It’sbeen30yearssinceCongressrevisedUSpatentlawstoencourageuniversitiestoembracetheworldofcommerce.Criticspredictedthattheintegrityofacademicresearchwouldbecompromisedbypatent-grubbingandattemptstobuildcompaniesaroundthelatestlaboratoryfindings.Butsuchfearsdidnotcometrue,saysanewreportfromtheNationalAcademicsreleasedMonday.Thepanel—chairedbyMarkWrighton.ChancellorofWashingtonUniversityinSt.Louis—examinedavastfileofscholarlyworkonhowuniversitieshavemanagedintellectualpropertyinthewakeofthe1980Bayh-DoleActandconcludedthatthingsareprettymuchhunky-dory(极好的)rightnow.Or,asthereportsays: TheBayh-Dolelegalframeworkandthepracticesofuniversitieshavenotseriouslyunderminedacademicnormsofuninhibitedinquiry,opencommunication,orfacultyadvancementbasedonscholarlymerit.Thereislittleevidencethatintellectualpropertyconsiderationsinterferewithotherimportantavenuesoftransferringresearchresultstodevelopmentandcommercialuse. Atthesametime,however,theAcademies’panelwarnsuniversitiesnottogooverboardhuntingforpatents.Whilesomeuniversitieshavemademillionsofdollarsbylicensingdiscoveriesfromtheirlabs,raisingmoneyshouldnotbethemaingoal.Instead,thereportsays,universitiesshouldaimtodisseminate(传播)technologyaswidelyaspossibleforthepublicgood.Thismaymeanpassingupthebest-payinglicensingdealandtakingonethatallowsforbroaderuseofthetechnology.Formostschools,itadds,thelikelihoodof“raisingsignificantrevenue,frompatentsissmall,theprobabilityofdisappointmentishigh,andtheriskof“distortingandnarrowing”theuseofnewknowledgeisgreat It’simportantnottogetcarriedawaywithrackinguppatentsattheexpenseoftheuniversity’sprimaryobligationtodisseminatenewknowledgeandtechnologies,sayspanelmemberDavidKornassistantprovost(教务长)forresearchatHarvardUniversity.AformerdeanoftheStanfordUniversityMedicalSchool,Kornwasinvolvedinreviewingasetofhigh-mindedguidelinesforuniversitiesthatwerelargelyadoptedbythepanel.These“NinePointstoConsiderinLicensing”werepreviouslyendorsedbytheAssociationofUniversityTechnologyManagers. Thephrase“rackingup”(Line1,Para.4)means.

Passage2<br/><spanstyle="display:block;text-align:center;">InGreenland,IceandInstability</span>TheancientfrozendomecloakingGreenlandissovastthatpilotshavecrashedintowhattheythoughtwasacloudbankspanningthehorizon.Flyingoverit,youcanscarcelyimaginethatitcoulderodefastenoughtodangerouslyraisesealevelsanytimesoon.<br/>Alongtheflanksinspringandsummer,however,thepictureisverydifferent.Foranincreasingnumberofwarmyears,anetworkofbluelakesandrivuletsofmelt-waterhasbeenspreadingeverhigherontheicecap.<br/>Themeltingsurfacedarkens,absorbinguptofourtimesasmuchenergyfromthesunassnow,whichreflectssunlight.Naturaldrainpipescalledmoulinscarrywaterfromthesurfaceintothedepths,insomeplacesreachingbedrock.<br/>Theprocessslightly,butmeasurably,lubricatesandacceleratesthegrindingpassageoficetowardsthesea.<br/>Mostimportant,manyglaciologistssay,isthebreak-upofhugesemi-submergedclotsoficewheresomelargeGreenlandglaciers,particularlyalongthewestcoast,squeezethroughfiordsastheymeetthewarmingocean.Asthesepassageshavecleared,thishassharplyacceleratedtheflowofmanyofthesecreeping,corrugatedandfrozenrivers.<br/>Someglaciologistsfearthattheriseinseasinawarmingworldcouldbemuchgreaterthantheupperestimateofabout60centimetresthiscenturymadebytheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChangelastyear.(Seasroselessthan30centimetreslastcentury.)<br/>Thepanel’sassessmentdidnotincludefactorsknowntocontributetoiceflowsbutnotunderstoodwellenoughtoestimatewithconfidence.Ascientificscrambleisunderwaytoclarifywhethertheerosionoftheworld’smostvulnerableicesheets,inGreenlandandwestAntarctica,cancontinuetoaccelerate.Theeffortinvolvesfieldandsatelliteanalysesandsiftingforcluesfrompastwarmperiods.<br/>Thingsaredefinitelyfarmoreseriousthananyonewouldhavethoughtfiveyearsago.