New role for ABRC

THE BRITISH government has confirmed that it has rejected a suggestion
to merge the five research councils into a single National Research Council
(This Week, last issue). Instead, John Macgregor, the education secretary,
has decided that from April 1, the Advisory Board for the Research Councils
will be slimmed down from 26 to 14 members, and given the task of improving
the coordination of research projects between the councils.