Although Clinton and Bush disagree on the details, both candidates support increased efforts in R&D As the United States presidential campaign heads into its final stages, President George Bush and Democratic challenger Gov. Bill Clinton are maneuvering for the political high ground on the subject of high tech--particularly technology-driv-en approaches to bolstering the nation's economy and global competitiveness. Both candidates occasionally have addressed issues of federal support for bas

New agency rules will require universities to ensure that grantees have no monetary stake in corporate enterprises The Department of Health and Human Services is moving ahead with final work on long-awaited regulations to deal with financial conflict-of-interest questions involving researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health and other Public Health Service (PHS) agencies, NIH officials confirm. A draft of the regulations obtained by The Scientist puts nearly all responsibility f

In an effort to cope with hurdles posed by the post-Cold War "new order," National Science Foundation director Walter E. Massey is looking to a 15-member special panel to assist NSF with charting out a "new strategic plan" to the year 2000 and beyond. Massey says he is hopeful that the newly formed Special Commission on the Future of the NSF, which he announced during an August 13-14 presentation before the National Science Board (NSB), will serve to complement the "long-range planning process"

As some hail the VP nominee's grasp of the issues, others claim he exploits science in order to advance his own political agenda When Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton tapped Tennessee Sen. Al Gore as his vice presidential running mate last month, many political pundits found it easy to challenge the wisdom of Clinton's decision. They pointed out the striking similarities between the two men--both young political moderates from neighboring southern states--wondering what, indeed, Gore was adding to t

Some researchers question the aura of secrecy that surrounds the presidential panel's closed-door sessions on science policy Scientists around the United States appear to be at loggerheads over the question, brought to the fore by a recent lawsuit, of whether the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST) should be conducting a greater portion of its work in meetings that are open to the press and public. On one hand, some, including PCAST members, say that discussing