Science and politics: free speech controversy at lawrence laboratory

The Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, one of the nation's most distinguished scientific institutions, has been struck by a series of "free speech" controversies in recent months. The laboratory, which is operated by the University of California and is almost entirely funded by the Atomic Energy Commission, has facilities in two California locations, Berkeley and Livermore. Each has been under fire for allegedly stifling open discussion of controversial issues. The Berkeley facility, a leading center for the study of high-energy physics and fundamental nuclear science, has been split by an internal debate over the right of scientists to hold formal political discussions at the laboratory during their lunch hours. The controversy has led to the banning of meetings, the circulating of petitions and counterpetitions bearing hundreds of names, the publishing of an underground newspaper, and the suspension of a controversial physicist. The Livermore facility, a major center for developing nuclear weapons, has been accused of trying to muzzle two staff scientists who contend that existing radiation standards are too lax to protect the public from nuclear radiation hazards. Livermore has also been the target of demonstrations and of a lawsuit seeking to open the weapons laboratory to allow discussions between outsiders and staff scientists concerning the implications of weapons research. The article below discusses the controversy at the Berkeley laboratory, where only unclassified research is performed. A subsequent article will discuss the conflict at security-conscious Livermore.     

Foundering lithosphere imaged beneath the southern Sierra Nevada, California, USA

Seismic tomography reveals garnet-rich crust and mantle lithosphere descending into the upper mantle beneath the southeastern Sierra Nevada. The descending lithosphere consists of two layers: an iron-rich eclogite above a magnesium-rich garnet peridotite. These results place descending eclogite above and east of high P wave speed material previously imaged beneath the southern Great Valley, suggesting a previously unsuspected coherence in the lithospheric removal process.     

溴敌隆膨化颗粒毒饵防治农田鼠类效果试验

溴敌隆(Bromdiolone)属第二代抗凝血杀鼠剂,对家栖鼠类和农田鼠类都具有较好的杀灭效果[1,2].以往由于各生产厂商都只生产0.5%水剂母液,药物载体(基饵)则由使用者自行选择和配制.因而在同一地区长时间使用一种饵料或一种剂型,会导致鼠类降低适口性和灭鼠效果[3,4].近年来天津市天庆化工有限责任公司生产一种新型的溴敌隆膨化颗粒毒饵,据产品说明书介绍,该剂型是通过膨化后的成品毒饵,具有松脆、清香,家、野栖鼠特别喜吃,适口性特别好.为了解该剂型对农田鼠类的适口性和防治效果,结合贵州省农田鼠害研究协作组2002年的项目安排,笔者于2002年7～8月在岑巩县思阳镇亚坝村进行了灭鼠试验.现将试验结果报告如下:     

Lead aerosol baseline: concentration at White Mountain and Laguna Mountain, California

The lead aerosol concentration at White Mountain, California, may be regarded as the present baseline concentration for atmospheric lead for the continental United States. The seasonal trend of lead aerosols at White Mountain and Laguna Mountain shows a summer maximum and a winter minimum. This is because both mountain sampling sites are well above the thermal (radiation) inversion, which normally occurs in the winter, trapping pollutants below the inversion boundary.