University Isotope Separator at Oak Ridge: The UNISOR Consortium

The UNISOR cooperative project, envisioned more than 3 years ago, is now successfully working. Research problems that involve a full range of experiments on nuclei far from beta stability are being investigated jointly by groups of scientists from several institutions. Some of the first work reported (16) included the identification, half-lives, and decay schemes of three new isotopes, (186)T1, (188)T1, and (116)I; the first or new decay schemes of (189)T1, (190)T1, (117)Xe, and (117)I; and the results of the perturbed gamma-gamma directional correlation work in (126)Xe. UNISOR is already stimulating international interest. A report (1) on the new research being planned with an isotope separator on-line to ORIC was presented at a Soviet Academy of Sciences meeting on nuclear structure in 1971. At an international nuclear physics conference in Munich in August 1973, Academician G. N. Flerov, director of the heavy-ion laboratory in Dubna, said the UNISOR project had inspired his laboratory to secure funds for a new, much improved isotope separator which is now installed on-line to their heavy-ion cyclotron to be used for detailed studies of nuclei far from stability. The UNISOR model for research has inspired a second such project, the Atomic Physics Consortium at Oak Ridge (APCOR). After an exploratory conference at Oak Ridge, scientists from ten institutions met in November 1973 to form an organizing committee for APCOR. As with UNISOR, the universities and the AEC will each provide a significant portion of the capital and operating costs. Heavy ions have opened up much new research in atomic physics, but such accelerator-based research represents a real "shift from traditional approaches concerning how, where, and on what time scale atomic physics experiments should be done" (17).     

Corrections and clarifications

In the special section "Minorities in science: The pipeline problem" (13 Nov., p. 1175), the graph on page 1199 showing the field distribution of employed scientists and engineers by ethnicity should have been labeled "Percentage" along the x axis. Also, the designation "Engineers" should have read, "Engineers, total." Labeled correctly, the graph would indicate, for example, that among all employed white scientists and engineers in 1988, about 50% were scientists and 50% were engineers. Of employed black scientists and engineers, about 70% were scientists and only about 30% were engineers. Among Hispanics, the breakdown was about 45% scientists and 55% engineers.     

Prime tests and keeping proofs secret

Stanford, California. On 29 July through 2 August, a group of computer scientists, mathematical physicists, and mathematicians met at Stanford University for a conference on Mathematics and Computers. It was a varied meeting-the talks ranged from the mathematics of chaos to a talk by the peripatetic Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdos on number theory problems that might be interesting to work on. In addition, software vendors set up shop, inviting investigators to bring their problems and try them on different systems. On the last day of the conference, when the talks were in the field of computational complexity-the difficulty of doing certain computer calculations-two new computer science tricks were presented and are recounted here.     

Corrections and clarifications

In the news briefing "The world's most prolific scientists" (17 Jan., p. 283), Arnold L. Rheingold, a crystallographer at the University of Delaware, was inadvertently left off the list of the top 20 most prolific scientists. The Institute for Scientific Information has corrected its list and states that Rheingold published 391 articles and other scientific communications between 1981 and the end of 1990. He should have ranked 13th on the list.     

Rethinking agricultural research roles

An examination of the role ofUniversity weed scientists in herbicide efficacyresearch and long-term weed management studies raisesseveral important questions: who should do what kindof research and what kind of research should be done,and, because the university is a research institutionfunded by the public, there is also the importantquestion of who should pay for the research. Indeveloping a response to these questions, severaldimensions of the relationships within which weedscience works must be considered. The authorsexperience has demonstrated that production, thedominant value in agriculture, provides a sufficientanswer to the questions for many in weed science.However, when weed scientists claim credit forexcellence in production they must also acceptsocietys right to hold them responsible for problemsthey now treat as externalities.     

Corrections and clarifications

In Joseph Palca's article "The case of the Florida dentist" (News & Comment, 24 Jan., p. 392), it should have been made clear that when Barbara Mishkin was indirectly quoted as saying that data gathered by government scientists is fair game for Freedom of Information Act requests, she was speaking of data generated by scientists in the National Institutes of Science intramural research program, unless those data fall within one of the statutory exemptions.     

