The BSE crisis and the initial denial of its associated risk to human health, the foot-and-mouth epidemic, the perceived danger to health by mobile phone use and global warming, all have contributed to a deterioration of the public’s trust in science and the scientists. The man in the white coat is no longer an authoritative figure. It is becoming widely acknowledged that a new era of openness must begin. At theUniversity of East Anglia, Norwich, the Institutes of Connective and Environmental Research has recently been established, with the intention of removing the apparent barrier between scientists and the general population. The institutes intend to propagate an interactive, citizen-based form of science.

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