The National Academy of Sciences gave President Obama a standing ovation and punctuated his science policy speech with fervent applause in late April. He plans to devote more than 3% of the US GDP to science research and development, the largest-ever US investment. “Science is more essential for our prosperity, our security, our health, our environment, and our quality of life than it has ever been before,” he said.

Yet already some scientists have caught a whiff of the acrid fumes of burning promises. His stem cell policy is more acceptable than President Bush's, but it still limits funded research to surplus IVF embryos. The latest issue of Science lists five areas which could cause friction between Mr Obama and the science community: compromising on greenhouse gas reductions, not delivering on new energy technologies, succumbing to disease politics, stifling vision in the National Institutes of Health, and ignoring his stellar line-up of scientific advisers. ~ Science, May 15