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TUCSON. ARIZ.—Find a wealthy benefactor. Assemble a small group of hard-working people committed to a common goal, and let them teach themselves what they need to know. Enlist a few respected scientists who are kindred spirits. Discourage contact with the outside world. And shoot for the stars. That approach is not the usual way science is done in this country. But then Biosphere II is not run-of-the-mill science. Rather, it's an attempt to create a 2.5-acre, enclosed ecological system th

WASHINGTON—The congressional General Accounting Office, in a major overview of U.S. science policy, has urged the Reagan administration to re-examine its priorities and methods for funding research. The GAO report, dated March 25, also questions the bureaucratic mechanisms surrounding the annual federal budget process and the "institutional framework" used by the executive branch to set national science policies. The study was begun as an internal review of the subject, but GAO officials d

WASHINGTON—European scientists testifying before a House committee have thrown cold water on the prospect of international collaboration on the Superconducting Supercollider, a possibility that the Reagan administration has held out as a way to reduce the U.S. cost of the proposed multi-billion dollar project. In three days of hearings last month by the Science, Technology and Space Committee, a stream of witnesses also expressed doubts about the value of recently discovered superconductiv

LONDON—All over Europe, politicians and planners are wondering if small, science-based companies can regenerate fading economies hit by the decline in such traditional industries as shipbuilding and steelmaking. In their search for answers, Cambridge, England, has emerged as a living laboratory to test the economic value of such businesses and the process through which academic innovations are transferred to industry. Cambridge, which as little as 10 years ago was known primarily for its c

Takashi Mukaibo, deputy chairman of Japan's Atomic Energy Commission, has long been involved in international science policy. Trained as a chemical engineer, Mukaibo in 1954-58 was the first postwar science attaché at the Japanese Embassy in Washington. He served on the United Nations Advisory Commission on the Application of Science and Technology for Development from 1971 to 1980, and was vice chairman of the Japan National Commission for UNESCO in 1974-76. For the past few years he has b

WASHINGTON—Although public attitudes toward the chemical industry have grown more negative during the past six years, more than 80 percent of Americans support the work chemists do and feel they have made important contributions to medicine and society. A survey of 1,448 adults, done last year for the American Chemical Society, found that 51 percent rated chemical companies unfavorably, compared with 41 percent in 1980. Frank Bigger, a spokesman for the ACS, said the change is due in part

WASHINGTON—A Defense Department program that distributed $124 million last year in contracts to university researchers appears to have been a one-time windfall for academic scientists. Its survival, which is uncertain given the pressure to trim military spending and reduce the federal deficit, could hurt other researchers funded by the Pentagon. The University Research Initiative (URI) was created as a way to provide universities with money for equipment, training and research in areas fel

NEW YORK—A preliminary report on the impact of increased enrollment of foreign students in Ph.D. engineering programs in the United States concludes "there is currently little reason to be concerned" about their effect on the ability of such programs to educate students and conduct research. But some engineers say they are disturbed by the trend. The report, which appeared in the April 3 issue of Science, noted that more than half of all engineering doctorates awarded by U.S. institutions

WASHINGTON—A U.S. patent board ruling last month significantly boosts the odds for approval of some of the pending applications for patents on genetically engineered animals. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, while rejecting for other reasons an application for a patent on an oyster, ruled that there is no legal reason why such patent protection should be denied. The decision may lead eventually to the marketing of new breeds of faster-growin

WASHINGTON—James Welty is a professor of mechanical engineering at Oregon State University. But for the past 16 months he has been living on the East Coast under a special program that brings academics temporarily into government service. Welty works at the Department of Energy, reviewing grant proposals, setting up engineering meetings, and advising other scientists. He is one of 970 researchers currently on detail to the federal government under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act, whic

WASHINGTON—A weaker dollar is forcing American research libraries to pay much higher prices this year for books and journals published overseas—if they can afford them at all. As a result, U.S. scientists soon may find it increasingly difficult to keep up with the latest developments in their fields. In the past 18 months the dollar has slipped more than 40 percent against the Japanese yen and several major European currencies. The resulting price increases, on top of those owing to

LONDON—A proposal to make the Value Added Tax (VAT) more uniform throughout the European Economic Community could significantly increase the prices worldwide of British scientific books and Journals. The EEC, which is considering a variety of reforms to boost its revenue and simplify its finances, has singled out the United Kingdom and Ireland because important areas of retail spending here—including books, food and children's clothing—are not subject to VAT. The European Com