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The article analyzes several problems faced by the U.S. federal government on scientific research coordination. According to the Subcommittee on Reorganization and International Organizations' study led by Hubert H. Humphrey, the U.S. federal government's financial support for scientific research, development, and testing amounted to $8.1 billion a year. However, the federal government found out that no complete inventory exists of the program in research and development. Furthermore, there is no central inventory of projects and no attention was given to the lack of information on project control. Another difficulty, is the increase in administrative work necessary to make published results available, as financial support also increases.

The article discusses an extensive and well documented study entitled "Education and Professional Employment in USSR" by Nicholas Dewitt, Harvard Research Center political scientist and research associate of the National Academy of Science's Office of Scientific Personnel. Dewitt's study raises difficult questions for the U.S. educators and concluded that the focus of USSR is to educate the engineers and scientists which will serve the state. In addition, Dewitt's study ended by stating that Soviet higher education is failure if the education's objective is to develop a creative intellect critical of society and its values.

The article reports on the new peaceful uses of atomic energy which were shown in 1961. According to the author, there are three characteristics of radioactive materials which describe for many of their uses. These include the ability of radiation to penetrate solid materials, the fact that radioisotopes broadcast their positions by constant emission of radiation and the fact that emitted radiation can be converted to heat and to electrical power. The possibility of using radiation to preserve food, using it for power generation and developing reactors to heat hydrogen to high temperatures and then expel it for thrust are among the peaceful uses of atomic energy.

The article reports on the Pentagon Office of Civil Defense, which will shoulder the primary civil defense responsibility in the U.S. under the leadership of department head, Steuart L. Pittman. The office will train 1,400 government and private personnel to conduct a survey of existing shelters. It will also issue an updated everyman's guide to civil defense, to be sent to every mailing address in the country. It claims that its $93 million existing shelter survey will turn up shelter for 50 million people by December 1962. The interest of the government has been reflected in public concern, particularly on private shelters. The civil defense hearing before the House Military Applications Subcommittee is discussed.

The article reports developments related to aeronautics in 1961. An Atlas rocket of the Soviet Union which carries a project Mercury capsule toward orbit has allegedly ran amuck and was destroyed on April 25. Representative Roman C. Pucinski of the U.S. stated that the evidence claiming that Yuri Gagarin had orbited the earth may be a hoax. U.S. former president Dwight D. Eisenhower said that the U.S. must not feel overexcited about the Soviets putting the first man in space.

The article focuses on the studies on nuclear power in which several bodies have studied fuel supplies and projected future energy needs including the Committee of Natural Resources of the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Geological Survey, and a committed from the United Nations. The results of their studies are combined in the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) report to the U.S. president titled "Civilian Nuclear Power." The AEC report recognizes that nuclear power must be made more attractive economically before industry will invest enough to meet future power needs.

The article discusses the results of space exploration of astronauts to Mars and Venus. Results of experiments show that Venus is covered with cold, dense clouds, whose hydrocarbon components make the cover something like a very dense Los Angeles smog. In Mars an Italian astronomer discovered dark markings on its buff-ochre surface which he called cannali or canals, astronomers have noted that the canals and larger, dark gray equatorial regions change color with the seasons. The results of these experiments and other investigations will undoubtedly lead to special designs for the human environment astronauts of the future will occupy on their explorations.

The article reports on the proposed manned lunar landing program called Apollo by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The agency is said to spend an estimated $50 billion for the said project. Its overall plans includes orbiting the first Apollo spacecraft in 1964 and attempting a manned lunar landing in 1967. The development of the Apollo spacecraft is being managed by the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas. The entire lunar program has been supervised by D. Brainerd Holmes of the NASA.

The article reports on the proposal of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to increase the fallout due to the nuclear testing made by Soviet Union in 1961. According to AEC Deputy Director for Operational Safety Gordon M. Dunning, the total amount of fission products scattered by the Soviet Union from all their past tests exceeds that for the U.S. and for Great Britain. The expected increase in fallout will still be equal to, or as much as double, in the spring of 1959. The Food and Drug Administration has been making studies of radiation levels of food and exploring methods of removing possible radioactive contaminants.

The article offers news briefs related to space developments in the U.S. The country has sent a second man, Virgil I. Grissom, to space on July 21, 1961. The country has led in numbers of satellites launched, with a better than three-to-one margin over the Soviet Union. President John F. Kennedy has outlined the country's communications satellite policy.