Research ethics. Studies trace patchwork of conflict policies

For more than a year since the September 1999 death of a teenager in a gene-therapy clinical trial that had industry connections, scientists, ethicists, and government and university officials have been fretting about conflict of interest. But no one could say just how the nation's universities are policing such conflicts. Now, three recently published studies show that requirements for disclosure of outside financial interests vary widely from university to university, as do penalties for violations.     

Electromagnetic Separation of Isotopes at Oak Ridge: An informal account of history, techniques, and accomplishments

In 1960 I attended a European conference on isotope separation, after which I visited the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. A staff member there ventured the opinion that the separation of isotopes will be first on the list of important contributions to the peaceful uses of the atom when the Atomic Energy Commission's memoirs are written in the year 2000. In 1968 the AEC Division of Research contracted with the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a review of the AEC program for the separation of stable isotopes by electromagnetic and thermal diffusion methods. This ad hoc panel comprised seven scientists from the fields of chemistry, classical physics, geochemistry, geophysics, medicine, and physics. In their final report on national uses and needs for separated stable isotopes (9), they referred to the store of separated isotopes as a "real national asset that attains increasing value as science and technology develop" and recommended "continuation of the program as a national resource of great value to the United States." Later, in a discussion of this report with A. M. Weinberg, J. Koch, himself a pioneer in electromagnetic isotope separation and member of the Danish Atomic Energy Program, said he would correct the statement that the Oak Ridge electromagnetic facility is a "national asset" to read "international asset." From my narrow viewpoint after an extended and complete engrossment with this program for so many years, it is gratifying to learn that such men as those mentioned above share my belief that the work has indeed been worthwhile.     

From knowing to controlling: a path from genomics to drugs using small molecule probes

The National Cancer Institute Initiative in Chemical Genetics is designed to encourage the development of small molecular probes. The probes are useful for activating or inactivating protein functions, thereby providing resources that help discern the functions of gene products in normal and disease cells, as well as in tissues. This initiative includes "ChemBank," a suite of informatics tools and databases aimed at promoting the development and use of chemical genetics by scientists worldwide. The information generated with such tools should provide a critical link from genomic discovery to drug development.     

Chemistry with a thousand faces: new ways to play with clay

Like a species that has moved into open niches, evolved, and diversified, chemistry can no longer be seen as a discrete scientific field. Its methods, concepts, and practitioners are penetrating virtually every nook and cranny of science and technology. That message came through clearly 2 weeks ago in New York City at the Fourth Chemical Congress of North America-a week-long conference organized by the American Chemical Society, the Chemical Institute of Canada, and the Chemical Society of Mexico and attended by some 10,000 scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs. In roughly 4200 papers, participants explored such topics as borrowing from nature to improve industrial processes and electronic devices, and controlling the molecular architecture of clays and polymers.     

内蒙古达赉湖保护区狼与牧民冲突研究

近年来,狼袭击家畜时有发生,给牧民造成巨大经济损失,狼与牧民冲突日益加剧。2009年4—5月在内蒙古达赉湖保护区通过走访调查开展了狼与牧民冲突的系统研究。结果表明:6年来内蒙古达赉湖保护区牧民和家畜的数量波动较大,狼的数量一直维持在低水平;狼捕食家畜最严重的时期是每年的冬季,以清晨和黄昏最为频繁。狼捕食大型家畜一般都发生在隐蔽条件较好的苇塘边(>90%),捕食其他家畜多发生在居民点(>70%);相关部门未对牧民的损失进行补偿,90%以上的牧民都认为狼是有害动物,其中65%以上的牧民认为狼带来的损失巨大,应进行有计划的捕杀。为了降低狼与牧民的冲突,应改变当前的放牧方式,加强对家畜看护和建立相应的补偿机制等。     

涉农大学应培养服务于乡村可持续发展的创业者——“GCHERA世界对话”国际研讨会综述

“GCHERA世界对话”国际研讨会于2013年10月20 ～ 21日在南京农业大学举行.研讨会以“农业及生命科学教育与创新——服务于乡村可持续发展创业者的大学”为主题,采取大会报告、专题研讨等形式进行了深入交流,来自30多所国外大学、研究机构和20多所国内大学的200多位专家学者参加了会议.大家认为,大学是社会创新的主要驱动者,涉农大学应当关注农业和农村发展未来,通过政策、制度和实践安排,促进大学与政府、社区和农户的合作伙伴关系,满足乡村可持续发展的知识需求;农业高校的核心任务之一就是培养学生的创业能力,要教会学生在创业中如何生存、如何持续发展和如何成功,通过鼓励创业精神、开设与创业相关的课程、大学与公司协同创新等方式培养创业型学生.会上还公布了2013 GCHERA世界农业奖评选结果,美国康奈尔大学国际植物育种专家罗尼·科夫曼教授获此殊荣,以表彰他为促进作物改良领域的全球合作所做出的卓越贡献.     

