U.S., Soviets sign scientific accord.

U.S., Soviets sign scientific accord

The recent thaw in U.S.-Soviet relations has spilled over into science. On Jan. 12 in Moscow, the scientific academies of the two countries signed a five-year cooperative agreement that invigorates and broades their formal scientific relations, which had begun to erode this decade largely because of the U.S. response to Soviet treatment of dissident scientists.

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Academy of Sciences of the USSR have engaged in scientific exchanges and other joint efforts since 1959. Prompted in part by the Soviets' internal exile of physicist Andrei Sakharov, the NAS in 1980 suspended all bilateral workshops. These were not reinstated until 1986, when a formal agreement was signed following the 1985 Geneva summit. The new Agreement on Scientific Cooperation builds on this previous two-year program.

The recent accord expands programs for the exchanges of scientists, resumes the convening of joint workshops and extends various cooperative research projects. According to a statement released by the U.S. delegation to Moscow, some of the scientific workshops planned for the next two years will focus on earthquake prediction, the development of new vaccines (including those for AIDS), biotechnology and its agricultural applications, astrophysics and planetary sciences.

Cooperative research that will be continued or initiated includes studies on condensed matter theory, the evolution of geological processes, abating erosion of the global ecology, energy conservation and nuclear reactor safety.