Getting back on the horse

The Journal of Bone and Mineral Research was criticised but an eventual editorial in November 2007 astutely commented that "the interests of science and industry are not always congruent" and that "the ultimate protection to science is open discussion".

The Salvation Army's founder, William Booth, apparently once suggested that there's no such thing as tainted money, there just t'aint enough.

What might be true for a charity providing care for the homeless, however, is not necessarily true for a university providing intellectual insights for the community.

Australia's universities have one of the highest levels of private funding in the world and it's inevitable that corporate investors seek favourable research and publicity.

Our universities need support to fulfil their responsibility for advancing human knowledge; and scrutiny to ensure they don't degenerate into mouthpieces for their commercial sponsors.