Science is being taken more seriously in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), a group of 57 states.

The OIC's standing committee on science and technology (COMSTECH) is set to announce this week that only countries committed to donating funds will be allowed to join the committee. Payment will be in proportion to gross domestic product, at a rate set by the OIC.

COMSTECH will use the money to launch programmes for its members in areas such as biotechnology, development of pharmaceuticals from indigenous raw materials, and science policy.

Until now, COMSTECH has been open to all OIC members, but few gave any money. Last year, only US$2.59 million was taken from 13 states — most of it from Pakistan — which was used to support library services.