The article offers information on the announcement made by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on August 31, 1961 that it was resuming nuclear testing because of the pressure from imperialist countries. The resumption statement of the Soviet Union has charged bad faith and deception on the part of the U.S. The announcement of the Americans to resume nuclear testing is also emphasized in the article.

The article offers information on the developments of civil defense in the U.S. Eugene J. Quindlen of the Office of Civil Defense and Mobilization has computed in 1959 the casualties that would be involved in an attack in the Country. Many think that a civil defense and shelter program might save many lives and would not increase the danger of war.

The article reports on developments relating to research in atomic energy in the U.S. A power plant in Hanford, Washington is being developed by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) which is generated as a byproduct of converting uranium to plutonium. The AEC filed a report critical of its own procedures and safety regulations, as a result of investigations following an accident in which three army enlisted were killed. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ruled that AEC does not need to make an absolute safety ruling before issuing a reactor construction permit but may defer the question until issuing an operating license.

The article reports on developments relating to peace movements for the disarmament of nuclear weapons. A proposal was sent by U.S. President John F. Kennedy to the Congress to establish a disarmament agency, whose main responsibility is to formulate and implement the disarmament policy. James J. Wadsworth has been chosen to head a newly founded Peace Research Institute. The Peace Corps will begin operation with projects in Colombia, Chile, and the Philippines, where the projects include small farming, rural construction, and sanitation aids.

The article reports on the opening of Soviet Union of its Soviet-American exchange of graduate students and faculty members to work in their research institutes of the Academy of Sciences. The Russians have accepted the study plans by eliminating the need for long individual negotiations when the scholar arrives in the country. It is said that the program will provide the committee with adequate information about the opportunities at the institutes, as well as the courses being offered in the universities.

The article discusses the decision of the U.S. House of Representatives to reject a compromise proposal from the Senate regarding a single electric generator at the Atomic Energy Commission's Hanford, Washington plutonium production reactor. The private power companies, coal producers and the United Mine Workers Union have strongly campaigned against the bill. The project was recommended by the federal administration and by the bipartisan Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. Representative Chet Holifield, the congressperson of California and chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, has accused power companies of a conspiracy to block federal power reactors.

Career developments involving employees in the U.S. and in Soviet Union are discussed. Trofim D. Lysenko has been chosen president of the Soviet Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Victor F. Weisskopf has been chosen fourth director general of the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Maurice Goldhaber was named new director of the Brookhaven National Laboratory.

The article offers international news briefs. The United Nations has been facing a financial crisis since spring of 1960 and by the end of 1961. The scientists from 15 countries have met on December 5-17, 1961 for the seventh Conference on Science and World Affairs in Stowe, Vermont. The eleventh Meeting of the International Astronomical Union at Berkeley, California has faced several issues, including the China's problem and project West Ford.

The article reports on developments relating to research and education on atomic energy in the U.S. The National Science Foundation has awarded 44 North Atlantic Treaty Organization post-doctoral fellowships in science, where recipients will be given chances to study in nine countries abroad. A major scholarship program has been established by the N.S. International Cooperation Administration to provide education for 300 African students at the U.S. universities. An American Academy of Arts and Sciences study urges a ten-year sequence of science teaching for students equip in a scientifically oriented study.

The article reports on the cancellation made by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to the grant which was given to Edward Yellin who had one semester of course work remaining for a Doctor's degree in mechanical engineering. Yellin became a member of the communist party for the period of 1948 to 1957. The decision was made by the director, Alan Waterman and several board members, and endorsed by the board of directors of the foundation. NSF has placed Yellin in the position of being accused by implication of fraud or perjury.

The article reports the findings of the report conducted by the U.S. Senate Government Operations Committee which focused on improving the science organization for the national security of the country. The report recommends on making the post of special assistant a permanent part of the government, whose responsibilities include recommending to the President long-term science needs, and coordination and evaluating agency programs. It also points that there are much to be done even with the improvement on the part of the department and agency technical staffs.

The article discusses the development of neutron bomb in the U.S. According to the author, this bomb has been described as a thermonuclear bomb which could be used in combat, but doing a little damage to buildings and ground installations. He adds that the detonator for a thermonuclear bomb must be relatively small if it is to be used to explode large numbers of the neutron bombs. Electromagnetic methods of containing hot electrified plasma could also be applied in a different way to instantaneous concentration of heat in a very small volume.