in the amino acid analyses include Dr. K. Harada and Dr. P. E. Hare with Dr. Fox, and Dr. C. Gehrke, Dr. R. Zumwalt, and K. Kuo (all at the University of Missouri, Columbia) with Dr. Ponnamperuma. Lunar amino acid precursors that give rise to amino acids by hydrolysis are considered to be a possibility, however, by Dr. Fox. On the other hand, Dr. Paul B. Hamilton, a member of the group headed by University of Arizona's Bartholomew Nagy, says that he has found free amino acids in the Apollo 11 samples. The amino acids might come from contamination on the moon, however, both Dr. Hamilton and Dr. Gehrke point out, perhaps from rocket fuel or from the astronauts. At least some questions of contamination and analytical methodology (C&EN, Sept. 21, 1970, page 37) were settled last month when members of Dr. Fox's group journeyed to the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., to join with members of Dr. Ponnamperuma's group in analyzing a special sample of lunar fines from the Apollo 14 mission. Results with their two different but complementary analytical methods (ion exchange and gas-liquid chromatography) were in agreement. The possibility of amino acid precursors arises from results with Dr. Fox's sample preparation method, in which acid hydrolysis of a hotwater extract of lunar fines yields chromatographic peaks corresponding to four to six amino acids. In spite of the agreement at Ames between the two chromatographic methods, Dr. Ponnamperuma feels that mass spectrometric analysis is needed to prove that the chromatographic peaks are amino acids. R&D:
In line with GNP Many university research scientists have long argued that inflation has eaten up what have been apparent increases in R&D funding. Evidence for this contention comes from a just released report by the National Science Foundation division of science resources studies on the effects of inflation on direct R&D price trends. NSF has developed a price index series for academic R&D expenditures, analogous in concept to general economy price indices such as the wholesale price index (WPI) and consumer price in-
GNP catching up to research costs Price indicator
Compounded per cent change" 1961-66 1961-71 1966-71 1969-71
Academic research and development: Total direct costs 3.0% 4.0% Compensation 4.5 Nonpersonnel direct costs 0.6
5.0%
5.5%
5.2
5.9
6.2
1.9
3.3
4.1
General economy: GNP implicit deflator:b Total economy
1.5
2.9
4.4
5.4
1.2
2.6
4.0
4.9
Consumer price index: 1.4 2.9 Wholesale price index:
4.5
5.5
Private
All commodities 0.7 Industrial commodities 0.5
1.7
1.7
The differentials narrow as the decade progresses, however. During the last two years the rate of increase of R&D prices, 5.5%, is about the same as the increase in the GNP implicit deflator, 5.4%, and the CPI, 5.5%. Most of the rise in direct costs of academic R&D occurred during the last five years of the decade when the compounded annual increase in prices was 5%. Increases in personnel compensation, which have accounted for about 65% of academic R&D direct costs in recent years, are responsible for the largest increase in total R&D direct costs. The price index shows that payments to personnel have increased two thirds over the decade, but prices of nonpersonnel nature have increased only one fifth. INFORMATION:
2.6
2.8
3.7
3.7
a Estimated average annual rates of price change, academic R&D price index compared with general economy indicators on fiscal year basis, b Gross National Product (GNP) implicit deflator (ratio of GNP in current dollars to GNP in constant 1958 dollars) is regarded as an overall price measure of the economy. Source: National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Studies
dex (CPI). Prior to this report, there have been no precise measures of price change in academic R&D. NSF finds that price inflation accounts for about a 50% increase in the direct costs of academic R&D performed during the 10 fiscal years ending June 1971. (Direct costs of R&D activities include personnel compensation and purchases of equipment, supplies, and services that can be directly related and charged as current costs to research projects.) Moreover, NSF finds that price increases of academic R&D during the past decade were considerably higher than price increases in the economy as a whole. Comparison of R&D price increase data developed by NSF with price indicators in the general economy—the gross national product (GNP) implicit deflator, CPI, and WPI—reveals a marked differential between academic R&D price changes and general price levels, particularly in the first half of the decade. R&D prices increased by 4% between 1961 and 1971 compared to an increase of 2.9% for the CPI and the GNP implicit deflator (total economy). During the same period the WPI increased by 1.7%.
New abstracts service Beginning Dec. 6, Chemical Abstracts Service, in cooperation with the American Chemical Society's Division of Public Affairs and Communication, will issue a new weekly information service. Chemical Industry Notes (CIN) will contain concise, factual extracts of business and technical news items of interest to corporate executives in the chemically based industries. Information for CIN will come from 37 newspapers and periodicals published in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Japan, and New Zealand. A keyword subject index will be furnished with each issue of CIN. CAS officials estimate that from 600 to 700 news items will be covered each week. The emphasis in CIN will be on the broad and timely coverage of news items concerning production trends, pricing, marketing and sales, plant construction and expansion, new products and applications, corporate and labor activities, government actions, patent licensing and litigation, manpower, executive changes, and safety and pollution control as they affect the CPI. CIN extracts will be from 25 to 50 words long with important words highlighted typographically for easy scanning. The same keywords and phrases will be removed from the text by the computer and arranged alphabetically, with appropriate phrase permutation, to form the index appearing in each issue. Each issue will also contain a state of the art review section listing all NOV. 22, 1971 C&EN
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