A Ruckus Over R & D

Will Europe ever come up with the money it needs to plug its brain drain in science and technology? In France, scientists are sick of waiting — so this week, hundreds of research directors are planning to resign from their administrative duties to protest chronic underfunding and understaffing.

Thousands of scientists took to the streets in white lab coats last week, and some 60,000 researchers signed a petition charging the government with "financially asphyxiating public research institutions." Says Marc Peschanski, who heads research into neurological disorders at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research: "Massive resignation is the...