. 2. Report on the outlook for the current financial year (2002-03). 3. Take a more general look at the longer-term financial position
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and explain our current thinking and approaches to the issues. I do think it is important that the Fellowship should have a clear understanding of the financial situation, not just in terms of the formal accounts, but also in terms of the budgeting and administrative procedures underlying them. This is particularly the case when the finances are difficult, as they have been in recent times. Before getting to the main issues, I should explain a little further some changes in the presentation of these accounts to you. Changes in the Recommended Practice for Charitable Bodies mean that we are obliged to change our traditional presentation of the accounts, in prescribed ways. This is designed to lead to a clearer presentation of income and expenditure by type (such as promotion of research). In addition, new accounting standards mean that there are additional items of disclosure that have to be complied with, notably with regard to pension provision. I was also keen to introduce a new, more popular, easily read version of the main financial data, since I know that although many of you are well versed in analysing accounts, others may prefer a simplified version. Thus we have taken the opportunity this year to incorporate a summary picture of the accounts
and a short statement on the current position in the new Annual Report, which has been sent to all Fellows. But we felt it desirable to include an excerpt from the formal Trustees Report, which provides greater detail of the finances. Report on 2001-02 Accounts As you will know, this was another disappointing outcome it was, frankly, a bad year financially. Overall, the combined Society and Foundation deficit was 121,000, including losses on investment. A number of points need to be made about this outcome: 1.The major problem was the loss of 155,000 rental income to the Foundation resulting from the failure of our commercial tenant, Houseworks. This in turn had a knock-on effect on the Society, since Council agreed to waive interest payments due from the loan to the Foundation. 2.The deficit was not due to unscheduled overspends or poor financial controls on budget. The consequences of Houseworks demise were taken into account in the budgeting process and in fact the final outcome was an improvement on the forecast deficit. We did manage to make some economies, but further emergency cuts would have run counter to the Societys Corporate Plan,
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designed to raise the Societys profile as Scotlands National Academy. 3. These plans involved an increase in expenditure on an enhanced research and teaching fellowship programme, and on fundraising to support development in the longer term. Total expenditure in fact rose by 10% while income rose by 9.7%, leaving a small but significant gap on the deficit side. Donations and grants to the Society increased by over 50%, including appeal receipts and additional Scottish Executive funding for the Scottish Science Advisory Committee and other specified activities. Investment income for the Society was down, largely due to the waiver of interest on the loan to the Foundation, following the loss of rental income. These changes in income were reflected in increased outgoings on funding research awards and on fundraising. Expenditure on international activities (research links and exchanges) increased, as did management and administrative costs, but the latter was contained at 12% of income, which meant running a very tight ship to administer an expanded programme. 4. Balance Sheet: the decline in net assets was 1.7%, half of which was due to the building depreciation charge. The
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remainder was due to a decline in investment values (the stock market effect) and the loan to the RSE Scotland Foundation. Overall, then, 2001-02 was a very difficult year, due particularly to the loss of rental income. On the brighter side, we were able to get through the year and maintain the expanded programme for the promotion of science and research as envisaged in the Corporate Plan. Secondly, can I now turn to the current year, 2002-03. The good news here is that we have a new commercial tenant, Lakeland, who started trading from July in Number 26 George Street. The downside of this is that regular income from the new rental agreement has only started to flow in the last month or so, and the Foundation will have to wait until 2003-04 to obtain a full rental income. That loss has been taken into account in budgetary planning for the current financial year, and although matters will have improved, both the Foundations and the Societys accounts will still reflect a significant loss of income. Some further loss of investment income can be expected as a result of stock market falls. Overall, the problem has been to try to strike a balance between making economies and maintaining the thrust of the Corporate Plan, in the light of additional funding support
available to the Society and the Foundation from a variety of sources. The net outcome, however, will be a further but much reduced deficit in the current financial year. May I now turn to my third and final topic the longer term outlook. Clearly the run of deficits has to be brought to an end. The Society simply cannot continue to run deficits as it has been doing, and I am only too aware that this either has to mean significant economies or additional sources of income to support the expanded level of activities. The good news here is that the Scottish Executive, as you will have heard from the President, has agreed to significantly raise the funding it makes available to the Society, over the next three years. Critically, this will not only bring support to the Societys programmes for Research and Teaching Fellowships, for the understanding of science and for advice on public issues in science, but it will provide much-needed core support for the staffing and administration of the Societys programmes. The impact of this, and a successful first phase of fundraising, on future budgets is currently being worked on, in the context of a revised, tighter, budget planning procedure, under the watchful eye of the Treasurers Committee, which was set up just over a year ago to help
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manage the Society through a difficult period. Our aim is to restore a stable financial balance in the Society and Foundation, to set about rebuilding reserves, and to identify a level of activity that is sustainable over the longer term. To some extent, the future prospects will depend on the success of the second phase of fundraising, focused mainly on commercial organisations, but there is no doubt that the new funding already achieved will be an enormous help. I would like to conclude by thanking my colleagues on the Treasurers Committee, particularly Lord Ross who stood in for me during a period of absence, and Kate Ellis and William Duncan for their immense work behind the scenes. I, and indeed the Society, owe a great debt to them. Following the opportunity to ask questions of the Officers, covering issues such as the Corporate Plan, prospects for increased Scottish Executive funding, the relationship between the Society and Scottish Science Advisory Committee, and closer links with British Council, it was agreed unanimously that the General Secretarys and Treasurers reports should be accepted. The President thanked the Officers for their reports and their work for the Society.
The President reported that the power to appoint Auditors now lay with Council which intended to reappoint KPMG, subject to satisfactory negotiations over fees. It was agreed unanimously that Council should proceed to exercise its power to appoint auditors as indicated. Election of Council The President asked the Scrutineers to report and they indicated that the papers were in order and that the Fellows listed on the Ballot Sheet had been elected unanimously to serve as the Council for 2002-2003. The President thanked the Scrutineers. Sir William thanked the Officers and members of Council who had served with him, in particular those also retiring at this ASM, viz Lord Ross, Vice-President; Professor Malcolm McLeod, Curator; Professor John Laver, Fellowship Secretary; Professor John Coggins, Research Awards Convener; Dr
Lesley Glasser, Young Peoples Programme Convener and Professor Malcolm Peaker. Bicentenary Medal The President presented the Bicentenary Medal to Professor Peter Wilson, CBE, FRSE, for his outstanding service to the Society, particularly as General Secretary (1996-2001). New President Sir William then formally handed over the Presidents Insignia to Lord Sutherland of Houndwood, Kt, FBA, FRSE, and wished him well during his period as President. Lord Sutherland commented on the many achievements of Sir Williams Presidency and thanked him most warmly for his contribution.
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TRUSTEES REPORT TO 31 MARCH 2002

The Council of the Society as Trustees of the Society present their report for the financial year ended 31 March 2002. Statement of Councils responsibilities Under the Laws of the Society, the Council has the responsibility to manage all matters concerning the affairs of the Society. The Treasurer, a member of the Council, has a duty under the Laws of the Society to present to the Fellows at the Statutory Meeting the accounts for the preceding financial year to 31 March. Under Charities legislation, the Council is required to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Society at 31 March and of its financial activities during the year then ended. In preparing these accounts, the Council should select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently; make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; ensure that the recommendations of the Statement of Recommended Practice (Accounting by Charities) have been followed; prepare the accounts on a going-concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume the Society will continue its activities. The Council has a responsibility for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Society and which enable it to comply with the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 1992. It has general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to it to safeguard the assets of the charity and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities. Investment powers and policy The Council has power under the Laws to control the investment of the Funds of the Society. The management of the investments is carried out by Stewart Ivory Wealth Management on a discretionary basis. The objectives set by the Council of the RSE are first to stabilise a sufficient level of income to meet the target set annually by Council and thereafter to invest for capital growth potential. The Council has delegated the detailed monitoring of performance to the Investment Committee, which makes comparisons against a composite benchmark reflecting the mix of
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assets held and the WM Median index. As a consequence of the restriction being placed on the total return available from the portfolio by the high income requirement, the Council has agreed in principle to realise part of the overall capital gain to make up a proportion of the targeted return for the year subject to no more than 2% of capital value being drawn out of capital. This has not yet been drawn down. The income targets for the year have been met and the total return values have out-performed the average charity index and the UK market. Representatives of the Investment Committee meet annually with the fund managers to discuss their compliance with the constraints set by the Committee and the risk environment. In the year under review no compliance issues arose which required to be reported to the Committee. Operating policies - Grant Making The RSE makes grants to individuals in higher education institutions in support of research activities in the categories of postdoctoral research Fellowships, support research Fellowships, post-graduate Studentships, undergraduate vacation Scholarships and Enterprise Fellowships. Each of these categories is specifically funded from various
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sources including the RSEs restricted funds. The basis of eligibility and selection varies according to the detailed scheme regulations, which are published on the RSEs Web site (www.royalsoced.org.uk). Grants are also made in support of research activities of Fellows of the RSE including support for travel connected with research or scholarship, small scale specialist meetings, to assist research visitors to Scotland to undertake collaborative research work with a Fellow, to assist a visiting lecturer to come to Scotland to assist research collaboration between two institutions in Scotland or between universities and industry and to assist in the publication of books written by Fellows. These grants are funded by the RSEs designated Grants Fund. The Grants Committee is responsible for making awards in accordance with the detailed rules set out by the Council of the Society for the disbursement of the Grants fund. Details of committee membership are to be found in the Societys annual directory and on its website. Reserves Policy and Funds The Society holds a number of restricted funds resulting from bequests for particular purposes, details of which are set out in note 2(c) to the financial statements. The Council has also
Trustees Report to 31 March 2002
created designated funds, where the Society has set aside sums from its unrestricted funds, the purposes of which are set out in note 2(b) to the financial statements. The General Fund represents the balance of unrestricted funds arising from past operating results, which are not invested in fixed assets or designated for a specific purpose. The Council has examined the requirement for free reserves, and concluded that whilst the present level of reserves gives adequate working capital for core costs, it would be desirable to have a General Fund reserve in the range of three to six months expenditure on central costs. They have also concluded that the Society should maintain a development fund to give flexibility to respond to new initiatives on a timely basis without the need for specific fundraising.
Risk management During the year the Council established a Treasurers Committee. Its remit includes examining the major risks faced by the Society and formalising, and extending where necessary, existing systems established to monitor and control these risks to mitigate any impact that they may have on the Society. This work is in progress and is expected to be completed during the next financial year. In the meantime the Council believes that the existing informal systems and the structure of decision taking and reporting through Business Committee and Council continues to provide assurance that risks are carefully managed.
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The Year 1 April 2001-31 March 2002

This year has seen the RSE become an integral part of the Scottish Executives Scottish Science Strategy, with the RSE being charged with the setting-up of the Scottish Science Advisory Committee, chaired by Professor Wilson Sibbett FRS FRSE, to identify priorities, inform policy in science and technology and advise Scottish Executive Ministers on issues of scientific importance. This Scottish Science Strategy takes forward the key recommendations of the Science Strategy Review Group and some of the recommendations of the Royal Society of London/Royal Society of Edinburgh joint report on Devolution and Science. This year has also seen the launch of the RSEs fundraising initiative. We were delighted and honoured that HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, who celebrated his 50th anniversary as an Honorary Fellow, agreed to be Patron of this campaign, which he launched at the RSE on 6 August 2001. There were a number of regular changes to Council membership following the Annual Statutory Meeting this year. The Council bid farewell to Professor Robert Donovan, who had provided a valuable contribution as VicePresident, and welcomed his successor, Professor Andy Walker. This year has also seen the
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hand-over of the post of General Secretary from Professor Peter Wilson to Professor Andrew Miller. The Council was very grateful for all the hard work Professor Wilson put into his role as General Secretary and now hopes to build upon the foundations established by his dedication. Links with Young People The Societys Young Peoples programme has again been busy this year with events taking place across Scotland. A Discussion Forum on Mobile Phone Technology and Safety for S5-6 pupils was held at Glasgow University, held jointly between the RSE and the BA, and supported by EPSRC and Institute of Physics. For a week in the summer, S1/S2 pupils attended the new RSE Summer Science Camp at Satrosphere in Aberdeen. This was a week-long nonresidential camp with a general theme of Space and Time, supported by Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland. The Society also held new Physics Masterclasses for S56 students, in conjunction with the University of Glasgow. This builds on the success of the Startup Science Masterclasses for S1/2 pupils, supported by Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland, which run at five locations across Scotland. The RSE Roadshow was based at Eyemouth High School in
Berwickshire, with talks and workshops for local primary and secondary students, as well as the general public. Other successful events have included the RSEs regular Saturday Maths Masterclasses, thanks to Professor Jack Carr and Teresa Carr. The Schools Lectures took place at venues from Livingston to the Isle of Lewis and were part of TechFest and National Science Week. The RSE Christmas Lecture was given by Dr Bonnie Dunbar, NASA Astronaut, Corr FRSE, at Dumfries Academy. Dr Dunbar spoke about the importance of exploration from the early explorers at the turn of the 20th Century to those who explore space today. Links with Industry The Society has continued to strengthen the links between industry and academia. Two further high-profile Foresight Seminars were held in November 2001 and February 2002 on the topics of Lab on a Chip Technology, at the RSE, and Transport Technologies and Logistics, in Glasgow, in partnership with the Scottish Executive and SHEFC. In developing its support for commercialisation, the RSE organised a series of Science Base Research and Commercialisation workshops, with the support of Technology Ventures Scotland and
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SHEFC. The Workshops were held in Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh and Inverness and aimed at identifying and encouraging the adoption of best practice with regard to commercialisation within the Scottish science base. Another highlight was the very successful Innovation in Scotland in the 21st Century - Matching Knowledge and Enterprise Conference at the Glasgow Thistle Hotel. This event was co-hosted by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Executive and was attended by 320 people. Research Awards The Society continues to support research across a broad range of disciplines, and recognise research excellence, through its fellowships, prizes and prize lectureships. This year was the second round of Royal Medals for outstanding achievement, which were awarded by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at a ceremony in the Palace of Holyrood. This years medals were awarded to: Sir James Black, Professor Ian Scott and Professor Tom Devine. We were delighted that Scottish Enterprise committed 5.5 million for a second round of Enterprise Fellowships from 2002 to 2007, which will allow the Society to award 80 new Fellowships over the next five years, commencing in
the financial year 2002-03. This followed a very positive independent review and evaluation, by SQW, of the 13 Enterprise Fellowships that had been completed since Spring 1997. In the latest round of awards, the Society awarded six Enterprise Fellowships (including two in the newly funded category of Microelectronics), one PPARC Enterprise Fellowship, one BP Fellowship, and one Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Fellowship. With the additional funding from the Scottish Executive Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department now in place the Society was also able to award a larger number of Personal and Support Fellowships this year, and awarded five Personal Fellowships and two Support Fellowships. We also awarded the Bruce-Preller Prize Lectureship to Professor Adrian Bird and look forward to his lecture in due course. Evidence Advice and Comment In fulfilling our role as a provider of expert evidence and advice to Parliaments and Governments, the Society has responded to 41 requests for comment in 20012002. These have included a human rights commission for Scotland, possible scenarios for the uptake of GM in agriculture and the draft Land Reform Bill.
In addition to responsive evidence, the Society has also instigated a number of Working Parties and Inquiries. In June, prompted by a symposium on Medical Practice and the Growth of Litigation in the UK held at the RSE last year, the Society established a group, chaired by Lord Ross, to exploring mediation as a means of resolving clinical negligence disputes. In October, the Society formed a Working Party, Chaired by Sir Roderick MacSween, which looked into recent changes to the methodology for identifying cases of Infectious Salmon Anaemia. In December, an Inquiry into Foot and Mouth Disease in Scotland was initiated, chaired by Professor Ian Cunningham, to investigate the outbreak, spread and control of Foot and Mouth Disease in Scotland in 2001. Scotlands Wellbeing - our public policy seminar programme - has also continued, with Urban Congestion being the subject of the fourth event in the series. Through this series the Society has sought to facilitate a wholly-inclusive approach to policy debate in Scotland. In keeping with earlier events in the programme, it was attended by a Scottish Executive Minister, and brought together a wide range of interested stakeholders.
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Meetings The Society has again increased the number and variety of events in its programme and has seen a marked upturn in the attendance at events, with the overspill rooms being put to use for several lectures. A number of successful events were held this year. Dr Bonnie Dunbar, Corr FRSE, Astronaut and Assistant Director of University Research and Affairs, NASA gave a memorable lecture, From RSS Discovery to Space Shuttle Discovery: Leading the way for Exploration of the Space Frontier. This event was jointly hosted with Heriot-Watt University. In association with the Scottish Jean Monnet Centre for European Excellence, the RSE hosted a seminar to launch the Future of Europe debate in Scotland. This important event was attended by the Scottish Executive Minister for Europe, Members of the Scottish and European Parliaments and ambassadors and representatives from member and accession states. Other highlights of the year have included a visit and lecture by HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan entitled Muslims, Jews and Christians in the 21st Century : The Quest for Human Solidarity and a popular lecture on the Regeneration of the Forth and Clyde and Union Canals.
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Publications The Society published six issues of Proceedings A: Mathematics and four issues of Transactions: Earth Sciences (including two double symposium issues), and a steady rate of submission of papers to both journals has been maintained. The new look RSE News ReSourcE has been published three times this year in its more user friendly format and has been disseminated widely. Contributions from Fellows for additional material continue to be as welcome as ever. Fellowship matters The election year 2001 - 2002, culminating in the election of Fellows in March 2002, was the second of an initial three-year exercise following the recommendations of Professor Lavers Working Party on the Balance of the Fellowship. The number of new Ordinary Fellows was set at an upper limit of 55 and included extra allocations in those discipline areas identified as being poorly represented in the Fellowship. In addition, four Corresponding Fellows were elected and four Honorary Fellows. The average age at election for Ordinary Fellowship was 50.4. Current statistics show that the Fellowship is made up of 93.6% Ordinary, 5.3% Honorary and 1.1% Corresponding Fellows. Of
the Ordinary Fellows, 47.8% are under 65, 5.9% are women, 76.1% are in Scotland, 19.1% are in the rest of the UK and 4.8% are resident overseas. The majority (50.7%) of Honorary Fellows are based overseas and of the remainder, 11.6% are in Scotland with 37.7% in the rest of the UK. All Corresponding Fellows have to be domiciled overseas. The breakdown across disciplines is: Life Sciences 34.4%; Physical, Engineering and Informatic Sciences 39.2%; Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences 18.2%; Economics, Business and Administration 8.2%. International activities Our international programme continues to develop and we have made excellent progress in developing and enhancing our links and relations in Europe and beyond. In Europe, positive steps have been made regarding the Society obtaining membership of the All European Academies Network. We will learn the outcome of that in Spring next year. We have also strengthened or links with European contacts notably the European Commission, and have hosted major Scottish / European events. The
most recent being the launch of The Future of Europe Debate in Scotland. Beyond Europe, continued progress has been made on establishing a research exchange agreement with the National Science Council, Taiwan, which should be implemented next April. Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, who became the new International Convener in October 2001, led a small delegation to China to ratify a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to promote and strengthen scientific cooperation between both sides. Staffing Matters The Society welcomed the appointment to the staff of Mrs Risn Calvert as Events Manager, following the departure of Mrs Heather Mantell, and the appointment of Mr Frank Pullen, MBE, as Central Services Manager. Mr Stuart Armstrong has acted throughout this period as the Societys external Fundraising Consultant. In setting up the Scottish Science Advisory Committee (SSAC), the Society was also pleased to appoint Dr Avril Davidson as the Head of the SSAC Secretariat.
Professor Andrew Miller General Secretary

24
Financial review April 2001-March 2002

The accounts for the year ended 31 March 2002 have been prepared to comply with the requirements of the revised Statement of Recommended Practice for Charities issued by the Accounting Standards Board. This has entailed a revision of the presentation of Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA), which incorporates the income and expenditure account, as well as new items of disclosure included in this Trustees Report. These amendments have required that much of the detailed functional analysis is now shown in notes to the accounts with a summary presentation by type of incoming and outgoing resources in the SOFA. The intention is to make clearer the overview of the result for the year. Result for the year Financially, the year was overshadowed by the loss of the commercial tenant of the RSE Scotland Foundation, with consequent loss of income to the Foundation of 155,000. This has impacted on the Societys accounts to the extent of a waiver of interest of 85,000 due on its loan to the Foundation (described in more detail below). In this context the Societys overall loss for the year of 121,000 is unsurprising, if disappointing. The General Fund loss amounted
25
to 177,000 before transfers; this higher level is largely because the General Fund bears the residual cost of management and administration, publicity and fundraising. On the plus side the Appeal raised 91,000 in cash in the period with further substantial inflows since the year end. Income and Expenditure Total incoming resources at 1.96 million have increased by 9.7 % over the previous year. The new category of donations and grants at 665,000 shows an increase of 52% over last year as a result of Appeal receipts, a new grant from Scottish Executive for the Scottish Science Advisory Committee and increased grant for additional specified activities. Income from activities has increased by 5% to 1.18m, the increase in support for research awards of nearly 175,000 being offset by a fall in meetings income. The previous year showed a particularly high level of income from meetings and events due to the New Frontiers Exhibition and the 113,000 for this year is at a similar level to earlier years. The category of Investment income was much reduced as a result of the waiver of interest referred to above but dividend income from the investments managed by Stewart Ivory held up
well although the total income from this source was reduced from 104,000 to 98,000 because of reducing tax credits, which will be phased out by 2004. The share of investment income credited to the General Fund is increased by approximately 30,000 as a result of the earlier decision by Council not to credit income to the Grants Fund for the time being. The total resources expended of 2.07 million increased by 10% over the previous year with much of the increase coming from increased expenditure on fundraising and research awards. The new category Cost of Generating Funds includes both the direct fundraising costs and an allocation of general overhead in proportion to overall staff time in this area. Grants payable of 1.09million, which include the allocations made by the Grants Committee and the promotion of research by awards of Research Fellowships and studentships, have increased by over 13%, as a result of additional Fellowships awarded from increased funding by the Scottish Executive and the full year impact of additional Enterprise Fellowships funded by Scottish Enterprise and PPARC. Expenditure here also includes the initial costs, mainly development and set up, of the new Scottish Executive
Teaching Fellowships which are being piloted in the current year. Expenditure on activities fell overall by 3% from 648,000 to 626,000 reflecting the lower expenditure on meetings in line with the drop in income. This category also includes the expenditure on the increased levels of advice and comment, for example the inquiry on Infectious Salmon Anaemia, Mediation and the Health Service and the initial stages of the Foot & Mouth Disease Inquiry. The costs of 59,000 incurred on behalf of the Scottish Science Advisory Committee also appear here. Expenditure on international links and the initial stages of exchange research fellowships, substantially increased by the value of the secondment of Graeme Herbert from the Scottish Executive, more than doubled to 50,000. The new category of management and administration costs, including building depreciation and non routine expenditure on the buildings and central publicity expenditure increased from 223,000 to 241,000, representing approximately 12% of income. This increase was largely due to publicity expenditure. Balance Sheet The overall decline in net assets for the year amounts to 1.7%, half of which arises from the building depreciation charge with
26
the movements on investments and the loan to the RSE Scotland Foundation contributing to the balance. Investment values declined by only 18,000 or 0.8% in the period against a background of difficult stockmarket conditions. The RSE Scotland Foundation continued to make the capital payment of 46,800 on its loan despite the waiver of interest and this amount was applied to the building maintenance fund set up to fund future major building refurbishment. The waiver of interest was necessary support to assist the Foundation to recover from its deficit of net assets, which was aggravated considerably by the loss of rental income in the year ended 31 March 2002. The new Tenant, Lakeland Limited, took possession of the unit at the end of May 2002 and rental will flow from October 2002. Net current assets showed an increase of 16,499 or 7%, arising from a decrease in deferred income and an improvement in net cash balances, in particular from fundraising. The small balance of the 1994 Appeal fund which remained after refurbishment of the Fellows rooms has been amalgamated with the 2001 Appeal fund. The receipts of 91,000 for the 2001 appeal are shown as designated fund receipts in the category of
Donations and Grants in the Statement of Financial Activities. Conclusion and future prospects In retrospect, the year ended March 2002 was a difficult and disappointing one from a financial point of view. The significant loss of rental income from House Works was highly unwelcome at a time when the Societys activities and Fellowship programmes were expanding in line with the Corporate Plan. The outcome was another sizeable deficit, in the context of a growing income and expenditure account. Looking forward at the present financial year and beyond, it is clear that the Society has to turn the corner and achieve a stable balance in its finances. The situation will improve, of course, with the expected flow of rental income from the Foundations new tenants, Lakeland Limited, but this will accrue only in the second half of the present financial year. The initial phase of fundraising has been successful, and that will bring an injection of funds over the next three years or so. It will be important, however, to ensure that these funds are used not to shore up an ongoing deficit, but to support projects and programmes designated in the Corporate and Business Plans. To this end, the Treasurers Committee has reviewed the budget process and will seek to
27
refine the forward budgeting process. It also needs to take a hard look at the underlying longer-term issue of financial balance and to ensure that both continuing and new activities are adequately funded in advance of implementation. To a large extent, such development will depend on
the success of various current initiatives, particularly the second phase of fund-raising. The aim must be to achieve a restoration of reserves and a balance of income and expenditure in 20032004 and beyond. Laurence C Hunter, Treasurer.
AUDITORS REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

We have audited the accounts on pages 31-49. Respective responsibilities of Council and Auditors The Council is responsible for preparing the Trustees Report and, as described above, the accounts in accordance with the Laws of the Society, relevant UK legislation and accounting standards. Our responsibilities, as independent auditors, are established in the UK by statute, the Auditing Practices Board and by our professions ethical guidance. We report to you our opinion as to whether the accounts give a true and fair view and are properly prepared in accordance with the Laws of the Society, the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990, and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 1992. We also report to you, if, in our opinion, the Trustees report is not consistent with the financial statements, if the Society has not kept proper accounting records, if we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit. Basis of opinion We conducted our audit in accordance with Auditing Standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts
29
and disclosures in the financial statements. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgements made by the Council in the preparation of the accounts and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Societys circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed. We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we considered necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the accounts are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error. In forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the accounts. Opinion In our opinion the accounts give a true and fair view of the state of the Societys affairs as at 31 March 2002 and of its incoming resources and application of resources including its income and expenditure in the year then ended and have been properly prepared in accordance with the Laws of the Society, The Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 1992. KPMG LLP, Chartered Accountants, Registered Auditor, Edinburgh. September 2002
ACCOUNTS
BALANCE SHEET 31 MARCH 2002
2002 Fixed Assets Tangible fixed assets Fixed Asset Investment Investments at market value Historical Cost : 2,143,957 (2001 - 2,203,109) Loan to RSE Scotland Foundation 14b 2,125,176 6,973,764 Current Assets RSE Scotland Foundation current account Debtors Cash at bank and in hand Money Market and other term deposits 15 56,063 78,862 178,019 117,295 430,239 Current Liabilities Creditors Amounts falling due within one year Net Current Assets Net Assets Funds General Fund Designated Funds Restricted Funds 17 18 19 20 Approved by the Council on 30 September 2002 Laurence C Hunter Sir Laurence Hunter, CBE Treasurer 73,593 5,788,617 1,370,394 7,232,604 212,683 5,779,526 1,366,821 7,359,030 16 (171,399) 258,840 7,232,604 (240,886) 242,341 7,359,030 76,815 112,188 44,224 250,000 483,227 2,171,984 7,116,689 13 14a 2,587,377 2,261,211 2,665,327 2,279,378 2001
AT
Note No
31
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
(INCORPORATING
THE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)
YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2002

Note No General Fund Designated Funds Restricted Funds 2002 Total 2001 Total
Incoming resources Donations , grants and similar incoming resourcess Activities in furtherance of the Societys objectives Investment income Total incoming resources Resources Expended Cost of generating funds Charitable expenditure: Grants payable Activities in furtherance of the Societys objectives Buildings, management and administration Total resources expended Net incoming resources before Transfers Gains/(losses) on investment assets Realised gains Realised losses
4 5 6
500,880 182,446 30,297 713,623
91,073 18,641 109,714 24,696 4,835 27,851 57,382 52,332 3,406 (6,027) (2,621) 49,711 (38,977) (1,643) 9,091
73,453 1,002,782 58,976 1,135,211 1,062,522 62,114 1,124,636 10,575 5,594 (9,898) (4,304) 6,271 (2,698) 3,573 1,366,821 1,370,394
665,406
436,039
1,185,228 1,136,229 107,914 212,553 1,958,548 1,784,821 108,948 1,096,843 626,416 241,090 19,962 969,396 648,045 223,281
7 8 9 10
108,948 9,625 559,467 213,239 891,279 (177,656) 329 (582) (253)
2,073,297 1,860,684 (114,749) 9,329 (16,507) (7,178) (121,927) (75,863) 38,793 (51,112) (12,319) (88,182) -
Realised Surplus/(deficit) for the year Transfers between funds Unrealised (losses) Net Movement in Funds Balance brought forward at 1 April 2001 Balance carried forward at 31 March 2002
(177,909) 38,977 (158) (139,090)
(4,499) (109,818) (126,426) (198,000) 7,359,030 7,557,030 7,232,604 7,359,030
212,683 5,779,526 73,593 5,788,617
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Auditors Report and Accounts
CASH FLOW STATEMENT
YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2002

2002 Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash outflow from operating activities
Net incoming resources before Transfers (114,749)
2001 (75,863) (13,778) (104,412) (107,551) 81,517 (28,360) (140,044) (205,835) (594,326) (594,326) 13,778 135,030 95,478 (3,639) 320 272,657 (260,457) 46,808 (294,351)
Appeal receipts Dividends receivable Interest receivable Interest payable Depreciation Decrease/(increase) in debtors Decrease/(increase) in RSE Scotland Foundation current account Increase/(decrease) in creditors Net cash (outflow) from operating activities Cash flow statement Net cash outflow from operating activities Appeal receipts Returns on investments and servicing of finance: Interest received Interest paid Dividends received Capital expenditure and financial investment: Purchase of tangible fixed assets: Proceeds from sale of tangible fixed assets Proceeds from sale of investments Purchases of investments Loan to RSE Scotland Foundation Increase/(decrease) in cash Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net funds (note 25) Increase/(decrease) in cash in the year Net funds at beginning of year Net funds at end of year
(91,073) (92,244) (9,022) 89,505 21,591 20,752 5,335 (169,905) (169,905) 91,073 9,582 103,419 (11,555) 80,373 (73,882) 46,808 75,913
75,913 219,401 295,314
(294,351) 513,752 219,401
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 M ARCH 2002

