Discusses the impact of science on society from three interpretive bases; the practical applications of science; scientific knowledge and information; and the scientific attitude and approach to phenomena. Suggests that all three bases must be considered or the distortion resulting can have far-reaching effects on man's selection of future…

A research memorandum presents the results of an on-going study into the implications of a moral science. Adopting a moral stance in scientific investigation would entail the abandonment of analytic modes of inquiry for more holistic, open-ended ones. The basic premise of a moral science is that it is possible for men to reach agreement on what is…

More than ever, educators are expected to make decisions that guarantee quality instruction. As knowledge emerges, so do philosophies, opinions, and rhetoric about definitions of instructional excellence. From policy makers to classroom teachers, educators need ways to separate misinformation from genuine knowledge and to distinguish scientific…

Presents the mathematics of body size and surface area to volume. Examines arguments used related to the topic. Concludes that while some of the traditional arguments are valid, most are not. One analysis for an organism is provided in an appendix. (YP)

Discusses the shock wave sweeping through traffic flow. Describes the characteristics of kinematic waves in different traffic flows. Presents the author's experiences in studying traffic flow. (YP)

Described are the idea of chaos and the ability to control the chaotic behavior of a real-world physical system. Included is an explanation of the methodology and applications in biology and chemistry. (KR)

Asserts that science instruction should have students behaving as real scientists. Discusses benefits of high school science research programs for precocious youths. (PR)

Discusses current biological research related to plants, including rootless plants, cellulose synthesis, plant identification in forensic science, and plant chemistry. Contains 19 references. (WRM)

Outlines a program that was designed to be the first step in the development of an academic home for informal science education at the New York University. Aims at taking advantage of nonformal educational resources and bridging the formal and nonformal systems in order to provide people with access to an understanding of science and technology.…

Describes a study of students' (n=106) written questions about topics they considered extremely interesting and not very interesting. Finds that there were significant positive relationships for questions written for high and low interest levels, and also significant positive relationships between question level and achievement in reading,…

It is hard and getting harder to strike a satisfying balance in teaching. Time dedicated to student-generated models or ideas is often sacrificed in an effort to "get through the syllabus." I describe a series of RNA interference (RNAi) experiments for undergraduate students that simultaneously explores fundamental concepts in gene regulation,…

The accelerating rate of data generation and resulting publications are taxing the ability of scientific investigators to stay current with the emerging literature. This problem, acute in science, is not uncommon in other areas. New approaches to managing this explosion of information are needed. While it is only possible to read one paper or…

Researchers in the field of bioinformatics have developed a number of analytical programs and databases that are increasingly important for advancing biological research. Because bioinformatics programs are used to analyze, visualize, and/or compare biological data, it is likely that the use of these programs will have a positive impact on biology…

Techniques of reversing English-Russian scientific and technical dictionaries into Russian-English versions through semi-automated compilation are described. Sections on manual and automatic processing discuss pre- and post-editing, the task program, updater (correction of errors and revision by specialist in a given field), the system employed…

This column for high school teachers, written by high school teachers, discusses several interesting anecdotes related to the formulation of laws and the determination of constants. Science history is presented in a manner that can enliven classroom presentations and aid in understanding the principle itself. (Authur/SA)