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In [the United States] biotechnology is still perceived primarily as a regulatory and legal problem, not an economic opportunity. A regulatory structure has been fashioned that is functioning quite well in assuring the public that the science of biotechnology is safe. Beyond the regulatory concerns, however, there is a political vacuum. Historically, I think, it is fair to say that our country rarely charts a long-term strategy for emerging technologies in order to assure they are properly rec

How I Work as Poet and Scientist Author:RONALD HOFFMANN Date: March 21, 1988 I begin with a vision of unity of creative work in science and in the humanities and arts. The shared ground is clear: both involve acts of creation, accomplished through craftsmanship, with an attention to detail. Both science and art value the true economy of statement. They share a desire to communicate, although that often gets obscured by jargon and by the deadening ritual of the research report in science, by too

As editor of the New England Journal of Medicine for more than a decade, Arnold S. Relman has played a significant role in setting publication standards for scientific journals. He champions the “Ingelfinger rule”promulgated by his predecessor, Franz Ingelfinger, which bars contributors from publicizing their articles before publication in the Journal. He also has strongly supported embargoes that permit reporters to receive advance copies of scientific journals on condition that th

Last year the world of science celebrated the 300th anniversary of Isaac Newton’s Principia. Trinity College, Cambridge (UK) celebrated the event with a Newton Tercentenary Conference last summer. One result of the conference is the book 300 Years of Gravitation (Cambridge University Press, 1988), edited by Stephen Hawking and Werner Israel. The book contains 16 review papers by leading researchers in cosmology, relativity and particle physics. In his pref- ace to the book, excerpted bel

8p.m. Only two hours late. Not like arriving at 5 a.m. by car from Udine or Venice or somewhere, after winter fog in Milan. The Italian government had hoped that the center would help revive Trieste, once the great port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but in the summer of 1987 it is still off the main air routes. I’m glad to get a lift along the spectacular coast road to the tiny resort of Grignano—but not, this time, to the homely Hotel Mi- gnon. Surprisingly, the luxurious Adria

COPENHAGEN—Government cut-backs have jeopardized the survival of one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious research centers. The Niels Bohr Institute, named in honor of the Danish pioneer of quantum theory, “will die out totally if we continue to lose permanent positions at the present rate,” said its director, Knud Hansen. “We simply cannot finance research posts for new, young scientists to replace those who are leaving through retirement and to take jobs ov

. LONDON—The first register of chartered psychologists is being created to emphasize to the public the discipline’s scientific base. The move follows the granting of a Royal Charter to the British Psychological Society, the same status given in recent years to other scientific bodies such as the Institute of Biology. Registration will allow the public, for the first time, to check a psychologist’s credentials; only those registered will be able to use the term “charte

BOSTON—State science academies, which traditionally ply the backwaters of the scientific world, can actually play vital roles in public debates that involve science and technology, according to an environmental policy specialist. The North Carolina Academy of Sciences (NCAS) has shown the way by playing an active role in setting standards for hazardous waste landfills and designing a state regulatory approach to toxic air pollutants, reported Richard N.L. Andrews, director of the Univ

WASHINGTON—There are two ways for biomedical research to receive more federal funds: from new money generated by raising taxes, or through a larger share of the existing budget. While the biomedical commnunity as a whole is just beginning to tackle the problem, one group—the American Federation for Clinical Researchers—has already decided that biomedical research should receive a larger slice of the current pie at the expense of military research. On March 3 the New Jersey-

Campaign ‘88 has now passed through the Straits of Super Tuesday. Not all candidates passed in safety. Republican George Bush swamped his opponents, while among the Democrats the field was narrowed considerably, with Michael Dukakis, Albert Gore and Jesse Jackson the apparent survivors. Whoever the eventual nominees for the two parties, the pair should focus their debates, at least in some part, on ways to ensure the effective use of our scientific assets. In our last issue we ran a p

During my recent stay in Moscow I was told several different variations on the following anecdote. Japanese experts were invited to assess the state of Soviet electronics and computer technology, and to tell their hosts how long it would take for the Soviet Union to catch up to Japan. “We thought you were behind us 15 or 20 years,” the Japanese experts responded, “But now we have come to the conclusion that it is forever.” A professor in Moscow told me that in the 194

SAN DIEGO-Three U.S. journals still have not published retractions or clarifications on nine articles by Robert A. Slutsky that 18 months ago were declared fraudulent or questionable. One small journal is waiting for its publishing house to obtain permission from Slutsky. A second publication has withdrawn only research retracted by Slutsky himself. The third journal has printed no corrections because neither Slutsky nor his co-authors have requested retractions. All said they feared litigat