1. Accounting basis
The accounts have been drawn up to comply with the provisions of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990, the Charity Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 1992 and for the first time follow the recommendations of the revised Statement of Recommended Practice for charities (SORP) approved by the Accounting Standards Board in October 2000. The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost accounting rules as modified to include the revaluation of investments. The accounts comprise three primary financial statements, the Statement of Financial Activities, which incorporates the Income and Expenditure Account, the Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement.
2 Funds
The Societys funds are classified in accordance with the definitions in the SORP into Restricted funds, where there are restrictions placed by a donor as to the use of income or capital, Designated funds, where the Council of the Society has set aside sums from its unrestricted funds for a particular purpose and the General (unrestricted) Fund. The classifications made are as follows: a) General Fund - a discretionary Fund available to Council to meet the ordinary activities of the Society. b) Designated Funds Staff restructuring fund In July 2000 Council resolved to create a Staff restructuring fund, to be used at its discretion to provide flexibility in staffing arrangements and in developing future operations. 1994 Appeal Fund - contributions from Fellows and other benefactors in response to an appeal to replenish Society Funds following the purchase of 26 George Street and its refurbishment. During the year the balance of this fund brought forward was used firstly to refurbish the Fellows rooms and the residual balance was then amalgamated with the 2001 Appeal. Continuing contributions arising from this appeal are credited to the 2001 appeal. 2001 Appeal Fund - an appeal to provide development finance to implement the Societys Corporate plan. Capital Asset Reserve Fund - representing the book cost of the rooms at 22-24 George Street, and 26 George Street and an allocation in respect of funding of the refurbishment of 26 George Street. Building Maintenance Fund - a reserve to support the future maintenance of the fabric of the Rooms. Dr James Heggie Fund - income from this fund supports the Societys activities with young people. Grants Fund - a fund created by contributions and legacies from Fellows and used to provide grants to support research activities of Fellows. C H Kemball Fund - income from this fund is used to provide hospitality for distinguished visitors from other learned societies and academies. c) Restricted Funds Robert Cormack Bequest - to promote astronomical knowledge and research in Scotland. Lessells Trust - to fund scholarships abroad for engineers. Auber Bequest - to fund research by naturalised British Citizens over 60 years of age. Prizes Fund - to fund various prizes. Dryerre Fund - to fund postgraduate research in medical or veterinary physiology. Piazzi Smyth Legacy Fund - to fund high altitude astronomical research. CASS Fund - to fund academic/industrial liaison. Retailing Seminar Fund - to fund a programme of seminars on retailing.
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3 Accounting Policies
Incoming resources a) Donations grants and similar incoming resources Subscriptions are accounted for on the basis of the subscription year to October 2002 and include income tax recoverable on subscriptions paid under Gift Aid. Revenue grants are credited to income in the period to which they relate; capital grants are deferred and amortised over the useful life of the assets to which they relate. Donations of a recurring nature from other charitable foundations and one-off gifts and legacies included in other income are taken to revenue in the period to which they relate. b) Incoming resources for charitable activities Incoming resources for activities are accounted for on an accruals basis. Publication income receivable in foreign currencies is converted into sterling at rates of exchange ruling at the date of receipt. c) Investment income Interest and dividends are accounted for gross in the year in which they are receivable, tax deducted being recovered or recoverable from the Inland Revenue. Resources expended d) Expenditure and support costs All resources expended are included on an accruals basis and where directly attributable allocated to the relevant functional category. Central costs, which include support costs, are allocated to categories of resource expended in proportion to staff salaries. e) Depreciation and repairs The Societys principal assets are its buildings in George Street, Edinburgh. Under FRS 15 the Society depreciates the buildings assuming a 50 year life. It is the policy of the Council to maintain the buildings to a high standard and provision is made for upkeep of the buildings through a designation from General Fund. Any permanent diminutions in value are reflected in the Statement of Financial Activities. Costs of repairs and maintenance are charged against revenue. Minor equipment is written off to Income & Expenditure Account in the year of purchase. Computer and audio-visual equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis over four years. f) Investments Investments are stated at their market value at the balance sheet date. Unrealised surpluses on revaluation are credited to funds in accordance with their proportionate share of the investment portfolio. g) Pensions The Society participates in defined benefit pension schemes which are externally funded. The cost of providing pensions is allocated over employees working lives with the Society and the Foundation and is included in staff costs.
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4a Donations, grants and similar incoming resources Fellows subscriptions Scottish Executive Grant Scottish Executive Grant re Scottish Science Advisory Committee Release of deferred income Other grants and donations Gifts in kind - (value of secondment of staff) Appeal receipts 4b Subscriptions Contributions from Fellows Admission Fees Annual Subscriptions Income tax recoverable under gift aid 4c Other grants and donations Fleck additional receipt Lessells Trust additional receipt Legacy Donations for Foot & Mouth Disease Inquiry Sales of ties (net) Sales of sundry publications Grant from MacRobert Trust for Millennium Prize Other income
2002 105,121 328,000 55,519 6,413 42,530 36,750 91,073 665,406 5,400 89,314 10,407 105,121 2,420 12,939 20,800 4,995 153 538 685 42,530
2001 97,287 278,000 6,412 41,073 13,267 436,039 5,500 82,225 9,562 97,287 1,419 13,335 240 412 25,000 667 41,073
4b 24a 4c
In addition to the donations set out above the Society receives donations made specifically in support of meetings which are included in meetings income (see note 5a) 2002 2001 5a Activities in furtherance of charitable objects - incoming resources Promotion of research 5b 1,002,782 825,207 Meetings 24c 113,166 275,892 Educational activities 27,527 16,411 Academic / Industry links 33,252 16,152 International activities 8,501 2,567 1,185,228 1,136,229 5b Promotion of research - receipts Scottish Executive grant - research fellowships 379,228 304,507 - teaching fellowships 6,500 British Petroleum Research Fellowships Trust 168,543 139,045 Caledonian Research Foundation 14,082 35,115 Scottish Enterprise 216,714 188,130 PPARC Enterprise Fellowships 83,586 54,619 Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland 134,129 103,791 1,002,782 825,207
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2002 6 Investment income Dividends (Net) Income tax recoverable on dividend income Interest arising on deposits (Gross) Interest receivable from RSE Scotland Foundation Rent of rooms Cost of generating funds Fundraising costs Proportion of central costs (note 11) Grants payable Promotion of Research Prizes and Grants Promotion of Research Direct Costs : Restricted Funds SEELLD Research Fellowships - Support SEELLD Research Fellowships - Personal SEELLD Teaching Fellowships BP Research Fellowships CRF European Fellowships Enterprise Fellowships (Scottish Enterprise) Enterprise Fellowships (PPARC) Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Fellowships Robert Cormack Bequest John Moyes Lessells Scholarship Auber Bequest Awards Henry Dryerre Scholarship D S McLagan Travel Grant Direct costs : General Funds Library Proportion of central costs (note 11) 9a Charitable activities Publications Meetings Educational activities Academic / Industry links Fellowships Office International activities Evidence Advice and Comment Scottish Science Advisory Committee 92,245 6,107 9,022 540 107,914 70,348 38,600 108,948 8b 1,060,125 36,718 1,096,843 61,293 276,350 730 338,373 154,985 10,422 200,422 75,308 119,129 5,025 24,224 11,076 588 939,552 475 940,027 120,098 1,060,125 9b 38,209 225,360 56,793 49,219 50,204 50,425 96,869 59,337 626,416 2001 90,326 14,086 18,957 88,594 590 212,553 10,583 9,379 19,962 896,176 73,220 969,396 60,093 206,900 266,993 125,869 31,262 168,547 48,304 92,292 5,770 22,860 13,271 775,168 1,304 776,472 119,704 896,176 39,930 397,357 57,070 35,315 48,920 19,907 49,546 648,045
8b
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2002 9b Publications Editorial & management costs of journals Support of journals published by RSE Scotland Foundation Other publications Proportion of central costs (note 11) 11,700 16,930 2,431 31,061 7,148 38,209 2001 18,437 7,380 7,972 33,789 6,141 39,930
The RSE Scotland Foundation became publisher of the Societys journals and Year Book with effect from the 1997 volumes. The Society retains copyright and incurs editorial costs in respect of these publications. The Society has made a donation to the RSE Scotland Foundation equivalent to the Foundations net deficit on publications. 2002 10 Buildings, Management and administration Buildings and Maintenance 22-24 George Street - depreciation 26 George Street - depreciation 22-24 George Street - expenditure from designated funds Management and secretariat Publicity 5,568 22,061 32,949 24,046 84,624 76,105 80,361 241,090 487,539 (82,708) 404,831 36,750 37,982 479,563 30,951 109,811 4,970 44,797 23,185 2,118 11,710 8,519 34,495 270,556 750,119 2001 12,947 22,061 32,949 23,139 91,096 75,196 56,989 223,281 462,128 (83,578) 378,550 15,159 393,709 24,571 110,457 12,039 39,115 23,617 5,991 14,172 5,875 26,507 262,344 656,053
11 Central Costs Total Payroll Less paid by RSE Scotland Foundation Salaries (note 12) Value of secondments Staff training, agency and recruitment costs Total staff costs Other Costs: Establishment expenses (22-24 George St) Establishment expenses (26 George St) Computer and equipment costs Communication, stationery and printing costs Travel and subsistence, hospitality Miscellaneous Professional fees Audit fee Depreciation Total Central Costs
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11 Continued In addition to direct costs incurred, central costs have been apportioned to expenditure on functional activities, as follows: General Fund Cost of generating funds Fundraising 38,600 Support costs - charitable activities Publications 7,148 Meetings 145,259 Educational Activities 46,650 Academic/Industry links 39,033 Fellowships Office 50,204 International links 41,923 Evidence, advice & comment 92,330 Scottish Science Advisory committee 16,591 Promotion of Research Prizes and Grants 2,253 Management and administration Buildings and Maintenance 5,568 Management and Secretariat 76,105 Publicity 56,224 617,888 Designated Funds Restricted Funds 2002 Total 38,600 7,148 145,259 49,536 39,033 50,204 41,923 92,330 16,591 120,098 11,500 5,568 76,105 56,224 750,119 Paid by Society 343,175 21,356 40,300 404,831 2001 Total 9,379 6,141 160,959 49,581 38,396 48,920 17,340 49,052 119,704 19,301 12,947 75,196 49,137 656,053 2001 Total 319,576 23,189 35,785 378,550
2,886
120,098 9,247
12,133 Total 2002
120,098 Paid by Foundation 67,850 5,698 9,160 82,708
12 Employees Wages and salaries Social Security Costs Other pension costs (note 21)
411,025 27,054 49,460 487,539
The average number of employees of the Society including those employed under joint contracts with the RSE Scotland Foundation during the year was 20(2001 - 20). One joint employee earned over 50,000.
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22-24 George St. 13 Tangible Fixed Assets Cost At 1 April 2001 Additions Disposals At 31 March 2002 Depreciation At 1 April 2001 Charge for the year At 31 March 2002 Net Book Value At 31 March 2002 At 31 March 2001 Value at 1 April 2001 14a Fixed Asset Investments Managed Funds 180,578 Fixed interest 582,316 UK equities 1,119,900 Overseas equities (managed funds) 140,167 Cash deposits 256,417 2,279,378 1,103,038 1,103,038 44,122 22,061 66,183 1,036,855 1,058,916 Investments made at cost 26 George St. 1,647,468 1,647,468 65,898 32,949 98,847 1,548,621 1,581,570 Equipment 56,983 10,944 67,927 43,502 24,129 67,631 296 13,481 Computer 39,425 611 40,036 28,065 10,366 38,431 1,605 11,360 Revaluation Total 2,846,914 11,555 2,858,469 181,587 89,505 271,092 2,587,377 2,665,327 Market value at March 2002
Proceeds on Gain/(loss) sale of on sale Investments
70,000 148,988 54,654 (273,642) -
(80,373) 73,883 (6,490)
(7,178) (7,178)
4,024 (7,192) (11,444) 10,113 (4,499)
184,602 645,124 1,169,893 204,934 56,658 2,261,211
The deficit on sale of investments measured against their historical cost was 81,747 (2001 -deficit 19,172). The investment management fee of 6,490 (2001 12,200) has been deducted from the proceeds of sale of investments. 2002 2001 14b Loan to RSE Scotland Foundation Due within one year 46,808 46,808 Due after one year 2,078,368 2,125,176 2,125,176 2,171,984 The Loan initially bears interest at 4% per annum, capped at the amount of rent received by the Foundation, and is repayable over the period to 30 June 2047, the expiration of the lease of 26 George Street. On 1 July 2002 Council agreed to waive the interest payment due for the year ended 31 March 2002 as no rental was received by the Foundation in that period from the ground and basement floor unit. The capital repayment for the year of 46,808 was paid at the end of the financial year as normal.
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2002 15 Debtors General debtors Stock of ties Prepayments and accrued income Income Tax Recoverable 40,158 3,582 1,095 34,027 78,862 16 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year Bank overdraft General creditors Accruals and deferred income University of Glasgow (note 19) Symposia income deferred Deferred capital grant 2001 45,478 3,653 51,203 11,854 112,188
76,266 73,987 15,266 5,880 171,399
74,823 81,672 59,935 13,828 4,215 6,413 240,886
17 General Fund At 1 April 2001 Net movements in funds for the year from Statement of Financial Activities 212,683 (139,090) 73,593 199,815 12,868 212,683
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Capital Asset Reserve Building Staff 2001 C H Kemball Grants Maintenance Restructuring Appeal Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund Dr James Heggie Fund Total
18 Designated Funds
At 1 April 2001 Investment income Other income Less Direct expenditure Investment Management Fees RSE admin and staff costs Surplus/(deficit) for the year Transfers between funds Re building depreciation Re loan repayment from General fund (101,818) 55,010 (55,010) (46,808) 7,831 7,831 55,010 (46,808) 7,831 (38,977) (8,712) 919 80,088 704 (24,696) 4,029 52,332 (3,756) (7,511) (2,301) (13,568) (50) (1,735) (585) (2,370) (14,957) (9,088) (15,450) (1,949) (41,444) 6,245 919 1,859 91,073 754 8,864 18,641 91,073 4,812,470 108,603 15,975 10,248 17,473 609,307 205,450 5,779,526
Net gains on investment assets Realised Unrealised At 31 March 2002 4,710,652
154,901
24,725
90,336
(55) (34) 18,088
(1,919) (1,203)
(647) (406)
(2,621) (1,643)
581,489 208,426 5,788,617
As described in note 2, the 2001 Appeal Fund comprises the receipts from the Appeal launched in 2001 to raise funds to finance developments in implementing the Societys Corporate Plan. The residual balance of the 1994 Appeal Fund after the refurbishment of the Fellows rooms has been transferred to the 2001 Appeal Fund. In approving the budget for the year ended 31 March 2002, Council resolved that as the balance of the Grants fund was sufficient to meet current needs, the income of approximately 30,000 from the investments held by the Grants Fund should be allocated to the General Fund.
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Robert Cormack Bequest 19 Restricted Funds At 1 April 2001 Investment income Other income Less Direct Expenditure Investment Management RSE Admin and staff Surplus/(deficit) for year Net gain on investment assets Realised Unrealised At 31 March 2002 Lessells Trust Auber Bequest Prizes Fund Dryerre Fund Others Total
114,945 4,960 (5,025) (327) (1,263) (1,655)
394,561 17,025 12,939 (24,224) (1,124) (4,337) 279
310,234 13,386 (883) (3,410) 9,093
74,052 3,195 (500) (211) (814) 1,670
438,013 18,899 (11,076) (1,247) (4,814) 1,762
35,016 1,366,821 1,511 58,976 12,939 (1,600) (42,425) (100) (3,892) (385) (15,023) (574) 10,575 (4,304) (2,698)
(362) (227) 112,701
(1,243) (779) 392,818
(977) (612) 317,738
(233) (146) 75,343
(1,379) (865) 437,531
(110) (69)
34,263 1,370,394
Prizes Fund comprises The Keith Fund, The Neill Fund, The Makdougall-Brisbane Fund, The Gunning-Victoria Fund, The James Scott Prize Fund, The Bruce-Preller Lecture Fund, The W.S. Bruce Memorial Fund, The Dr D.A. Berry Fund, The Henry Duncan Prize Lecture Fund and The BP Prize Lecture in the Humanities Fund. Others comprise the Piazzi-Smyth Legacy Fund, the Retailing Seminar Fund and the CASS Fund. The Retailing Seminars Fund arises from the donation of the surplus from an earlier series of meetings that publicised research in the retailing sector. The fund is to be used to support meetings in this area. Under the terms of the Lessells Trust the University of Glasgow is entitled to 10% of additional amounts received by the Society from the Trust. The balance included in Creditors at 31 March 2002 represents the total sum apportioned but not yet paid over to the University (note 16). Unrestricted Designated Funds Funds 20 Analysis of Assets between Funds Fund balances at 31 March 2002 are represented by : Tangible fixed assets 1,901 Investments 82,813 Loan to RSE Scotland Foundation Current assets 62,866 RSE Scotland Foundation current account 56,063 Deposits (152,667) Bank overdraft less cash 87,484 Current liabilities (64,867) 73,593 Restricted Funds 2002 Total 2001 Total
2,585,476 808,004 2,125,176 14,059 269,962 (14,060) 5,788,617
1,370,394 1,937 104,595 (106,532) 1,370,394
2,587,377 2,261,211 2,125,176 78,862 56,063 117,295 178,019 (171,399) 7,232,604
2,665,327 2,279,378 2,171,984 112,188 76,815 250,000 (30,599) (166,063) 7,359,030
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21 Pension Costs a) USS The Society participates in the Universities Superannuation Scheme, a defined benefit pension scheme which is externally funded and contracted out of the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme. The assets of the Scheme are held in a separate trustee-administered fund. The fund is valued every three years by a professionally qualified independent actuary using the projected unit method, the rates of contribution payable being determined by the trustee on the advice of the actuaries. In the intervening years the actuaries review the progress of the scheme. It is not possible to identify each institutions share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the scheme and hence contributions to the scheme are accounted for as if it were a defined contribution scheme. The cost recognised within the deficit for the year is equal to the contributions payable to the scheme for the year. The latest actuarial valuation of the scheme was at 31 March 1999. The most significant assumptions, those relating to the rate of return on investments and the rates of increase in salary and pensions, are as follows: Past Service Liabilities Future Service Liabilities Investment return 4.5% 5.5% Salary Increase 3.6% 3.5% Pension Increase 2.6% 2.5% At the valuation date the market value of the schemes assets was 18,870 million and the value of past service liabilities was 17,427million. The value of the assets represented 108% of the benefits that had accrued to members, after allowing for expected future increases in earnings. The contribution rate payable by the Society was 14.0% of pensionable salaries. b) Lothian Pension Fund The Society also participates in the Lothian Pension Fund, a defined benefit pension scheme established under local government pension fund regulations. This scheme has determined that it is possible at a cost to ascertain the share of assets and liabilities relating to individual admitted bodies. The assets of the Scheme are held in a separate trustee-administered fund. The fund is valued every three years by a professionally qualified independent actuary using the projected unit method, the rates of contribution payable being determined by the trustee on the advice of the actuaries. In the intervening years the actuaries review the progress of the scheme. The latest full actuarial valuation of the scheme was at 31 March 1999. The major assumptions used by the actuary were that, over the long term, the return on the schemes assets would be 6.1% per annum, salary increases would average 4.3% per annum and present and future pensions would increase at a rate of 2.8% per annum. At the valuation date the market value of the schemes assets was 1,483 million and the value of past service liabilities was 1,571 million. The value of the assets represented 94% of the benefits that had accrued to members, after allowing for expected future increases in earnings. The contribution rate payable by the Society was 205% of employees contributions of 6% of pensionable salaries, amounting to 12.3%. The actuary has confirmed that it is appropriate to take the pension charge to be equal to the actual contribution paid during the year. Whilst the Society continues to account for pension costs in accordance with Statement of Standard Accounting Practice 24 Accounting for Pension costs, under FRS 17 Retirement benefits the following transitional disclosures are required: The valuation at 31 March 1999 has been updated by the actuary on an FRS 17 basis as at 9 September 2002. The major assumptions used in this valuation were: 2002 Rate of increase in salaries 4.3% Rate of increase in pensions in payment 2.8% Discount rate 5.9% Inflation assumption 2.8%
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21 b) Continued The assumptions used by the actuary are the best estimates chosen from a range of possible actuarial assumptions which, due to the timescale covered, may not necessarily be borne out in practice. Scheme assets The fair value of the schemes assets, which are not intended to be realised in the short term and may be subject to significant change before they are realised, and the present value of the schemes liabilities, which are derived from cash flow projections over long periods and thus inherently uncertain, were: Value at 31 March 2002 000 1,365,554 155,502 145,187 117,548 1,783,791 140,000 (133,000) 7,000 7,000
Equities Bonds Other Property Cash Whole scheme assets Of which RSE share Present value of scheme liabilities
Surplus/deficit in the scheme Pension asset/liability Related deferred tax liability/asset Net pension asset for RSE
The amount of this net pension asset would have a consequential effect on reserves. c) Pension Charge The total pension charge for the year was 38,375 (2001 - 35,785) 22 Transactions with Council members No member of Council received any payments other than reimbursement of expenditure on travel and subsistence costs actually and necessarily incurred in carrying out their duties as Councillors and Officers. The aggregate of such reimbursement amounted to 6,401 (2001 - 6,273). 23 RSE Scotland Foundation RSE Scotland Foundation is a charitable trust, recognised in Scotland as Scottish charity number SCO24636. It was created in March 1996 with the object of advancing the education of the public in Scotland in science and engineering and in so doing to conserve the scientific and cultural heritage of Scotland. The President, General Secretary, Treasurer, Curator and a Vice President of the Society are ex officiis Trustees of the Foundation, which draws on the resources of the Society in carrying out its objects. The Foundation also has five nominated Trustees. The Foundation became publisher of the Societys journals under a Publications Rights Licence effective from 1 January 1997. The Foundation has also carried out work in support of the Societys involvement in the Scottish Science Trust and the implementation of the Technology Ventures Strategy. On 1 July 1997 the Society granted to the Foundation a 50 year lease over 26 George Street carrying an obligation to refurbish the building within a three year period. The Council of the Society agreed to make funding of up to 2.3 million available to the Foundation in support of the refurbishment. The agreed terms of the loan are as described in note 14 b. A waiver of interest was agreed for the years ending 2002, 2003 and 2004, to assist the Foundation in extinguishing its deficit of net assets.
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At 31 March 2002 the financial position of the RSE Scotland Foundation was as follows: 2002 Net Liabilities Fixed assets Current assets Current liabilities RSE Current Account Loan from Royal Society of Edinburgh Other Creditors over one year:-Loan from Royal Society of Edinburgh Represented by Income and Expenditure Account 2,060,752 78,174 (56,063) (46,808) (127,230) (2,078,368) (169,543) 2001 2,105,629 170,300 (76,815) (46,808) (144,977) (2,125,176) (117,847)
The Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2002 was as follows: Incoming resources 2002 Donations, grants and similar incoming resources 16,930 Charitable activities Publications 114,086 Academic/Industry Links 75 Licence fees 89,093 Activities for generating funds Rental and service charges receivable 46,423 Conference Facilities letting ( net ) 55,814 Investment income - bank interest 976 323,397 Cost of generating funds Conference facilities hire Building management Fundraising and publicity 42,629 120,496 350 163,475 159,922 131,017 37,859 42,742 211,618 375,093 (51,696) (117,847) (169,543)
2001 10,880 99,895 25 98,063 153,702 35,229 2,383 400,177 38,234 129,997 168,231 231,946 107,513 1000 3,500 30,095 42,742 88,594 7,880 449,555 449,555 (49,378) (68,469) (117,847)
Net incoming resources Charitable expenditure Publications Public understanding of science Academic/Industry links Management and secretariat Depreciation on leasehold improvements Interest payable Provision for bad debts
Total resources expended Net outgoing resources and movement in funds for the year Balance brought forward Balance carried forward
The Council of the Society has confirmed to the Trustees of the Foundation that they will continue to support the Foundation and will not call for the repayment of the current account balance in the foreseeable future.
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24 Supplementary Information ; grants, donations, receipts a) Scottish Executive Grants Income Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department Promotion of Research Scottish Science Advisory Committee Activities grant Public policy Seminars Foresight seminars Exhibition Department of Health 2002 395,728 55,519 328,000 15,018 7,583 2,000 803,848 Direct Costs 45,519 24,601 16,930 348,374 30,951 466,375 Staff and other costs 10,000 45,045 40,497 20,574 47,354 92,330 76,105 5,568 337,473 2002 Total 55,519 69,646 40,497 37,504 395,728 92,330 76,105 30,951 5,568 803,848 2001 304,507 278,000 9,974 10,000 6,996 609,477 2001 Total 80,702 40,659 34,491 304,507 49,546 62,054 24,571 12,947 609,477
Allocated to Functional Activities Scottish Science Advisory Committee Meetings office Educational activities Publications office Promotion of research Evidence advice and comment Management and secretariat Buildings - Establishment expense - Maintenance
The Scottish Executive provides grant-in-aid under the powers of S.23 National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985 to meet the costs of SEELLD Research Fellows, and costs of activities including the cost of maintaining the Societys premises and a share of the Societys staff and other costs. In addition to the cash grants set out above, the Society benefited from a staff secondment from the Scottish Executive, which has been included in the accounts at its value to the Society of 36,750. The grant from the Department of Health is from the Chief Scientist Office for an oral health seminar. BP Research Fellowship Trust 24 b) Donations Income Promotion of research - receipts Education Meetings Income Costs Promotion of research154,985 Education Conference Workshops RSE administration and staff costs 168,543 168,543 10,422 13,558 168,543 Caledonian Research Foundation 14,082 14,082 200,422 3,660 14,082 Scottish Enterprise 216,714 216,714 119,129 16,292 216,714 Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland 134,129 19,612 12,500 166,241 19,612 12,500 15,000 166,241 Wellcome Trust 5,870 5,870 4,760 1,110 5,870
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24 b) Continued The BP Research Fellowship Trust supports postdoctoral fellowships in Scottish HEIs. The Trustees of the Trust are the President, General Secretary and Treasurer of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The Caledonian Research Foundation supports postdoctoral fellowships in biomedical sciences and European visiting fellowships, a prize lecture and an international conference. The Wellcome Trust sponsors a series of research workshops. The Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland supports postdoctoral Fellowships, postgraduate studentships and lectures and conferences to fund and disseminate research aimed at improving the quality of life for an ageing population. c) Donations in Support of Meetings The Society gratefully acknowledges all those who make donations in support of meetings. The companies, trusts and other bodies that made donations of 1,000 or more in the year ended 31 March 2002 are as follows: Archibald, Campbell & Harley WS Scottish Higher Education Funding Council Medical & Dental Defence Union of Scotland The Darwin Trust Technology Ventures Scotland Ove Arup & Partners 25 Analysis of net funds London & Edinburgh Mathematics Societies Astra Zeneca UK Limited Scottish Society for the History of Photography National Grid Co plc Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council University of Durham At 31 March 2002 178,019 117,295 295,314 At 1 April 2001 44,224 250,000 (74,823) 219,401
Cash flows 133,795 (132,705) 74,823 75,913
Cash at bank Deposits Overdraft
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26 Main Activities Meetings and Education Lectures Symposia/Conferences/Seminars Exhibitions Policy seminars Debates Workshops Technology Ventures and Foresight Seminars Young Peoples events Science Masterclasses Maths Masterclasses Schools Lectures Christmas Lectures Discussion Forum RSE Roadshow Physics masterclasses Science summer camp Publications (issues) Proceedings A Transactions Year Book and miscellaneous publications Resource (/ RSE News) RSE Fellows Number of Fellows Candidates for Fellowship Research Fellowships and Scholarships Postdoctoral Research Fellows in post Support Research Fellows European Visiting Research Fellows Enterprise Fellows in post Applications for Research Fellowships Studentships appointed Prizes and Grants Prizes awarded Grants awarded Central Administration Submissions to Government and public agencies External events held at RSE 22 George Street 22-26 George Street 2001/02 Number 17 8 2 1 3 6 35 8 10 2 1 1 4 1 6 6 1 4 1311 256 15 4 6 7 84 4 28 41 115 2000/01 Number 19 11 1 3 1 4 4 16 16 10 2 1 0 6 2 1 4 1287 156 15 7 7 8 80 2 8 18 30 1 150
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Royal Society of Edinburgh Schedule of Investments - movements at valuation. Year ended 31 March 2002.
Closing Number Purchase cost Sales Proceeds Gain/(Loss) Revaluation Closing on sale for year Market value Opening Market Value 75,081 80,779 81,805 109,034 91,648 77,009 70,000 66,960 (1,814) (692) (1,670) 700 4,080 (1,118) (3,777) (2,901) 72,180 77,002 80,687 107,220 90,956 75,339 70,700 71,040
Investment
Fixed Interest Treasury 9.75% Stock 2002 70,000 70,000 70,000 100,000 100,000 70,000 70,000 48,000
HSBC Holdings 11.69% 2002
Powergen 8.5% 2006
ICI Investments 7.625% 2007
Corus Finance 6.75% 2008
Royal Bank of Sc 7.387% 2010/49
Aberforth Geared Cap & Int Trust
HBOS 9.25% IRPF
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
51
UK Equities BP Amoco Ord US$0.25 } 8,000 1,500 8,000 15,250 4,000 16,000 7,500 2,100 2,801 4,500 70,560 51,566 40,410 24,638 41,600 30,560 36,753 43,520 22,004 34,920 12,579
2,501 (1,529) (1,680) 22,722 5,780 8,800 4,125 2,667 (5,237) 11,520
50,000 20,475 41,840 59,475 36,340 50,400 28,763 73,227 46,329 51,930
Rio Tinto
Shell Transport & Trading Ord 25p
BPB Industries Ord 50p
Wilson Bowden Ord 10p
IMI Ord 25p
Rotork Ord 5p
Astrazeneca
GlaxoSmithKline Ord 25p
Reckitt Benckiser Ord 10 10/19p
Investment
Closing Number 3,892 3,850 25,739 (5,250) (4,582) (6,450) 1,820 12,269 18,005 1,665 3,778 36,575 16,888 23,549 31,075 31,050 91,500 25,207 42,000 27,852 33,696 12,795 3,778 29,088 8,910 419 (7,800) (4,355) (588) (6,392) (2,137) 1,378 (10,220) (874) 2,925 (8,550) 18,600 (5,941) 3,510 (1,056) (104) (4,989) 20,750 30,825 31,038 19,800 44,265 39,600 13,650 6,734 5,692 1,641 37,953 19,463 22,675 34,000 22,500 110,100 19,266 45,510 26,796 33,592 56,870 40,138
Sales Proceeds
Gain/(Loss) Revaluation Closing on sale for year Market value
Unilever Ord 1.4p } 22,000 5,000 30,000 6,500 3,000 6,500 40,000 2,100 2,405 2,544 2,405 9,500 15,000 10,000 5,000 5,000 30,000 2,600 6,000 3,300 20,800 12,084 9,435 20,178 59,250 42,445 26,250 35,620 36,075 0 53,020
Opening Purchase Market cost Value 7,142 36,246
N Brown Group Ord 10p
Capita Group
Carlton Comms 6.5% Conv 2010
Electrocomponents Ord 10p
National Express
Reed International Ord 12.5p
Christian Salvesen Ord 28 1/8p
Whitbread Ord 25p
BT Group 25p
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Cable & Wireless Comms Ord 50p
MM02
Sainsbury (J) Ord 25p
Vodaphone Group 5p
Centrica
Scottish & Southern Energy Ord 50p
Viridian Ord 25p
Aberforth Smaller Co Trust PLC
CGNU Ord 25p
HBOS Stk 25p
HSBC Holdings Ord US$0.50 }
Legal & General Group Ord 2.5p}
Investment
Closing Number 1,475 (651) (14,576) 45,000 23,465 9,865 2,944 70,584 11,083 31,280 48,900 52,304 26,720 27,934 7,683 (32,866) 1,100,859 2,022,961 273,642 (32,866) 80,373 (7,178) (4,499) 2,204,553 8,050 (3,033) 940 (9,700) 15,377 1505 134 857 32,220 39,200 67,681 28,225 29,068 8,540 58,073 (12,511) 1,981 (963) 5,657 (1,995) (9,379) 1,350 36,050 28,343 74,502 46,350 21,470 6,143
Sales Proceeds
Gain/(Loss) Revaluation Closing on sale for year Market value
Lloyds TSB Group Ord 25p 7,650 32,392 45,000 9,500 4,500 0 0 0 4,000 20,000 36,370 12,000 13,000 7,000 89,078 28,994
Opening Purchase Market cost Value 5,000 34,575
Pillar Property Inv Ord 29 7/17p }
Smaller Companies IT ULS 2003
UK Balanced Property Trust
Sage Ord 1p
Spirent
Autonomy Corp
Cazenove European Fund Acc UT
Fairbar
US Equities Fleming American IT Ord 25p
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Japanese Equities Fleming Japanese IT Ord 25p
Far East Equities
CFS Asia Pacific A Acc
European Equities
CF Odey Euro Trust Accum
Investec European Fund ACC
Other Areas Equities
Templeton Emerging Markets IT
Demergers etc
Schedule of Investments
TOTALS
PRIZE LECTURES
34th Bruce Preller Prize Lecture Professor Adrian Bird, FRSE 13 June 2002 The Epigenetics of Disease
Over a period of 25 years Professor Adrian Bird has made many seminal contributions to our understanding of DNA methylation and the biological and medical significance of this key form of DNA modification. His many accomplishments include being the first to show the semi-conservative copying of DNA methylation and to obtain evidence that methyl-CpG mutates to TpG in DNA. This latter finding has had huge significance in terms of pathological mutations in human disease, including cancer. Another key breakthrough was the identification of CpG islands which are found at the promoter regions of many human genes. This finding has also had a considerable impact on human genetics, helping people to identify disease and other genes, and has had direct relevance to cancer in terms of a silencing mechanism for tumour suppressor genes. Over the past few years, Profess Bird has concentrated on identifying proteins that bind to methylated DNA. He has cloned the genes for a number of these and shown that these proteins repress transcription, often by recruiting histone deacetylase complexes. Thus providing a mechanistic understanding for the link between methylation, chromosome structure and gene regulation. Since Professor Bird isolated one of these genes, it has shown to be mutated in human Rett syndrome. Hence, whilst working on a fundamental aspect of molecular biology, Professor Bird has had a major influence on human genetics and medicine. His work has been recognised by a number of honours and prizes, including election to the Royal Society in 1989 and the award of the prestigious Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine in 1999. Professor Bird is Director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology in Edinburgh and is a Governor of the Wellcome Trust. It is a great honour to be asked to give this lecture and Id like to thank the RSE and its Fellows for the invitation. Im going to pitch this lecture at a level at which Charles Preller
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might have had a chance of understanding what Im talking about but Im also going to include quite a lot of unpublished work which I hope will entertain those of you who are in the field.
A human being contains over one million million cells. Each cell has a nucleus containing the chromosomes carrying genetic information, and the actual molecule containing this information is DNA. We now know the entire sequence of the human genome and here (slide) is a small section of the book of man. To extract information from such a sequence is no trivial matter. Knowing the human genome sequence is very much the end of the beginning rather than the beginning of the end. I expect there will be another 100 years spent working out exactly what it means and you shouldnt believe anybody who tells you any different. What one can extract from that information is that there are genes arranged linearly along the DNA and they are expressed differently in different cells. For example one cell is a blood cell, another is a skin cell, and the reason they are different is because they express different genes. In one type of cell gene A and gene C are expressed to produce proteins which fold up, do their job and make the cell what it is. Yet gene B is silent. This lecture is really about how you silence genes. This may seem like a strange topic because for many people the analogy for organisms is electronics. We all know that the way you
56
keep the TV off is to fail to switch it on; you dont have to continually take a decision to suppress it. But in an organism we have a soup and the machinery needed to make all the genes work is present all of the time. To prevent certain genes from working you have to do something special and this talk will look at the special things you do to genes to make sure they dont mess up the identity of a cell. So how do some genes get shut down? One of the lessons were learning is that theres rarely one answer to a biological question. This talk therefore looks at just one of the ways genes are shut down; this involves adding chemical groups, or put another way, placing knobs on the DNA such that the whole region becomes walled off. The suppressed gene effectively does not exist and in fact the DNA is glued up to such an extent that reversing the process is rather difficult. Ian Wilmut will know how difficult it is to reverse these effects by taking a nucleus from a differentiated cell and asking it to differentiate again. Cloning is so difficult partly because these kinds of mechanisms are very very stable, shutting these genes down for good and all. DNA methylation is effectively a clamp for genes. The sequence of bases in DNA that is methylated is CG. Here (slide) are two CGs
Prize Lectures
and the actual modification is added to the C. However, because DNA is read in opposite directions on the two strands of the double helix then CG is paired with itself; so CG occurs in pairs on opposite strands of the double helix (slide showing a methylated CG paired to unmethylated CG). Epigenetics, to introduce the word, refers to processes that lead to heritable changes in the use of DNA that dont involve changing its sequence but involve processes added on top of the DNA that are nonetheless heritable. Epigenetic mechanisms allow additional information added to the DNA to be passed on. Methylation does this in the following way. Here we have a very simple pattern (slide). One CG is methylated whereas the other one is not. When DNA replicates, the methylated strand is copied to provide another methylated CG on the new strand. However an unmethylated CG is copied with an unmethylated CG. Hence the pattern of methylation on the old DNA strand is copied onto the new on. Methyl groups are added to DNA by the methylase enzyme and it does this by looking at the DNA for methyl groups. If it finds a methylated CG paired to an unmethylated CG (i.e. hemimethylated DNA), it puts a methyl group onto the unmethylated strand. If it finds unmethylated CGs on both strands it does nothing.
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The pattern arising from this activity can be transmitted for a very long time. Methyl groups dont stand out very much from the rest of the DNA, but they are nonetheless read and have biological impact. So where are all these methyl groups? For reasons that are not entirely clear genes are split up. If we look at where the CG sequences are found we find a high density at the beginning of genes in clusters that are not methylated (i.e. unmethylated). In fact most human genes have a cluster of CGs at their start positions. If it so happens that these CGs become methylated, then that gene is shut down long-term because methylation interferes with gene expression. Silence is long-term because, as I have just shown, when you methylate something it is copied forever. So methylation is a way of shutting down genes in the long term. How does the signal get read to produce silencing? One way is that transcription factors are unable to bind to DNA because of the methyl groups. This is not terribly efficient because there are quite a lot of transcription factors that dont care about methylation at all. The other mechanism of repression occurs due to certain proteins that are attracted by DNA methylation. They attach to the methyl CG sites, changing the structure of
the chromatin and shutting down transcription of the gene. There are several of these proteins discovered in (or in collaboration with) our lab and weve been trying to work out what they do. Before we explore these DNA binding proteins we should ask what does DNA methylation do biologically? We know that DNA methylation is important in the process of X chromosome inactivation. Females have two X-chromosomes and one is shut down because males only have one. Dosage of genes is very important in life and so one X chromosome is silenced and this depends very heavily upon methylation. Another area is genomic imprinting: sometimes you express the gene that comes from one of your parents but not the gene from the other. The reasons for this are obscure but we know that the mechanism involves DNA methylation. There are yet more occasions in which methylation plays a role in development, each time silencing certain genes. Moving on to DNA methylation in disease, a theme throughout this talk, we can ask: What can go wrong? In theory what can go wrong is that the wrong genes can be silenced. This happens in cancer - a genetic disease in which mutations occur resulting in genes that are different in a nasty way, or non-functional. Methyla58
tion on the other hand can render genes non-functional by shutting them down. This leads not only to cancer but also to fragile X syndrome, a common form of inherited mental retardation in humans. The primary reason why the necessary gene doesnt work is because of methylation. The second thing that can go wrong is that there appear to be genes that should be silenced but are not. Rett syndrome appears to be explained this way, as does the very rare ICF syndrome. Finally, methylation actually damages DNA. This wonderful system for shutting genes down permanently, has a cost associated with it; methylation actually causes mutations on quite a large scale. So those are the sorts of ways in which Im going deal with the involvement of DNA methylation in disease. Ill do it via the interest in our lab (since that is what I know most about) in these methyl-binding proteins; proteins that love binding to DNA that is methylated and causing biological effects. I shall begin by discussing MECP2 and Rett Syndrome. I showed you a cartoon of proteins binding to methylated DNA. Here Ive drawn (in a totally non life-like way) a stretched out protein showing its different domains. It is a strange fact that although proteins function as 3D objects, you can stretch them out linearly and
Prize Lectures
ascribe various functions to various bits. The first methyl binding protein we found was MECP2, ironically discovered whilst attempting to purify MECP1. MECP2 has a domain that takes it to methylated sites on DNA where it binds. Another domain we delineated is a transcriptional repression domain that shuts the DNA down when MECP2 has bound, enabling repression to take place. Im now going to talk about some medical aspects of this gene. First of all, (slide) these are nucleosomes with nucleosomal tails which are very conserved bits of the nucleosome that are there to have chemical messages written on them. We are going to concentrate on the bits of DNA that are not methylated. Here is a repressed gene that is not working and we assume the histone tails are clinging on, despite lack of evidence that they actually do. MECP2 comes along, binds, brings in the big machinery, lighting strikes, changes the chromatin, and now this gene is permanently off. We were happily working away on this, safe in the knowledge that it had academic but not medical interest, when researchers in the USA discovered the gene that caused Rett Syndrome; it is mutated MECP2. Rett syndrome affects one in ten thousand girls. There is a period of 6-18 months
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of normal development then they have a terrible crisis and regress dramatically. There is progressive encephalopathy, loss of expressive hand use and severe mental retardation with no speaking in almost all cases and no walking in many cases. Ataxia (shaking of the limbs), breathing abnormalities and digestive problems are all often present. All of the girls with this syndrome have new mutations in this gene because the girls do not reproduce, and boys with mutations in this gene die very early indeed. So every mutation is a new mutation. 50-100 children are born in the UK each year with Rett syndrome and there are thought to be altogether about three thousand girls with this condition in the UK. What you sometimes see are missense mutations where the base change results in the wrong amino acid inserted into the cluster around the methyl-binding domain. Elsewhere it is much more variable; there are all sorts of nonsense mutations, frameshifts etc. Why does Rett syndrome affect girls? The gene is on the X-chromosome. Girls with Rett Syndrome are heterozygous, that is they have a functional MECP2 gene on one chromosome, and a non-functional one on the other X-chromosome. All cells have the same DNA, but what makes them different is random
X-chromosome inactivation. Some cells inactivate the mutated copy of the gene, so now they express the normal copy of MECP2 just like any normal cell. Other cells express the mutated version of the gene which is nonfunctional in some (and perhaps all) respects. It is these latter cells that cause the problem. Males only have one X chromosome, so if it has the mutation then death occurs in the first year of life. The girls are rescued by the fact that half of their cells have a functional gene, but are rescued at an enormous price. We are interested in what MECP2 does. We were studying it to get at gene expression questions but now we had another reason for studying it: to understand this important syndrome. We made a gene knockout in the mouse. This (slide) shows a section of mouse brain to show MECP2 expression. In the knockout mice you can see there is no MECP2 in the brain. The brains of knockout mice are normal at the time they are weaned but later on they are not well. The mice have no MECP2 in their brains (the girls with Rett syndrome have some cells that are MECP2+ and some MECP2-). They are fine for a few weeks and then by about 6 weeks on average they have symptoms; they stop moving, have tremors, arrhythmic breathing and become very ill and die, or in practice are killed. These mice
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have some of the attributes of Rett Syndrome but they are the males, the nulls. What about heterozygote females? Initially they were absolutely normal, normal size litters etc., but then it emerged that the heterozygous females did start to come down with the symptoms. By a year of age, more than 80% of the animals had acquired symptoms. Unlike the nulls they do not die, they stabilise and have parallel symptoms to those of Rett Syndrome in humans including an abnormal gait (they walk with their feet far apart) and there are other quite striking resemblances. We were doing this to get a model for Rett Syndrome as very little is known about its pathology except from post-mortems on brains. So we have a mouse model. We have delayed onset of symptoms; remember in humans the onset of symptoms is at 6-18 months. In mice it is not that dissimilar, which is very strange as mice develop to a totally different time scale compared to that of humans and there are some interesting deductions from that. They have neurological problems, reduced movement abnormal gait, limb clasping, and finally there is stabilisation like in the human syndrome. We can study these mice with the hypothesis that Rett Syndrome is caused by the failure of MECP2 mediated gene silenc-
Prize Lectures
ing in the brain. For many in the field it is already accepted that MECP2 is a repressor, you take away the repressor and genes come springing on and that must be the problem. We have done a lot of experiments, as have others, but it is not easy to verify this hypothesis. However we are starting to get interesting information now which encourages us to believe the hypothesis may be right. The Rett Syndrome story is ongoing. Now Im going to talk about DNA methylation and cancer, due to silencing of the wrong genes. There is quite a lot of evidence from other labs that genes in cancer (that are mutated in many cases) can also be shut down by methylation. In other words they are still potentially functional but epigenetically they are silenced. Here are some examples: P16inc is a gene whose presence ensures that the cell cycle is restrained and the cell does not just rush into cell division, which of course cancer cells do without hesitation. There are familial melanomas for which there are mutations in this gene which predispose them to cancer. You also find this gene silenced by methylation. Another example is MIH1 (a DNA repair gene) which is found to be mutated in familial colon cancer. In each of these cases you can find the gene mutated in these susceptible
families, or in tumours you can find it methylated. This genetic evidence proves that these genes are important in cancer. Their absence is important in provoking cancer, and the fact that one finds them methylated and silenced implies strongly that methylation can do the same job as a mutation. They are silenced in sporadic tumours by methylation. Inactivation clearly confers a selective advantage. If you throw drugs in which remove the methylation you can re-express these genes and everything works fine. You can for example restore DNA repair just by demethylating the MLH1 gene. Methylation appears to be a substitute for mutation. There is still controversy about this, but it is dying away in the face of a mountain of evidence. We are now running clinical trials to try to test some of the molecules that reduce methylation, to test their anti-cancer efficacy. Mutations are forever, but methylation is reversible in theory and so the drugs could also reverse the tumorigenesis. This is the hope, whether or not it will be delivered remains to be seen. In this connection I now want to talk about MBD2, another repressor or gene silencer, in the context of cancer. MBD2 is part of a huge machine that silences genes, by binding to the DNA. What happens when we remove the gene that encodes MBD2?
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Taking away a gene to see what happens is the only way one can really find out what its protein does. What happens in this case is that the mice are more or less fine, but they dont look after their offspring in the slightest; an interesting behavioural point. Im going to focus on the fact that if you take cells from the knockout mice and put methylated genes in artificially, then they cant repress them properly. Normally if you take a methylated gene and put it into a cell from any mammal (a mouse in this case) and for comparison take the same unmethylated gene and put it in the cell, then the methylated one hardly works. It works to about 2.5% of the level of the unmethylated one. These (slide) are two different cell lines derived from the MBD2- mice. The striking result is that when genes are introduced into these cells, methylated genes are expressed at about 25% of the level of the unmethylated ones. If MBD2 is put back into the cells along with a reporter gene, then the repression is restored. If you put back a mutant version of MBD2 that does not bind methylated DNA, then you dont restore repression. To conclude, in this artificial assay, the cells from these mice (which are reasonably normal) do not repress methylated genes. Im now going to talk about work which is looking at real endog62
enous genes, i.e. part of the organism. We looked at T-helper cells, i.e. thymus cells that are involved in the immune system. Thymocytes can develop into two sorts of cells, TH1 or TH2, and set up immune reactions involved in allergy and antibody production. We take nave T-helper cells that express neither of the two genes, interleukin-4 (IL4) and interferongamma to a situation where they express interferon-gamma if they are TH1, or IL4 if they are TH2. This is a simple binary system. In MBD2- cells, something goes wrong. Cells can be sorted by FACS (fluorescent activated cell sorting) with respect to expression of interferon-gamma or IL4; they migrate differently when expressing either gene. This enables gene expression to be visualised in a two dimensional pattern. The consequences of MBD2 deficiency for T-helper cell differentiation are that more cells express higher levels (and at an earlier stage) of the appropriate gene. In other words you are taking the lid off something that was previously repressing them, and there is significant derepression of the inappropriate gene; theyre expressing the wrong gene, so the silencing of the wrong gene is defective. That is quite a dramatic effect to an immunologist. The hypothesis, and there is more evidence to support it, is that MBD2 is keeping this gene
Prize Lectures
switched off until the cell is ready. You might ask why the organism doesnt die since you are taking away something that reads the methylation signal? In response I take you back to the five different proteins for which methylation represses transcription; we are removing just one of them. The other four are still there. This kind of redundancy always gets in the way of interpreting these kinds of experiments. So we have failure to repress an artificially transfected reporter and failure to properly repress an endogenous gene in these MBD2cells. So that supports our idea that what this gene does is to repress transcription. What about cancer? I told you that methylated tumour suppresser genes are silenced by methylation. So we thought, since these mice are defective in repression we (in collaboration) would put them onto a cancer prone background. Normally mice live for a couple of years and occasionally they start to get tumours. Therefore the way in which one studies the effects of different chemicals and different genotypes on cancer is to get mice that are susceptible, i.e. left to themselves they live for a while and then start to get cancer. And then you can ask whether a particular treatment gives them more cancer more quickly or does it give them less? We found that
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MBD2 removal gives them a lot less. To the last part of my talk: DNA methylation and mutation. This is where epigenetics meets genetics. Epigenetics is non-genetic inheritance of changes in DNA function and it meets genetics because DNA methylation causes damage on a spectacular scale. If one looks at the total number of point mutations that give rise to a whole spectrum of human genetic diseases and ask how many of them are at CpG, the methylatable sequence, we find 26% of them are here. More than 25% of mutations that give human genetic diseases and also of mutations that arise within cells to give cancer are at CpG. This is a totally disproportionate number given the frequency of the dinucleotide. The problem is caused by water. Cytosine, under the insidious influence of water, gets deaminated about 100 times per cell per day. This (slide) amino group gets deaminated to give a carbonyl group and as a result you get uracil instead of cytosine. Uracil in DNA counts as a strange base, and does not pair properly with guanine, so there are two signals that say get me out of here, and there is a big machine that comes in to do that very efficiently. However, when methylated cytosine is deaminated (by the same reaction involving water) you get thymine, a conven-
tional DNA base. In this situation all you can get hold of is the mismatch, and repair turns out to be rather inefficient. The repair gives rise to a TG mismatch. T and G do not normally pair and if not repaired give rise to a TG CA mutation. The TG CA mutation is the mutation so frequently found in human populations. If you look at worms and flies, they dont put methylation all over their genes, so they dont suffer from this. They dont live very long for other reasons but nevertheless by covering our genes with methylation we invite this problem. We just have to assume that the benefits of methylation somehow outweigh the disadvantage of mutability. But for a long time it has been suspected that there must be something that repairs. Some mechanism that recognises the T (within the TG) and says wait a minute, that T is wrong, its paired with a G in a methyl-CG context, we need to put back the C. The protein that weve been working on, MBD4, performs this role. It has no role in silencing transcription as is the function of the previous enzymes I have discussed; it is a DNA repair protein that attempts to undo the damage that methylation of DNA causes. I will now talk about some of the recent unpublished evidence in favour of that idea. In vitro the
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repair protein comes in and takes out the T resulting from the mutation of a methylated CG, bringing in all the subsequent repair processes necessary to restore a C. But one always has to be suspicious of what happens in the test tube; there are some classic examples where people have the got the wrong ideas from simply looking at the testtube. The best example was when the first DNA polymerase was isolated and was in fact an exonuclease that destroyed DNA, but under the conditions in the reaction it was being forced to put it together. So you have to check whether you have the right assay in your test-tube. The properties of MBD4 in vitro suggest that it reduces mutability in methyl-C by initiating repair of TG mismatches at methyl-CpG sites. If so, then knockout mice lacking MBD4 should display an increased frequency of CpG mutations. We took the so-called big blue mouse (neither big nor blue but containing a row of bacteriophage lambda genomes), then exposed the mouse to no MBD4 for a while. The lambda DNA can then be removed and a very precise screen exists for looking at the mutations within its DNA. We looked at the CII gene and asked whether this region was methylated. Bisulphite analysis shows where the methylated CG exists. Millions of phage were analysed
Prize Lectures
and the sorts of mutations found included GC to TA (where the G is replaced by a T), GC to AT, GT to CG etc., taking out one base and putting in one base. What you notice is that one category is higher than the others. One mutation occurs at a much higher frequency and it occurs at the CpG dinucleotide. So this category has increased dramatically in these mice as a result of taking away MBD4. What has it done to the overall frequency of mutation? This is the fraction of all point mutations seen in the experiment at the methyl-CpG site. Normally, as I showed earlier in the human diseases, it is about 25 30% and it turns out to be the same in these mice. In fact in every organism that has been examined it is the same percentage. But when you take away the MBD4 gene you find that between 60-80% of all mutations are at the CpG site. To conclude, I am showing you, once more, the mouse with intestinal tumour susceptibility. If you get more mutations without MBD4, do you also get more cancer? The answer is yes, which is what you expect because youre getting more mutation and mutations cause cancer. So the conclusion is that MBD4 suppresses CpG mutation in vivo. This establishes that there is a mechanism devoted to the repair
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of methylated DNA involving MBD4. To summarise, methyl-CpGbinding proteins mediate silencing, and we have discussed a few of these tonight. Silencing contributes to cancer. This is largely the work of other labs that has led to this conclusion but what Ive shown you is new work suggesting that the methylbinding proteins play a key role in this, one of which may turn out to be interesting therapeutically. Failure in silencing may cause Rett syndrome. I say may because it has yet to be proven, but that is the most likely explanation. You take away something that represses, then failure to repress could be causing the problem. Finally, DNA methylation incurs a mutagenic cost (which we knew already) and repair of some damage due to DNA methylation is carried out by MBD4. You may ask why it should be a hotspot for mutation if there is a repair mechanism. I could wave my hands and give all sorts of explanations but I wont go into that right now. Finally I want to acknowledge those who have been involved primarily in this work: Jacky Guy, Catherine Millar, Xin Shen Man, Brian Hendrich, Jim Selfridge, Helen Barr. In addition we collaborated with Alan Clarke and Owen Sanson in Cardiff on the cancer part of the
project. Peter Keightley did some statistics for us. Anne Hutchins and Steve Reiner at the University of Philadelphia did the immunological part of the project. Questions and Answers. How dramatically is gene expression actually changed in MBD2 null mice? This is an area currently being examined and it is possible to find quite a lot of differences. I showed the IL4 / interferongamma results already I think there may a lot more of that. But I think the effect might be quite subtle for many genes. Are mutations within the human MBD4 gene linked to cancer susceptibility? There is evidence that mutations in MBD4 can be found in cancer, but not nearly as frequently as one would like to implicate this gene in tumorigenesis. One of the things one needs to bear in mind is that if you mutate this gene there is not a lot more mutation as a result of losing it. It is actually quite subtle, producing a low rate of mutation which, even if it were not repaired, would be a low rate in terms of the timescale of cancer. It would take an enormous amount of time to hit a cancer gene at this unrestrained mutation rate. Removal of MLH1 produces many more mutations all over the genome in a very short space of time. Taking out MBD4 is
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not a big advantage for a cancer cell as the mutation rate produced is too slow. Is it possible to target and silence specific genes using an exogenous source? Unfortunately this is impossible. It would be a good idea to target methylation to a specific gene so you could shut it down (for example shutting down genes that when activated cause cancer). The trouble is that although the effect of methylation is getting to be quite well understood, the part about what decides how something gets methylated in the first place is weakly understood. One would need to understand this much better before targeting could be possible. Why is the timescale of onset of Rett Syndrome so similar to that seen in the knockout mice? Perhaps a neurone in a mouse at 37C and a neurone in a human at 37C would behave similarly if they both were lacking the same vital component. I think what is lost in the neurons is the ability to keep going. Neurons are formed and keep on working for years. I think these cells can do it for a while, but then are no longer able to do so. They will have a half-life, and you can imagine the half-life would not differ greatly from mouse to human. There is a view in the field that it is a neurodevelopmental disorder and that
Prize Lectures
there is some developmental moment at which something critical is meant to happen in the brain and without MECP2 you cannot do it. My argument against that is that these heterozygote mice have had 3 litters. They have been living a normal life for 6 months to a year. What developmental process are they waiting to go through? There isnt one in my opinion. To what extent is this methylation gene family conserved across the animal kingdom? It looks as though it is conserved across all vertebrates which all have a lot of genomic methylation. The invertebrates do not have solidly methylated genomes as vertebrates do, and most of these proteins are missing too. One is found, and this is MBD2. Evolutionarily MBD2 is the ancestor of these genes. A relative of this is found in Drosophila.
To what extent is the CpG shortage affected by methylation in other organisms such as invertebrates? We looked for methylated genes in many organisms as we knew CpG was rare in invertebrates. One animal we looked at was the sea squirt, which is a chordate and has domains of methylated DNA, interspersed with unmethylated. If you look at the CpG frequency then the methylated patches all have very little, and the unmethylated ones have plenty. Presence of methylation over evolutionary time has eliminated CpG from parts of the genome. The bit that is not methylated has no mutagenic burden and so has not eliminated CpG. The reason for the intermediate state is because these genomes are partly methylated.
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11th Caledonian Research Foundation Prize Lecture Lewis C. Cantley Professor of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School and Chief, Division of Signal Transduction, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Institutes of Medicine. 10 April 2002 (Edinburgh), 11 April 2002 (Dundee) The role of Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase in Development and Disease
Lew Cantley is credited with the discovery of a family of enzymes, the PI 3kinases, which have critical roles in regulating normal mammalian cell growth and movement as well as cellular responses to insulin. It is a discovery that has far-reaching medical implications for the treatment of cancer, diabetes and inflammatory diseases. The significance of Lew Cantleys work is now widely acknowledged, most recently with his election last year to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. But as with many stories of discovery and innovation, the early days were characterised by scepticism and, like many pioneers before him, Lew had to begin by swimming against the tide. In his early career Lew was studying the regulation of ion transport mechanisms when he realised that many factors that stimulated growth and differentiation also affected membrane lipids called phosphoinositides, or PIs, which at the time were still only suspected to have signalling roles. The PI 3-kinase field began with two controversial papers from Lews group published prominently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Nature in 1984 and 1985. They showed the presence of a PI kinase activity associated with the Transforming gene products of Rous Sarcoma virus and Polyoma virus. These viral proteins were already known either to possess tyrosine kinase activity or to associate with tyrosine kinases of the host cell. Lew showed that the PI kinase activity was a distinct component of a protein complex that also contained and was regulated by the previously characterised tyrosine kinases. With the finding that the new lipid kinase generates a novel series of lipids phosphorylated at the 3-position of the inositol ring each of which functions as an intracellular signal, the field was set to explode and it has been expanding ever since. Much of the excitement stems from the evident medical significance of PI 3kinase dependent signalling. PI 3-kinases are activated by the majority of known growth factors and oncogenes. The links to cancer were strengthened still further with the discovery by Jack Dixons group that a major
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Prize Lectures
tumour suppressor gene, PTEN, encodes a phosphatase that specifically antagonises PI 3-kinase dependent signalling by dephosphorylating its lipid products. Researchers studying insulin signalling had searched in vain over nearly half a century for the elusive second messenger of insulin action before the products of PI 3-kinase were shown to fulfil this role; drugs that mimic key elements of the PI 3-kinase signalling pathway now have great promise in the treatment of type II diabetes, the new epidemic of the western world. And the recently discovered gamma isoform of PI 3-kinase specifically regulates neutrophil migration to sites of inflammation so that inhibitors should be effective in treating inflammatory disorders. Lews work continues to ride the crest of this very vigorous wave. In todays lecture he is going to share with us some of the recent work of his laboratory in which the deletion of genes encoding the catalytic and regulatory subunits of PI 3-kinases in mice is revealing both anticipated and unexpected biological roles of this signalling pathway. More than fifteen years ago we discovered the enzyme, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) because of its co-purification with oncogenic protein-tyrosine kinases. Subsequent studies by our laboratory and others showed that activation of PI3K by various oncogenes resulted in enhanced growth and survival of cultured cells. The discoveries in the mid 1990s that lipid products of PI3K could directly bind to pleckstrin homology domains in a variety of protein kinases and regulators of low molecular weight GTP binding proteins revealed downstream signaling pathways that mediate PI3K responses. Of particular interest was the finding that the cellular homolog of the AKT retrovial oncogene product was activated by products of PI3K. The viral form of AKT had been shown to cause lymphomas in
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mice. However, the relevance of the PI3K pathway for human cancers was not clear until the discovery of the PTEN tumor suppressor gene. This gene is mutated or deleted in a large number of advanced human cancers, especially in glioblastomas, melanomas and metastatic prostate cancer. The discovery by Jack Dixons laboratory that PTEN is a lipid phosphatase that degrades the products of PI3K indicated that hyperactivation of the PI3K pathway was likely to be driving these metastatic cancers. Indeed, studies with cells in culture have shown that the PI3KAKT pathway provides both a growth and survival signal. To further understand the role of the PI3K pathway in development and disease, we generated mice in which the regulatory subunits of
class Ia PI3K were deleted. Three different class Ia PI3K regulatory genes exist (p85a, p85b and p55g) and these genes are partially redundant in function during development. However, deletion of both p85a and p85b results in embryonic lethality at day E12 due to a variety of defects, including bleeding, suggesting the importance of this pathway for vascular development. Surprisingly, although PI3K is required for most aspects of insulin signaling, mice with heterozygous loss of p85a or homozygous loss of p85b have increased insulin sensitivity. These studies indicate that in addition to the role of p85 subunits in regulating PI3K activity, these proteins play a negative role in insulin signaling that is not yet understood at the molecular level. To better understand the PI3KAKT signaling pathway, we developed a new method to identify in vivo substrates of the AKT protein kinase. The technique combines a bioinformatics approach for scanning the human proteome for proteins with motifs likely to be phosphorylated by this kinase, and an experimental
approach using phospho-specific antibodies that recognise proteins phosphorylated at sites that resemble this motif. With this procedure, we identified the protein product of the Tuberous Sclerosis 2 gene, tuberin as a substrate of AKT. Previous studies had shown that loss of tuberin results in increased cell proliferation as well as increased cell size and that patients with Tuberous Sclerosis have widespread hamartomas similar to those of patients carrying a defective PTEN gene (Cowdens disease). Our studies indicate that Tuberin is a negative regulator of cell growth, in part because of its ability to inhibit the mTOR-p70S6K pathway for controlling protein synthesis. Phosphorylation of tuberin by AKT turns off this function, allowing cell growth to proceed. The discovery that tuberin is a link between the PI3K pathway and the control of protein synthesis and cell growth provides a better understanding of the molecular basis of cancers and Tuberous Sclerosis, and suggests new targets for pharmaceutical intervention in these diseases.
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LECTURES
Dr Harry Griffin Roslin Institute and Professor Michael Steel FRSE University of St Andrews 5 November 2001 Therapeutic Cloning and Reprogramming in Stem Cell Research
Dr Harry Griffin described how cell therapy offers the chance to treat a number of important medical conditions, including diabetes, Parkinsons disease and heart attacks. Research groups around the world are testing out the approach in small-scale experimental trials in mice, rats and, in a few instances, humans. For cell therapy to be widely acceptable, two questions need to be answered: Where do we obtain the cells to treat large numbers of patients? and How do we avoid immune rejection? The ideal source of cells, albeit highly controversial, is the human embryo. At seven days of development the embryo comprises a ball of about one hundred and fifty cells, including an inner cell mass of embryonic stem cells. These cells are candidates for cell therapy because: they can be obtained free of contamination, they will multiply indefinitely and they can be directed to become a wide range of different cell types, for example, heart, skin, kidney. We can avoid immune rejection in several ways, including suppres71
sion of the immune response of the recipient and genetically modifying the cells, using cells derived from the patients themselves - therapeutic cloning. So-called therapeutic cloning involves transferring the nucleus from a diploid (somatic) cell, for example, a patients skin, to an enucleated egg. Activation with a small electric shock in effect creates a human embryo and a potential source of cells that are immunologically identical to the donor of the nucleus, i.e, the patient. However, human eggs are not in great supply and therapeutic cloning is not an option for routine treatment of individual patients. Dolly is perhaps the most famous example of animal cloning. She was created in the manner described above and since her creation the same technique has been applied to mice, pigs, cattle and goats, and many different cells have been used as donors of nuclei. However, cloning has had a very low success rate, with only a 1-2% chance of live offspring, a high percentage of which die, (in mice approximately 18%). Other
problems in mice include an enlarged placenta in the offspring (2-3 x normal size); cloned sheep and cows are often oversized. One lamb born this year had enlarged arterioles causing hyperventilation and had to be put down at 12 days of age. The oocyte is programmed to deal with sperm DNA not somatic DNA and the deleterious effects noted above may be due to the different formats of these DNA. These differences include chromatin structure, methylation patterns and telomerase activity, and it may take a long time to discover their full effects. Inappropriate reprogramming may also be an issue in creating stem cells by therapeutic cloning. Professor Michael Steel advised that in mice we can isolate stem cells and direct them to grow into different types, but we havent yet identified such cells in humans. However, in various human tissues, cells with at least some of these pluripotent properties have been identified. In general, as a cell becomes increasingly specialised, telomere length reduces, and the cell loses its proliferation and regeneration ability. Part of the process of reprogramming might involve restoration of telomere length. Various mechanisms are postulated for the mechanisms used by the genome to programme itself, including methylation, MasterControl genes and histone
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acetylation. How can we reverse this process, i.e. reprogramme a cell? The process might be reversed by growth factors. In tissue culture the absence of neighbouring cells might initiate the process but questions would remain over the completeness of the reversal, its permanency and its safety (uncontrolled growth). Cord blood, of course, is a source of haematopoietic stem cells, hepatocytes, and muscle cells. But does cord blood contain pluripotent cells of every type, for example top level angioblasts? Do they even exist? A potential condition for gene therapy would be muscular dystrophy and, as with all such candidate conditions, the question is how to encourage the engineered cells in preference to the existing dysfunctional cells. Muscular dystrophy is caused by a lack of dystrophin, a protein that acts to stabilise the muscle membrane. In its absence, muscle is lost over time. One approach would be to replace the dystrophin gene, but another would be to increase expression of the eutrophin gene, normally transcribed at a low level. Sickle cell anaemia presents an analogous scenario. Rather than introducing a replacement gene, it may be possible to reactivate the foetal haemoglobin gene. Although controlled reactivation has not yet been achieved, continued expres-
Lectures
sion into adult life does sometimes happen spontaneously, without ill effects. This approach would avoid the problems associated with gene reintroduction. During subsequent discussion, in answer to a question about whether it would be possible to replace muscle cells by reducing the muscle mass by starving an organism to a sub-lethal state, introduce the replacement gene and then reintroduce nutrition, Professor Steel answered that starving to a sublethal state would lead to smaller muscle cells that would, on replacing the nutrition, become bigger. The same cells would be present. Dr Griffin responded to the next question about whether there are cytoplasmic factors affecting DNA by stating that experiments with frogs are indicating that such components do exist. The next question asked whether other primates can be used as models for examining telomere reduction, or perhaps the pig, since its telomere structure would be more akin to the human than would the rodent structure. Dr Griffin replied that no primate experiments have been reported yet and that telomere reduction is not actually that important a factor. Professor Steel added that we probably have enough telomere remaining to last another lifetime. Examination of
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the telomeres of several centenarians has shown that none had reached the end of theirs. Further questions posed were: is there difficulty in obtaining embryos from IVF clinics for research and is there any research looking at the offspring of cloned animals? Are the benefits inherited as expected? In answer to the first question Dr Griffin replied that we need embryonic stem cells to find out why they can be manipulated so easily. Once that is understood we will be in a position to manipulate somatic cells. An audience member advised that it costs $100 to freeze a cord. With 600,000 births a year it cannot be practical (or economic) to store umbilical cord blood in case an individual might need it 50 years hence. In replying to the second question Dr Griffin stated that as yet we dont know. A company in the USA has eight cloned calves that have now reached sexual maturity, so we should soon find out. We will want to know whether the offspring perform as well as their parents and is there consistency in their milk yield? A vote of thanks was moved by Professor Veronica Van Heyningen FRSE, Honorary Professor of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and Head of the Cell Genetics Section at the MRC Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.
Professor Thomas Devine, FRSE, FBA, HonMRIA Research Institute for Irish and Scottish Studies University of Aberdeen 21 November 2001 Strangers in a Strange Land? Two Centuries of the Irish in Scotland Regional Lecture
Speakers Abstract The Irish are Scotlands largest immigrant group of modern times. Today well over a million Scots can claim descent from the vast numbers who left poverty, hunger and unemployment in their native land for a new life in Scotland. This great movement of people had a massive effect on the making of modern Scottish Society. Despite this the Irish have been marginalised in Scottish historiography until recent times. As a result their story is encrusted with myth and distortion. This lecture will present a revisionist view of the Irish in Scotland based on new research and fresh interpretations. It is an analysis vital to an understanding of how the modern nation developed.
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Professor Ray Newton and Dr Andrew Morris Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee 3 December 2001 Options and Opportunities in a Pandemic of Diabetes
Professor Newton began by stating that we are caught in a tidal wave of diabetes approaching pandemic proportions. Diabetes is one of the very few conditions for which the number of people affected is increasing. Currently there are 1.5 million sufferers in the UK and 135 million people worldwide. In the UK, 94 million a year is spent in treatment. The discovery of insulin in 1921 was initially heralded as the end of diabetes, but it was soon apparent that new problems lay ahead; primarily as a result of the deleterious effect of glucose on the vascular system. In a study of 307 individuals, diagnosed with diabetes before 1953, it was shown that after 40 years, 50% of these people had died before reaching the age of 50. Professor Newton outlined some of the improvements in treatment that have taken place over the years. These include the changeover from spirit-disinfected needles to the new-generation infusion pumps. Furthermore, he pointed out that for the future there is a real prospect of islet cell transplantation. Type I diabetes is now considered to be an autoimmune disease with a genetic component, resulting in beta-cell destruction in the pancreas. It becomes increasingly common in northerly latitudes, and Scotland has one of the highest rates at 30 per 100,000. One variant, Brittle Diabetes, characterised by a deterioration of glycaemic control in adolescence, has been of particular interest to Professor Newton and Dr Morris as part of DARTS (Diabetes Audit and Research in Tayside Study). It was suggested that behavioural rather than physiological problems might account for the poor control observed during the teenage years. For example, a study of teenage diabetics indicated that more than 10% were not actually taking any insulin. A second, and more common, type of diabetes (Type II) has been characterised by a reduction of 33% in life expectancy, This type has a predeliction for certain ethnic groups and affects 10% of older people. It is associated with obesity, hypertension and smoking. Diagnosis is often 6-10 years after initial onset, by which time
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complications may already be present. Furthermore, diagnostic entry levels are constantly being revised, thus leading to increased numbers of people afflicted. Type II diabetes occurs in Tayside at a rate of 5.52% and by 2007 the number of sufferers is expected to double to 20,000. A big difference can be observed between urban and rural groups. It might be assumed that this represents General Practitioner care versus hospital care but in fact it appeared that many rural cases were not seeing their General Practitioner at all. Dr Morris began by outlining details of a meeting of EU member states, which set out 5-year target reductions for Type II diabetes (St. Vincent Declaration). These included cardiovascular failure, renal failure, amputation and blindness. Sadly it appears that these targets are far from being met. The DARTS network was therefore set up in Tayside in order to provide an integrated collaborative approach to the problem. The population in Tayside has the advantage of being relatively static, includes both rural and urban dwellers and uses a unique patient identification system. The DARTS network uses a combination of data sources to monitor the condition, including encashed prescriptions, specialist centres and mobile eyevan examinations.
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Dr Morris pointed out that their view of diabetes is that it is no longer just a condition of increased sugar levels, but it is a disease of premature cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with hyperglycaemia. Diabetics have a higher incidence of infarction as well as a higher mortality rate after infarction, but if diagnosed early enough, treatments such as aspirin and streptokinase can improve outcomes. It was pointed out that there is a great unmet clinical need and one of our biggest challenges is to increase the practice of evidence-based medicine. However, General Practitioners are burdened by ever-changing guideline benchmarks relating to diabetes; e.g. blood pressure; yet American studies have shown that only 50% of people are aware of high blood pressure, and many may not be controlling it. Dr Morris also highlighted the need for clinical governance. That is, we should have access to data which show for example, the success rates of different hospitals. This can be provided by the DARTS network. Thus, the Tayside regional diabetic network has a comprehensive website serving both patients and GPs. For example, it enables GPs to compare the diabetes-screening rate of their practice, whilst patients can access high quality
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information on the condition. This network could be expanded to cover the whole of Scotland. In the subsequent discussion, the speakers were asked what the explanation was for the increased incidence of diabetes in northerly latitudes. It was suggested in reply that the cause was part cultural and part genetic. The next question asked that the speakers elaborate on the eye-van screening which is carried out in Tayside. It was explained that this screens for diabetic eye disease by looking through dilated pupils at the retina. Very effective laser treatment is available if deterioration is discovered. A further questioner noted that the speakers had attributed the tidal wave to obesity and asked if there might be any involvement of polluted food. It was pointed out in reply that Type I diabetes may be triggered by a viral infection or a chemical stimulus. However obesity and lack of exercise are considered to be very important factors in Type II diabetes. When asked if the eye tests carried out
as part of the network could not be carried out by an optician it was noted that while many opticians can do the tests, the coverage was not required for a population-based study such as that in Tayside. In response to a number of further questions it was commented that we need to treat diabetes as a public health issue and it was noted that body mass is increasing in Scotland with 24% of five-year old children being overweight and 8% being obese. In relation to diet it was pointed out that in Finland, the North Kerelina project, which was multiagency driven and included tax discounts on healthy foods, resulted in significant reductions in cardiovascular disease. A vote of thanks was moved by Professor Elizabeth Russell CBE FRSE, Professor of Social Medicine, University of Aberdeen, who noted that the technology and expertise that we have in Dundee is just what is needed to help us achieve an equivalent result to the North Kerelina success in Finland.
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Dr Bonnie Dunbar, CorrFRSE Assistant Director (University Research & Affairs) NASA 6 December 2001 From RSS Discovery to Space Shuttle Discovery: Leading the Way for Exploration of the Space Frontier Part of the Edinburgh Lecture Series
Dr Dunbar, a specialist in ceramic engineering and mechanical/biomedical engineering, became a NASA astronaut in August 1981. She is a veteran of five space flights, (1985, 1990, 1992, 1995,1998), and has logged more than 1,208 hours (50 days) in space, travelling 20 million miles. She served on the Atlantis mission (1995), the first Space Shuttle to dock with the Russian Space Station Mir, and to exchange crews. Dr Dunbar was conferred with the Degree of Engineering by Heriot Watt University in July 2000. She is also one of only five women in the world to be inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame. Speakers Abstract Space Exploration: the Human Imperative. Exploration of the physical environment around us has been as important to human progress as intellectual pursuit of the arts and sciences. Only 100 years ago, Captain Scott sailed from Dundee, Scotland, by wooden ship to Antarctica - a relatively unexplored region of the Earth. Today, two nations regularly launch humans into space and two more are on the verge. A look at history can help us chart the course into the future, but what may that future be? What are the challenges and the opportunities? What are the potential risks of not being a part of that human imperative?
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Professor Richard Gregory CBE, FRS, FRSE Professor of Neuropsychology, University of Bristol 7 January 2002 Knowledge for Vision: Vision for Knowledge Royal Society Medawar Lecture
In his talk, Professor Gregory demonstrated the importance of lack of stimulus, as well as presence of stimulus, in building our understanding of an image, emphasising that it was still unknown how the brain fits together a mental picture derived from a number of separate image placements upon the fovea. He described how a good deal of knowledge in this area came from a man whose sight was restored at the age of 52. This man saw things that previously he knew only by touch and he saw only a pattern, not an object for those objects for which he lacked a knowledge-base. For example, he was unable to recognise an elephant at the zoo because his knowledge of elephants amounted to a brief description he had once received; like a big dog but with a tail at each end. Professor Gregory believed that the translation of nerve impulses into our knowledge of the world, using a postage-stamp-sized object called the eye, was a miracle of evolution. The brain performed the transition from optical image to physical object using a very low rate of informa79
tion transmission, compared to what was seen. Interpretation was based upon neural signals, cognitive rules and object knowledge (previous experience both inherited and life). Problems, however, could arise both in the neural signal and in the cognitive rules. Professor Gregory classed illusions as instabilities, ambiguities, distortions, paradoxes and fictions. An example of ambiguity was presented as an image that could be interpreted both as a ducks head looking to the right, or a rabbits head looking upwards, with the same pattern giving rise to two perceptions. The brain considered the two candidates, and weighed up the likelihood of each, using its knowledge-base. As an example of distortion, an image of a wall with a pattern of black and white squares was presented with the parallel lines of the wall appearing to converge to create wedge shapes. He noted that in perspective, the eye made an assumption of distance, with the brain compensating for distance through a process called size constancy.
Finally, Professor Gregory paid tribute to the several excellent science centres appearing throughout Scotland, such as that in Glasgow. He believed that these hands-on environments were precisely what were needed to encourage children in science. During the ensuing discussion, the audience noted that vision was only one of the senses and questioned whether there were any analogous illusions in the
other senses. Professor Gregory replied that there were and gave as an example the sound of sizzling sausages sounding very like rain when heard outside. Following the discussion a vote of thanks was proposed by Professor Helen Ross, in which it was noted that Richard Gregory was a present-day representative of an exceptional family that invented the Gregorian reflecting telescope and, subsequently, calculus.
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Prince El Hassan bin Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 4 February 2002 Muslims, Jews and Christians - the Quest for Human Solidarity
We have all been affected by the events of September 11th, but I hope not irreparably so. We are at a societal crossroads and we have the choice of moving away from each other or closer together. One is mutually assured destruction (MAD), the other mutually assured security (MAS). I believe we can achieve the latter because I believe in the concept of community and the propensity for good. Quoting from the most recent document presented to the G8 countries by the Independent Bureau and Office for Humanitarian Assistance, Hiding behind one excuse or other, governments tend to violate international human rights laws. International reprimands are often ignored. The problem is most acute when non-state actors participate; those who dont consider themselves bound by international law. Jews, Christians and Muslims must insist that humanitarian factors be placed at the forefront of all considerations. We must seek a new kind of politics, capable of ending humanitys war with itself and nature; a politics for people, anthropolitics. Ironically, in the Jordan/Israel negotiations, we encountered three types of fear, one of which was the fear of peace itself rather than a fear of war. All multilateral processes appear to include two stages. The first is security; consider that in our region, $300 billion has been spent on security in the last 10 years. The second stage is the economy. Illegal migration from our countries catalysed discussion with the EU (after signing the Israel/Jordan Peace Treaty in 1994) for $35 billion to assist development work to alleviate poverty for a decade. However, the EU said no, and today we are spending money on security forces, rather than encouraging illegal immigrants to stay in their own country. Very little research is done on migration; only two universities in the Western world are active in this field. The issue of migration and refugees is a huge international problem. Conflicts are often characterised by the inability of either side to
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recognise the suffering of the other. The Arab/Israeli conflict is a prime example. We need education exchange programmes such as the EUs Socrates and Erasmus to begin to rectify the situation. Interacting with each other and taking the best from each other is the way to progress. Islam teaches that God created mankind to comprise various religions, not a single one, and recognises Judaism and Christianity. I am proud to be a pluralist. What place does a variegated experience of human religion serve in the great scheme of things? Gods command to all human communities on Earth is to vie with one another to do good works. The Koran is clear that there should be no compulsion in religion. Solidarity among the faiths means that competing religions strive for the common good. Christianity emphasised in the words of the Pope, Faced with a world that too often denies justice with violence, we Christians base our hope on the merciful providence of God to reach the most hardened of hearts. These attitudes should inspire the Churches to a dialogue with other religions and cultures to reaffirm the values of human life.
The different fundamentalisms, including secularism, are tearing us apart, both within and between communities. Despite many conflicts, there are enough historical examples of peaceful coexistence of different religions for optimism, e.g. between Christians and Muslims in North Africa, and during the Crusades; in Andalusia in the Middle Ages, Jews, Muslims and Christians co-existed in peace for close to eight centuries. I see the world as comprising one civilisation and ten thousand cultures rather than many civilisations. I believe in a continuous process of dialogue and interaction between the cultures. Islam is a broad religion that cannot be generalised. It is often presented as a global threat. Muslim societies have undergone centuries of change. This contradicts the fallacy that it is an unbending institution. Islam emphasises justice, benevolence, wisdom and compassion. Given the inherent ambiguity of language, text-based religions inevitably lead to multiple interpretations. Furthermore any major religion is by definition a diverse institution. As with any textbased religion, there are anti-pluralist tendencies in Islam running in parallel with the pluralists. Unfortunately Islam is too often portrayed as being entirely hostile to the West; Islam equals extremism. I find this
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disturbing considering that Muslims comprise almost three quarters of the worlds refugees, those who are fleeing conflict. Terrorism is committed by people from many different religious backgrounds, including secularists. Islamic terrorists are not considered as objects of piety within Islam. Can we manage the transition from a culture of war to a culture of peace? I would like to hear Western leaders talking about revolutionising a law of peace, rather than the battlefield. We have to understand each others cultures and respect them. Wars will never end until justice prevails. I call for sustainable dialogue, not just sustainable development. Peace cannot be achieved by political and economic development alone, but requires the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind. Education and interaction play major roles in dispelling bias and exclusiveness. In Istanbul, a Parliament of Cultures is to be established. People of different cultures will be able to talk to each other rather than leaving the issue of crisis avoidance to governments alone. Global inequality has grown in the last 20 years; the richest 350 people own more than 40% of the worlds wealth. The crises in
Bosnia and Afghanistan may have been avoided had we kept to the promises of United Nations in 1974 to donate 0.7% of GNP of the industrialised countries to the development of the disadvantaged countries. Todays angry neighbours might have been friends and trading partners. In the context of the Middle East the situation looks pretty bleak. The Palestinian territories comprise 64 different administrative entities, and I dont know how they are supposed to get their act together in order to turn back the tide of occupation. The arc of crisis, from Cairo down to the South of the Gulf, and up to the North of the Caspian Sea contains 70% and 40% of the worlds oil and gas respectively. I would like to see a comprehensive OSC approach and a culture of compliance where state and non-state actors state very clearly their opposition to terrorism. The penetration of Islam by security forces can only serve the extremists. Israel is a democracy, but the increasing spiral of violence is being questioned by ordinary Israelis themselves. To quote a rabbi colleague, There are no simple answers to the political conflict, but there are possibilities of meeting each other at the level of religious understanding.
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Professor Steve Jones Galton Laboratories, University College London 15 February 2002 Is Evolution Over? Joint RSE/Institute of Biology/ Edinburgh Centre for Rural Research Lecture
Steve Jones is Professor of Genetics at University College London. He has worked on the genetics and evolution of snails, slugs, fruitflies and humans. His fieldwork has taken him around the world, from Africa to Syria, but on balance he still prefers snails in the Pyrenees. In 1991 he gave the BBC Reith Lectures on The Language of the Genes, and published a book of that title in 1993. He had a TV series (and a book) entitled In the Blood in 1997, and in 1999 published Almost Like a Whale, an attempt to update Charles Darwins The Origin of Species. He is at present working on a book about men (who turn out not to be very interesting), but plans to get back to the molluscs (who are hermaphrodites) as soon as possible.
Speakers Abstract Many people - from H G Wells and other Utopians onwards - see a future of biological decline for Homo sapiens, as, somehow, the weaker are allowed to survive. I will argue that, instead, everything we know about human evolution suggests that it is over with (at least in the West, and at least for the time being), no natural selection, no random change in small populations and perhaps a decline in mutation rate. Utopia, for those who worry what it might be like, is already here.
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Professor John Burland, FREng FRS 18 February 2002 A tale of two towers: Big Ben and Pisa Joint RSE/Royal Academy of Engineering Lecture
This lecture tells a story of the movements of two world famous towers, resulting from nearby construction activities and the application of novel geotechnical protective measures. The first tower, Big Ben, is part of the Palace of Westminster. Completed in 1858 and founded on dense gravel and London clay, it stands 55m above ground level and leans 220mm NW, a gradient just within detection of the human eye. The second tower, the leaning tower of Pisa, stands within the Piazza dei Miracole and is the bell tower of the magnificent Romanesque Cathedral. Standing 65m high on soft sediments, construction began in 1173 and was completed in three stages with completion in 1360. Had the long pauses between the phases of construction not taken place the tower would have fallen over; the pauses allowed consolidation of the soft sediments thereby increasing the strength of the ground. In 1838 a walkway (catino) was excavated around the base of the tower resulting in a lurch to the South by nearly 0.5m, bringing the tower close to collapse. In 1990 a Commission was established to implement stabilisation measures and in that year the seventh level, forming the base of the bell chamber, overhung the ground by 4.5m. Construction of the Underground Car Park at the Palace of Westminster In the 1970s a deep underground car park was constructed close to Big Ben clock. Ground movements and possible building damage were of major concern for this project. Predictions of the displacements of the southerly retaining wall on completion of excavation were very reasonable. Prediction of ground surface movements was, however, far less satisfactory. A consequence of this was that, whereas Big Ben was predicted to tilt away from the excavation by about 1/6000, it actually tilted towards the excavation by about 1/7000. The unexpected response of Big Ben has spawned an entirely new area of study of the behaviour of the ground at small strains and we now have a much clearer understanding of why Big Ben moved as it did.
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Movements of the Pisa Tower The underlying ground of Pisa Tower consists of three distinct layers. The middle layer is soft sensitive normally consolidated marine clay and beneath the tower is dished by 2.5 3.0m, a good indication of how very soft the ground is. In addition, the water table is within 1-2m of the bottom of the tower. A history of the towers inclination was needed to generate computer models necessary to predict the towers reaction to any stabilising work. Looking at the angle at which the bell chamber meets the tower, one can tell that the tower had already leaned substantially by 1360. In addition, the main body of the tower has a banana shape, the result of attempts during construction to correct the lean; masons had place tapered blocks of masonry at the level of each floor to bend the axis of the tower towards vertical. Since 1911 the inclination and difference in elevation between north and south plinths has been monitored. The rate of change of inclination is now twice that of the 1930s and in the past century the tower has moved 125mm. Several attempts have been made in this century to correct the tower but each has had a negative effect. At one stage it leaned at 5.44, and models indicate it must certainly fall at 5.50.
The single most important finding in the development of a temporary stabilisation strategy was that the tower is not settling; rather it is rotating from North to South. Any work to stabilise the tower has to maintain the buildings character and an initial temporary solution was, therefore, to load 600 tonnes of lead onto the base of the North side of the tower. As a result the top of the tower returned by 15mm. Sadly, political interference demanded that the unsightly lead be replaced with ground anchors and as a result in September 1995 the tower lurched drastically. This became known as black September and a hurried replacement of 900 tonnes of lead was necessary to prevent collapse. Influence of the Jubilee Line extension on the Big Ben Tower Major excavation close to Big Ben is currently underway to expand Londons Underground System. Our prediction was that the 40m deep trench would cause both movement and tilt of Big Ben. The contractor, Balfour Beatty, has used a new technique, compensation grouting to counteract any settlement. This involves drilling horizontal tunnels beneath Big Ben, inserting pipes into these tunnels and injecting them with grout. One-way valves allow grout to be ejected at controlled locations along the tunnels lengths, so adding extra material
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to the ground beneath Big Ben. This has been very successful and is an outstanding civil engineering exercise, worthy of greater recognition. Stabilisation of the Pisa Tower using Soil Extraction Computer modelling predicted that a permanent solution to Pisa could be achieved by soil extraction from beneath the North side of the tower. Trials close to the actual site using a miniature tower confirmed these predictions. In early 1996 the Commission agreed to preliminary soil extraction, but just as work was due to start the Commission fell. A new Commission insisted upon a reinvestigation of potential solutions and in August 1998 again decided in favour of preliminary soil extraction; in early 1999 twelve drilling tubes were put in place. By July 1999 the tower had rotated back by 2cm to the same lean as was present in 1973 and the Commission then agreed to full soil extraction. After further soil extraction during 2000 and 2001 the tower was back to its 1838 lean. Stabilised, the tower was returned to local authority control on 16th June 2001. We predict it will be another 100 years before further work is necessary. Conclusion The conservation of both Big Ben and the Pisa Tower has provided
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immense civil engineering challenges. Both compensation grouting and soil extraction are highly innovative methods of stabilisation that are completely consistent with the requirements of architectural conservation. Their implementation has required advanced computer modelling, large-scale development trials, an exceptional level of continuous monitoring and carefully developed systems of day-to-day communication and control. Questions and Answers Is the underlying clay of Pisa uniform? The stratigraphy is well known; the underlying clay is very uniform from North to South, and we relied on that fact in planning the extraction. Were you able to obtain samples of the towers marble structure that were under such enormous stress/strain? Non-destructive tests were used to determine this. The beautiful marble cladding conceals marble rubble of very variable strength with large voids and fractures. How does one measure tilt? Measurements began in 1911 and in 1934 a plumb line was installed to measure changes in inclination, sensitive to 0.1 arcseconds. The theodolyte is todays most commonly-used instrument for measuring tilt, but in 1992
extremely sensitive electronic equipment, developed by the space industry, was installed to measure changes in tilt. What other options were considered in addition to soil extraction? About a dozen options were considered. These included: A concrete plate at the towers base pulled down with ground anchors Electro-osmosis, i.e. removing water from the clay on the north side Drainage Compensation grouting During stabilising work it appeared at one stage that the tower was both sinking and rotating. Why did this occur? This was caused by a sudden drop in temperature in the Alps resulting in high winds. This event was extremely alarming, but thankfully only happened the once. What equipment is being used for the ongoing monitoring of Big Ben and Pisa Tower? Geodetic surveying, particularly precision levelling, is used at both sites. In addition there is an automated plumb line at Pisa. Please comment on your decision to remain in charge throughout the political meddling.
The question was do I resign or dont I? I had only one option and that was to see the project through. What provision has been made for the long-term monitoring of Pisa? I have no further formal involvement with Pisa. The Commission has ended its life but before being disbanded a monitoring group was set up. However no funding has been provided for this group. We wait with anticipation to see if support will appear. The problem is maintaining the will of officials. Unlike previous attempts at stabilisation, we have documented every aspect of our work in order to assist any future work. How did you conduct yourself with the contractors engaged to perform the work at the two sites? In both cases the contractors were excellent, and a delight to work with. Trevi developed a special drill for the soil extraction at Pisa and (correctly in my opinion) were adamant that they would only undertake the work with a counterweight attached to the tower by chains. In the case of Big Ben, Balfour Beatty developed compensation grouting, a very innovative and successful technology. If one should see a chimney leaning, should one be worried? If its leaning at 5.5, then yes!
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Professor Roland Paxton MBE, FRSE Honorary Professor, Department of Civil and Offshore Engineering, Heriot-Watt University Mr Jim Stirling Director of British Waterways Professor George Fleming FRSE Professor and Head of Water and Environmental Management Division, Strathclyde University 4 March 2002 Regeneration of the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals
Professor Paxton began by giving an overview of the first 200 years of the canals existence, from their original construction between 1760 and 1790, to their final closure in the 1960s. It was recorded by Thomas Telford that these canals were first proposed during the reign of Charles II, and increasing commercial momentum generated by the industrial revolution led to initial construction in 1760. Their purpose was to obviate a highly dangerous 500-mile journey around Scotlands coast. A group of noblemen invited the leading engineer of the day, John Smeaton, to build the Forth & Clyde and in turn he gained knowledge by travelling to the continent in 1755 to observe canals. At the time of construction the only comparable example was the Languedoc canal, built between 1666 and 1681. Smeaton combined excellence in both engineering and management and his outstanding success earned him a reputation as the father of civil engineering. His design for the Forth & Clyde entailed a canal 38.75 miles long, comprising 39 locks, 33 drawbridges and 43 aqueducts and having a flat summit level 56 feet above sea-level. In 1768 a route was decided and construction commenced at Grangemouth. Work continued until 1779 (at which time funding dried up) then recommenced in 1785 and was completed in 1790. 40 of Smeatons original drawings were brought back to Scotland by the Royal Commission and show the enormity of the task, completed as a series of small contracts. Smeaton only came to Scotland twice per year during the latter five years of construction and employed a project manager, Robert Mackle, to oversee
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day-to-day work. The result was a world-class canal which operated at great profit and had a profound influence upon Scotlands industrial development. It was 56 feet wide, 27 feet wide at the base, 8 feet deep and capable of carrying masted ships up to 100 tonnes weight. The stretch now occupied by the Falkirk wheel comprised 11 locks, one being 130 feet long and 20 feet wide and used by boats 19.5 feet wide, and so using its capacity to the full. The Union Canal also featured grand engineering but, unlike the Forth & Clyde, was a commercial failure. In 1830 the railways became significant and began to compete strongly with canals. In contrast to most canals, the Forth & Clyde remained successful. It carried 3 million tons of goods in 1868 and continued until the First World War when the Grangemouth Docks were closed. After the First World War, leisure became the major use for both canals but in the 1960s both canals were officially closed. During the 60s and 70s the canals were neglected, and obscured by public utilities. Local communities called for them to be filled in as they had earned reputations as killers. However, by 1976 it was realised that the canals might become a source of recreation, and by the
mid-80s a Forth & Clyde local plan was in place. This strategic plan was unprecedented as it crossed authority boundaries. A programme of piecemeal improvement began and continued until the arrival of the lottery (specifically Millennium funding). This provided a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restore the two canals across Central Scotland. The driving forces behind restoration were local communities ironically the same communities who had once called for the canals to be filled in. The restoration became a complex multi-partner exercise and the solidarity of those partners has been crucial to success so far and will continue to be crucial in the canals future. Mr Stirling pointed out his pride in the fact that British Waterways had led this project from the beginning. As in their original construction, major civil engineering was required. The Forth & Clyde was blocked in 33 places and stretches up to 2km were in-filled. Major work was required at several sites. Thus, at Falkirk there was a need to change the height of an aqueduct and create a new road bridge. At Grangemouth there was a need to find a new route for the canal, and also to change its line to make use of the river Carron. Additionally there was a need to tunnel beneath the M8, to reopen a 1.7km blocked
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section and to find a new route around the private housing, roads and shopping centre in Wester Hailes. This has resulted in a complete change in the canals appearance. The biggest technical problem was the Falkirk section where the two canals meet. The Union Canal is higher than the Forth & Clyde and joining them meant negotiating the Glasgow Edinburgh rail line and the Antonine Wall, the most important Roman site in Scotland. Eleven locks have been buried there since the 1930s. Restoring them would have been an option, but in the spirit of Smeaton and Telford it was decided to be bold and innovative; and the idea of a wheel eventually emerged. The wheel occupies a brownfield site, an area previously used as a tarworks (heavily contaminating the canal with tar and mercury) an opencast coal mine and a fire-clay mine. The Falkirk Wheel is the first rotating boat-lift in the world. Ten hydraulic motors drive the wheels axle, which in turn drives a series of cogs, in the manner of a planetary gearbox. Professor Fleming began by saying that the above account demonstrates that we still have great engineers and visionaries with us today. He paid warm tribute to Jim Stirlings visionary leadership,
without which this project would not have happened. Professor Paxton pointed out that in many ways, restoring the canal has been an even more difficult process than its original construction. The early builders did not have to contend with the complex planning and environmental legislation we have today. For example, in the last 20 years, 240 acts of environmental legislation have been passed. There were also many different potential objectors throughout the length of the canal and so the difficulties encountered with bureaucracy and due process were found to be significant. The original canal cost 300,000, 400 million in todays terms. The 78 million spent on restoration is therefore a relatively small percentage. This modern investment of 78 million is a very different kind of investment and could be thought of as environmental capital. Payback will not be measured in capital terms as with the original canal. This time the rewards are seen to be environmental and social as well as economic. Thus, communities are able to see the employment and leisure opportunities resulting from the project. Their support played a major role in its success. The restoration has been a catalyst for the decontamination of
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polluted land, such as the tarworks and mercury mentioned earlier; ironically this pollution was initiated by the original canal as it catalysed the industrial revolution. British Waterways should be congratulated on their ability to deliver on such a huge project and fulfil a true partnership between environment and engineering. In doing so they have demonstrated a commitment to social inclusion, to the environment, to communities and to history. The real driving force in this project has been sustainability. The benefits have been widespread and include: leisure and community development at Edinburgh quays; the regeneration of the town centre at Kirkintilloch, now branding itself
canal capital of the world; professional sculptors working alongside communities at Wester Hailes; volunteers building drystane dykes; 50,000 people turning out at the reopening of the canals. The partnership involved in driving the project has been colossal and it must hold together if the full benefits are to be delivered in the future. Professor John Archer, Principal and Vice Chancellor, Heriot-Watt University moved the vote of thanks. He noted that the Union Canal has been dubbed the mathematical canal, placed as it is, entirely along the 73rd contour. He expressed the hope that the canal can go on to emulate its heyday, when it supported many thousands of leisure users.
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Nicolas M Donofrio Senior Vice President, Technology and Manufacturing, IBM Corporation 27 March 2002 Technology Innovation for a New Era 2002 Sir Eric Mensforth International Gold Medal Lecture organised by IEE Manufacturing Enterprise Professional Network co-sponsored by The RSE, Edinburgh University and IBM
Speakers Abstract The presentation covers the orders-of-magnitude improvements in the capability of information technology over the years and how those changes will advance at an even faster rate over the next 30 years. Nick Donofrio talks about how the innovative application of new technologies will fulfil the under-served needs for interoperability, portability and operations efficiency within all institutions. As an example, he outlines how IBM has transformed its global Manufacturing, Procurement and Fulfilment operations into a fast, efficient, process-driven team serving all of IBMs systems-level products, contract manufacturers and network of suppliers. Nick Donofrio also addresses the growing need for the worlds business enterprises and institutions of higher learning to attract and nurture technical talent, particularly the untapped pool of talent represented by women and under-represented minorities.
The Sir Eric Mensforth International Gold Medal Sir Eric Mensforth helped create, and for longtime led, the Westland company. He was President of the Institution of Production Engineers, (IProdE) from 1967-69 and was awarded Honorary Fellowship in 1978. The IProdE was later renamed the Institution of Manufacturing Engineers (IMfgE). The Mensforth Gold Medal was
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one of four awards instituted by the IProdE in 1981 as part of their Diamond Jubilee celebrations and is to be awarded to a person of any nationality for an outstanding contribution to the advancement of manufacturing engineering technology or manufacturing management. When IMfgE merged with IEE, this medal became the IEEs premier manufacturing award.
Sir George Mathewson Chairman, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group 2 April 2002 Focus v Diversity: The Strategic Dilemma at Kings College Conference Centre, University of Aberdeen
Sir George Mathewson, Chairman, the Royal Bank Group delivered his lecture Focus v Diversity: The Strategic Dilemma to an appreciative audience at Kings College Conference Centre, University of Aberdeen, on 2 April 2002. Using examples from the corporate strategy of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, he revealed how strategic options had enabled the formation of a broad-based, solid, yet flexible organisation, capable of continuing to grow and prosper under different circumstances. Sir Georges PowerPoint presentation can be viewed on the RSE web site.
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Professor Roy Anderson FRS Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London 26 April 2002 Epidemics of Infectious Diseases in Livestock: the Interface between Scientific Research and Policy Formulation Joint Lecture with SABRI at The Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen
Speakers Abstract The lecture discusses the interface between scientific research and policy formulation in the context of the control of infectious diseases. The main focus is on diseases of veterinary importance, with particular emphasis on the 2001 Foot and Mouth epidemic and the BSE epidemic in Great Britain over the past decade. However, reference is also made to major disease problems in human communities, such as the current AIDS pandemic and the issue of the safety of the MMR vaccine to protect children against infection with the measles, mumps or rubella. The talk ends with a discussion of different approaches to risk analysis in the area of public health. It is hoped that this will inform policy development. Particular attention is given to the methods appropriate under circumstances where many scientific uncertainties surround key parameters. The problem of vCJD in humans is used to illustrate current scientific approaches to such problems.
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Professor David Wark University of Sussex and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory 29 April 2002 Results From The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Cormack Lecture
The lecture was opened by Professor Andrew Walker, VicePresident of the RSE. Professor Walker then handed over to Professor John Brown FRSE, Chairman of the Robert Cormack Committee, who acted as Chairman for the lecture. Professor Brown introduced Professor Wark and invited him to deliver his lecture. Professor Warks lecture discussed the thirty years of experiments which have demonstrated the phenomenon called neutrino oscillations, focusing on recent results from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. He discussed the significance and future of this new area of particle physics. Professor Wark began by describing how neutrinos were first proposed by Wolfgang Pauli in the 1930s as a desperate remedy to the apparent disappearance of energy and momentum in beta decay. These neutrinos were predicted to be emitted in these radioactive decays, and to possess various surprising properties: they have no charge, very little or no mass, and since they interact only weakly with other matter they can penetrate through fantastic amounts of matter without stopping. This remedy did indeed solve the problem in understanding beta decay, and was spectacularly verified (much to Paulis surprise, as he thought he had predicted the experimentally unobservable) when Reines and Cowan actually observed neutrinos at the Savannah River reactor in the 1950s. However in the late 1960s another problem arose: the observed flux of neutrinos from the Sun was significantly smaller than predicted. Subsequent experiments verified this deficit using a variety of techniques for solar neutrinos over a wide range of energies. One of the most important of these demonstrations was the first experiment, called SAGE, to measure the lowenergy neutrino flux by observing the appearance of a few atoms of germanium per week in a target of 60 tonnes of metallic gallium. The author was a member of the SAGE experimental team, and he will recount some of the difficulties overcome in the performance of such a challenging experiment
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deep under a mountain in the sometimes turbulent Caucasus. These new experiments made it seem very unlikely that the deficit of solar neutrinos was caused by a problem in our understanding of the core of the Sun. Another desperate remedy was proposed - perhaps the neutrinos emitted from the Sun were changing from one type to another before reaching the Earth, and thereby evading the experiments? In the years after Reines and Cowans experimental observation of neutrinos it was realised that there are actually three distinct types - called the electron, muon, and tau neutrinos. Our Sun should only emit electron neutrinos, which was the only type that the early solar neutrino experiments had useful sensitivity to. Perhaps some of the electron neutrinos were changing into the other types (an effect not allowed in the models of particle physics of the time) and thereby evading detection. After 30 years of effort this phenomenon, called neutrino oscillations, has now been
experimentally demonstrated. This experiment is called the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, or SNO. It consists of a 1000-tonne heavy-water target built into the worlds most sensitive light detector, all constructed to unprecedented standards of radioactive cleanliness in a cavity the size of a ten-story apartment block buried 2 km underground in the worlds largest nickel mine. This experiment had reported results over the last weekend that conclusively showed that neutrinos from the Sun are changing flavour - a real milestone in our understanding of fundamental physics and astronomy. The author is the UK co-spokesman for the SNO experiment, and he described the unique features of SNO that allow it to make its measurements, and some of the difficulties surmounted in building such an enormous but sensitive device in such an unlikely place. A vote of thanks was moved by Professor Walker, Vice-President of the RSE.
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Professor Tom Kirkwood Professor of Gerontology, University of Newcastle 13 May 2002 How and Why We Age
Professor Tom Kirkwood began his talk by stating that the demographic change brought about by ageing is arguably one of the most pressing issues facing society today; affecting the very experience of life and structure of society. People are living longer and, if media reports are to be believed, this process shows no sign of slowing. This is one reason to understand the process of ageing. Another is fundamental scientific curiosity. Ageing is a mysterious process from both a mechanistic and evolutionary perspective and has great impact upon individual and societal health. However, Professor Kirkwood explained that his lecture would focus on our emerging understanding of the science behind the subject. Professor Kirkwood stated that most of us can expect to reach 4050 years of age. 85% of children can expect to reach their 65th birthday and that is a staggering improvement from 100 years ago. But as we go through the later decades of life our chances of survival decrease; for every eight years our chances of mortality doubles. Perhaps more important is the experience of illness, frailty
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and disease as we draw towards the close of our lives. There is therefore a great imperative from the biomedical perspective to understand ageing; to target those conditions that cause most distress. Additionally there is the great question of how to adjust society to take into account the increase in numbers of old people. When one considers the incredible biological achievement of forming a fully-functioning human being, Professor Kirkwood stated, it becomes surprising that we cannot achieve the relatively simple act of remaining alive. What are the evolutionary forces that have shaped the underlying physiological processes? In nature organisms die young unlike the situation of increasing old age we see in humans in the developed world. In any field situation we see very little impact of ageing on the survival curve. So the opportunity to display the ageing process is more of a potential than a reality. This fact immediately counteracts the notion that ageing is somehow programmed into us. It cannot be so, because the ageing mechanism affects such a tiny
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percentage of the population that there can have been scant opportunity for selection to act on those processes. Natural selection simply has not seen that phase of the life history. And how would an effect, which is inherently detrimental, be selected for? Group selection theories have been proposed but they cannot explain this adequately. Professor Kirkwood explained that in the 1950s, Peter Medawar recognised the above and saw that there is no selection force acting on the later stage of the life histories of most organisms. Therefore mutations which affect this part of life have little selection pressure against them - a selection shadow because they affect such a tiny proportion of the population. He reasoned therefore that mutations were causing ageing. This is known as the theory of mutation accumulation. Soon after Medawar, George Williams recognised that some genes may have different effects at different stages of the life history - pleiotropic gene action. Some of these may have good effects in early life but deleterious effects later in life. As an example Professor Kirkwood suggested a gene for the deposition of calcium that, although beneficial in early life, might lead to calcification of the arteries in later life. Genes such as this do not matter in the wild but they do matter in an
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ageing population. Now known as antagonistic pleiotropy emphasising that the two selection forces are working in opposite directions. Professor Kirkwood then described how in the 19th Century August Weissman recognised the profound difference in multicellular organisms between the germline and all the remaining cells in the body (the somatic cells). Weissman saw that the germline has to be endowed the property of immortality as genetic information must be transmitted very precisely or a population will go extinct. But the soma does not have such a consideration because sooner or later the individual will die. Let us imagine, Professor Kirkwood proposed, 3 billion years ago when the only living forms were primordial cells. These were probably very vulnerable to their environment and one of the first things to evolve would be repair mechanisms. The next milestone was the emergence of multicellularity, albeit modest. The next and crucial milestone was the evolution of the soma/germline distinction, as this allowed a division of labour between the cell types that make up a multicellular organism. Suddenly the germline took over the responsibility of reproduction, freeing all other cells to differentiate to form kidney cells, neurones etc. This
removed from the soma the need to retain the ability to generate offspring and therefore the soma does not need such an investment in its internal well being because sooner or later that organism will die. If you can make savings in efficiency by cutting back on maintenance and repair in soma cells then you have played a clever trick because you can build an organism much more cheaply. Survival in the wild only needs to run through to generating the germline. Take an organism out of the wild, Professor Kirkwood explained, and you see the deleterious effects of not investing in the maintenance of the soma. Perhaps uniquely, humans have done just that. So here is a physiological explanation - ageing is nothing more than the accumulation of random lifelong molecular damage. We are not programmed to die, but programmed for survival. An organism begins as a very high quality product but through its lifetime, dividing again and again, we see an accumulation of damage. As the decades tick by we see the outward results of this damage. This view of ageing tells us: 1) what ageing is about in broad terms and 2) ageing is a lifelong process, running in our bodies even before we are born. Professor Kirkwood warned that DNA copying is error prone and
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DNA is copied whenever a cell divides. One in a billion bases copied will be incorrect and as the human genome is three billion bases long, there are roughly three mutations for every cell division. An adult will have in the order of 140 new mutations in every cell of its body, unique to each cell; intrinsic corruption of the genotype. Professor Kirkwood explained that animals display great variation in lifespan. In mammals there is 40fold difference in the longevity yet the biochemistry of ageing is similar in all. Therefore some of the factors which influence lifespan are likely to be those which influence repair capacity. Alex Berkley has correlated activity of a key enzyme involved in repair - polyA ribose polymeraseI - the first enzyme to be activated when damage to DNA occurs. Lifespan correlates closely with levels of this enzyme. Professor Kirkwood explained that in his own laboratory they have looked at the ability of different species cells to withstand damage by stress. This is largely oxidative stress, deriving from cells dependency on oxygen for energy production, leading to generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can damage cells. If we look at different species, there is a clear correlation between the cells ability to withstand stress and the organisms lifespan. ROS can damage
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any cellular constituent and have generated much interest in ageing research. Professor Kirkwood pointed out that damage to mitochondrial DNA is of particular interest because there is speculation that the vulnerability of mitochondrial DNA may be very important in ageing. They are in the front line of energy production and interestingly they encounter ten times the mutation rate of chromosomal DNA. Mutant mitochondrial DNA leads to increased ROS and this may lead to further problems downstream. In collaboration with the Neurology Department, University of Newcastle, Professor Kirkwood imparted that they have found that as ageing continues there is an increase in the level of mutant mitochondria (i.e. mitochondria unable to produce normal levels of cytochrome coxidase). The ciliary epithelium of the eye shows the greatest effect of these changes - and the effect in other tissues should be looked at. Professor Kirkwood drew attention to the fact that telomeres (the ends of DNA chromosomes) are much in the news as a potential contributor to ageing. When DNA is copied there is difficulty when the ends are encountered because of the interaction of the polymerase and the DNA which it is copying, known as the end replication problem. When cells
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divide there is a danger that their telomeres become shorter and shorter; this is exactly what happens to somatic cells. You could not have this situation in germ cells because eventually there would be no DNA left. Germ cells have a special enzyme, telomerase, that ensures that the full length of the DNA is copied. In somatic cells it is switched off and telomeres become gradually shorter and shorter. Many believe that this is a separate mechanism for ageing - quite different from the simple accumulation of damage. And yet, Professor Kirkwood explained, it turns out that the rate of telomere loss is very closely linked to the level of cell damage, particularly oxidative stress. Fibroblasts grown in culture display ageing (cellular ageing). If we apply oxidative stress the number of cell divisions reduces, i.e. they age prematurely. If you add an antioxidant, they are rejuvenated and grow further. It turns out that oxidative stress contributes much more to telomere shortening than does end replication alone. Particularly exciting is the prospect of looking at prematurely-shortened telomeres as a way of identifying individuals at risk of certain age related diseases in which oxidative stress is thought to play a role. This is indeed what we find if we
look at patients with vascular dementia. Thus, Professor Kirkwood concluded that there are several different mechanisms in operation at the cellular level, affecting ageing: somatic cell mutation, telomere shortening and damage to macromolecules. Much work is needed to bring this understanding together. Professor Kirkwood then asked the question, why do people age in different ways? In answer to this he stated that there is a strong genetic component in longevity; perhaps 25% of ageing is genetically controlled. Nutrition, lifestyle and chance provide the other 75%. Quite why there is so much variation in lifespan for two genetically identically organisms in exactly the same environment is a very exciting research area. Professor Kirkwood then turned his attention to stem cell biology, this being another area of medicine impacted by ageing. Intestinal stem cells have a much greater level of programmed cell death in older age their vulnerability to stress is greater. If we wish to use adult stem cells for therapeutic purposes we must remember this. In contrast, embryonic stem cells are prone to different stresses; chiefly mutation because they are grown in culture.
In terms of future prospects, Professor Kirkwood stated his belief that we can build an awareness of ageing into our lives. We can minimise our exposure to tissue damage by modification to diet, lifestyle, sanitation, housing etc. This surely explains why people are living longer and these factors may represent a greater contribution to our longevity than does modern medical science (apart from antibiotic and vaccine development). We need to harness this knowledge to develop new interventions that target the upstream processes that contribute to ageing. Ageing is a multistage progression which eventually results in the complex phenotype of age related diseases and if we intervene upstream we could have a much more profound effect than by tinkering at the end. And these upstream processes will tell us about other diseases too. And finally, Professor Kirkwood warned that we should not expect quick fixes and there may be a trade-off in our efforts to combat other disease states. p53 is a highly important gene in cancer and is known as the guardian of the genome because of its crucial role in controlling cell proliferation. Mice heterozygous for the mutant p53 gene were reported recently. Ordinarily the wild-type protein is turned over at a high
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rate. The mutant protein appears to stabilise the wild-type protein and the resulting mutant mice have dramatically-reduced chances of cancer. However they aged faster and lost cells from key tissues faster. So there seems to be a price to pay; i.e. the organism gets rid of bad cells faster, hence reducing the cancer risk, but also
gets rid of cells which still have some useful value left in them, hence reducing fitness. In the context of p53 it appears you can have too much of a good thing. Professor David Breeze, Secretary to Meetings, moved the vote of thanks.
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Professor Thomas Devine FBA FRSE Hon MRIA 16 May 2002 The Immigrant Experience: Scots, Irish and the USA 1850-1950 at Kings College Conference Centre, University of Aberdeen
Presented in association with the University of Aberdeen to celebrate the visit of The Scottish Parliament to Aberdeen, 28-30 May 2002. Speakers Abstract With our political leaders working hard to reach out to Scots and friends of Scotland abroad, Tom Devine, the historian and author of the best-selling The Scottish Nation: 1700-2000, which outsold Harry Potter in the Scottish bestseller list, asked why our ancestors left these shores for the New World and how the Irish experience has provided the inspiration for strengthening our Celtic connections.
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Professor Oliver Mayo CSIRO Livestock Industries Australia, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Science 26 June 2002 The Realisation Of Fishers Research Programme Fisher Memorial Lecture
The lecture was opened by Professor Andrew Walker, VicePresident of the RSE, who gave the welcome to the RSE. Sir Walter Bodmer FRSE, Chairman of the Fisher Memorial Committee and Chairman for the lecture then introduced Professor Mayo and invited him to give his lecture. R A Fisher (1890 1962) was one of the leading scientists of the 20th century, who laid the foundations of modern statistics and mathematical genetics. Professor Mayos lecture considered the concepts which defined Fishers research and explained how the ideas that he sowed have been cultivated by those who followed. Professor Mayo drew examples particularly from Australia, where Fisher spent the last years of his life. Professor Mayo questioned whether Fisher had a research programme, and if so had it been fulfilled? He concluded that the answer to both questions is yes and no. Yes, he wanted to provide the theoretical underpinning, mostly mathematical in
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nature, to Darwins great and correct theory, and he and all his successors have provided that framework. Indeed, were still filling in gaps, but the framework stands. And yes, he did seek to provide an integrated theory and methodology for experimentation in biological research, broadly conceived. But no, many of his major hopes, especially those related to social biology, remain merely hopes, and are widely regarded as false. This is not, however, to agree with Ruse that Fisher was driven by the urge to justify Gods ways to man. In 1999, Ruse wrote: Fishers passions were eugenics and Christianity. He believed that God created the world in a progressive fashion. Biological degeneration. can be prevented only through wholesale eugenic practices. Not to act in this way is to turn from our Christian duty. One cannot over-emphasise the extent to which these views informed Fishers thinking about
the evolutionary process. In a letter to me, Box (2002) wrote: I cannot think of RAFs Christian faith as prime motivation, nor, I am sure, did my book give justification for such a view. . No, he was not motivated by Christian faith. I do not know what he believed. But I know that he loved thinking, pursuing lines of thought, enjoying the manipulation of ideas, delighting himself and his hearers when the ideas hung together beautifully in coherent patterns that proclaimed the truth a truth about earth, of course, we have no evidence beyond. Is that motivation enough? Letting ones fancy roam, note how Fisher worked, after his early
years of struggle for recognition, during which he produced most of his major insights. He was always busy, always responding and often producing his best work in response to what others sought from him, just like Samuel Johnson. Add poor eyesight, worse temper, extraordinary knowledge, and a head full of worked out but unwritten material. As Boswell recorded on 17 April 1778: Tom Tyers described me the best: Sir, (said he,) you are like a ghost: you never speak till you are spoken to. If we conduct careful experiments with numerical results, if we work in evolution, breeding, human genetics, Fisher is the resident ghost in most of our research programmes today.
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Professor Ian Halliday FRSE Chief Executive, Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council Professor, Imperial College London Head of Physics and Dean, University of Swansea Graduate School Member, Governing Council of the European Science Foundation Board Member, European Research Advisory Board (EURAB) 1 July 2002 Basic Science and the Wealth of Nations
Professor Halliday began by posing the question How, in the name of science, can we make Scotland, the UK and Europe rich? EURAB was set up to give independent advice to the European Commission on how to allocate its 17 billion Euros over the next 5 years, a sum equivalent to 5% of the total European spend on R&D. The Commission is asking how the next round of spending should be allocated to make Europe more competitive; on a par with countries such as the US. It is clear that big changes are required in Europes research strategy and Europes political leaders have declared their desire for Europe to be the leading knowledge-based economy; they wish to see a doubling in European spend in R&D. However Europes technological power and desire to be technologically powerful has been questioned (The Wealth of Nations, Lester C. Thurow). Professor Halliday expects all serious scientific breakthroughs to take at least 100 years before
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providing significant economic effect; (a view politicians do not want to hear). Using examples from PPARC he asked the audience which might create wealth. He began by looking at an historical example, the electron. The problem engaging those scientists was What is an electric current? Following the electrons discovery there were no immediate breakthroughs for at least 30 years. Indeed it took 100 years, through many ups and downs, to lead us to the position today and although those physicists realised their discovery would have great future impact, nobody could have predicted what has happened. Furthermore, few people realise that a simultaneous invention occurred, in which Thompson used a piece of technology to discover the electron: the TV tube. This relationship between technology and scientific breakthrough is very close; the two are inextricably linked. Professor Halliday selected examples from todays physical research which may be the
shapers of the future. The first is in Glasgow University, where a group is close to detecting gravitational waves. Already an old subject begun by Clerk Maxwell and Einstein, these waves are the ultimate signal carrier as they pass through everything. The problem is detecting them. Their use would revolutionise astronomy and in the next 5 years we may see this technology developed. Politicians and the public might argue that the huge costs involved may be wasted, as there might be no commercial payoff; but did the 1890 physicists know the true impact of the electron? The second example given also involved mass. The Higgs boson will probably be discovered in *CERN in the next five years and understanding it may enable us to control the mass of objects. Commercially it may not pay off for many years but the Higgs is so fundamental in physics that it is very likely to have significant impact. CERN scientists believe a paradigm shift in computing is required for the Higgs experiment to work. They talk about a technology called the GRID; in laymans terms, a development of the Internet. The GRID makes not only information available but also computing power; providing the home PC with access to huge computing power and software
diversity. There is a significant expectation in the physics community that the GRID will happen and large American companies are very interested in this development. It is the modern analogue of the TV tube; the technology allowing us to perform the scientific experiment. The third example was the neutrino factory, the next but one particle physics machine and costing several billion dollars. It will be a key piece of infrastructure able to pull in all kinds of technology and industrial growth, but does the UK want it? To have it in Britain requires an investment now in R&D so that in 15 years there is nowhere else in the world for the machine to go. The next particle physics machine is the linear collider. The Germans and Americans have already put in 10 years R&D so that the only conceivable site is Hamburg or Stanford. The British treasury has historically ignored the advantages of investing in such projects. Professor Halliday went on to discuss the potential impact of the UKs new eScience centre based in Scotland, and argued that it must be given substantial funding if it is to dominate the European scene; to attract the IBMs and Oracles of the industrial world. In British terms just over 120 million
*CERN (European Nuclear Research Centre)

