Issues in Science and Technology articles from September 1998

Issues in Science and Technology archives from September 1998

Preserving civil liberties in an age of terrorism.
September 22, 1998... The key to stopping terrorists is to be found in foreign policy, not aggressive policing of citizens. In a little-noticed appearance before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council in late June of 1998, Secretary of Defense William Cohen did...

Drive to double R&D spending gains momentum.
September 22, 1998... The spotlight on the importance of national investments in R&D has shifted and intensified recently. In a June 8 commencement speech at the Georgia Institute of Technology, House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) endorsed a doubling of federal...

R&D faring well in FY 1999 appropriations process.
September 22, 1998... Although R&D has emerged as a high priority for the House and the Senate, as of mid-September it was still unclear to what degree that support would translate into increased funding for FY 1999, which began on October 1. Two factors were...

Research tax credits expire once again.
September 22, 1998... Although Congress allowed the research and experimentation tax credits to expire on June 30, it most likely will reinstate them this fall, and bills have been introduced that would extend the credits permanently and increase the number of...

Protection of human subjects in research questioned.
September 22, 1998... While patient advocates and scientific organizations are lobbying to boost government investment in biomedical research and the director of the National Cancer Institute has called for a fivefold increase in the number of clinical trials, the...

Private venture to sequence human genome launched.
September 22, 1998... The announcement of a private venture to sequence the entire human genome at less cost and in less time than the huge federal effort is raising some concerns in Congress as well as among scientists. In May, Craig Venter, president and...

Clinton climate change plan takes some heat.
September 22, 1998... The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), in a preliminary analysis, has criticized the administration's plan to combat rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The report has buoyed members of Congress who are skeptical about...

The electronic world.(online publication of 'Issues in Science and Technology' journal)(Editorial)
September 22, 1998... Check it out.www.nap.edu www.nas.edu Publication on the Internet has been in the headlines recently. First, the posting of the Starr report on the grand jury investigation of President Clinton created an electronic logjam as hundreds of...

U.S. failure in international scientific cooperation.
September 22, 1998... In August 1991, we traveled to Mexico to meet with policymakers and scientists about the establishment of a United States-Mexico science foundation devoted to supporting joint research on problems of mutual interest. We encountered enthusiasm...

Pressure to deploy missile defenses increasing.
September 22, 1998... In "Star Wars Redux" (Issues, Winter 1994-95), I discussed U.S. plans to develop and deploy highly capable defenses against theater (or tactical) ballistic missiles with ranges up to 3,500 kilometers. I argued that large-scale deployment of...

Environmental policy in the age of genetics.
September 22, 1998... Rapidly emerging technology could lead to a fundamental shift in the way we safeguard human health. In April 1965, a young researcher at Fairchild Semiconductor named Gordon Moore published an article in an obscure industry magazine...

Collaborative R&D: how effective is it?
September 22, 1998... Industry, government, and universities are engaging n ever more joint efforts; it's time to take stock. R&D collaboration is widespread in the U.S. economy of the 1990s. Literally hundreds of agreements now link the R&D efforts of U.S....

Drugs and drug policy: the case for a slow fix.
September 22, 1998... The main policy goal should be to minimize the aggregate societal damage associated with drug use. "Fanaticism," says Santayana, "consists of redoubling your efforts when you have lost sight of your aim." An old Alcoholics Anonymous adage...

Fighting crime by treating substance abuse.
September 22, 1998... Tackling the core problem of addiction could curb criminal behavior and ease the burden on government budgets. During the past 15 years, concerns about crime and violence have prompted increased law enforcement, prosecution, and punishment....

Critical infrastructure: interlinked and vulnerable.
September 22, 1998... Computers and communications are boosting performance, but interconnection increases the risk of a technological domino effect. The infrastructure of the United States - the foundations on which the nation is built - is a complex system of...

An electronic Pearl Harbor? Not likely.(information warfare)
September 22, 1998... The government's evidence about U.S. vulnerability to cyber attack is shaky at best. Information warfare: The term conjures up a vision of unseen enemies, armed only with laptop personal computers connected to the global computer network,...

Natural flood control.
September 22, 1998... To control flooding, we need to work with the forces of nature instead of simply trying to eliminate them. Americans have always feared floods, and with good reason. Floods are the most common and costly large natural disturbances affecting...

Research support for the power industry.
September 22, 1998... New technology may bring great changes but the market alone is unlikely to support the needed research. A revolution is sweeping the electric power industry. Vertically integrated monopoly suppliers and tight regulation are being replaced...

Tracking trends in federal research spending.
September 22, 1998... Absolute growth in the federal R&D budget leveled off in the late 1980s in real terms, and it began to fall after 1992 as part of the effort to reduce the federal budget deficit. Budget authority for R&D fell 10.3 percent in real terms between...

Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge.(Review)
September 22, 1998... by Edward O. Wilson. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998, 332 pp. E. O. Wilson is one of the most important intellectuals of our time. He is a scientific leader, well known for his work on ants and his cocreation (with Robert MacArthur) of the...

The Ascent of Science.(Review)
September 22, 1998... by Brian L Silver. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998, 534 pp. The Ascent of Science is a magisterial, witty, and certainly perceptive guide to how contemporary science came to be. It is an idiosyncratic tour, a reflection of the...