Churn, not crisis, for UK science

When Andy Burnham became the United Kingdom's prime minister last week, among his first acts was to abolish the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), folding it into a new superministry for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. The science minister, Patrick Vallance, stepped down the same day. Viewed from the United States, where the federal research system is under pressure, it may be tempting to see Britain's reshuffle as kindred turmoil and proof that political instability is corroding science on both sides of the Atlantic. That reading would be wrong. Britain has rearranged the machinery of its science policy, not undermined its foundations. The change could sharpen the contribution of UK research to the economic renewal that Burnham has made his defining mission.