National Lab Briefs

DOE May Stem Flow Of Information Will the recent disclosure that Department of Energy labs have been allowing foreign countries to obtain sensitive information on nuclear weapons lead to a crackdown on scientific access? Researchers are concerned that the findings of a General Accounting Office investigation could hinder access to legitimate material requested under freedom-of-information laws. The June GAO report, which was commissioned by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, reported t

| 2 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00
Share

Will the recent disclosure that Department of Energy labs have been allowing foreign countries to obtain sensitive information on nuclear weapons lead to a crackdown on scientific access? Researchers are concerned that the findings of a General Accounting Office investigation could hinder access to legitimate material requested under freedom-of-information laws. The June GAO report, which was commissioned by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, reported that in 1987 the Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, and Sandia national labs approved nearly 300 requests from nations believed to have secret nuclear-weapons programs for information on subjects such as detonators, high explosives, and neutron generators. The report recommends that DOE “seek a legislative exemption from the Freedom Of Information Act” for unclassified data that could be of use to such “sensitive” countries. But David Albright senior staff scientist for the Federation of American Scientists, warns that such a move “tends to inhibit research that sounds ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here
July Digest 2025
July 2025, Issue 1

What Causes an Earworm?

Memory-enhancing neural networks may also drive involuntary musical loops in the brain.

View this Issue
Explore synthetic DNA’s many applications in cancer research

Weaving the Fabric of Cancer Research with Synthetic DNA

Twist Bio 
Illustrated plasmids in bright fluorescent colors

Enhancing Elution of Plasmid DNA

cytiva logo
An illustration of green lentiviral particles.

Maximizing Lentivirus Recovery

cytiva logo
Explore new strategies for improving plasmid DNA manufacturing workflows.

Overcoming Obstacles in Plasmid DNA Manufacturing

cytiva logo

Products

shiftbioscience

Shift Bioscience proposes improved ranking system for virtual cell models to accelerate gene target discovery

brandtechscientific-logo

BRANDTECH Scientific Launches New Website for VACUU·LAN® Lab Vacuum Systems

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Waters Enhances Alliance iS HPLC System Software, Setting a New Standard for End-to-End Traceability and Data Integrity 

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Agilent Unveils the Next Generation in LC-Mass Detection: The InfinityLab Pro iQ Series