Whether by conscious design or not, the nomination and election procedures have permitted, or perhaps simply resulted in, the self perpetuation of an academic and institutional in-group as a numerical majority of the Academy's membership. (Author/AL)

Major bases of concern in biomedical research community are identified, particularly those related to the unexpected year-to-year and institute-to-institute variations in support from NIH. (AL)

A National Academy of Science report ("Physics Through the 1990's") says that American physics has been a highly diversified and productive enterprise, but continued excellence cannot be taken for granted. Progress in six subfields (elementary particle, nuclear, condensed-matter, atomic/molecular, plasma/fluid, and gravitation/cosmology physics)…

Describes the organization of education, particulary higher education, and medical and scientific research in North Vietnam. Description is based on experiences during a lecture tour as well as available literature. (AL)

Describes a recent move of scientists and university administrators in Japan to allow external peer review in an effort to convince government bureaucrats that Japan's academic research is up to world standards and therefore deserves more money. (ZWH)

Reports on an experiment in institutional funding. Grants were awarded to universities with detailed plans for developing their science programs. Major findings of the study are reported in the areas of faculty size, faculty mobility, scholarly productivity, graduate student enrollment, Ph.D. production, postdoctorate employment and geographical…

Describes an experimental approach for controlling fusion that involves a toroidal device that holds and heats reactive isotopes of hydrogen with a magnetic field. (GS)

Provides selected examples to illustrate the impact of computers in science. Indicates that the most important single factor that has affected and will continue to affect the use of computers in science is the steady advance of technology, especially in the areas of logic and memory. (JN)

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) wants universities to convert to low-grade fuel in their research reactions. Researchers claim the conversion, which will bring U.S. reactors in line with a policy the NRC is trying to impress on foreigners, could be financially and scientifically costly. Impact of the policy is considered. (JN)

Describes the organization of university education and scientific research (mainly biological) in China. There appears to be an emphasis on applied research and on the elimination of elitism from scientific, technical and intellectual activity. (AL)

Provides information regarding recent administrative budgetary decisions for 1982 to support basic research in the universities from Department of Defense (DOD) monies. Discusses the concern that research and training programs on campuses remain unclassified, even though DOD monies fund the programs. (CS)

Comments on the personalities and viewpoints of Richard Leakey and Donald Johanson, paleoanthropologists who hold differing views on the origin of humans. Summarizes major paleoanthropological finds and suggests the use of radio-immunoassay techniques for untangling the human family tree. (JN)

Discusses the findings of a study that involves the testing of the pharmaceutical Ampakines on laboratory rats. Rats administered Ampakines learn remarkably quickly to navigate new mazes. The question now is does the drug make the rats alert or memory enhanced. Implications for treatment in humans is discussed. (ZWH)

Lists informal definitions for 130 terms dealing with recombinant DNA research. (CS)

Many proposals have been made for new universities in U.S. research and development (R&D) systems. However, current foundations and strengths should be examined before attempting untried approaches. Areas addressed include the supporting environment, university research system, industrial R&D capability, defense-related R&D, and…