Few science centres offer hands-on experience for young people in Africa. Support is needed for an expansion plan, says Graham Durant.

Development economist Lawrence Haddad argues that improving nutrition can, and should, be a central goal of agriculture.

Alternative approaches are required if nanotechnology is to boost global health and equity, argues social scientist Donald Maclurcan.

Africa should reverse its brain drain and use good governance to ensure development, argues Nobel winner Wole Soyinka.

Priya Shetty discusses why biomedical research is vital in steering progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.

International co-operation and better early warning systems are key to tackling alien invasive species, says Achim Steiner.

Research collaborations with African institutions must be equal, fair and meaningful, says Damtew Teferra.

The UN is inhibiting innovation through over-regulation of new biotechnologies, argues Henry I. Miller.

Even though aid alone can't solve all Africa's problems, it underpins a burgeoning number of success stories, argues DATA's Jamie Drummond.

Aid donors should re-think their self-appointed role as saviours of the poor, and try more modest and realistic approaches, argues William Easterly.

Nations need support to monitor the Millennium Development Goals, says Sarah B. Macfarlane. But there is progress, argues Paul Cheung.

Poor quality data makes charting progress towards the Millennium Development Goals impossible, says a Nature editorial.

Amir Attaran says that assessing the success of efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals means some 'immeasurable' goals must be redefined or discarded.

John McArthur, Jeffrey Sachs and Guido Schmidt-Traub argue that the Millennium Development Goals may be difficult to measure, but they are valid targets to aim for.

Pedro A. Sanchez and M. S. Swaminathan say the Hunger Task Force set up by the UN Millennium Project has produced a blueprint for tackling world hunger.