农业科研单位提高政策利用效率的途径分析

农业科技项目是我国农业科技进步的主要推动力量,面对当前大量供应的项目和经费资源,一些农业科研单位和科技人员"消化不良"的现象越来越突出。文章分析了现象产生的主要因素,提出农业科研单位要按照农业科研规律和自身发展的特点,充分利用国家政策,加强顶层设计的建议,即用开放的理念组建创新团队、用产业的思维设计项目体系、用系统的原则建设平台和用构建"资金蓄水池"的方式运筹经费等。     

NASA life sciences. An improvement in vital signs

Last week a hefty Russian module with living and working quarters for astronauts docked with the pieces of the international space station already in orbit, a critical step in creating a full-time orbiting laboratory. Meanwhile, NASA bureaucrats put the finishing touches on a realignment of the agency's struggling biology effort that should bolster fundamental research and allow scientists to make better use of the facility, scheduled to be completed in 2005. The two events raise the hopes of U.S. academic space life scientists that their discipline is at last on the ascent at NASA.     

Providing Precision Farming Education Through Conferences and Workshops

In response to rapidly growing interest in precision farming, universities and others have developed numerous educational programs. Many of these events are multi-day conferences and workshops as these venues provide the time necessary for attendees to learn about the many technologies, analysis approaches, and management strategies that make up precision farming. The Washington State University Western Precision Agriculture Conference, the Assiniboine Community College Precision Agriculture Conference and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Crop Modeling for Environment-Specific Management Workshop exemplify these types of educational programs. The Western Precision Agriculture Conference uses a traditional format where the audience primarily listens to presentations. The Assiniboine Community College Precision Agriculture Conference provides a mixture of presentations and hands-on sessions where attendees actually use precision farming tools or develop site-specific management plans. Finally, those who attend the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Crop Modeling for Environment-Specific Management Workshop complete exercises related to each topic and presentation. Because a conference or workshop brings many experts together for a short period of time, organizers of all three events have tried to capture conference content for later use in other educational programs. Their approaches to this include videotaping interviews of conference speakers and assembling software and data used during the conference on compact disk. Given the multidisciplinary nature of precision farming, conferences and workshops that utilize multiple expert presenters such as those discussed in this paper are among the best sources of precision farming education.     

Erratum

In the Briefing "Tyler Prize goes to Cornell scientists" (News & Comment, 30 Mar., p. 1539), it is incorrectly stated that the Tyler committee is based at the University of California at Los Angeles. The committee has been based for the past 10 years at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.     

现代农业科技革命与农技推广人才队伍发展

现代农业科技革命的标志是现代高新的生物技术和信息技术在农业领域的具体应用。面向现代农业科技革命的农技推广人才队伍发展对策是:加大政策扶持力度,提高农技推广人才的社会地位;加强培训工作,提高农技推广人才的素质;增强创新意识,提高农技推广人才解决实际生产问题的能力。     

Terminology of cell-water relations

Use of the term "water potential" in place of "diffusion pressure deficit" would improve communication between botanists and scientists in other fields because the concept of potential is familiar to most scientists. Water potential, expressed as PsiW, is the difference in free energy or chemical potential per unit molal volume between pure water and water in cells at the same temperature. The potential of pure water is set at zero; hence the potential of water in cells and solutions is less than zero, or negative. The water potential of a cell is numerically equal to its diffusion pressure deficit, but has a negative sign.     

PLANETARY SCIENCE: Imaging Spat Pits Amateur Against Pros

A long-running dispute over who should get credit for first reporting landmarks on Mercury's uncharted hemisphere burst into public view on 26 May, when a Boston University press release claimed honors for a BU team without mentioning the contributions of an erstwhile collaborator, amateur astronomer Ron Dantowitz. The row, which has left both sides bitter and unwilling to work with each other, "was the opposite of how a collaboration between amateurs and professionals should be," says one of the scientists involved.