§ Lord Lucasasked Her Majesty's Government:
What research they are funding into (a) the normal function of prions; (b) early diagnosis of prion diseases; and (c) rogue conformer therapy; and what is the annual cost to the Government of such research; and [HL1612]
Whether they will host a central prion disease research website to carry material such as detailed and current survey information, planned and ongoing experiments (including daily lab book entries) and meeting transcripts to expedite the pace of discovery. [HL1614]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathAll transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) research projects, current and completed, and funded by public money, are already listed on the Medical Research Council website at http://www.mrc.ac.uk/tse_2c.htm. The site provides a breakdown of the areas of research being covered, including those identified in the Question, as well as the annual costs. The total government funding on TSE research for 1999–2000 is likely to be in excess of £26 million.
The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) routinely considers all relevant research findings from the work on TSEs, whether funded by the UK Government or not, including any research topics considered by the committee's subgroups. SEAC produces a public summary of each of 123WA its meetings. These are placed on the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Department of Health websites.
The Government believe that in the TSE research area publication of the full detail of ongoing experiments such as entries into lab books would be counterproductive. The provision of such invalidated information outside its context and without suitable peer review would run contrary to accepted scientific procedures, encourage misinterpretation, add to costs and impede rather than facilitate constructive research. It would also discourage researchers from bidding for future projects.