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pounds is being spent, but the European money available is 17 billion Euros. He argued that all the European resources should be made available to the UK for this project, a politically difficult but necessary task if it is to succeed. This is exactly what CERN has done; it is big enough to convince global companies such as Microsoft that it can change the global computing scene. Similarly, the gravitational waves study in Glasgow must receive much more funding, currently only 10% of the American scale of investment. It is Nobel Prize material and perhaps we should give up some other area of research in order to get this prize? In contrast The Higgs is already CERNs and the question here is not whether the UK can do it but how we grab value from the system at CERN. This creates endless political problems. Professor Halliday argued that nations within Europe should divide up the research strategically; that there is little point in spreading resources thinly so that every country does a little of everything. Norway, for example, could receive the total European spend on marine aquaculture, and Scotland could take the total spend on gravitational waves. In a biological context the Wellcome Trust have made a commitment to make Hinxton the global campus for bioinformatics; a 120 million
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bet. Do Scottish and UK government have the will power to place these big bets? Stanford Physics department currently have a $600 million contract from NASA to build a satellite an order of magnitude greater than any UK physics department resource. In contrast the UK does not have a strong decision-making capability. The first questioner asked whether the country performing the initial research will necessarily reap the economic benefits? Sony and Toshiba, not Scottish companies, have gained the benefits of the electron. Professor Halliday argued that without the research staff and skilled labour it isnt possible to attract companies able to exploit scientific developments. The UK does not have a surplus of engineers and biologists. The second questioner asked about the refereeing of proposals for European research funds. Professor Halliday explained that EURAB has advised that referees and proposals should not be anonymous and that a high risk / high gain culture should now be nurtured. The third questioner asked whether the UK has the ability to deliver a technologically advanced society. Professor Halliday argued that changes in research culture were beginning to show through, for example research students are now encouraged to explore the commercial opportunities present-
ed by their work. The fourth questioner asked whether environmental issues influenced EURAB policy. Professor Halliday gave fusion as an example of research that could have huge benefit to energy production and is an area to which Government is giving consideration. In response to further discussion regarding the benefits to the UK as compared to benefits to the wider global community, and the finite funding available for research, Professor Halliday
argued that biological science receives a disproportionate amount of support. He went on to explain that PPARC, unlike the MRC, does not run institutes of its own and must rely on the universities to develop the commercial applications of their physical research. Professor David Saxon moved the vote of thanks, noting that the recent establishment of a Scottish Science Advisory Committee suggested positive support for a research environment.
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Professor David King Chief Scientific Adviser and Head of the Office of Science and Technology 24 July 2002 Science, Society and Government
Government is now focusing on science as a major factor that can transform our economy - Professor King quoted an American research paper indicating that every $100 put into research generates on average a return of $30 per annum in perpetuity and in May 2002 Tony Blair gave the first speech dedicated to science and research ever made by a Prime Minister. As an added return, investment in the science base has an effect not only on the economy, but also on health, defence and in cultural transformation. The UK conducts some world-class science - we are world-renowned for molecular biology and 34 Nobel prizes have been awarded in this area. However, Professor King argued that the foundations of molecular biology actually lie in physics; and investment must be spread throughout the sciences. In the 1998 budget, the 15% rise for science funding was the largest single increase in any part of the budget. A further promise of a 7% increase was provided in 2000 and this has recently been revised to 10% (and will continue to increase at 10% for the next 5 years). After a period of chronic under-funding during the 80s and early 90s, the science base is now regenerating. Professor King welcomed higher stipends and salaries for researchers, arguing that proper rewards must be provided if people are to stay in science, but cautioned that to move ahead with science, engineering and technology underpinning our manufacturing base, two needs must be met human skills and public support. The UK must adopt a new model for the public understanding of science, as the model of simple information transfer is not working, with a recent survey showing that only 4% believe scientific information conveyed by Government Ministers. We must accept that the public, as consumers, may have a different view, which must be included in any debate.
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Professor Stephen Blackmore, FRSE Regius Keeper, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) 30 September 2002 Scotland and China: Growing Together
Professor Blackmore began by explaining why China is the most important country with which RBGE has links. Botanically, the country is unique in that it is the only country in the world to have an unbroken transition from boreal to tropical forest, covering a great range of climates and altitudes. The Chinese flora has 30,000 vascular plant species, i.e. 12% of the worlds plants, and new discoveries occur on a daily basis. Additionally the absence of East West Mountain ranges has enabled plants to move North and South unrestricted during Ice Ages. This has enabled the survival of many taxa now extinct in the remainder of the Northern Hemisphere, for example the Gingko and Metasequoia (dawn redwood). The latter species was unknown as a living tree until 1943 when examples were found in Sechzuan; it was soon to be cultivated in many Botanic Gardens round the world. Professor Blackmore went on to describe the huge range and impact of Chinese flora. In addition to its crop species (e.g. tea, ginger anise and pepper) Chinese flora are a mainstay of
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Scottish gardens, e.g. primula, rhododendron and magnolia. The same richness of Chinese flora also supports an extensive medicinally active repertoire of between 5,000 and 6,000 species, and in much of China medicine is plant. A prime example is the snow lotus, a high altitude species of the daisy family used to treat a variety of conditions. If the first wave of species imported to the UK was of garden imports, the second wave is now of medicinal plants. However, 10% of Chinese flora are now classed as threatened and this includes many of those medicinal species. Factors include timber logging, desertification, and water shortage, but perhaps the most significant aspect is loss of natural habitat. Fortunately there is a growing political will to tackle these environmental issues; the Chinese Academy of Sciences has launched a 50-year plan to tackle plant loss and the authorities are investing heavily in the joint ventures with which RBGE is involved. Professor Blackmore then explored the early relations between RBGE and China. Many of RBGEs herbarium species deriving from
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China were collected by a group of French Missionaries who made explorations in the late 19th century. The most noted collector, however, was George Forrest, an RBGE employee, active between 1904 and 1931. Forrests focus was the Hengduan Mountains region, the richest area of biodiversity outside the tropics. Its terrain is very difficult, characterised by deep gorges running North to South and even today remains largely unexplored. Many of the specimens collected by these pioneers are well preserved (some even retaining their colour) and this material is fundamental to todays taxonomic research. Different researchers might revisit a particular specimen over and over, rechecking and re-identifying as our knowledge matures. In contrast to the early collectors, plant collecting today is a collaboration between countries and multiple specimen sets are collected, enabling researchers around the world to refer to a specimen gathered at the same time and place. Professor Blackmore moved on to explain the modern-day links between the RBGE and China. Contact was reestablished in the 1930s and 1940s, when two prominent botanists, T.T. Yu and W.P. Fenk, trained in Edinburgh. Students trained by these two individuals maintained the connection, even through difficult
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historical periods. In 1991 a formal signature of a twinning agreement was made and an increasing amount of RBGE research is now conducted in China, rather than in Edinburgh. In 1992 RBGE became an editorial centre for The Flora of China, a huge undertaking involving many volumes. Funded by the US, these volumes are absolutely necessary for promoting world access to Chinese flora, whether for conservation, biotechnology, or any purpose which draws on plants as a starting material. More recently, in 1995, the Chinese hillside project began at RBGE. Featuring 5,000 species, it contains a greater variety than any botanic garden in China. Indeed one purpose for this garden is to assist Chinese botanical gardens in their expansion. One example is the Kunming garden at the 1999 International Horticultural Exposition; funded through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, this event was also an important step in promoting diplomatic relations between the UK and China. Another notable garden created by RBGE is the Hua Xi Botanic garden in Sechzuan. Also known as The Back to China collection, this garden features over 100 species of rhododendron returned from RBGE. Many of these are now rare in China, some possibly extinct. An important aspect has
been the training provided to Chinese horticulturists, and this work connects with other projects such as panda conservation. Professor Blackmore continued to detail a current expedition to China in which two teams are attempting to reach a previously unexplored region, close to the areas visited by Forrest. The teams are providing the botanical expertise to a long-term biodiversity study managed by the US National Science Foundation and there are likely to be hundreds of new species discovered. Another major initiative for RBGE is a new Botanic Garden and Field Station at Lijiang in the Yunnan Province, a collaborative project with funding from the Chinese National Academy of Sciences, the Provincial Government and the Kunming Institute of Botany. Established at 3,000m and overshadowed by the spectacular 6,000m Jade Dragon Snow Mountain this garden will specialise in the conservation of alpine plants. Consent from several ethnic minority communities was required for this ambitious project, which has the support of Chinese Government. The major RBGE input is to establish the field station that will provide access to higher reaches of the mountain. Providing 18 accommodation rooms, its facilities will be available to other organisations for many aspects of
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study. RBGE is currently propagating material in Edinburgh to take to this garden and next year will train Chinese individuals who will work there. The garden will be involved in research to see whether medicinal species such as the snow lotus (Saussurea) can be cultivated, rather than harvested from the wild, and will also be looking at habitat restoration. Funding for this area of work came from three British companies, BHP Billiton, BP and British Airways, and this may well be a mode of funding suitable for other cultural institutions in Scotland, to explore with Chinese partners. Professor Blackmore concluded by drawing attention to the continuing rapid expansion of the Chinese economy; increasing numbers of delegations come to Scotland in the interest of partnership, business and education and there are many opportunities for institutions in Scotland to build links with this advancing country. Interest in Scotland exists at the highest level of Chinese Government and Professor Blackmore described his pleasure last year when welcoming Hu Jin Tao, Chinas Vice President, to RBGE. He noted also the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the RSE and the Chinese National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the new programme of collaboration
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which will result. A delegation from NAS will be visiting Edinburgh in November to further this relationship. The first question regarded the potentially deleterious impact of tourism development in South West China. Professor Blackmore explained that tourism development would have to be of high quality and not overbearing on natural systems. He argued that Botanic Gardens allow people to see species in a controlled manner and can remove the pressure on wild specimens. Another question related to the acquisition of material from French missionaries. Professor Blackmore explained that multiple sets were collected and the top set has been held in Paris. At the time of collection there were no Chinese Herbaria in which a set could reside. Nowadays top sets
always remain in the country of origin. Some of Forrests duplicate sets are now being returned to China. A further question regarded the accuracy of recording place of origin of specimens. Professor Blackmore explained that GPS (Global Positioning System) is now used to record place of origin. A final question regarded the extent of RBGEs interest in nonvascular species in China, for example Bryophytes. Professor Blackmore explained that Bryophyte collection was strong, although many other non-vascular families were receiving less attention than he would like. In part this is due to a lack of skills in identification, particularly in algae. Lord Wilson of Tillyorn KT GCMG FRSE, RSE International Convener and Former Governor of Hong Kong, moved the vote of thanks.
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Sir William Stewart, PRSE 7 October 2002 Science and The Society. Where is Science and the Society going at the beginning of the 21st Century? Presidential Address
Sir William noted that when the Society was formed in 1783, Britain was the richest country in the world. This was also a period in which many great Scots made discoveries that would have lasting and pivotal impacts on the world. But by the mid 20th Century the UK had lost its lead as an innovator, discover and explorer. In 1993 the Office of Science and Technology published Realising our Potential, the first White Paper on Science for 20 years, followed in 1995 by the launch of the Foresight Programme. These are now the cornerstones on which UK and Scottish science policy is founded. Sir William added that despite funding problems, great science was still being carried out in Scotland by individuals who would readily find a place in history. The Royal Medals, awarded through the RSE for the highest levels of scientific achievement, sought to recognise and reward their efforts. A decade ago companies did all their own research, but have since discovered that it is more efficient for them to search out the best university collaborators from a global a la carte menu of university researchers. In conclusion he urged that the RSE focus its attention on outstanding people, irrespective of their discipline and that it should scan the horizon for niche areas of opportunity, collaborating with the best people in the world wherever they may be. The RSEs programme of activities - much expanded in recent years - seeks to fulfil that ambition.
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Professor David Lowenthal Emeritus Professor of Geography at University College London. 14 October 2002 Hugh Millers Influence on Transatlantic Environmental Awareness The Hugh Miller Bicentenary Lecture held in Association with the Cromarty Arts Trust
The Rt Hon Lord Ross PC FRSE, Vice-President, introduced the lecture, held in association with the Cromarty Arts Trust, in celebration of the bicentenary of Hugh Millers birth. He noted that in 1956 the centenary of Hugh Millers death was marked by a lecture by Professor T. S. Westoll entitled Hugh Miller and the Old Red Sandstone. Dr Lester Borley, Trustee of the Cromarty Arts Trust, noted his appreciation that the RSE should wish to join with the Trust in celebrating the life of Hugh Miller. Hugh Miller was born in Cromarty on October 10 1802, and in his life worked as a stonemason, bank accountant and, more famously, as editor of The Witness from 1840 until his death. Dr Borley read an example of Millers work The Old Red Sandstone to illustrate the quality and vividness of his writing. The piece describes the river Findhorn in Morayshire : We stand on a wooded eminence that sinks perpendicularly into the river on the left in a mural precipice and descends with a billowy swell into the broad fertile plain in front, as if the uplands were breaking in one vast wave upon the low country. There is a patch of meadow on the opposite side of the stream, shaded by a group of ancient trees, gnarled and mossy and with half their topmost branches dead and white as the bones of a skeleton. We look down upon them from an elevation so commanding that their uppermost twigs seem on well nigh the same level with their interlaced and twisted roots, washed bare on the bank edge by the winter floods. A colony of herons has built from time immemorial among the branches. There are trees so laden with nests that the boughs bend earthwards on every side, like the boughs of orchard trees in Autumn; and the bleached and feathered masses which they bear, the cradle of succeeding generations, glitter grey through the foliage in continuous groups as if each tree bore on its single head all the wigs of a court of session.
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Professor Lowenthal began by expressing his pleasure in having worked with Dr Borley over the past 18 months in anticipation of the recent conference on Hugh Miller. He then outlined his lecture; to explore the genesis of interest in popular natural history that Hugh Miller exemplified in his own life and teachings, and which influenced so heavily the understanding and concern for nature both here and in the USA in the first half of the 19th century. First he sketched a panorama of a great landscape painting completed in 1859, a time when Americans were celebrating a wilderness, rather than destroying it. Like Miller, the artist Frederick Church was a disciple of the great philosopher and traveller Alexander Von Humboldt, to whom the painting was dedicated. Von Humboldts death was mourned by every significant figure in the sciences and arts because his life exemplified what so many of them stood for: the study of nature in the large. Humboldt and his disciples came to symbolise a tradition in which nature should be seen both in a scientific sense and in its relationship to humans and how humans lived in it. Humboldt said that every citizen should have a grasp of both the facts of the creative world and their influence on the people who lived with those facts and he
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identified three principal appreciators of nature: the natural scientist, the poet and the landscape painter. Miller exemplifies to a marvel the first two of these skills. Professor Lowenthal then explored the beginnings of the interest in natural history. Essentially it came from an Enlightenment mode of thought from the 18th century; an effort to understand a world that was being rapidly explored, discovered and utilised by the Western European peoples in their conquest of the rest of the globe. Figures at the time included Karl Linnaeus, who attempted a total classification of living organisms, Hutton and Playfair, who described the stratification of rocks, and physicists and astronomers. The natural world was altering very rapidly from something seen as dangerous to something to be enjoyed. Although the main scientific advances took place in continental Europe, the passion for natural history first took root in the USA and Britain. The economic and social development and transport system of the early 1800s enabled many people, including Hugh Miller, to take time from work to explore their interests, and nowhere was too remote for even the ordinary curious traveller. Another major factor revolutionising access to the countryside was cheap
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printing, which increased the availability of texts and guidebooks. The passion for going, seeing, naming, collecting and possessing proliferated at an incredible rate and instruments such as the microscope and aquaria were widely used in this fervour. The passion was also fuelled by the nostalgia for a life in the countryside being increasingly swapped for an urban existence. Professor Lowenthal proceeded to ask why people should be interested in nature. Firstly, it was good for the health. People went to the country to escape the fumes and confinement of the city, and to exercise muscular Christianity, as it was to be known in the later part of the century. Secondly, it filled time profitably: Victorians did not like laxness or time wasting. Enjoying nature was clearly more fruitful than any pursuit such as cock fighting. Thirdly, and most important, it was a morally improving exercise as it helped to promote citizenship and a massively expanding education system. The Victorians had inherited from the romantic theologians a sense that it was necessary to worship God through an awareness and appreciation of His creations. The notion of studying with the microscope, telescope and naked eye what God had created was
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seen as a highly religious act; Christianity told people they ought to be doing this. At the same time the notion of creationism was coming under assault from several sources. The contradiction of creationism and growing scientific awareness only added fuel to the passion for understanding the natural world. The same trends were evident in the USA at much the same time. This is surprising, as the Americans started off with a wilderness which most were trying to eradicate and replace with civilisation. For them nature was not wilderness; nature was mainly what they had made after destroying the wilderness. The great American naturalists (most of whom were British born) were enthralled by the wonders and beauties of the continent. In contrast to British lecture audiences which were split between ordinary people and the elite intellectuals, American audiences featured a broad mix of people, who converged to engage in a common enterprise: the exploration of nature, such as geological surveys, which might lead to economically valuable discoveries. Americans also saw a patriotic purpose in their efforts which would assuage their inferiority complex regarding the short time they had populated the New World and the richness of the Old Worlds natural history.
While Constable and Turner became the great exemplars of the delineation of nature in Britain (and Wordsworth and Tennyson became the exemplars of its poetic evocation), Americans had a whole range of landscape painters who saw the New World as better than the Old World; it was not mired down in all the tragedies and evils of human history which they had left behind. Natural history was to be seen as national natural history. Hence there was a transition from a state of understanding to a state of protection for nature, a complete reversal of the wilderness ethos which prevailed a little time before. Belief in creationism prevailed, as is still the case today. Hugh Miller was an exemplar of many of these things and George Perkins Marsh was an American equivalent. Marsh was born in northern New England at a time when forests were first being cleared for agriculture, so he saw the transformation to a deforested country. After farming he became a quarryman, railroad promoter, sheep-raiser, local politician, congressman and ambassador. He also found time to write books on English literature, speak twenty languages and compile the first Icelandic grammar published in English. In addition, he had a constant concern for the landscape. Professor Lowenthal quoted from
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Marshs Man and Nature (or The Earth as Modified by Human Action), written in 1864, which revolutionised thinking on the environment: The soil is ultimately parched by the fervours of summer and seared by the rigours of winter. Bleak winds sweep undressed over the surface and dry up the scanty moisture. Bared of leaves, broken and loosened by the plough, dried and pulverized, the soil grows less and less productive, less able to protect itself from wind and sun and scouring rain and gradually becomes altogether barren. In parts of Asia Minor, North Africa, Greece and even Alpine Europe, the face of the earth, causes set in action by man have wrought the face of the earth to desolation almost as complete as that of the moon. The Earth is fast becoming an unfit home for its noblest inhabitant and another era of equal human crime and human improvidence would reduce it to such a condition of impoverished unproductiveness, of shattered surface, of climatic excess as to threaten the deprivation, barbarism, perhaps even the extinction of the species. Professor Lowenthal explained how apocalyptic these words seemed in the 1860s and how it woke people to such concerns in the USA, Alpine Europe, and the Colonies. He then asked what
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lessons these words had for today. He argued that despite the clouding of our judgement as a result of the piety of Millers and Marshs writing, one lesson would certainly be the importance of the fusion of art and science; if you cannot ennoble science with poetry and art then it becomes arid and dehumanised. Miller and Marsh fought bitterly against the reductiveness of those who would declare art and science as opposite poles and both shared concern for the future, for the stewardship of ideas, life, fossils, fish, and the long-term future. Both shared a confidence in human power that many of us today have lost because we are now so dubious about progress. Marsh and Miller always felt that humans could rectify their mistakes. Professor Lowenthal concluded by noting a continuing theme of great iconoclasts, in tune not only with their own times but armed with a visionary process, enabling them to look ahead and back. The Scottish Enlightenment had had great impact in this development and this had been enlarged by the Romanticists, by the pieties and earnestness of Victorianism, and by the hugely significant fact that the Scottish Diaspora was unlike any others as it was literate. The Scots became the school teachers, the legislators, the foresters, the administrators and
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the major force in the kind of reform that we need to maintain in our memory of people like Hugh Miller. Professor Lowenthal was asked whether there were lessons for the Scottish Universities. In response he argued that they should not become trades schools; they should stay broad enough to allow students to remain professionals of life, rather than professionals of particular trades in life. Another contributor argued that a sense of kinship with the natural world was not an invention of the 18th / 19th century, rather it goes back to at least the 15th Century, as evidenced by Robert Hendersons writing. Professor Lowenthal was then asked about Millers impact on John Muir. He explained that Muir took on Millers philosophy and saved Yosemite, a place he saw as essential for spiritual regeneration of Americans. Muir felt that people had to have such places in their country or they would not recapture the sense of wonder that was essential for a free and democratic people. Going back to nature did not mean living in such a place, but simply to visit it, or even to just think about it, in the knowledge that it existed. Asked whether he had faith in progress, Professor Lowenthal explained the he does but cannot
explain why. Furthermore, he can appreciate why faith in progress has dwindled. At the time of Muir and Miller it was still possible to believe that through science a better way of life would result for a large number of people. However, society today has lost its faith in progress for two reasons.
Firstly, we doubt whether we can retrieve ourselves from the dangerous creations of technology. Secondly, we have no faith in institutions, such as government. Dr Charles Waterston moved the Vote of Thanks.
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Philippe Busquin European Research Commissioner 28 October 2002 Research in Europe

