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Ever since the first space shuttle flight, space enthusiasts have decried the wastefulness of discarding the huge external fuel tank that helps boost a shuttle into orbit. So when NASA put out a call for profitable uses of these tanks, many organizations let their imaginations soar. NASA had hoped for small experiments that could be tucked away in unused nooks and crannies to take advantage of the half-hour spent by each tank in low gravity before it burns up upon reentry. But the size (154 fee

By not charging corporate and government clients for the indirect costs of contract research, British universities have been effectively subsidizing the research. (The Scientist, May 30, page 5). This practice, says a recent report from the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals, must stop. The report contains guidelines that would add more than $100 million to the $500 million annually that universities now charge for research. The guidelines are not mandatory, but universities are under

Uncle Sam casts a regulatory eye over animal research in universities, but until recently no one had firmly tackled the issues raised by dissections and experiments in high schools and junior highs. Enter the Buckeye State. Beginning this month, 10 workshops sponsored by the Ohio Academy of Science and Ohio State University will be held across the state to educate secondary school science teachers about the controversies swirling around animal research. Rather than tell teachers how to use anim

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.—Teenager Alisa Pura excitedly runs toward a cluttered lab bench at the University of California, San Francisco, where her friends and high school teacher are taking turns peering through a microscope at a Drosophila larva. “How many years of school does it take to do what you do?” “Do you really use all the calculus, physics, and chemistry you learned in college?” “Why is that larva wriggling so fast?” The questions, posed rapid-f

Pantyhose last longer, seeds germinate faster, piano strings hold their tune better, golf balls travel further—it would seem there is nothing that a few hours at -300 degrees Fahrenheit won’t improve. That’s the discovery of physicist Jeff Levine and mechanical engineer Bruce Norian, who started Applied Cryogenics, Newton Upper Falls, Mass., eight years ago to improve cutting tools by exposing them to extreme cold. Norian had observed that the Gillette company of South Boston,

In a memo circulated to the staff of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on September 30, executive officer Alvin W. Trivelpiece announced his resignation in order to become director of the Oak Ridge National Lab and vice president of Martin Marrieta Energy Systems, which runs the lab for DOE. Alex Zucker, who has been acting director of the lab since February 1, tells The Scientist: “I think it’s a very good move for the lab. I think Trivelpiece will bring stren

WASHINGTON—Most members of Congress and the executive branch have a nagging fear that visiting foreign scientists are stealing research secrets from United States labs and turning them into products that compete successfully against those of U.S. firms. Indeed, the Reagan administration wants to both restrict foreign access to information from U.S. government labs and pressure foreign nations to open up their labs. THE EXTENT OF FOREIGN PRESENCE As part of its attempt to gauge the exten

Right after Black Monday, analysts said venture capital would dry up. This tour-page special report shows the still thriving field finding money in new places but facing increased scrutiny. CAMBRIDGE, MASS.—One year ago this month the stock market suffered its worst decline since 1929. In the wake of Black Monday, pundits prophesied dire consequences—for the economy in general and for corporate and entrepreneurial science and technology in particular. Corporate R&D budgets would

The Yanomamö are among the most violent people ever studied, yet Napoleon Chagnon is battling to protect them from the likes of us SANTA BARBARA, CALIF.—When a Yanomamö headman complained to Napoleon Chagnon that a missionary was intimidating the village’s shamans, the feisty anthropologist decided to remove his mantle of scientific detachment and take action. The next time the missionary came rushing into the village center to stop the dancing, Living with a tribe

Boldly venturing where no dean went before, graduate students open an international college to study the universe The topic was the best design for a manned lunar base, and in the small room at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology the discussion was heated. Building the base in space and landing the completed structure on the moon just won’t work, argued the transportation experts. “We’re talking about a quantum leap in technology here,” warned Bill Unger, a Cana

Peter Carruthers has turned also-ran Arizona into a contender in the final lap of the supercollider marathon WASHINGTON—Seven states remain in the marathon race to be chosen as home of the superconducting supercollider, and each faces the scientific version of Heartbreak Hill this week. The challenge: a one-on-one meeting with Energy Secretary John Herrington during which each state delegation makes its pitch. Although Energy Department officials have been tight-lipped about the like

The Department of Energy has kicked off a closely-watched competition to pick a team to manage the facility that will house the superconducting supercollider. More than 100 representatives of science-related companies and organizations showed up last month for a meeting in Washington to discuss the rules governing the selection of a contractor (two or more companies may submit a joint bid) to operate the new national laboratory that will be created once DOE picks a site for the SSC. Although