Middle East synchrotron project buffeted by political unrest

Nature : When it’s up and running at its site in Jordan, the SESAME synchrotron will provide scientists in the Middle East with access to a bright, coherent x-ray source for crystallography and other kinds of experiments. But, as Nature‘s Geoff Brumfiel reports, three of the project’s members—Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia—are embroiled in anti-government protests that could jeopardize the funding needed to complete the project. Brumfiel quotes Chris Llewellyn Smith, the president of SESAME’s council: “It’s obviously a bit worrying, but I think we’ll come through it.”