The world is litigious and scientists are not immune. Next week, six scientists and an official are scheduled to go on trial in Italy charged with multiple manslaughter. Their alleged crime? That they were negligent in giving advice on the risk to public safety during the seismic unrest that culminated in a magnitude-6.3 earthquake near L'Aquila in central Italy on 6 April 2009, which killed more than 300 people. Prosecutors in Italy say that residents were misinformed by the group's advice, and that this contributed to some people choosing not to leave their homes, with fatal consequences (see page 264).
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