The Guardian published a story earlier this week about a Belfast climate scientist Prof Mike Baillie, who is disgruntled at having to make his department's decades' worth of tree ring data available to a known climate sceptic as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request. This story prompted the editor of this blog to post the above tweet. Also: "I don't see the point of curating data for the public", and "any nutter can attempt to disrupt my research".

Really? Let me turn this question round: what reason could there be for the public not to have access to publicly-funded academic research? When research is funded from the public coffers, surely it's automatically relevant to public interest?

Also, don't some of our most respected colleague science bloggers frequently campaign for increased transparency in the handling of data from, say, clinical trials? Why should that call not apply to other subjects?

Let's backtrack for a moment.

Just before Christmas I received this leaflet in my pigeon hole at work, inviting me to apply for the Dutch "Veni, Vidi, Vici" science fellowship programme. I've posted an annotated, translated version here. With this targeted campaign, the Dutch research council NWO is trying to get more female applicants for the scheme. While applauding their commitment to attracting women into science careers, I can't help but wonder: what moron designed this damn thing? There are so many things wrong with this piece of cr paper, it's hard to know where to begin. But let's give it a shot.

Despite widespread financial gloom, 2009 has been an excellent vintage for physics and astronomy. The Hubble Space Telescope's final servicing mission was declared a resounding success, LHC finally powered up after last year's false start, several new astronomy satellites were launched and astronomers have tantalisingly reported a possible first-ever detection of dark matter particles. But in the UK, the year was closed on a blue note following an ominous pre-budget report in early December and the subsequent announcement of drastic cuts to the particle physics and astronomy programmes by the country's Science and Technology Facilities Council, STFC.

Alistair Darling's pre-budget report released on 9 December projecting £600 million of savings from higher education by 2012 showed a glimpse of things to come. In the following week, in which Herschel astronomers showcased their first results in Madrid and the CDMS scientists reported their dark matter research results, British scientists received a cold shower when STFC announced wide-reaching cuts to its entire programme, to fill a hole of around £40 million.

For over 5 years Belle de Jour has been one of the most high-profile and successful anonymous bloggers. In her blog, Belle talked about her experiences as a high-class London call girl. A book followed, then a popular TV series.

Today, Belle revealed herself as Brooke Magnanti to The Times. And that's Dr. Brooke Magnanti. She's a scientist.

The financial crisis of 2008 was heralded as the end of the West's love affair with free-market capitalism. The combined crashes of banking industry and real estate market should have been the final nail in the coffin for the unbridled power of corporations, who for decades have flaunted all social responsibility in search of profit. Why is it then, as we see the dust slowly settling, that nothing appears to have changed?