Physicists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research discovered W particles using a giant particle accelerator. Existence of the particles confirms a 15-year-old theory about the nature of the universe, proving that electromagnetic and weak forces are related and raising hopes for a comprehensive theory which includes the strong force. (JN)

Describes (in separate articles) 25 developments in science, technology, and medicine that have potential impact on the near future. They include discoveries related to space butterflies, drugs, twenty-first century software, experimental mathematics, brain drugs, egg development, ultrasmall microchips, the biology of birth, cancer-causing genes,…

The declining level of government support for research has provoked concern regarding the impact on British science and scientists' morale and has triggered the formation of a lobbying group called Save British Science. Major issues (including financial considerations) are reported and discussed. (JN)

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)

A National Academy panel evaluates trade-offs between dangers to national security that arise from technology transfers and threats to the openness of scientific communication that are caused by too much secrecy. Major conclusions/suggestions are discussed. A list of acquisitions from the West affecting Soviet military technology is included.…

Argues that both science and society will be better served if the scientific community recognizes that it must assume a strong, coherent negotiating stance in its relationship with government as it did 40 years ago. Defense of the peer review principle is essential to the achievement of this stance. (JN)

Cites the need for promoting science/technology management and policy formation in Thailand, viewing contributions of science/technology to the socioeconomic development of the country as high priorities. Criteria for selecting priority areas and key problems are noted; they include relevance to development, availability of human resources, and…

Explores the function of items of procedural vocabulary as signals of conceptual relations in scientific discourse. Procedural vocabulary consists of lexical items that do not belong to any particular schema. Develops a taxonomy of procedural items in terms of the contextual relations they create between content-bearing words, classifying the…

Examines the gap between American and Soviet science, tracing the gap to overcentralization, an aversion to risk, and emphasis on theory at the expense of application. Indicates that Soviet leaders are aware of some of the problems but that barriers to reform remain strong and prospects for real change are limited. (JN)

Characteristics of science are explained through a historical and a functional approach. Indicates that science works successfully toward traditional goals because individual and group goals tend to coincide, and that competition between individual scientists contributes to the functional organization of science. (DH)

The belief that "knowledge is most effectively pursued when disseminated without hindrance" began when science first took shape in early Greece. Its development during the Middle Ages and Renaissance is discussed (examining patenting innovation), ownership rights became more important as science became a means to power. (DH)

Access to new information, including basic research, has created competitive advantages in the pursuit of military, commercial, and other social goals and has influenced communication practices in science. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility has conducted a project to…

This is a review of important science news stories of 1990 as reported in the pages of this journal. Areas covered include anthropology, astronomy, behavior, biology, biomedicine, chemistry, computers and math, earth sciences, environment, food science, materials science, paleobiology, physics, science and society, and space sciences. (CW)

This report on Federal agency research and development (R&D) is based on the FY 1983 Presidential budget which continues the economic revitalization policies initiated in the previous year's budget. While the report emphasizes analyses of detailed data on R&D performers, fields of science, and geographic distribution of R&D, it also…

This six-chapter report is designed to provide a background against which the U.S. Congress can evaluate specific policy initiatives in the innovation area. Chapter I, an introduction, considers the potential for increased innovation and the government role, focusing on R&D investments and private-sector incentives. Chapter II discusses the links…