No wonder this is bringing about a climate of apprehension - a climate in which the ordinary person regards scientific developments with the underlying assumption that they are being put at risk by reckless scientists in their ivory towers.
All journalists know that scares make good stories.
Such stories have a momentum of their own and frequently do not even require facts to keep them moving forward, witness the outcry about GM foods earlier this year. The onslaught against GM foods went far beyond a discussion of the scientific facts. To the extent that now opponents of these so-called 'Frankenfoods' will not allow scientists to even gather basic scientific data on which to base future discussions. Actually GM foods have a strong safety record. But still the public feels uneasy and mistrustful of science.