Dismissed GM scientist speaks in Dublin today

The scientist who was dismissed after claiming that genetically modified foods were dangerous and that the public was being used as "unwitting guinea pigs in a mass experiment" is to speak in Dublin this evening.

Dr Arpad Pusztai, a native of Hungary, made his controversial statements on an ITN World in Action programme last August, but his employer of 37 years, the Rowett Research Institute in Scotland, said he had "misled everybody concerned".

He had presented research on the programme which he said showed that rats fed genetically modified potato had stunted growth, damaged organs and impaired immune systems.

He will deliver a public address at the Belfield campus of University College Dublin tonight at 6.30 p.m. on the genetic modification of food. A second speaker, Prof David McConnell, who heads the Department of Genetics at Trinity College Dublin, will reply to Dr Pusztai.

The controversy generated by Dr Pusztai's claims continues to ripple through the scientific community. His work was first re-examined by the Rowett Research Institute, which had originally agreed to Dr Pusztai's appearance. It presented two reports on the incident, inviting the researcher to include a rebuttal. The institute's own report said research findings had been confused and Dr Pusztai had released "misleading information".

The research was also examined by a special six-member committee appointed by the Royal Society, which represents Britain's scientific establishment, and separately by the British government's Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes.

The society's involvement was remarkable given that it would not generally have such a role. Its unnamed committee described the research as "flawed", and the advisory committee was also unhappy with the research.

Equally remarkable was a statement issued after Dr Pusztai's dismissal by a group of 20 scientists in 13 countries who backed his work and said it merited further study. Some claimed to have reproduced some of the original work and confirmed its accuracy.

His talk is hosted by UCD's Biochemical Society and is the society's inaugural public lecture. The venue is Theatre A in the science lecture block, which is adjacent to the Belfield sports complex. There is no cost for attending.