Sir William Stewart introduced the Commissioner, thanking him for taking time out of a very busy schedule to visit the Society and to share his views on the hugely important topic of research in Europe. Sir William provided a brief summary of the Commissioners career. He also highlighted the Societys increasing activity in providing a public forum for debate on issues of national and international importance. And, within that context, the Societys recognition of the importance of improving the engagement between scientists and society - an area in which institutions such as the Society have a key role to play. In opening, the Commissioner explained why Research in Europe was the title of his lecture. European Research, he said, was impossible, because there is at the moment no European research as such, i.e. one cannot speak of European research as one might, for example, speak about American research. European Research Policy was even less realistic, because, quite simply, there is no such European policy at present. What could it possibly mean? The research policies of the various
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European countries added together? The policies of the various European science and technology Cupertino bodies such as CERN and ESA? More specifically, EU policy? Everything combined? He saw the two impossibilities as highlighting a weakness of Research in Europe, a weakness which affects Europes performance and its ability to make the most of results for the benefit of the economy and citizens of Europe. The Commissioner said his chosen title covered a very broad subject. He did not intend to cover all aspects of it, but to concentrate on a few essential points and consider them from a particular perspective. He contrasted the image of research in Europe with the rest of the world in particular drawing comparisons with the USA and Japan. Europe is, and remains, the second world scientific power. It produces just over one-third of the total number of world scientific publications, more than the USA, but in terms of citations it is in second place, a sign that, while world-class research of the highest level of excellence is conducted in Europe, there is still not enough of it.
The respective weight of the major science and technology powers was fairly reflected by the Nobel Prizes for Science. Between 1950 and today, the USA has carried away 213 Nobel Prizes in these disciplines, Europe 144 and Japan eight. Of the nine science prize winners in 2002, three were European, four American and two Japanese. All of this is a good reflection of a Europe which is holding its second place between the USA, which continues to dominate, and Japan which is steadily gaining ground in basic research. The European Research Area (ERA), while already more than just an idea, is not yet a reality. Why? Three main features of research and research policy in Europe are relevant. Europe does not spend enough on research, as a whole, and spends less than its competitors. It is less able to translate the results of scientific work into products and services, and commercial and economic successes. Its efforts are dispersed and lack coherence as a result of fragmentation of activities and the inadequate co-ordination of policies conducted in Europe. In considering the need to strengthen the European research effort, the Commissioner saw the ERA initiative as a response to one of the weaknesses which prevents Europe from fully exploiting its considerable scientific potential,
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but that it is not enough to coordinate the efforts. They also need to be stepped up. Europe cannot hope to keep up with its competitors, let alone become by 2010 the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world, unless it substantially increases its research spending. The EU has committed itself to increasing its research spending to as close as possible to 3% of GDP by 2010, with the bulk of the increase coming from a rise in private sector spending. To support this the Commission has put forward a series of ideas, including how to encourage the private sector to invest more in research. This is the subject of a wide debate. The Commissioner emphasised the aim of creating a society which welcomes research and innovation. In a knowledge-based economy and society, universities play a key role as a result of their twin function of research and teaching and their growing role in the innovation process. But there is something else, something more subtle, two elements that are more difficult to apprehend because they are of a cultural nature: on the one hand the spirit of enterprise; and on the other, the degree of receptiveness of society to innovation, linked with confidence in progress. Like any human activity, scientific research gives rise to developments
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entailing risks which have to be evaluated, kept under control and minimised, but always in the certain knowledge that there is no such thing as zero risk. The image of research can be unfairly associated with problems for which it is not responsible and where, far from being the cause, science is a key element in their solution. Even more so than in the first case, efforts must be made here to promote approaches based on rationality. The Commissioner saw institutions such as the Royal Society of Edinburgh as having a role to play in this connection. The issues, he said, arose more often then not on a European scale and in a European context. They should therefore be addressed at European level to enable experience to be pooled and to help bring points of view closer together where differences of opinion are a source of difficulties. He highlighted in particular, research in the field of life sciences and technologies, as increasingly leading to developments which raise ethical issues and controversy. A specific example being research into embryonic stem cells. It is not, he said, always easy to find a middle way between respect for freedom of research and common values on the one hand, and respect for different opinions on the other; or between
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the risk of skidding out of control and encouraging undesirable applications and the interests and suffering of sick people and those close to them. In conclusion, the Commissioner remarked positively about Scotlands outstanding history in the field of scientific excellence, and how, through the continuing work of its universities and institutes, it is maintaining its tradition. ERA and the initiatives to which it is giving rise, afforded research conducted in Scotland an opportunity to step up its contribution to research in Europe, while reaping the benefits of the efforts made elsewhere in an EU that would soon be welcoming ten new members. The same applied to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, with regard to all the efforts made in Europe to promote the advancement of knowledge and a better understanding of science, a task performed by the academies of science and learned societies since their inception, and which must continue to be performed. Questions and Answers What was being done to ensure a continuing supply of researchers in Europe, for example, addressing the need for science education in schools? The Commissioner agreed the importance of science education in schools and the need for that
to be addressed. Beyond that, European research needed to make itself more visible, to sell its wares, and to be more attractive to researchers. In this context Europes benchmark was the United States, where research activity was more visible, and to where research was more attractive. Are we co-ordinating the activities of the EU States and engagement between Research Councils? The Commission is trying, responded the Commissioner. But it is not a simple process. We are often met with parochialism, with a reluctance to add value beyond the boundaries of individual states and institutions. That does not, however, mean that we will not continue to do what we can to co-ordinate activities and engagement. The Commission recently provided around 84 million euros in relation to the control of animal diseases, but because of EC regulations which required the United Kingdom to provide matching funding, researchers in the United Kingdom received no part of the EC funding. Such decisions surely serve to discourage co-operation and co-ordination between member states and institutions?
In response, the Commissioner highlighted the food safety priority within the 6th Framework Programme, through which funding would be available to all member states, including the United Kingdom, and in particular in relation to collaborative projects. This supported the Commissions objective of greater co-ordination and engagement. In funding university research, the United Kingdom government recognised and understood the need to support the full cost, and very good progress had been made on this. The same full cost issue existed in relation to framework funding, but seemed to be less understood by the Commission, and little progress appears to have been made to smooth the funding difficulties encountered. Are there plans to address this? The Commissioner accepted that the procedures governing framework funding can give rise to accounting difficulties and the rules were not always clear. However, European funding aims to give greater capacity to university research; full costs should be met and universities should not be disadvantaged. Professor Andrew Miller, RSE General Secretary, moved the vote of thanks.
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CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIA, WORKSHOPS AND EXHIBITIONS

