The House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee's regulatory legislation on recombinant DNA technology is discussed along with university reactions to it. Violations of federal guidelines and legal efforts are described. (LBH)

Federal support for basic research is assessed with particular attention directed toward those agencies that are most likely to receive increased funding. (LBH)

Topics from a September, 1976, symposium on the "Origins of Human Cancer" are cited to illustrate the author's contention that what is needed at such meetings is the scientists' own assessment of the uses to which their work is put in the context of ethics. Their own public commitment is needed to influence public policy. (LBH)

The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded several grants to study effects of and possible solutions to the problem of "acid rain"; pollution from atmospheric nitric and sulfuric acids. The research program is administered through North Carolina State University at Raleigh and will focus on biological effects of acid rain. (JMF)

Focus is on the $30.6 billion portion of the federal budget for fiscal year 1980 that is allotted to research and development. Budgets discussed include those of colleges and universities, the National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation, Defense Department, Agriculture Department, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and…

The board that advises the Secretary of HEW on ethics has given a qualified approval for further review of federal funding for research on human embryos conceived in the laboratory. Issues and concerns that influenced the board's decision are addressed. (JMD)

Economic problems, including the impact of Proposition 13, are reviewed that are affecting federal financial support for basic research. Focus is on political attitudes within Congress and the Carter Administration, including their effect on grants for research at land grant colleges. (LBH)