LONDON—Unless you’ve got a mean case of ulcers, you may barely have heard of Glaxo, maker of the top-selling digestive aid Zantac. But recent COUPS by the British pharmaceutical giant’s staff scientists have catapulted the firm to the forefront of the drug industry, giving its United States rivals a case of corporate ulcers. In the 1970s, Glaxo was consid ered an industrial laggard. But in the past eight years, the pharmaceutical company has pulled a stunning about-face. Besid

LONDON—John Hamlyn’s laboratory walls at the University of Maryland are plastered with pictures of the English countryside of his youth. The 34-year-old physiologist says he would like to return there some day, “but not in the foreseeable future. ” Hamlyn received his Ph.D. in physiology from Glasgow University and planned to return to the United Kingdom after some training abroad. But during a 1981 visit home he “was appalled at the state of science” in hi

LONDON—Leaders of Britain’s highly successful doing industry say that reduced government spending on academic research in chemistry, biology and medicine will limit industry’s ability to hire talented people and turn new ideas into profitable products. Coming from one of Britain’s leading research-based manufacturing businesses, the attack may well influence the Thatcher government as it comes under increased pressure to boost funds for basic research in higher educat

LONDON—Western Europe has solidified its position as the world’s third major force in space following an agreement by the 13-nation European Space Agency to develop its own manned space capability by 2000. The agreement, reached at a meeting earlier this month of ESA ministers in The Hague, also promises to strengthen the hand of the European nations in their final round of negotiations with the United States over participation in the U.S.-led international manned space station p

LONDON—The 13-nation European Space Agency is expected to endorse a series of projects later this month that could boost the agency’s annual budget from $1.7 billion to $3 billion by 1993. The new efforts include a more powerful version of its Ariane satellite launcher, a manned Hermes spacecraft and the Columbus orbitbig laboratory that would be part of the U.S. space station. Hermes, which zoom into orbit atop the improved Ariane rocket, would give Western Europe its first opport

LONDON—Cooperation between Western Europe and the United States on the manned space station have been thrown in doubt by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s decision not to boost the British space budget. Thatcher’s announcement that there was little immediate hope for an increase in Britain’s $170 million annual spending on civilian space technology dashed the hopes of her partners in the 13-nation European Space Agency that the country would become a leading contribut

LONDON—Space scientists from Western Europe and the Soviet Union are involved in what may be the most extensive extraterrestrial collaboration between the two sides in the 30-year history of the space age. The cooperation comes in the form of an orbiting observatory that is expected to begin transmitting data shortly. The Roentgen laboratory for collecting X-rays in space was built largely by scientists from the Netherlands, Britain, West Germany and the 13-nation European Space Agency and

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

LONDON—The United States and its European partners remain far apart on how the planned space station should be managed after three days of talks late last month in Paris. "There was no evolution in the U.S. position," said Jean Arets, head of international programs for the 13-member European Space Agency. "It is difficult to know where we go from here." The original timetable for the manned station, which also involves Japan and Canada, called for all partners to agree by this summer on th

LONDON—Competing schemes to take Western Europe into a new era in extraterrestrial transportation are posing a conundrum for the continent's space planners. At the heart of the debate is just how ambitious Western Europe wants to be in its next generation of space launchers, together with whether the countries involved can put aside their contrasting approaches and agree on a common goal. At issue is the next big transportation project for the 13-nation European Space Agency (ESA), the Par