Discussion Forum Reproductive Cloning - Does the End Justify the Means? 5 November 2001
Following the Lecture Therapeutic Cloning and Reprogramming in Stem Cell Research by Professor Michael Steele and Dr Harry Griffin (see page 71), a Discussion Forum took place led by a panel of eminent speakers, including : Professor Alastair Campbell, Director, Centre for Ethics in Medicine, University of Bristol; the
Rt Reverend Bishop Holloway FRSE, former Bishop of Edinburgh and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church; Professor Sheila McLean FRSE, Director, Institute of Law and Ethics in Medicine, University of Glasgow and Dr Helen Watt, Research Director, Linacre Centre for Health Care Ethics.
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Wellcome Trust Research Workshop Psycho-social and Ethical Aspects of Genetic Counselling 26 November 2001
This meeting, held at The Royal Society of Edinburgh, brought together 33 experts. We planned five short presentations and followed each with longer discussions addressing the current public, state and scientific interest in the new genetics. Attendants of the workshop were given the opportunity to display posters on recent work in this field (five research teams brought posters). The first speaker, Dr Sheila Simpson from Aberdeen, addressed psycho-social and ethical issues based on recent research as well as her clinical experience. She particularly highlighted the impact on the individual. A specific issue was raised in relation to adoption and fostering: Should the new family be informed that their child is at risk of developing a hereditary disorder? Does this create unadoptable children? What medical information should then be collected for children who are adopted? The responsibility of researchers and practitioners in informing these debates and the role of research ethics committees were topic discussed in great depth. Dr Sarah Cunningham-Burley (University of Edinburgh), presented a more theoretical approach.
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She drew on literatures from public health genetics and the social sciences and explored some of the tensions involved in moving from the clinic to the community. She examined the place of public health within the new nexus of alliances around genetics in health care, including the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. She suggested that although public health discourses placed a firm emphasis on the social determinants of disease, the rise of new genetic technologies and the Human Genome Project means that public health is now being firmly placed within a biomedical discourse. This discussion involved a debate around research participation, particularly with regard to informed consent and medical registers such as those recording congenital abnormalities. The third speaker, Dr Sheila King, focused upon a programme which The Wellcome Trust funds in Biomedical Ethics. She emphasised the collaborative, interdisciplinary and broad methodological scope of the programme and outlined the different types of work, activities and funding that the Trust is involved with in this area (see
Conferences, Symposia, Workshops and Exhibitions
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/ for more details). The presentation led to debate and further questions on possible funding opportunities. After lunch Professor Theresa Marteau (Kings College, London) addressed the emotional, cognitive and behavioural impact of genetic risk information as the basis for developing effective ways of presenting such information in order to: - minimise emotional distress; - enhance understanding and - change behaviour to reduce identified risks. This presentation explored whether it is possible to anticipate peoples responses to genetic risk assessment. The discussion focused on the issue of behavioural genetics and subsequent interventions, which may be tailored towards ones genotype and phenotype. It was suggested that a culture of blame may ensue if people dont change their behaviour to fit their biology. The final scheduled speaker was Professor Eric Matthews (University of Aberdeen), who focused upon issues associated with two particular late-onset genetic disorders: Huntingtons disease and hereditary breast/ovarian cancer. Three specific questions were explored: (1) Who has the right to know?; (2) Who has the right not to know?; and (3) Whose
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responsibility is it to pass on this information (if family members do not pass it on)? Furthermore, as a moral philosopher he stressed the maxim that we cannot derive an ought from an is. This led to a heated discussion on the question whether this was a particularly individualistic and rights-based approach, and whether a more relationalist and contextualised ethical position would frame the debate in a different way. At the end of the day, Professor Angus Clarke (Cardiff) was asked to summarise some of the debate for us. He suggested that there are four types of disease areas associated with molecular genetics in relation to (public) health care and health service provision: - Single gene disorders which involves people gaining information from the statutory services; - Cancer/heart disease areas which requires further resource allocation but was not discussed at this meeting; - Reproductive/eugenic issues the outcomes of which we are still researching and - Susceptibility areas. Overall, he stressed that the role of public health genetics is to undertake psycho-social research and to evaluate the impact of these new technologies on the health service and in terms of health economics.
Conference Innovation in Scotland in the 21st Century Matching Knowledge and Enterprise 26 November 2001 Organised by The RSE for Scottish Higher Education Funding Council Scottish Executive and Scottish Enterprise
National economies operate in a competitive global environment in which the capacity to learn and apply knowledge is critical to success. UK Government and Scottish Executive policies have stressed the roles of the education system and the knowledge base in higher education institutions (HEIs) as key components of an innovative and competitive knowledge-driven economy. An efficient and productive knowledge economy is also one in which companies have access to a wide range of innovative solutions to exploit market opportunities, and have the capacity and desire to adapt and take full advantage of these. Such economies depend upon strong interactions between companies, the knowledge base and investment finance, and entrepreneurial individuals with market awareness, technical knowledge and access to venture capital. In moving towards this goal, a key objective of the Scottish Executives Science Strategy is to increase the effective exploitation of scientific research
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in order to grow strong Scottish businesses, and to provide cutting-edge science to meet the needs of the people of Scotland. In order to create a shared agenda between academic and business stakeholders to discuss how knowledge transfer could play a strategic role in economic development, The Royal Society of Edinburgh had been asked by Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, Scottish Enterprise, and Scottish Executive to organise a conference on Innovation in Scotland in the 21st century matching knowledge and enterprise. The conference was held on 26 November 2001 in Glasgow and was attended by over 300 people - from both the business environment and the knowledge base. They were interested in driving forward innovation in Scotland, and in considering how best to maximise the benefits for Scotland of the intellectual capital in its universities and businesses. The event included speakers from business,
academia and public bodies from both Scotland and abroad, in order to learn about leading national and international practice, as well as an exhibition illustrating innovative knowledge transfer in Scotland. In her contribution to the conference, Wendy Alexander, the then Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, described the need to create ladders of opportunity and pipelines for progress. Programme and Speakers Welcome and introduction Chairman, Mr Alf Young, Policy Editor, The Herald Session 1 - Recent developments in Scotland - Professor John Sizer, Chief Executive, Scottish Higher Education Funding Council - Dr Robert Crawford, Chief Executive, Scottish Enterprise - Ms Wendy Alexander MSP, Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning (Wendy Alexander has since resigned as Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning) - Sir Alan Langlands, Chairman, Scottish Institute for Enterprise - Professor John Archer, Convener, Research and Commercialisation Committee, Universities Scotland - Professor Grahame Bulfield, Director, Roslin Institute
Session 2 - Business view on innovative partnerships - Ms Lynne Cadenhead, Director, Far Blue Scotland - Professor Peter Denyer, Director, MicroEmmissive Displays - Mr Scott McGlinchey, Director, ICL Scotland Session 3 - Business innovation the international approach - Professor Gunnar Gustafson, Professor of Engineering Geology and Dean, School of Civil Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden - Mr Leif Gustafsson, President of VBK and Chairman of the Centre for Management of the Built Environment, Gothenburg, Sweden - Mr David Sibbald, President, Scottish Tech Tour 2001 - Dr Niall Mateer, Executive Director, University of California Trust (UK) Panel discussion and summary: - Professor Geoffrey Boulton, Vice-Principal, University of Edinburgh - Professor John McClelland, Chairman, Technology Ventures Scotland - Mr Ian McDonald, CEO, CONNECT Scotland - Professor David Milne, Managing Director, Wolfson Microelectronics Ltd - Sir William Stewart, President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
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Wellcome Trust Research Workshop New Perspectives on the Aberdeen Typhoid Outbreak held at the University of Aberdeen 6 December 2001
A one-day event in the form of four short presentations by members of the project team. The aim of the workshop was to provide an opportunity to report and discuss the research into the Aberdeen typhoid outbreak. This is part of a three-year Wellcome Trust funded project that started in 1999. Each of the four sessions highlighted one of the main themes covered by this project, including the experience of the people of Aberdeen, the impact of the media, professional conflicts and political and economic dimensions. This outbreak was one of the most important food safety milestones in the twentieth century. Many of the features of the 1964 incident have been repeated in later food scares. Part of the discussion looked at ways in which history of a food safety issue can be explored to provide an opportunity for interaction between historians and those involved in food safety issues since the 1960s.
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Symposium The A-Z of Oral Cancer : An Holistic Route January 25 2002

