Peer Review and the Support of Science
A statistical analysis of the evaluative procedures on which the National Science Foundation bases its funding decisions provides no evidence to substantiate recent public criticisms
Features
X-Ray Stars in Globular Clusters
The dense central cores of some such clusters favor the formation of X-ray-emitting double stars in which a neutron star or black hole accretes matter from a star still consuming its nuclear fuel...
Fundamental Particles with Charm
The search for particles with this quantum-mechanical property has been a preoccupation of high-energy physics. A few such particles have now been seen in the debris of electron-positron annihilations...
Side-Looking Airborne Radar
A radar antenna mounted on the belly of an aircraft and aimed to the side can record microwave images of terrain in striking detail, regardless of the weather or the time of day or night...
The Structure and Function of Histocompatibility Antigens
Histocompatibility antigens are proteins of the cell surface that cause the rejection of tissue grafted from one person to another. They may also help defend the body against infection and cancer...
The Solution of the Four-Color-Map Problem
Four colors suffice to color any planar map so that no two adjacent countries are the same color. This famous conjecture has been proved true by a new kind of proof, one that relies on high-speed computers...
How the Iron Age Began
Until almost the end of the second millennium B. C. bronze was the utilitarian metal of the Mediterranean world. Within a few centuries it was replaced by a new kind of metal: "steeled" iron...
Hallucinations
These false perceptions, which can occur in any of the senses, turn out to be much alike from one person to another. Apparently they have their roots in excitations of the central nervous system...
Departments
50 and 100 Years Ago, October 1977
Science and the Citizen, October 1977
- Letters
Letters to the Editors, October 1977
- Recommended
Books, October 1977
- Mathematical Recreation
Mathematical Games, October 1977
- Amateur Scientist
The Amateur Scientist, October 1977
- Departments
The Authors, October 1977
Bibliography, October 1977
