The UN organisation with responsibility for science should embrace its role in tackling poverty — not keep it at arm's length.

Politicians won't act to conserve biodiversity unless they have strong evidence that it is an effective strategy for combating global poverty.

An influential lecture on the cultural significance of science remains as relevant today as when it was delivered 50 years ago.

A commitment to development-oriented innovation should be high on the agenda at the upcoming MDG summit in New York.

Commodity price rises are no substitute for long-term investment in infrastructure and capacity as a means of securing sustained development.

More efforts are needed to hold the leaders of the G8 nations to commitments made at their annual summit meetings.

African ministers have committed themselves to a set of actions to boost health research in their countries. Now they must implement them.

Last week, world leaders reconfirmed their commitment to meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals, increasing the need for the goals to be grounded in both scientific and political reality.

Nalaka Gunawardene argues that better communication is needed to convey the urgency of the Millennium Development Goals — and the role of science in achieving them — to the public.

Is preserving biodiversity compatible with achieving the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals? Judging by reactions to the most recent report on global biodiversity, the answer seems to depend on where one is coming from.

The latest World Development Report is a timely reminder that innovation has a key role in alleviating poverty. One implication is that effective mechanisms for putting research into practice are essential for achieving the UN's Millennium Development Goals.