Experts with a wide variety of perspectives at an April 1-2 conference at Cornell University will attempt to answer the question: Who should rightfully profit from biotechnology's exploitation of the "intellectual property" of nature?

The two-day conference, titled "Owning Nature: Biotechnology, Biodiversity and Bioassets," is organized by the university's Governance and Nature Working Group and is sponsored by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies; Cornell Research Foundation; Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development; Center for the Environment; and the Office of the University Provost.

The sessions begin at 9 a.m. each day in 401 Warren Hall and are open, free of charge, to the public. To register and make luncheon reservations for either or both days, write to: bbc2@cornell.edu. More information is available at the website: http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu.

Among the topics for April 1 sessions of the "Owning Nature" conference are:

"Bioprospecting: The New Natural History," keynote address by Cornell's Thomas Eisner, Section of Neurobiology and Behavior, 9-10 a.m.

"Case Studies in Bioprospecting and Institutions -- Part I," chaired by Eloy Rodriguez, Cornell's Bailey Hortorium; with Anna Sittenfeld, Center for Research in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Costa Rica; John Varley, Yellowstone Center for Resources, Yellowstone National Park; and Preston Scott, World Foundation for Environment and Development,

10 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

• "Lessons from the Cases: Commentary and Discussion," facilitated by William Lacy, Department of Rural Sociology; with Henry Shands, USDA/Agricultural Research Service; Eloy Rodriguez; and Norman Uphoff, Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development, 11:15 a.m.-1 p.m.
• "Case Studies in Bioprospecting and Institutions -- Part II," chaired by Carl Leopold, Boyce Thompson Institute; with Gay Nicholson, Finger Lakes Land Trust; Athula Attygalle, Mass Spectrometry Facility; Jerrold Meinwald, Chemistry and Chemical Biology; and Charles Arntzen, Boyce Thompson Institute, 1:30-3:45 p.m.
• "Lessons from Cases: Commentary and Discussion -- Part II," facilitated by Theodore Hullar, Cornell Center for the Environment; with Bernard LeBuanec, International Seed Federation/International Association of Plant Breeders; David W. MacDonald, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Oxford University; and Richard McNeil, Cornell Department of Natural Resources, 4-5:15 p.m.

Topics for the Friday sessions include:

• "Technology Drivers," moderated by Richard Holsten, Cornell Center for Advanced Technology in Biotechnology; with Stephen Kresovich, Plant Breeding; Susan McCouch, Plant Breeding; Carl Batt, Food Science; Richard Quaas, Animal Science; and commentary by Stephen Hilgartner, Science and Technology Studies; 9-10:15 a.m.
• "Ownership: Social, Political and Ethical Issues," chaired by Richard Cahoon, Cornell Research Foundation; with Henry Shands, USDA/Agricultural Research Service; Michael Goldman, law firm of Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle, Rochester; T.P. Sreenivasan, Embassy of India to the United States; with commentary by William Lacy, Rural Sociology; and Maria Jose Sampiao, EMBRAPA, Brasilia, Brazil; 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
• "BioEconomics, BioBusiness," chaired by Ronald Herring, Einaudi Center; with David Simpson, Resources for the Future, Washington, D.C.; and Bernard LeBuanec; with commentary by Christopher Barrett, Agricultural, Resource and Managerial Economics; John Kilama, DuPont Life Sciences Enterprise; William Lesser, Agricultural, Resource and Managerial Economics; and Christine Ranney, associate dean of the Graduate School; 1-3:30 p.m.
• "Roundtable: What Have We Learned? What Should Cornell Do?" moderated by Richard Cahoon and Ronald Herrin with Thomas Eisner, Richard Holsten, Stephen Kresovich, Theodore Hullar, Norman Uphoff, Anatole Krattiger and Susan McCouch.