The Oral Health Group of the Royal Society of Edinburgh held a very successful multi-professional symposium entitled the A to Z of Oral Cancer on January 25th 2002. Delegates were welcomed to the meeting by Sir David Carter, Vice President. He indicated that oral cancer now accounts for 2-3% of all cancers in the UK and poses a particular problem in Scotland. Sir David was, therefore, particularly pleased that a meeting was being held in Edinburgh. The first session focused on the epidemiology of oral cancer, its diagnosis and current treatments. The overall survival rate for oral cancer is currently 50%. Clinical outcome depends on the stage of the disease at diagnosis and its site, tongue cancers having a particularly poor prognosis. Risk factors include alcohol and tobacco use, especially in combination, deprivation and poor diets. In Scotland, the incidence of oral cancer rose by 40% between 1985 and 1996, and currently stands at 13 per 100,000. The clinical presentation of oral cancer is highly variable, hampering early diagnosis. Modern imaging techniques have refined treatment planning, but surgery and
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radiotherapy are still the cornerstones of treatment. However, there have been significant advances in surgical techniques, whilst improvements in anaesthesia and peri-operative care have reduced surgical mortality rates. In the short term, improvements in outcome could be best effected by ensuring equitable access for all patients to adequately resourced, dedicated head and neck multidisciplinary teams. The co-ordination of care and development of appropriate patient pathways was discussed in depth, stressing the need for multidisciplinary team working. Development of nurseled clinics could improve support for oral cancer patients at all stages of the disease. The second session covered novel treatments and screening. Treatment failure in oral cancer is due to loco-regional recurrence and distant disease, but current treatment methods have limited success. Studies in gene therapy, viral therapy and antibody therapy all show promise but are in the early stages of development. There was detailed consideration of the criteria relevant to determining whether a national screening programme for oral cancer was appropriate, conclud-
ing that further research evidence was required before a judgement could be made. The third session examined patient follow-up and rehabilitation. This included a presentation from the father of a young man who had died of oral cancer. He believed that increased public awareness, sustained professional development and rapid detection of oral cancer, with availability of fast track referral to centres of excellence for diagnosis and treatment, were essential if lives were to be saved. Presentations from a speech therapist and a restorative dentist clearly indicated the advances that have been made in recent years in post-surgical rehabilitation of oral cancer patients. Finally there was a presentation devoted to palliative care, a significant challenge in head and neck cancer, for which there is a lack of good research evidence and clear-cut guidelines for patient management.
The symposium ended with two workshops, in which delegates considered the reasons for late presentation of oral cancer and the priorities for change in provision of oral cancer services. There is a requirement for a redesigning of the care system including rapid access clinics, regionalisation of oral cancer treatment in special centres and development of protocol driven treatment plans. There is a perceived lack of both public and professional awareness of the disease and a need to encourage further research and audit. In relation to early diagnosis, it was also recognised that the patient groups most at risk of oral cancer are those who are less likely to be regular dental attenders, a problem compounded by the fact that oral cancer is often symptomless in its early stages. The full proceedings of the symposium will be published by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
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Particle Physics Workshop Particle Physics at the Limits 6 February 2002

