Sir

Praise for the present Turkish government's work in fostering good science, in your Editorial 'Turkey's transformation' (Nature 449, 116; 2007), reads to my eyes like a cruel joke in the face of what is really going on in the country. It is true that the current government has increased the budget placed at the disposal of Tubitak, the main research agency under government control. It did so, however, by slashing the budgets of the independent universities.

Tubitak's new administration was appointed in a manner that was decreed illegal by the Turkish courts. As a result, the Turkish Higher Education Council advised the universities not to have any dealings or communication with Tubitak, because of the legal status of its administration. Therefore, no Turkish scientist can legally use a penny of the increased research budget. That some do use it, in violation of the law, is an act of desperation, because few other sources are left that can be used to sustain research and support students. For example, I had already had two projects accepted when the present administration was unlawfully appointed but I withdrew them immediately; since then I have had no interaction with Tubitak.

The bad health of Turkish science is further demonstrated by the party-political appointments made by the government within organizations such as the Geological Survey and the Atomic Energy Commission, as well as many senior and junior academic posts, which are not made on the basis of scientific merit. Many of these appointments are being challenged in the courts. Another source of serious headache for Turkish science is the minister of education's sympathy for 'intelligent design', and the way that evolution is taught in our country.