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Science 22 October 1999:
Vol. 286. no. 5440, p. 655
DOI: 10.1126/science.286.5440.655c
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ScienceScope

Tension is rising as researchers in the United Kingdom compete for DIAMOND, a next-generation synchrotron source. Most scientists had assumed the $290 million machine, which will allow researchers to study the atomic structure of everything from proteins to ceramics, would replace the current Synchrotron Radiation Source at the Daresbury laboratory near Manchester. But this summer the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford surfaced as a contender.

The competition marks the newest twist in DIAMOND's 6-year history. Financing problems had put the project--the biggest single investment in British science in 15 years--on hold. Then, last summer, the charitable Wellcome Trust pledged $184 million to get construction started, with the British and French governments supplying the rest (Science, 6 August, p. 819). But instead of speeding things up, Wellcome's involvement "opened up the site issue again," says Susan Smith, a scientists' union representative at Daresbury. If DIAMOND ends up in Oxford, she fears her lab could close. Where Secretary of State Stephen Byers will decide to place the scientific jewel, however, won't be known for at least a few more weeks.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)