A record number of physicists (over 100) attended for the seventh Particle Physics Workshop, organised this year with support from the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology of Durham University. The workshop focused on the experimental, observational and theoretical ways that we are trying to expand the envelope of our knowledge. The first plenary speaker was Dr Keith Ellis of Fermilab, Chicago and the University of Edinburgh, who spoke on the search for the Higgs Boson at the Fermilab colliding beam facility. The world has taken up the search for this elusive particle, proposed by Peter Higgs (Edinburgh) in the 1960s and which underpins the theoretical validity (renormalised in the sense that sensible questions cannot have nonsensical answers) of the Gauge theories that have been outstandingly and precisely verified in recent years. In 2001 LEP reached the limits of its energy reach, leaving tantalising hints that establishing the Boson may be just around the corner. Professor Alan Watson (Leeds) explained the mystery of the existence of super-high-energy cosmic rays. At the phenomenal energies where these are observed
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space cannot be considered as empty, and a particle will be lost by collision with the microwave background. This means that the sources of these particles must be nearby (on a cosmic scale) which is puzzling. The field has been developed over many years by Professor Watson at Leeds. The event rates are low, so there is no alternative to using bigger detectors. He is now heading an international effort in the Auger Project with detectors scattered across an area of Argentina the size of London. Four short talks showed the diversity of the challenge. Dr Daisuke Nomura (Durham) talked about lepton-flavour violation in supersymmetric models. Dr Andre Sopczak (Lancaster) gave us an account of the scientific potential of an electron-positron linear collider. Dr Arjun Berera (Edinburgh) introduced clearly the idea of dissipative effects during the inflationary period of the Universes early life. Finally, Dr Gavin McCance (Glasgow) described a way in which Particle Physics is leading the e-science revolution and the use of the computer grid for data warehousing. One proposal is to model the grid organisation on the success of the
world wide web. Sites will compete to buy data on the open market. Those with the widest bandwidth to their customers can offer higher prices to those who supply the data sets. Finally Dr Steve Playfer (Edinburgh) updated us on CP violation and flavour physics. The beautiful and precise results emanating from the Babar and Belle experiments in the USA and Japan have increased the precision of results dramatically and for the first time the self-sufficiency (unitarity) of the standard model with only three generations of quarks is being tested. Concerning the
leptons, we now know a lot about the mixing of the three generations, although the smoking gun of tau-neutrino appearance will take some years to see. As for the absence of anti-matter in the Universe, which is the most spectacular violation of CP (matter-antimatter) symmetry, whilst we know in principle the needed conditions, how nature has contrived this result, which is essential for our own existence, is still hidden from us. So Physics remains a mystery, in the best sense of the word. The more we know about it, the more elegant and amazing it seems.
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Symposium The Future of Retailing: Drivers of Change, Catching the Consumer 21 February 2002
The third in a series of annual symposia was held at the Society on Thursday 21 February 2002 and attracted some 90 participants. The Rt Hon Lord Ross PC, former Lord Justice-Clerk of Scotland, opened the meeting by giving a welcome on behalf of the Society. Professor Gavin McCrone went on to provide an overview of the symposium by talking about the changing relationship between the customer and the retailer, emphasising the changes that have arisen since the appearance of large shopping centres and retail businesses and how they have affected local retail outlets. He provided examples such as that of ASDA, which has more retailing business than the whole of Spain. Professor McCrone went on to say that employment in the sector has decreased, and the nature of the jobs involved has altered. The days presentations began with Mr Iain M Gotts, Director, DTZ Pieda Consulting, speaking on the subject of Retail Dynamics and their Implications for the Future Pattern of Shopping in Scotland. This was followed with Professor John Dawson, Professor of Marketing, University of Edinburgh, talking on Recent and possible Future changes in Scottish Retail Structure. After a short break the presentations continued with Mr James G Mackinnon, Chief Planner, The Scottish Executive talking on the subject of the Evolution of National Planning Policy on Retailing. The final talk of the day was delivered by Mr Martin Venning, Manager of Corporate Affairs for Tesco plc, Mr Venning gave a presentation entitled Retail Regeneration and Renaissance.
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Wellcome Trust Research Workshop Biochip and Functional Genomics 20 March 2002
The post-genomic era has opened up exciting new areas of biomedical research opportunities. Techniques and methods of analysis are being developed to exploit the information content of whole genomes as well as large collections of proteins and other biomolecules. The development of biochips arrayed with many thousands of separate genes or proteins which are then simultaneously analysed has been a catalyst technology for this new research. To further overview and discuss the potential for biochips in biomedical research, the Scottish Centre for Genomic Technology and Informatics (www.gti.ed.ac.uk) organised a Wellcome Trust / Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Workshop on March 20 2002 entitled: Biochip and Functional Genomics. Sessions were organised to cover the main coordinating themes of emerging technology, functional genomics and methods of analysis. Several high profile speakers from the UK, and two from the US covered these topics extremely well. The meeting was attended by 120 participants, the majority of whom were from Scottish research Centres. This was an extremely valuable and timely meeting for reviewing the dynamic field of biochips and their wide application to biomedical research. A full report of the meeting has recently been published: Roy et. al., Comparative and Functional Genomics 2002; 3: 380-386.
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International Conference The Bicentenary of the Birth of David Octavius Hill (1802-1870) The Artful Use of Light 18-20 May 2002
The three-day conference, organised jointly with the Scottish Society for the History of Photography with financial support from Lloyds TSB Scotland, attracted 90 delegates from throughout the UK as well as from several overseas countries including Canada, USA, France, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria. Participants included world authorities on the history of photography, curators of major collections, academics and other professionals and also students and amateurs with an interest in the field. Topics covered included the historical context of the creation of the calotype photographs, recent research on the technical achievements, and international perspectives on Hill and Adamson. On Day One, speakers dealing with historical matters included Professor Larry Schaaf from Baltimore on the relationship between Fox Talbot and Hill, Professor Murdo Macdonald and Dr Duncan Forbes on the cultural context of the work, Mr Ray McKenzie on Hills pre-photographic achievements, Professor Duncan MacMillan on Hills Disruption painting and, central
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to the entire event, Dr Sara Stevenson on the calotypes themselves. Finally in this section, Mr William Buchanan reflected on the subsequent reputation of Hill and the rediscovery of the HillAdamson work in the late nineteenth and twentieth century. The extraordinary technical achievement of the early experimenters and exponents of photography, and new revelations concerning the underlying science provided the material for the morning of Day Two. Recent research using advanced techniques is now giving much greater insight into how Adamson and his contemporaries worked. It was astonishing to learn that significantly differing chemistry was employed even within a single portrait session. Presentations were made by the leading authorities, Dr Mike Ware, Mr James Berry, and Ms Kathy Eremin. Colourful titles seemed in fashion in these sessions so Dr Wares paper was entitled, Adamsons prints and Goldilocks Syndrome, while in preparation for the afternoon expedition to Fife, Professor Graham Smith offered, Filth, Ruinous Neglect and the Genius of Antiquity in Hill and
Adamsons Photographs of St Andrews, and Dr Alison MorrisonLow contributed, Tripping the Light Fantastic: Henry Talbot and David Brewster. On the third and last day, the focus was very much Hill and Adamsons international impact. Dr Monika Faber from Vienna talked of Heinrich Schwarts championing of Hill, M. Quentin Bajac offered the French perspective and Dr Doug Nickel the crucial American connection, particularly with the Photo-secessionists and Camerawork. It was only appropriate, however, that the last paper was delivered (with great passion and insight) by an internationally distinguished
photographer, Professor Thomas Joshua Cooper. This was not quite the last word, however, as later in the day (Hills 200th birthday), in the Church of St Andrew and St George, Colin Ford CBE delivered a public lecture entitled, appropriately, For the Love of Photography. The success of the conference was evident at the time in the high quality of the contributions, the enthusiasm of participants and the generally relaxed atmosphere created. More impressive (and somewhat astonishing) was the subsequent independent assessment of several senior delegates that this was the best photography conference they had ever attended.
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Symposium The Increase in Allergic Disease : Environment and Susceptibility June 4 2002
This Symposium brought together leading experts in the field of allergy to provide insight into factors underlying the recent increase in allergic disease and to identify factors that could be modified to prevent or treat allergy. Professor Peter Burney (London) demonstrated that between the mid-1960s and the mid-1990s there was an increase in asthma prevalence of approximately 5% per year. Similar increases in the prevalence of eczema and hayfever have also occurred. More recent data was presented suggesting that the increase in allergic disease may have plateaued. Professor David Strachan (London) demonstrating that the recent increase in asthma could not be attributed to air pollution. He outlined the hygiene hypothesis that early childhood exposure to infection reduces the likelihood of allergic disease. This hypothesis is supported by associations between allergy and birth order, family size, social class, a western lifestyle, antibiotic use in early life and patterns of microbial bowel flora. Professor Anthony Seaton (Aberdeen) highlighted the
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changes in diet since the 1960s, with increasing consumption of salt and vegetable oils and decreasing consumption of fish and fresh foods, particularly fresh green vegetables. Two hypotheses relate the increase in allergy to the decreasing dietary intake of antioxidants and fish and to the increasing consumption of vegetable oils. The data relating asthma with dietary intakes was reviewed. Professor Patrick Holt, (Australia) presented the concept that allergic disease is determined by antenatal influences interacting with factors that regulate the postnatal immune maturation. One of the major determinants influencing the risk of allergy appears to be the overall rate of postnatal maturation of immune competence, and postnatal exposure to microbes is the key stimulus for the immune maturation. Maturation of the immune system appears to be delayed in infants who develop allergic disease, leading to adverse responses to allergens and some viral infections. Professor Tom Platts-Mills (USA) dispelled the notion that the increase in allergy was a conse-
quence of increasing levels of allergens. Recently reports have consistently demonstrated that infant exposure to cats is protective. These children mount an alternative non-allergic immune response when exposed to cats and the nature of this was outlined. Professor Platts-Mills finished by highlighting the need to investigate the influences of the decline in physical activity and increase in obesity. Professor Scott Weiss (USA) accepted that genetic influences alone cannot account for the increase in allergy but that changing interactions between genes and environmental could. A number of gene loci and candidate genes have been linked to parameters of allergy and these were outlined. He highlighted the powerful interaction between 2-AR polymorphisms, smoking and the likelihood of asthma. Dr Rob Barker (Aberdeen) reviewed current concepts in the immunology of allergy. The notion of a recent generalised bias towards allergic immune responses is untenable given recent
immunological and epidemiological data. Instead it would appear that changing regulation of immune responses has resulted in an increase in allergic and autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes mellitus and rheumatoid arthritis. Ms Marjory ODonnell (National Asthma Campaign Scotland) highlighted the public misconception that air pollution and traffic fumes underlie the increase in asthma and allergy. There is a need for the testing of current hypotheses relating to the increase in asthma in order to conclude the current theorising. Mr Michael Hardiman from the Carpet Foundation provided evidence of the practical consequences of misconceived perceptions about the increase in allergy. Public misconceptions about the role of house dust mite has seriously affected the carpet industry with the loss of carpet sales and jobs in the industry. The full proceedings of this Symposium will be published in the journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy.
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Caledonian Research Foundation International Conference Memory: Psychological Processes and Clinical Implications 22-23 August 2002
The original brief for this meeting was to focus on an aspect of neuroscience that would involve both basic and clinical scientists and would endeavour to reach across the basic/clinical divide. It is not always easy to have a meeting of minds across the rubicon of basic and clinical neuroscience. However, after careful discussion, we chose memory as our topic. The last 20 to 30 years have echoed the last 20 years of the previous century in witnessing great strides in the understanding of learning and memory. In the latter part of the 19th Century, important contributions were made by the psychologist William James (the brother of the writer Henry James) on the distinction between primary and secondary memory, and by Thodule Ribot who enunciated the principle that old memories become resistant to disruption. Similarly, in the latter part of the 20th Century, the concept of multiple memory systems has emerged into a sophisticated taxonomy that includes short-term memory, perceptual-representational systems, declarative memory, spatial memory, and various kinds of skills. These in turn are readily sub-divided into other forms, such as the division of declarative memory into episodic and semantic, and all manner of further sub-divisions that help us translate psychological concepts into anatomical and neurobiological ones. The year 2002 was the 30th anniversary of a very important paper in the field of memory. Written by the Canadian experimental psychologist, Endel Tulving, this outlined the distinction between episodic and semantic memory. Now, 30 years later, and with much learned about episodic memory since, there is a renaissance of interest in the concept of episodic memory with questions now being posed about the areas of the human brain that are activated when episodic memory processing takes place, whether and how this form of memory can be selectively impaired by certain kinds of brain damage, and whether it is unique to humans or if animals may also possess such a system. The Royal Society of Edinburgh was honoured that Professor Tulving agreed to devote the first day of our symposium to the concept of episodic memory and he gave the first paper. He described developments of the
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concept of episodic memory over the last 30 years, culminating in his SPI model in which information is relayed serially from a perceptual-representational system to semantic memory, and thence to episodic memory. Once in these systems, information is processed in a parallel and semiindependent manner (Serial-Parallel-Independence). This was followed by papers by Vargha-Khadem and Mishkin, discussing developmental amnesia, and by Squire, discussing declarative memory, in which a controversy about the functional role of the hippocampus was brought out into the open. Squire argues that the medialtemporal lobe memory system, of which the hippocampus is a part, mediates the formation of all forms of declarative memory. In contrast, the phenotype displayed by developmental amnesics with ostensibly restricted damage to the hippocampus points to a particular sensitivity of episodic memory. Following an illuminating panel discussion, in which reference was made to the constructive exchange of test materials by the protagonists to help resolve their discrepant views, further papers by Kapur and Kopelman, by Rugg, and by Maguire discussed different methodological approaches to retrograde amnesia and the retrieval of episodic memory. Careful study of patients with
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selective brain damage, and of normal subjects using electrophysiological and functional brain imaging techniques, are collectively leading to new concepts - such as between retrieval-effort and retrieval-success, and between the more personal and public aspects of episodic memory. These papers were followed by three further presentations - by Gaffan, Hampton and by Morris - devoted to the issue of whether nonhuman primates and other animals may show episodic or episodic-like memory. Hamptons paper described an ingenious series of experiments that purport to show that rhesus monkeys have some form of awareness of what they can remember, while Morris described a new technique to look at very rapid, one-trial, pairedassociate learning in the rat. The second day of the meeting took us into the territory of the clinical application of these ideas about memory. OCarroll explained that disturbances of memory are not normally required for a diagnosis of clinical depression, but that experimental work has revealed that such disturbances most certainly do occur in the syndrome, including changes in retrieval style that specifically affect episodic memory. Schacter outlined the seven sins of memory, and then focused on misattribution errors - an important component of
false-memories. A noteworthy feature of his paper, like that of Rugg earlier on, was the quite extraordinary experimental ingenuity of modern cognitive psychologists - an ingenuity that is not as well known about or appreciated as it should be. Seckl discussed specific aspects of neuroendocrinology that can impact on memory, particular the action of glucocorticoids. Baxendale and Zeman, in two separate talks, then described the impact of epilepsy on memory. A theme to emerge from these papers was the importance of aetiology in both permanent and transient conditions. The last afternoon took us into the impact of old-age and of the degenerative conditions that so often accompany it. Rossor described the neurology and genetics of Alzheimers Disease and other dementing conditions. The effect these have on memory was discussed by Graham and by Della-Sala. The cognitive profile of different types of dementia is clearly distinct - some affecting episodic memory as an early symptom, others impacting upon our semantic knowledge of the world. There are also striking differences in recent and remote memory in the different forms of dementia, and in workingmemory when subjects are asked to perform two tasks at once. The symposium ended with two striking talks on how memory
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changes in old-age, quite apart from any changes associated with disease. Craik defended a process view of the organisation of memory, distinct from the memory systems perspective, arguing that while improved encoding can certainly improve memory, it is not a process that is differentially affected by age. Conversely, retrieval processes do seem to be vulnerable, leading to his advice that improved encoding and retrieval are the keys to a good memory into old-age. Deary took us into the very different territory of differential psychology and psychometrics, discussing what has been learned from the remarkable study that he and his colleagues have undertaken with the now 80-year old subjects of the Scottish Mental Survey of 1932. As organisers, our impression was of a meeting that was greatly enjoyed by the 120 persons registered and we were particularly gratified that those attending came from many walks of life. Academic scientists in the audience were alongside many working in the caring professions, such as people who look after children with epilepsy and members of the Alzheimer Scotland charity. We hope the Caledonian Research Foundation is well pleased that we succeeded in reaching out in this way to a wide audience.
Wellcome Trust Research Workshop Maternal, Foetal and Infant Thyroid Hormone Metabolism 3 October 2002
Maternal to foetal transfer of thyroxine (T4) is essential for the first half of human pregnancy and to a lesser, but decreasing extent, thereafter. Even subtle dysfunctions in this maternal T4 supply, such as relative hypothyroxinaemia or the presence of thyroid antibodies, can result in measurable effects on foetal brain development and the longer-term neurodevelopmental outcome of the infant and child. The preterm infant is particularly vulnerable to interruption of maternal transfer of thyroxine because there are invariably additional problems, such as: hypothalamic-pituitarythyroid immaturity; developmental constraints on the synthesis; peripheral metabolism of iodothyronines; non-thyroidal illness; as well as postnatal iodine deficiency. The objectives of the workshop were to: - Inform representatives from the participating Scottish clinical centres of the progress made to date in analysing the epidemiological and iodothyronine information on preterm infants recruited as part of a CEC funded project within the Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources 5th Framework. - to inform a discussion on the future of neonatal clinical research in Scotland, and how this inter-relates with basic science and with other European centres. In particular, the opportunities offered by the CEC Sixth Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities. - to highlight iodine deficiency in Scotland and Europe and inform Health Policy makers and clinicians. The structure of the workshop was as recommended with two international speakers (Professor Francois Delange, International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders, Brussels: and Professor Theo Visser, Erasmus University, Rotterdam) who were able to provide the necessary background, supported by three local speakers. Ample time for discussion was allowed throughout the day and in particular at the conclusion of the meeting. Thirty-five participants were invited from a wide range of backgrounds and attendance was almost complete.
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Main Conclusions Transient hypothyroxinaemia in preterm infants is strongly correlated with non-thyroidal illness in these infants. This is an important conclusion as conventional thyroid hormone supplementation (thyroxine) is not likely to alter clinical outcome, on the bases of such studies in adults. Serum-free thyroxine levels (thought to be the biologically active pool) surprisingly appear to be maintained in many preterm infants even though total thyroxine levels are depressed. Further studies were discussed to confirm these findings. Collaborative clinical research in fetal and neonatal issues in Scotland has been shown to be successful and should be further developed. Integration with collaborators in basic science and also across multiple European centres has also been shown to be feasible and extremely productive. Core funding issues were highlighted which allow the support and continuation of human developmental research beyond the immediate period of study, to allow long-term neurodevelopmental-clinical outcomes to be ascertained. There was overall support to submit a programme of work in the CEC Sixth Programme.
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Iodine deficiency is still problematic in many European countries and a further initiative by the WHO was expected. Monitoring of iodine status in Scotland and the UK has not been systematically undertaken and ideas were developed which should allow a progression from pilot studies already undertaken to retrospective population surveys to prospective studies. Maternal iodine deficiency in pregnancy was highlighted and the need for neurodevelopmental studies of infants as the primary outcome measure, particularly where iodine deficiency in the population is mild to moderate in nature. The role of iodine and thyroid hormones in the development of the first trimester human foetal brain was discussed with a conclusion that further studies were required. The status of iodine deficiency in preterm infants was noted and that studies were underway to delineate the problem and investigate solutions. Organised by : Professor Robert Hume, Professor of Developmental Medicine, Tayside Institute of Child Health, University of Dundee; Dr Judith Simpson, Specialist Registrar in Neonatology, Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, Glasgow.
PUBLICATIONS
Proceedings A: Mathematics The journal had 157 papers submitted for consideration during the Session and published six issues: parts 131.6 to 132.5 inclusive. 74 papers were published. Transactions: Earth Sciences Three issues were published: volumes 92.2 and 92.3/4 (2001) and volume 93.1 (2002), comprising 18 papers. ReSourcE : Issues 3 and 4 Royal Society of Edinburgh Directory 2002 (Session 20012002) Royal Society of Edinburgh Review 2002 (Session 20002001) Other Publications Foot and Mouth Report: Inquiry into Foot and Mouth Disease in Scotland. ISA Report: The Scientific Issues Surrounding the Control of Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA) in Scotland. Health Mediation Report: Encouraging Resolution - Mediating Patient/ Health Services Disputes in Scotland. Innovation Report: Pipelines and Ladders - Report of a Conference entitled Innovation in Scotland in the 21st Century - Matching Knowledge and Enterprise. RSE Annual Review 2001-2002.
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FUNDRAISING
The Fundraising Campaign Realising Scotlands Excellence launched in the autumn of 2001, by the President Sir William Stewart has achieved its initial targets. New grants of 5m have been attracted so that the campaign to develop partnership projects has reached its target. The Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland is supporting research into ageing; a major new award to support Innovation has been sponsored by the Gannochy Trust in conjunction with the RSE and a new series of grants from Scottish Enterprise will create an expanded programme of Enterprise Fellowships. The campaign has also been generously supported by almost 30% of Fellows. The target of 400,000, a figure that looked ambitious at the start of the campaign will be achieved. The funds donated will be transferred into a Fellows Development Fund which will be used to develop Event activities and the Young Peoples programme among other things. In the next phase of fundraising the Society will seek to raise funds from the corporate sector through the creation of The Patrons Circle. Its aim is to become an eminent forum through which select companies can make a significant contribution to Realising Scotlands Excellence. The support of major organisations will be an investment in Scotlands future and enable the Society to: Bring together key people in Industry, Academia and Government to develop thinking on areas of mutual concern Act as an independent forum and focus minds on issues of importance to Scotland, the UK and internationally; stimulating new thinking and inspiring new initiatives. Increase the output of impartial, independent expert opinion for use in public and private sector policy making Develop programmes of Research and Debate that will contribute to the realisation of Scotlands economic, social and cultural potential within the UK and internationally and address ways in which the societal needs of Scotland can best be met.
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Final thoughts A area which the Society has never emphasised to its Fellows is that of legacy bequests. Many organisations rely heavily on legacies as a source of income, which frequently enable them to undertake programmes that could not otherwise be supported. A legacy is an excellent tax efficient way to support an organisation which one values and a method by which one can be remembered by the organisation. The Society has a short information leaflet on legacy donations and would be pleased to send Fellows a copy if they felt this was an appropriate way to give to the Society.
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THE SCOTTISH SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The Scottish Science Advisory Committee (SSAC) was established in May 2002 to provide independent advice to Scottish Executive Ministers on strategic scientific issues. Following the appointment of Professor Wilson Sibbett, CBE, FRS, FRSE as Chair of the Scottish Science Advisory Committee, and as chief adviser on science to the Scottish Executive, the Council of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) appointed 17 committee members. The committee membership represents a breadth of expertise and knowledge across a range of scientific disciplines and interests which include education, business, engineering, technology, social science, medicine, ethics, public engagement and public policy. It is intended that the committee will be well placed to provide expert advice across a number of relevant policy areas. The Committee is uniquely placed to take an overview of the scientific landscape in Scotland. It will take a medium to long term, horizon-scanning, strategic view in formulating its advice on science strategy, science policies and science priorities with an overall aim of improving the social, environmental and economic prosperity of Scotland. During the period of this Review the SSAC has met twice, and will meet a further three times during its first year. First SSAC Meeting (7 May 2002), held at the Royal Society of Edinburgh The first meeting was very much an introductory meeting, where the Committee had a very positive and open discussion covering a number of issues including members aspirations for the SSAC, their visions for Scottish science, how these visions might be achieved and the key themes of the steering brief provided by the Scottish Executive. The SSAC agreed that given its broad remit and interests, there was a need to establish a number of working groups to develop and take forward distinct elements of the SSAC activities. The three priority areas that emerged from these initial discussions have led to the formation of three working groups: The Science Base Mechanisms for Excellence Science Education; and Science in Society. The SSAC was delighted that the new Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning was able to attend part of this first meeting, as his first engagement in his new role.
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Second SSAC Meeting (27 August 2002), held at The High School of Dundee The key areas of discussion at this meeting were, Science and the Scottish Executive; Science and the NHS in Scotland; and Priorities for the three SSAC Working Groups. The SSAC welcomed Lucy Hunter and Andy Bishop (Scottish Executive, Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department) to the meeting to lead a discussion on Science and the Scottish Executive and Professor Roland Jung (Chief Scientist in the Scottish Executive Health Department) to lead a discussion on Science and the NHS in Scotland. It is planned to invite key individuals, from the Scottish Executive and other organizations, to future meetings to brief the Committee on issues that have specific timeliness and topicality. SSAC Working Groups The three SSAC working groups will try to meet at least once between each full committee meeting. The Science Base Mechanisms for Excellence, will look at mechanisms to promote excellence in the Scottish science base and will
examine how the best science can be undertaken and, additionally, how this science can be used most effectively to improve the quality of life and contribute to the economic prosperity of Scotland. Science Education, will look at the quality and content of science education in Scotland, from primary school through to higher education and beyond. Science in Society, will look at public engagement with science and the use of science in policy making in Scotland. Other Activities The SSAC Chair and Head of Secretariat have begun a series of visits to, and meetings with, a wide range of organisations and individuals across the scientific community. These meetings have helped to publicise the existence and role of the SSAC and have provided much background information for the SSAC, enabling an improved vision of science across its boundaries in Scotland. It is also hoped that these meetings will help to lay the foundations for future and expanded working relationships with the SSAC.
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Scottish Science Advisory Committee
Scottish Science Advisory Committee - Members Professor Wilson Sibbett, CBE, FRS, FRSE (Chair) Professor Geoffrey Boulton, OBE, FRS, FRSE Professor Jane Bower Dr Donald Bruce Professor Muffy Calder Professor John Coggins, FRSE Professor Graham Durant Professor Tariq Durrani, FRSE, FREng Mrs Sarah Fletcher Scottish Science Advisory Committee - Staff Dr Avril Davidson, Head of Secretariat Ms Tracy Rickard, PA/Administrator Professor Maggie Gill, FRSE Professor Peter Grant, FRSE, FREng Professor Sally Macintyre, OBE, FRSE Dr John Nicholls Professor Andrea Nolan Mr Ian Ritchie, FRSE Professor John Savill Professor David Wallace, CBE, FRS, FRSE, FREng Dr John Whitelock
Contact Details www.scottishscience.org.uk admin@scottishscience.org.uk Tel : 0131 240 5014 Fax : 0131 240 5034
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EVIDENCE, ADVICE AND COMMENT

The Society submitted evidence, advice and comment on the following reports during the Session November 2001 Scotlands freshwater fish and fisheries: Securing their future. Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department The Public Appointments Bill. The Scottish Parliament Local Government Committee December 2001 Review of Graduate Studies. The British Academy January 2002 Scottish Higher Education Review. Scottish Executive Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department Contingency Plan for the Possibility of BSE in Sheep. Scottish Executive Environment & Rural Affairs Department Management of possible exposure to CJD through medical procedures. CJD Incidents Panel Review of Arts and Humanities Research Funding. Department for Education and Skills Labelling and tracing of Genetically Modified Food and Animal Feed. House of Lords European Union Committee February 2002 The Long-Term Effects of Chemicals in the Environment. Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
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March 2002 Managing Radioactive Waste Safely. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Devolution: inter-institutional relations in the United Kingdom. House of Lords Committee on the Constitution Topic of Royal Commissions next study. Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution April 2002 A Strategy for Aquaculture. Scottish Executive Environment & Rural Affairs Department Government Funding of the Scientific Learned Societies. House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Innovations in Microprocessing. House of Lords Science and Technology Committee May 2002 Review of the Locational Guidelines for the Authorisation of Marine Fish Farms in Scottish Waters. Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department August 2002 Scottish Higher Education Review: Second Round. The Scottish Executive Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging in cancer management - Health Technology Assessment - Consultation Assessment Report. Health Technology Board for Scotland The Cairngorms National Park Consultation on Draft Designation Order. Scottish Executive Environment Group September 2002 Research and Knowledge Transfer in Scotland. SHEFC and Scottish Enterprise Proposal for a Directive on Environmental Liability with regard to the Prevention and Remedying of Environmental Damage. Scottish Executive Environment Group Short-Term Research Contracts in Science and Engineering. House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Study on the Environmental Effects of Marine Fisheries. Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
Draft Strategic Planning Documents. Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Draft Revised Work Plan. The Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission Scottish FMD Contingency Plan. Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department October 2002 Consultation on the Implementation of Directive 2001/18/EC on the Deliberate Release of Genetically Modified Organisms into the Environment. Consultation on New Scottish Regulations. Scottish Executive Environment Group Inquiry into Fighting Infection. House of Lords Science and Technology Committee
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INQUIRIES
The work of three Working Groups established by the Society during the 2001-2002 session concluded during this session with reports on issues concerning Mediation in patient / health services disputes, Infectious Salmon Anaemia and the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in the United Kingdom, Mediation in Medical Negligence Cases - published February 2002 Prompted by a symposium on Medical Practice and the Growth of Litigation in the UK held at the RSE in 2000, a panel of experts, chaired by then RSE Vice-President Lord Ross, was established with the support of the Scottish Executive and the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, to explore whether mediation could help resolve disputes between patients and the health services in Scotland. The Group took evidence from a range of professional organisations, public bodies and the general public within the United Kingdom. It also gathered evidence from a number of international jurisdictions. The broad conclusion which it reached advocates the use of mediation as an advantageous option for resolving disputes between patients and the health services. This conclusion is underpinned by a range of specific recommendations contained in the Groups report. Infectious Salmon Anaemia published June 2002 Following representations made to the RSE by members of the public, expressing the view that the current EC legislation is not based on science, a Working Party, chaired by Professor Sir Roderick MacSween, was set up to assess the science behind legislation governing the control of Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA), a viral disease of salmon. Oral and written evidence was received from a number of national and international salmon, fisheries and disease control organisations, including submissions from Norway and Canada. The Working Party also visited the FRS Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen as well as a salmon farm and hatchery. Overall, the Working Party welcomed the general stance taken by the EU in controlling ISA, but stressed the importance of distinguishing between ISA disease and infection by ISA virus. In addition, the Working Party concluded that it was impossible to establish whether the virus was exotic to the EU and recommended that fish communities in the sea around salmon farms and in fresh water whose catchments are
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associated with salmon farming, be examined in detail to determine whether the virus is endemic. It also recommended that the survey for ISA virus in wild salmon be re-established. Foot and Mouth Disease published July 2002 Chaired by Professor Ian Cunningham, this group, with members drawn from veterinary health, medicine, farming, economics, tourism, consumers and the general public, was tasked with conducting a wide-ranging assessment of the impact of the disease on animal health and examining the social and economic consequences of the epidemic on the countryside and on Scotland as a whole. Particular emphasis was placed on future
methods of prevention and control. Over the Inquiry, the group received over 100 written evidence submissions, held public meetings in Dumfries and the Scottish Borders, and heard over 50 oral evidence submissions. The report made 27 recommendations including the need to treat future livestock epidemics, not just as an agricultural problem but to take into account wider economic and social aspects. It also recommended the incorporation of emergency barrier or ring vaccination as an adjunct to the slaughter of clinical cases, reducing the numbers of animals requiring to be slaughtered. The Scottish Executive has supported and is seeking to address the recommendations of the report.
All three reports are available on the RSE website
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PUBLIC POLICY SEMINARS

As part of its continuing contribution to helping Scotland meet the new challenges set by devolution, Scotlands Wellbeing, the Societys programme of public policy seminars, which began during the 2000-2001 Session, continued into this Session with Mediation and the Health Services in Scotland being held on 19 November 2001. This focused on the potential use of mediation in helping to resolve disputes involving patients and the health services in Scotland, and it supported the work of the Societys Mediation Working Group, which considered this particular issue and reported its considerations in February 2002. Reports of the seminar and the Working Groups conclusions are available on the RSE website. The Scotlands Well-being programme comprised a series of think tank events, which provided neutral platforms for discussion of important economic, cultural and social development issues, and which helped to inform the policy decision making process concerning the future well-being of the people of Scotland. The programme was inclusive in its approach and brought together people from all walks of life, including Scottish Executive Ministers, the public, MSPs, academics, practitioners, the voluntary sector and Scottish Executive and Local Government officials. Reports are available on the RSE websites. The programme was supported by the Scottish Executive, which provided the necessary funding and staffing resource.
The seminars below were held in the 2000-2001 Session and details can be found in the 2002 Review. 14 December 2000. The Active Involvement of Older People. 14 February 2001. Educating through Inclusive Schooling. 26 March 2001. Renewable Energy -21st Century Challenges and Changes. 25 June 2001. Urban Congestion - A Charging Solution.
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LINKS WITH INDUSTRY

The RSE is committed to promoting the economic well-being of Scotland by encouraging closer links between the countrys research base and its commercial sector. This already happens in a number of ways, including providing Enterprise Fellowships which allow young researchers to developing their research from a commercial perspective; supporting the Governments Foresight programmes in Scotland; and by undertaking work leading to and in support of Technology Ventures, a national strategy aimed at increasing the volume of Scottish-based businesses exploiting Scotlands world class Science base. Details of the Societys Enterprise Fellowships are provided in the Research Awards section. The following events were also held in encouraging closer links between the countrys research base and its commercial sector in 2001/02. Events 22nd November 2001: The Fifteenth Foresight Seminar on Lab on a Chip Technology. This Foresight event was an forum for considering the opportunities and challenges associated with advances with miniaturised systems for the commercial, academic and public sectors. Introduced by Professor Andrew Walker, Vice President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Professor of Modern Optics, Heriot-Watt University, it included keynote presentations by Dr Coulton Legge, Technology Development Section Leader, GlaxoSmithKline on The Big Future for Microsystems - A Pharmaceutical Perspective and Professor Jon Cooper FRSE, Professor of Bioelectronics & Bioengineering, University of Glasgow on The Impact of Micro and Nanotechnology on Biological Screening. 13th February 2002: The Sixteenth Foresight Seminar on Transport Technologies and Logistics at the Corinthian in Glasgow. This Foresight event considered potential advances in transport technologies and logistics. Introduced by Professor Andrew Walker, it included keynote presentations by Dr Mike Sporton, Foresight Vehicle Co-ordinator, GrenTek Ltd on The Foresight Vehicle Programme - Road Transport for the Future and Professor Alan McKinnon, Professor of Logistics, Heriot-Watt University on Freight Expectations: Forecasting Future Trends in Distribution.
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28th June 2002: Managing Intellectual Property in Scottish Universities, Issues from the UK/ AURIL Study, 2002 This half-day conference discussed the key issues arising from a Universities UK/AURIL report into strategic issues related to university owned intellectual property. Chaired by Professor Andrew Walker, it included keynote presentations from Professor John Archer, Principal of Heriot-Watt University and Chairman of the steering group responsible for the study, on Intellectual Assets -
Powering the Knowledge Economy, and from Mr Robin Brighton, who led the team that produced the guide at Segal Quince Wicksteed, on Managing Intellectual Property in the Scottish Research Base - Observations and Issues. The event also included a panel discussion including Professor Andrew Walker, Mr Bill Wicksteed, SQW, Professor Jim Penman, Vice Principal of Robert Gordon University, Dr Alastair Alexander, Director of Research and Innovation at the University of Aberdeen and Dr Jim Adamson, Chairman of amfINSIGHT Ltd.
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EVENTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Schools Lectures 13 November 2001. Otters and Others by Professor James Conroy at Elgin Academy 11 December 2001. Lasing Down the Internet by Professor Thomas Krauss at Kingussie High School 11 January 2002. Bridge Building by Professor Miles Padgett at Milburn Academy, Inverness 23 January 2002. Soap Bubbles and Membranes by Dr Ciaran Ewins at James Young High School, Livingston 14 March 2002. Death, Drugs and Dynamite! by Dr Alan Jamieson at Nicolson Institute, Isle of Lewis. As part of National Science Week. 11 June 2002. Serpents and Synthesisers by Professor Murray Campbell at Whitehills Secondary School, Glasgow 25 June 2002. Mirrors, Metals and Magic by Dr Susan Armstrong at Ross High School, Tranent 4 October 2002. Capturing Colour with Chemistry by Dr Greig Chisholm at Lochgilpead High School, Argyll Christmas Lecture 4 December 2001. Dr Bonnie Dunbar, NASA Astronaut, Corr FRSE gave the Christmas Lectures at Dumfries Academy to S1/S2 students from local schools and then to the public. She spoke about the importance of Explora165
tion from the explorers at the turn of the 20th Century to those who explore space today. Startup Science Masterclasses Supported by Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland These Saturday morning classes for S1/2 students run in the Autumn and Spring/Summer terms. This Session a new set of lectures at University of Dundee was added to the programme. University of Glasgow 3, 10, 17, 24 November 2001 20, 27 April, 4, 11 May 2002 University of St Andrews 17, 24 November, 1, 8 December 2001 27 April, 11, 18, 25 May 2002 Heriot-Watt University 3, 10, 17, 24 November 2001 20, 27 April, 4, 11 May 2002 University of Dundee 24 November, 1, 8, 15 December 2001 20, 27 April, 11, 18 May 2002 Satrosphere, Aberdeen 3, 17, 24 November, 15 December 2001 2, 16, 23 April, 27 May 2002 Primary Maths Masterclasses 10, 17, 24 November, 1 December 2001 at Dalmeny Primary School, South Queensferry 19, 26 January, 2 and 9 February 2002 at Kelvinside Academy, Glasgow
Roadshow Supported by Science Year in Scotland and Scottish Borders Council 19-22 March 2002 based at Eyemouth High School, Berwickshire Workshops and talks for local P7, S1, S5/6 students and the public. Primary students found that maths could be fun in the Codes and Circles workshop and enjoyed getting hands on in the Get a Pizza the Action! workshop. Secondary students had a lively talk about Colour Chemistry while the general public had the opportunity to hear Professor Hugh Pennington, FRSE from the Food Standards Agencys Scottish Advisory Committee and the University of Aberdeen, speak about issues surrounding Foot and Mouth Disease, E. Coli and BSE. Discussion Forum Supported by the Darwin Trust The Future of Cloning Young People Decide 18 June 2002 at Stirling University for S5/6 students. Mr Tim King from the Roslin Institute explained how cloning
technology works and outlined the benefits and drawbacks. Professor Kenneth Boyd from the University of Edinburgh highlighted the ethical considerations. The young people discussed in workshop groups and developed their own proposals as to the way forward. They were not in favour of human reproductive cloning but felt that therapeutic cloning had the potential for health benefits. They called for international regulation of cloning technology. Science Summer Camp Supported by Shell Expro Waste and the Environment. 22-26 July 2002 based at Satrosphere Science Centre and University of Aberdeen. A non-residential summer camp made up of workshops, talks and field trips for S1/2 students. Topics included paper recycling, composting and dealing with human waste. Particularly popular was the falconry display at Shanks Landfill site where birds of prey deter seagulls and crows from flocking and causing a health hazard.
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RESEARCH AWARDS
The following Research Awards were made in the Session 2001/2002. BP Research Fellowship Dr Patrik Ohberg: Quantum information (Physics, Strathclyde) SEELLD Personal Research Fellowships Dr Kirsten Dickson: Molecular mechanisms underlying memory (Neuroscience, Edinburgh) from USA Dr Paul McKenna: Investigations in Laser-Induced Nuclear Physics (Physics, Strathclyde) SEELLD Support Research Fellowships Dr Ian Gent: Algebraic Constraint Programming (Computer Science, St Andrews) Dr David Hutchings: Dispersion Control in Photonic Microstructures for Ultrashort Optical Pulse Applications (Electronics & Electrical Engineering,Glasgow) Dr Tim Wess: Determination of structure function relationships in the extracellular matrix: understanding supramolecular relationships in collagen based architectures (Biological Sciences, Stirling) SEELLD Science Fellowships for Teachers Mr Kenneth Hamilton: To develop a kit, currently unavailable in schools, to make multiple copies of DNA fragments (Breadalbane Academy, Aberfeldy. Placement with Edinburgh University SAPS Biotechnology Scotland Project team)
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Mrs Patricia Stewart: Environmental survey and analysis (Kelso High School, Borders. Placement with Borders Survey Team) Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Personal Research Fellowships Dr Anthea Innes: Older peoples lives in remote and rural areas of Scotland: an exploration of life events, health and social status (Applied Social Science, Stirling) Dr Margaret Lai: Helping brain cells save themselves (Molecular Medicine, Edinburgh) Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Research Studentships Miss Janine Cooper: Provoked Confabulations Distinguish Patients with early Altzheimers Disease (AD) from normal elderly (Psychology, Aberdeen) Miss Claire Fitzsimons: An old measurement in a new setting: the use of transient changes in oxygen uptake during exercise as an indicator of cardiorespiratory fitness in frail elderly people (Geriatric Medicine, Edinburgh) Mr Alan Gow: Life history factors affecting cognitive decline with age (Psychology, Edinburgh) Miss Carly Rivers: In acute ischaemic stroke, is imaging better than time from onset for determining response to thrombolytic treatment? (Clinical Neurosciences, Edinburgh)
CRF Biomedical Research Fellowships Personal Fellowships Dr Archa Fox: Biochemical characterisation of paraspeckles: a novel nuclear domain (Life Sciences, Dundee) Dr Hilary Snaith: Investigation of the role of mod5p to improve understanding the cellular polarity in fission yeast (Cell & Molecular Biology, Edinburgh) Support Fellowship Dr John Reilly: The contribution to obesity risk of energy expenditure, physical activity and genotype (Human Nutrition, Glasgow) CRF European Visiting Research Fellowships Professor Irina Belobrovtseva, Tallinn University of Educational Studies, Estonia, to visit the Department of Slavonic Studies, University of Glasgow. Dr Jean-Louis Dessalles , Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications, Paris, France to visit the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, University of Edinburgh. Dr Dmitry Fedosov, Institute of General History, Russian Academy of Sciences, to visit the Centre for Russian Studies, University of Aberdeen, Edinburgh and London. Dr David Hopkin, University of Glasgow, to visit Paris and other centres in France.
Dr David Howard, University of Edinburgh, to visit the University of Toulouse, France. Dr Andrew Mackillop, University of Aberdeen, to visit the General State Archives, the Hague, Netherlands. Dr Paul Vogt, Universiteit Maastricht, The Netherlands, to visit the Department of Linguistics, University of Edinburgh. PPARC Enterprise Fellowship Miss Joy McKenny: Accurate reproduction of surface structure via the vacuum forming technique (Astronomy, Durham) Scottish Enterprise Enterprise Fellowships Microelectronics Ms Gabriela Juarez-Martinez: Ultra High Throughput Arrays for Post Genomics Structural Studies (Electronics & Electrical Engineering and Chemistry, Glasgow) Communication Technologies Mr Garrey Rice: TDD Mode 3G Simulation and Channel Estimation (Electronics & Electrical Engineering, Strathclyde) Creative Industries Dr Colin Urquhart: 3D Scanning for the creation of Realistic Animatable Virtual Human Characters (Computing Science, Glasgow)
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Research Awards
Energy Mr Barry Johnston: A novel tidal current power generation system (Civil & Offshore Engineering, Heriot-Watt) Mr Iain Chirnside: Novel technology for leak sealing and leak detection in pipelines (Engineering, Aberdeen) Biotechnology Dr Olga Kozlova-Zwinderman: Use of aequorin based technology as a biosensor (Cell & Molecular Biology, Edinburgh) Dr Mairead Murnion: Kinasource: a company that will identify and validate new targets for drug development (Life Sciences, Dundee) Dr Robert Speight: Genes to commercial biocatalysts using integrated high throughput screening technologies (Chemistry, Edinburgh) Software Dr John Favier: Discrete Element Analysis Software (Civil & Environmental Engineering, Edinburgh) Enterprise Fellows Presentations The Scottish Enterprise and PPARC Fellows gave their six-monthly and final presentations on 14th March and 2nd October 2002 respectively. Presentations were made by:Dr Chris Hillier, (Biotechnology) Dr Marie Claire Parker, (Biotechnology)
Dr Meurig Sage, (Communication Technologies) Dr Andrew Peacock, (Microelectronics) Dr Ben Hounsell, (Microelectronics) Dr Stuart MacKay, (Optoelectronics) Dr Grant Crossingham, (PPARC) Lessells Scholarships Mr Gareth Harrison, Edinburgh University Miss Joanne Lawlor, Heriot-Watt University Mr Iain Macdonald, Manchester Metropolitan University Mr Iain MacPherson, Glasgow University Ms Annie Nyander, Napier University Mr Neil Tierney, Glasgow University/Glasgow School of Art Mr Philippe Vadillo, Edinburgh University Mr Andrew Wodehouse, Abertay University Wellcome Trust Research Workshops Professor Robert Hume for a workshop entitled, Maternal, Foetal and Infant Thyroid Hormone Metabolism Professor Michael Rennie for a workshop entitled, Update on the musculoskeletal system Dr David Donaldson for a workshop entitled, Event-related potential studies of memory and
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attention: How does Neuroimaging increase understanding of human cognition? Dr W Colin Duncan for a workshop entitled, Tissue and Vascular Remodelling in the Female Reproductive Tract Cormack Vacation Scholarships Miss Nina Hatch, Edinburgh University, for her project entitled Improving the Detection of Weak Gravitational Lensing Mr Alexios Kavgas, St Andrews University, for his project entitled Extra-Solar Planet Search Mr Robert MacKay, Glasgow University, for his project entitled Constraining stellar atmosphere models with gravitational microlensing data
Miss Jennifer Pollock, Glasgow University, for her project entitled Solar photospheric flows and the motion of magnetic elements Miss Laura Reid, Glasgow University, for her project entitled Monte Carlo Simulations of Microflares and Nanoflares Miss Jennifer Toher, Glasgow University, for her project entitled Probing Quintessence with the Hubble Diagram of Type I Supernovae Miss Saffron Wyse, St Andrews University, for her project entitled Transition Region Blinkers and the Solar Magnetic Carpet
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Research Awards
Research Fellows in Post During the Session SEELLD Personal Research Fellowships Dr Peter Andolfatto, University of Edinburgh, ICAPB. Dr David Andrew, University of Glasgow, IBLS. Dr A Anderson, Dundee University, Mathematics. Dr A Arnold, Strathclyde University, Physics. Dr S Collins, Glasgow University, Physics. Dr S Booker, Dundee University, Mathematics. Dr Sonja Franke-Arnold, Strathclyde University, Physics. Dr M Haw, Edinburgh University, Physics and Astronomy. Dr Alun Hubbard, University of Edinburgh, Geography. Dr Nigel Kelly, University of Edinburgh, Geology. Dr Jason Smith, Heriot Watt University, Physics. SEELLD Support Research Fellowships Professor S Barnett, Strathclyde University, Physics & Applied Physics. Dr A Mount, Edinburgh University, Chemistry. Dr David Hopkins: University of Stirling, Environmental Science. Dr Anthony Powell, Heriot-Watt University, Chemistry. BP Research Fellowships Dr Matthew Costen, Heriot-Watt University, Chemistry. Dr A Finch, St Andrews University, Geological Sciences. Dr C Gordon, Strathclyde University, Chemistry. Dr Y Najman, Edinburgh University, Geology & Geophysics. Dr K Skeldon, Glasgow University, Physics & Astronomy. CRF European Visiting Research Fellowships Professor T Artemieva, Russian Academy of Sciences, from School of European Languages & Cultures St Petersburg, Russia, to Edinburgh University. Dr S Dring, from University of Essen, to Dept of Moral Philosophy, St Andrews University. Dr M Fazzini, from University of Macerata, Italy, to Dept of English Literature, Edinburgh University. Dr S Murdoch, from Aberdeen University, to State Archives Stockholm, University of Uppsala, Gothenburg Regional Archive and University. Ms J Tomicka, from National Museum of Warsaw, Poland, to Hunterian Museum and Glasgow University. Dr C Woolfson, from Glasgow University, to Kaunas Medical Academy, Lithuania.
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Lessells Scholars Mr Gordon Cameron, Napier University. Mr Steven MacGregor, Strathclyde University Mr Ben Thornber, Edinburgh University. Cormack Scholars Mr Richard Archibald, Edinburgh University. Mr Peter Arrowsmith, Edinburgh University. Mr Niall Deacon, Edinburgh University. Mr Michael Fleming, Glasgow University. Miss Sarah Smolkin, Glasgow University. Mr Martin Torney, Strathclyde University. Scottish Enterprise - Enterprise Fellowships Optoelectronics Dr Stuart McKay, University of Strathclyde, Mechanical Engineering. Microelectronics Dr Ben Hounsell, University of Edinburgh, Electronic & Electrical Engineering. Dr Andrew Peacock, University of Edinburgh, Electronic & Electrical Engineering. Communications Technologies Dr Meurig Sage, University of Glasgow, Computing Science.
Biotechnology Dr Chris Hillier, Glasgow Caledonian University, Biological & Biomedical Sciences. Dr Marie Claire Parker, University of Glasgow, Chemistry. PPARC Enterprise Fellowships Dr Grant Crossingham, University of Southampton, Physics & Astronomy. Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Personal Research Fellowships Dr Anthea Innes, University of Stirling, Applied Social Science. Dr Margaret Lai, University of Edinburgh, Molecular Medicine, Edinburgh Dr J Paterson, Dundee University, Molecular & Cellular Pathology. Dr H Wilkinson, Stirling University, Applied Social Science. Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Support Research Fellowship Dr Malcolm MacLeod, University of St Andrews, Psychology. Dr L Phillips, Aberdeen University, Psychology. Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Research Studentships Miss L Jessiman, Dundee University, Psychology. Mr R MacLean, Aberdeen University, Psychology. Dryerre Scholarship Miss Alison Littlejohn, Aberdeen University, Biomedical Sciences.
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MEDALS, PRIZES AND PRIZE LECTURESHIPS

