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Science 18 June 2004:
Vol. 304. no. 5678, p. 1749
DOI: 10.1126/science.1095861
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Policy Forum

BIOTECHNOLOGY:
Why Are People Hostile to Biotechnologies?

Massimiano Bucchi1 and Federico Neresini2

Public hostility to biotechnologies is usually attributed to a lack of "scientific literacy" on the part of citizens and, more in general, to a prejudicial skepticism toward science. Using data from the third edition of a survey of Italian citizens, the authors of this Policy Forum argue that the key factor may not be straightforward hostility against biotechnologies or against science per se, but skepticism about the interaction among scientific expertise, decision-making, and political representation.

1Dipartimento di Scienze Umane e Sociali, Università di Trento, via Verdi 26, 38100 Trento, Italy. E-mail: mbucchi{at}soc.unitn.it. 2Dipartimento di Sociologia, Università di Padova, via San Canziano 8, 35122 Padova, Italy. E-mail: federico.neresini{at}unipd.it

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)