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With the World Wide Web growing flashier and more commercial by the minute,
it is easy to forget that the Internet was first intended as an avenue for the
free exchange of rather monochrome scientific data. The latest report from the
U.S. National Research Council explores current trends in information technology
and what they mean to the future of global scientific collaboration. Bits of
Power: Issues in Global Access to Scientific Data is a useful reference point
for scientists and administrators, with some sound ideas on how to encourage the
international flow of information. Published by the National Academy Press,
£36.95, ISBN 0309056357. Available online at http://www.nap.edu in
monochrome.