The work of the Medical Research Council.

The above committee is one of Parliament's select committees that undertake enquiries of considerable depth in their particular fields. Its latest enquiry looked at the MRC in general, and also specifically at how it is handling the Biobank project. Its general findings are scathing of the MRC's performance and mismanagement of its funds, concluding that 'the anger of the research community at MRC's funding problems is not only understandable but entirely justified.' The following are the committee's conclusions and recommendations on Biobank--the collection of blood samples, lifestyle details and medical histories from 500,000 middle-aged Britons, and its general conclusions.