Several experimental examples are discussed to illustrate that single-particle molecular orbital behavior has become an established reality in nuclear physics over the last several years. Measurements and analyses of inelastic scattering in the /sup 13/C + /sup 12/C and /sup 17/O + /sup 12/C systems, and of neutron transfer in the /sup 13/C(/sup 13/C, /sup 12/C)/sup 14/C reaction, show that the motion of valence nucleons can be strongly and simultaneously influenced by both collision partners in heavy-ion collisions. This bvehavior is characteristic of a molecular (single-particle) rather than a direct (DWBA) mechanism: it demonstrates that the single-particle analog of atomic molecular motion plays an important role in nuclear reactions at bombarding energies near the Coulomb barrier. Such behavior may be even more pronounced in the collisions of massive nuclei that will be studied with the new generation of heavy-ion accelerators. 19 references
