With the news dominated by failing banks and falling stock markets, it is easy to forget that some indices are moving upwards - such as those that record the strength of science, technology and innovation in developing nations. Despite the turmoil, this is likely to continue. Snapshots of this trend are captured this week in A World of Science in the Developing World, a publication by TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world, which celebrates its 25th anniversary next month (copies are distributed with this issue to subscribers, and are freely available at www.nature.com/twas). In the past 25 years, it is not just the larger countries such as Brazil, China, India and Mexico where the volume and the quality of scientific research have been transformed. Smaller countries such as Chile, Malaysia, Rwanda and Vietnam all regard investing in new knowledge, technology and higher education as national priorities.
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