Royal Medals, 3rd Award 2002. Presented by HRH The Princess Royal at a ceremony in the Signet Library on 3 October 2002. Life Sciences: Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri FRSE, for his outstanding contribution to the practice of medicine by pioneering developments in minimal access surgery. Sir Alfreds surgical techniques have been adopted world-wide and have greatly reduced the time patients spend in hospital. Humanities and Social Sciences: Professor Sir Alan Peacock FBA FRSE, for his outstanding contributions to Social Science and Public Policy. He has achieved international distinction on a range of fiscal issues where he has enhanced our understanding of key problems in both taxation and public expenditure. Physical and Engineering Sciences: Professor John R Mallard OBE FRSE, for his enormous contribution to medical diagnosis. He has pioneered the development of two of the most important diagnostic technologies of the 20th century, namely Nuclear Medicine and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Keith Medal no award made. Neill Medal 62nd Award 2001 to Professor Philip Corbet FRSE for his publication Dragonflies; Behaviour and Ecology of Odonata published by Cornell University Press, NY, USA and Harley Books, Colchester. This publication makes a major contribution to natural history as an extraordinary piece of scholarship and biological insight. Professor Corbet will give a lecture on his subject in 2003. Makdougall-Brisbane Prize 69th Award 2001 to Dr Dario Alessi FRSE for his many outstanding contributions to our understanding of cell signalling, most notably his discovery and characterisation of 3-Phosphoinositide-dependent-protein kinase-1 (PDK1), the missing link in insulin signal transduction. BP Prize Lectureship in the Humanities 7th Award 2002 to Dr Colin Kidd for his lecture Race and the Scottish Nation 1750-1900. James Scott Prize Lectureship 20th Award 2001 to Professor Sir Michael Berry FRS for his lecture The seven wonders of Modern Physics. CRF Prize Lecture 12th Award 2002 to Professor Richard Holmes, Royal Military College of Science, Security Studies Institute, Cranfield University, Swindon.
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GRANTS COMMITTEE
The Grants Committee considered 22 applications and a sum of 13,366 was awarded to 20 applicants. Approximately 60% of this sum was awarded as travel assistance. Travel Assistance Professor W J Firth, for travel to Seattle, USA. 500 Professor T Goodman, for travel to Hong Kong. 710 award not taken up. Professor D W L Hukins, for travel to Poland. 500 Professor A Jeffrey, for travel to Shanghai and Hong Kong. 856 Professor I Johnston, for travel to Texas, USA. 700 Professor P T Landsberg, for travel to New Orleans, USA. 900 Professor H MacQueen, for travel to USA. 200 Professor P Monaghan, for travel to China. 900 Professor D Rankin, for travel to China. 900 Professor E G Rees, for travel to China. 600 award not taken up. Professor P Slater, for travel to Ecuador. 900 Professor J Webb, for travel to North Carolina, USA. 550 Research Visitor to Scotland Professor P Davies, to enable Professor Don L Boyer to visit the Department of Civil Engineering at Dundee University from Arizona State University, USA. 500 Professor C Greated, to enable Dr Henning Rasmussen to visit the University of Edinburgh from Canada. 400 Professor V van Heyningen, to enable Louise Bernier to visit the MRC Human Genetics Unit, Edinburgh from Canada. 400 Professor J Murphy, to enable Professor Ilhyong Ryu to visit the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde from Japan. 900 Professor R Watson, to enable Dr Li-Peng Geng to visit the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, from Canada. 900 Support for Meetings Professor A G R Smith for a meeting entitled Personal Links, Networks and Solidarities in France and the British Isles. 450 Professor T Ingold for a meeting entitled Ninth International Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies (CHAGS9). 600
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Support for Publication Professor J E L Simmons for the publication of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers Proceedings of the CAPE Conference, held in China in 2001. 1000 Auber Bequest Award 2002 Professor J H Subak-Sharpe FRSE for travel to Australia to attend The International Herpes Conference. 2,075. (Professor Subak-Sharpe later declined the award due to personal circumstances making him unable to travel).
MacLagan Travel Grants Ms Rachel Atkinson, Stirling University, to travel to Portugal. 634.42 Dr Stuart Bearhop, Glasgow University, to travel to Arizona, USA. 1,470 Visiting Lecturer Grants None awarded this session.
The closing dates for applications to the Grants Committee are 28 February, 31 May, 31 August and 30 November.
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INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME
During the Session the Society signed Memoranda of Understanding with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), The National Science Council (NSC), Taiwan and the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS). These MoUs will facilitate scientific co-operation, including researcher exchange programmes which will begin during the 2002-2003 session. In developing and signing the MoUs the Society hosted visits by delegations from the NSC and PAS, and Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, then International Convener, led a small RSE delegation to China to meet with CAS and its associated institutes. The Society also maintained a European focus. In May 2002 it hosted, in partnership with Scotland Europa and the United Kingdom Research Office, Brussels, an information-giving seminar on the European Commissions Sixth Framework Programme. In the same context, European Research Commissioner, Philippe Busquin, visited the Society in October 2002, and delivered a public lecture on his future vision of Research in Europe. In October 2002, the Scottish Executive also held, in Sweden, a programme of events to promote and position Scotland in areas such as arts, culture, governance, science and tourism. The Executive commissioned the Society to organise and implement the science pillar of the programme on its behalf. As Scotlands National Academy of Science, the Society was pleased to do so. In partnership with the Karolinska Institute and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Society developed and organised Realising the Potential of Life Sciences & Biotechnology - a one-day event which focused on stem cell research and biotechology, ethics and society. It was held in Stockholm on 17 October, and brought together leading Scottish and Swedish scientists, researchers, commentators and academia; the Scottish Executive Minister for Enterprise & LifeLong Learning; and people from the Scottish and Swedish biotechnology sectors. The event was the centrepiece of the whole Scotland in Sweden programme and served as a platform for the further development and strengthening of scientific collaboration between both countries. Alongside all of these activities, during the Session the Society also hosted international visitors, including delegations from Brazil, Cuba and France.
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FELLOWS SOCIAL EVENTS

Fellows Reception and Exhibition. 27 and 28 November 2001. Receptions for Fellows and their guests, with exhibitions by postgraduate students from Edinburgh College of Art and entertainment by Stringers Quartet. Discussion Suppers 13 November 2001. Farming and the Environment Will the Next Generation be Farmers or Park Keepers? Led by Professor Peter Wilson, with Professor Phil Thomas, Professor Colin Whittemore, and Dr John Francis. Chaired by Professor Peter Wilson. 12 February 2002. Charitable Status and Public Benefit. Led by Mr Ivor Guild, Dr Andrew Cubie and Professor John Skorupski. Chaired by Professor Bruce Proudfoot. Discussion Dinner 4 March 2002. History, Heritage and Development. Following the Lecture to the Society by Professor Roland Paxton, Mr Jim Stirling and Professor George Fleming, with the Rt Hon Lord Ross PC as Praeses and Sir Peter Hutchison as Discussant. Classics and Comedy - Fundraising Evening 21 June 2002. Around 400 guests attended the immensely successful Classics and Comedy Evening at the Royal Museum of Scotland, administered by the RSE Scotland Foundation, when
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around 35,000 was raised for the Appeal. Entertainment was provided by The Strathgarry Singers and Abracadaberets. Sponsors of the event were Candover Investments, plc, Bear Stearns International Ltd and UBS Warburg. Awards Reception The 2002 Awards Reception was held on 2nd July 2002, when around 90 Fellows and guests attended. The 2002 RSE prize winners were announced along with the 2002 Research Award winners. (see pages 167 and 173) The Prize winners who attended were:Professor Dario Alessi - the Makdougall-Brisbane Prize Professor Philip Corbet - the Neill Medal Dr Colin Kidd - the BP Prize Lectureship in the Humanities Professor Sir Michael Berry, winner of the James Scott Prize Lectureship was unable to attend. Certificates were also presented to the following for their exceptional contributions to the Young Peoples Programme: Professor Patrick Bailey, Professor Murray Campbell, Professor Jack Carr, Mrs Teresa Carr, Dr Maureen Cooper, Dr Moira Jardine, Professor Russell Morris, Dr Oliver Musgrave, Dr John Parker, Professor Miles Padgett, Dr Peter Rowell, Dr Ruth Robinson.
Jubilee Dinner / Royal Medal Presentation To mark Her Majesty The Queens Golden Jubilee, a dinner for Fellows and distinguished guests was held at the Signet Library on 3 October 2002, at which HRH The Princess Royal presented the 2002 Royal Medals to Professor John R Mallard, Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri and Professor Sir Alan Peacock. Bicentenary Medals for distinguished service to the Society were also presented by the Princess Royal to Sir Lewis Robertson and Sir James Armour. (Professor Peter Wilson, the third Bicentenary Medal Awardee 2002 was unable to be present.) This dinner replaced the normal Fellows Triennial Dinner to mark the end of Sir William Stewarts Presidency. New Fellows Dinner 2002 The 2002 New Fellows Dinner was held on Monday 28 October and was attended by around 60 New Fellows and partners, members of Council and RSE staff. Professor Andrew Miller proposed the toast to the New Fellows, to which Principal Sir Alan Langlands responded. Fellows Coffee Meetings Weekly Coffee Meetings were held throughout the winter and spring months. Speakers at the monthly lecture meetings were : 6 November 2001. Should Ministers and Public Servants Publish Diaries? Lady Balfour of Burleigh.
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4 December 2001. The Rise, Fall and Future of Edinburghs Railways. Professor A W Hendry. 8 January 2002. W S Bruce, The Scotia and Argentina. Dr D M Munro. 5 February 2002. A 1952 Conviction and its Constitutional Importance. Dr W E S Mutch. 5 March 2002. A Citizens View of the Role and Remuneration of Company Executives. Professor J F Lamb. 8 October 2002. The Transfusion of Skills. Mrs J Jones. The Royal Society Dining Club This Club was established on 3rd January 1820, with the view of promoting the objectives of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In Session 2001/2002 meetings were held as follows : 819th dinner - 3 December 2001. Praeses : Dr M A D Fluendy. Croupier : Sir Michael Atiyah. 820th dinner - 8 April 2002. Praeses : Professor J B Dawson. Croupier : Professor P N Wilson. 821st dinner - 10 June 2002. Praeses : Professor J B I McDonald. Croupier : Sir James Armour. 822nd dinner - 7 October 2002. Praeses : Professor C C Bird. Croupier : Professor J D M H Laver. Fellows Golf Challenge The Fellows Golf Tournament was held on Friday 20 September 2002 at Glenbervie Golf Club, Larbert. The Stewart Cup was won by Professor Wilson Sibbett.
GRANTS, SPONSORSHIP AND DONATIONS

The Society is grateful to the following organisations for their continuing support during the Session : British Petroleum Lord Fleck Will Trust Lessells Trust Lloyds TSB Morrison Charitable Trust PPARC Scottish Enterprise Scottish Executive Department of Health Scottish Executive Enterprise & Lifelong Learning Department Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs SHEFC Wellcome Trust
and also to the following for their support for specific events : A & M Hearing Limited Archibald Campbell & Harley British Association Caledonian Research Foundation Cellpath Ltd Glaxo Institute of Physics Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Oticon Foundation, Denmark Pfizer Ltd Science Year in Scotland Small Grants Scheme Scottish Borders Council Scottish Society for the History of Photography Shell UK Exploration & Production T S Stevens Executry Technology Ventures Scotland The Carpet Foundation University of Durham University of Glasgow
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CHANGES IN FELLOWSHIP DURING THE SESSION

DEATHS
Fellows George Wishart Anderson John Graham Comrie Anderson Kathleen Jannette Anderson John Berry John Butt Sir John Clerk of Penicuik John Erickson Douglas Hugh Everett Denis Coulthard Graham Sir John Gunn William Henry Holms Donald Alexander Low Sir Cyril Lucas William Hepburn Russell Lumsden James Anderson Mcfadzean John Patrick Maule Basil Richardson Stanley Megaw Robert Hannay Millar Rosalind Mary Mitchison Ian Robert Mackenzie Mowat Mary Jessie Mcdonald Noble Robert Winston Keith Odoni Lillian Mary Pickford James Henderson Sang Norman Willison Simmonds Kenneth Jack Standley Harold Charles Stewart Sir Frederick Stewart Dirk Ter Haar Ronald Pearson Tripp David Arnold Walker Herbert William Whittington
Honorary Fellows Stephen Jay Gould Max Ferdinand Perutz Baron George Porter Dame Sheila Sherlock
ELECTIONS
Honorary Fellows Sir Gerald Gordon Sir Paul Nurse Joanne Kathleen Rowling Phillip Sharp Corresponding Fellows Knud Haakonssen Peter Gavin Hall David Andrew Barclay Miller Sydney Ross
183
Fellows Dario Alessi Richard Armstrong John Willins Arthur Richard Bauckham David Nevin Fraser Bell John Julian Blow Ian Lamont Boyd Sarah Jean Broadie Alice Brown Peter Alexander Burt Richard William Byrne Andrew Collier Cameron John Muir Cochrane Connell Henry John Dargie Sergio Della Sala David Douglas Drysdale William Charles Earnshaw Kevin John Edwards George Lidderdale Gretton Christine Margaret Hallett Andrew Hamnett Andrew Harrison Robert Albert Hart David Forbes Hendry Margaret Patricia Henton Charles Alexander Jencks Derek William Johnston Malcolm William Kennedy Colin Craig Kidd Thomas Fraser Krauss Sergei Borisevich Kuksin Jonathan Robert Lamb Sir Alan Langlands Robin Christopher Charles Law Magnus Duncan Linklater David William McCrone Ronald MacDonald Eileen Alison MacKay Richard Michael Maizels Donald Eachann MacDonald Meek Thomas Frederick Melham Ilya Molchanov Peter John Morgan Bernard Mulgrew Kenneth McKenzie Norrie Nigel Berry Pitts Jane Ann Plant Susan Rice Ian Cleland Ritchie Jonathan Robert Seckl Mark Jerome Steedman Alan Edward Vardy Stephen Leonard White John Derek Woollins
184
STAFF CHANGES DURING THE SESSION

Arrivals Mrs Elizabeth Bigelow, Receptionist/Telephonist Ms Rosn Calvert, Events Manager Ms Kirsteen Francis, Facilities Coordinator Ms Sarah Gilmore, Events Assistant Ms Paulette Hughes, Receptionist/ Telephonist Mrs Jenny Liddell, Research Awards Co-ordinator Mr Colin Nelson, Facilities Assistant Mrs Margaret Tait, Receptionist/ Telephonist Mr Duncan Welsh, Temporary Events Co-ordinator Mr Michael White, International Officer (seconded from the British Council) Departures Ms Jennifer Etchells, Facilities and Conference Co-ordinator Ms Elaine Hay, Research Fellowships Assistant/Telephonist Ms Beth Owens, Temporary Clerical Assistant Ms Wendy Saunders, Events Coordinator
Ms Anna Whitehead, Temporary Events Assistant Other Staff in post throughout the Session Mr Stuart Brown, Public Relations Officer Ms Jennifer Cameron, Communications and IT Support Officer Dr Lesley Campbell, Fellowship Officer Dr William Duncan, Executive Secretary Miss Kate Ellis, Financial Manager Mrs Anne Ferguson, Research Awards Manager Mr Graeme Herbert, International Affairs and Policy Seminar Officer (seconded from Scottish Office) Miss Vicki Ingpen, Journals Officer/Accounts Assistant Mrs Sharon Jesson, PA to President and General Secretary
185
Mr Robert Lachlan, Accounts Officer Miss Sandra McDougall, Special Projects Manager Mr David Murray, Accounts Administrator Mr Frank Pullen, Central Services Manager Dr Marc Rands, Research Officer Dr Harinee Selvadurai, Education Officer Mr Brian Scott, Facilities Assistant Ms Susan Walker, Events Coordinator Mrs Doreen Waterland, PA to Executive Secretary Mr Stuart Armstrong, Independent Fundraising Advisor
INDEX A
A tale of two towers: Big Ben and Pisa, 85 A-Z of Oral Cancer : An Holistic Route, 133 Ageing: Active Involvement of Older People, 161 Anderson, Professor R, 95 Annual Statutory Meeting, 5 Auber Bequest Award 2002, 176 Auditors Report and Accounts, 29 Awards Reception, 179 in the 21st Century, 130; Managing Intellectual Property in Scottish Universities, 164; Memory: Psychological Processes and Clinical Implications: CRF International Conference, 143; The Bicentenary of the Birth of David Octavius Hil, 139 Cormack, Robert Bequest: Lecture 96; Vacation Scholarships, 170, 172 Council Responsibilities, 17 CRF: Biomedical Research Fellowships, 168; European Visiting Research Fellowships, 168, 171; International Conference, 143; Prize Lecture, 68, 173 Cromarty Arts Trust, 117
B
Balance Sheet, 26, 31 Basic Science and the Wealth of Nations, 4, 107 Bicentenary Medal, 16 Big Ben, 85 Bird, Professor A, 55 Blackmore, Professor S, 112 BP: Prize Lectureship, 173; Research Fellowships, 167, 171 Burland, Professor J, 85 Busquin, Philippe , 123
D
Devine, Professor T, 74, 104 Dining Club, 180 Discussion Dinners and Suppers, 179 Discussion Fora: Reproductive Cloning - Does the End Justify the Means, 127; The Future of Cloning : Young People Decide, 166 Donofrio, Nicolas, 93 Dryerre Scholarship, 172 Dunbar, Dr B, 78
C
Cantley, Professor L, 68 Changes in Fellowship, 183; Deaths, 183; Elections, 183 Chinese Academy of Sciences, 177 Christmas Lecture, 165 Classics and Comedy, 179 Coffee Meetings, 180 Conferences: Innovation in Scotland
E
Edinburgh Lecture Series, 78 Educating through Inclusive Schooling, 161 Election of Council, 16 Election of Fellows, 3, 183
187
Enterprise Fellowships, 168, 172 Epidemics of Infectious Diseases in Livestock , 95 Epigenetics of Disease, 55 Evidence, Advice and Comment, 157
H
Halliday, Professor I, 107 How and Why We Age, 4, 98 Hugh Miller Bicentenary Lecture, 117
F
Fellows Deceased, 183 Fellows Social Events, 179 Fellows Receptions, 179 Financial Review, 25 Fisher Memorial Lecture, 105 Fleming, Professor G, 89 Focus v Diversity: The Strategic Dilemma, 94 Foot and Mouth Disease Inquiry, 160 Foresight Seminars, 163 From RSS Discovery to Space Shuttle Discovery, 78 Fundraising, 151, 179
I
IEE Manufacturing Enterprise Professional Network, 93 Immigrant Experience: Scots, Irish and the USA 1850-1950, 104 Increase in Allergic Disease : Environment and Susceptibility, 141 Industry Links, 163 Infectious Salmon Anaemia Inquiry, 159 Innovation in Scotland in the 21st Century: Matching Knowledge and Enterprise, 130 Inquiries, 159; Mediation in Medical Negligence Cases, 159, Infectious Salmon Anaemia, 159; Foot and Mouth Disease, 160 International Programme, 177 Investment powers and policy, 17 Investment Schedule, 51 IOB/ECRR Lecture, 84 Is Evolution Over?, 84
G
General Secretary's Report: Session 2001-2002, 5 Golf Challenge, 180 Grants Committee, 175; Closing Dates, 176 Grants, Sponsorship and Donations, 181 Gregory, Professor R, 79 Griffin, Dr H, 71
J
Jones, Professor S, 84 Jubilee Dinner, 180
188
Index
K
Keith Medal, 173 King, Professor D, 111 Kirkwood, Professor T, 98 Knowledge for Vision: Vision for Knowledge , 3, 79
Cloning and Reprogramming in Stem Cell Research, 71, 127 Lessells Scholarships, 169, 172 Lloyds TSB Research Fellowships and Studentships, 167, 172 Lowenthal, Professor D, 117
L
Lectures: A Tale of Two Towers: Big Ben and Pisa, 85; Basic Science and the Wealth of Nations, 107; Epidemics of Infectious Diseases in Livestock, 95; Focus v Diversity: The Strategic Dilemma, 94; From RSS Discovery to Space Shuttle Discovery, 78; How and Why We Age, 98; Hugh Millers Bicentenary Lecture, 117; Is Evolution Over, 84; Knowledge for Vision: Vision for Knowledge, 79; Muslims, Jews and Christians: The Quest for Human Solidarity, 81; Options and Opportunities in a Pandemic of Diabetes, 75; Regeneration of the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals, 89; Research in Europe, 123; Results From The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, 96; Science and the Society, 116; Science, Society and Government, 111; Scotland and China: Growing Together, 112; Strangers in a Strange Land? Two Centuries of the Irish in Scotland, 74; Technology Innovation for a New Era, 93; The Immigrant Experience: Scots, Irish and the USA, 104; The Realisation Of Fishers Research Programme, 105; Therapeutic
M
MacLagan Travel Grants, 176 Makdougall-Brisbane Prize, 173 Managing Intellectual Property in Scottish Universities, 164 Masterclasses for Young People, 165 Mathewson, Sir George, 94 Mayo, Professor O, 105 Medawar Lecture, 79 Mediation in Medical Negligence Cases, 159 Memoranda of Understanding, 177 Mensforth, Sir Eric: International Gold Medal Lecture, 93 Morris, Dr A 75 Muslims, Jews and Christians : the Quest for Human Solidarity, 81
N
Neill Medal, 173 New Fellows Dinner, 180 New President, 16 Newton, Professor R, 75
O
Operating policies - Grant Making, 18 Options and Opportunities in a Pandemic of Diabetes, 3, 75
189
P
Particle Physics Workshop: Particle Physics at the Limit, 135 Paxton, Professor R , 89 Polish Academy of Sciences, 177 PPARC Enterprise Fellowships, 168 Preller, Bruce Prize Lecture, 55 Presidential Address, 116 Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting, 5 Prince El Hassan bin Talal, 81 Prize Lectures: Bruce Preller, 55; CRF, 68 Prizes and Medals, 173 Public Policy Seminars: Educating Through Inclusive Schooling, 161; Renewable Energy. 21st Century Challenges, 161; The Active Involvement of Older People, 161; Urban Congestion. A Charging Solution, 161 Publications, 149
Roadshow, 166 Royal Medals, 173, 180 RSE/Royal Academy of Engineering Lecture, 85
S
SABRI, 95 Science and The Society, 116 Science, Society and Government, 111 Science Summer Camp, 166 Schools Lectures, 165 Scotland and China: Growing Together, 4, 112 Scotland in Sweden, 177 Scott, James Prize Lectureship, 173 Scottish Enterprise: Enterprise Fellowships, 168, 172 Scottish Science Advisory Committee, 153; Members, 155; Science Base Working Group, 154; Science Education Working Party, 154; Science in Society Working Party, 154; Staff, 155 SEELLD Research Fellowships and Teaching Fellowships, 167, 171 Staff Changes, 185 Steel, Professor M, 71 Stewart, Sir William, 116 Stirling, Mr J, 89 Support for Meetings, 175 Support for Publications, 176 Symposia: A-Z of Oral Cancer : An Holistic Route, 133; Retailing, 137; The Increase in Allergic Disease: Environment and Susceptibility, 141
190
R
Regeneration of the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals 89 Renewable Energy -21st Century Challenges 161 Research Awards, 167 Research in Europe, 123 Research Visits to Scotland, 175 Reserves Policy and Funds, 18 Result for the year, 25 Results From The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, 96 Risk management, 19
Index
T
Taiwan. The National Science Council of Taiwan, 177 Technology Innovation for a New Era, 93 The Immigrant Experience: Scots, Irish and the USA, 104 The Realisation Of Fishers Research Programme, 105 Tower of Pisa, 85 Travel Assistance, 175 Treasurer's Report: Session 20012002, 12 Trustees Report for the Financial Year ended 31 March 2002, 17
V
Visiting Lecturer Grants, 176
W
Wark, Professor D, 96 Wellcome Trust Research Workshops, 169; Biochip and Functional Genomics, 138; Maternal, Foetal and Infant Thyroid Hormone Metabolism, 146; New Perspectives on the Aberdeen Typhoid Outbreak, 132; Psycho-social and ethical aspects of genetic counselling, 128
U
Urban Congestion - A Charging Solution, 161
Y
Young Peoples Programme, 165
191

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The Royal Society of Edinburgh Review 2003 (Session 2001-2002)

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH REVIEW OF THE SESSION 2001-2002

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH REVIEW OF THE SESSION 2001-2002

PUBLISHED BY THE RSE SCOTLAND FOUNDATION ISSN 1476-4342

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ORDINARY MEETINGS

Review of the Session 2001-2002

PROCEEDINGS OF THE STATUTORY GENERAL MEETING

Review of the Session 2001-2002

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2001-2002

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2001-2002

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2001-2002

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2001-2002

Proceedings of the Annual Statutory Meeting

Review of the Session 2001-2002

TRUSTEES REPORT TO 31 MARCH 2002

Review of the Session 2001-2002

Trustees Report to 31 March 2002

Review of the Session 2001-2002

The Year 1 April 2001-31 March 2002

Trustees Report to 31 March 2002

Review of the Session 2001-2002

Trustees Report to 31 March 2002

Review of the Session 2001-2002

Professor Andrew Miller General Secretary

Trustees Report to 31 March 2002

Financial review April 2001-March 2002

Review of the Session 2001-2002

Trustees Report to 31 March 2002

AUDITORS REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Review of the Session 2001-2002

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

THE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2002

500,880 182,446 30,297 713,623

108,948 9,625 559,467 213,239 891,279 (177,656) 329 (582) (253)

(177,909) 38,977 (158) (139,090)

(4,499) (109,818) (126,426) (198,000) 7,359,030 7,557,030 7,232,604 7,359,030

212,683 5,779,526 73,593 5,788,617

Auditors Report and Accounts

CASH FLOW STATEMENT

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2002

75,913 219,401 295,314

(294,351) 513,752 219,401

Review of the Session 2001-2002

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 M ARCH 2002

Auditors Report and Accounts

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 M ARCH 2002

Review of the Session 2001-2002

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 M ARCH 2002

Auditors Report and Accounts

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 M ARCH 2002

Review of the Session 2001-2002

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 M ARCH 2002

Auditors Report and Accounts

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 M ARCH 2002

12,133 Total 2002

120,098 Paid by Foundation 67,850 5,698 9,160 82,708

411,025 27,054 49,460 487,539

Review of the Session 2001-2002

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 M ARCH 2002