Fifteen years ago, the Australian state of Queensland was famous more for its beaches than for its brain power. Fellow Australians thought of Queenslanders as miners, farmers, or surfers, not as professors or scientists. When Queensland announced in 1998 that it was planning to become a "Smart State," or a knowledge economy, locals…

Censored papers on bird flu, which could help terrorists, have critics wondering if academic scientists can police their own work. The near-publication has brought out general critics of the federal panel, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, and the voluntary self-policing approach that it embraces instead of regulation. Members…

This article reports that academic researchers are optimistic that President Barack Obama's approach to science heralds a new era of support for their work. When Mr. Obama named his top science and technology advisers only weeks after being elected, many scientists celebrated. After eight years of an administration that many academics believed…