Science: R & D on the Skids

U.S. science is the best in the world.

For years following World War II, U.S. scientists and Government officials could—and often did—make this statement without fear of challenge. Now, however, those who do are likely to meet with a demurrer, even from within the scientific community. No one believes the U.S. has lost its overall advantage in science and technology. But scientists attending a two-day symposium sponsored by Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Washington last week agreed that the U.S. lead has diminished drastically in the past decade and could erode entirely if the nation does not take some serious—and speedy—steps...