800-Year-Old Tomb Discovered in Peru

LIMA, PERU—The remains of eight people estimated to be 800 years old were discovered by workers laying gas pipes near Lima, according to an ...

Tuesday

Newsletter for Tuesday 29 September.

Click to open this Newsletter in your browser


Feature for Today
Thumbnail of Hermann M. Biggs

On 29 Sep 1859, Hermann Biggs was born, the American physician who was New York City's Public Health Officer and pioneered the use of bacteriological studies in the field of public health for the prevention and control of contagious diseases.

Today, vaccinating a baby is routine to prevent a number of diseases, including diphtheria, polio and tetanus, because these can cause death. It was not always so. First a suitable vaccine had to be developed and manufactured. Then the population had to become involved in an broad immunization effort. For each of these, there needed to be pioneers. One such pioneer was Hermann Biggs, who more than a century ago, took on the task of improving the collective public health in New York City.

In The New Treatment of Diptheria, from The Century Magazine (Jan 1895), Biggs communicated to the general reader that “The new anti-toxine treatment of diphtheria promises to prove one of the most important developments of modern medicine.” In this article, you can read in his own words, how diphtheria antitoxin was being produced in the U.S. by the New York City Board of Health. In these early days of bacteriology, imagine how the magazine's readers may have reacted to such news, because they knew the deadly effects of diptheria as it occurred then. Then consider how the world has benefitted since then, and how routine such vaccinations have become.


Book of the Day

On 29 Sep 1901, Enrico Fermi was born, one of the chief architects of the nuclear age. Today's book pick is: , by , who knew Fermi as a friend, having been his student, then his collaborator. Both became Nobel Prize winners. This well-researched biography of this brilliant master of physics and mathematics, presents a rich, well-rounded portrait of Fermi the scientist, his methods, intellectual history, and achievements. Fermi's classic experiments on artificial radioactivity eventually yielded the atomic pile, the first controlled nuclear power. As one of Time magazine's top 20 scientists, Fermi's work should be high on your reading list.

It is available from Amazon, typically about (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)


Quotations for Today
Thumbnail of Hermann M. Biggs
Public health is purchasable. Within a few natural and important limitations any community can determine its own health.
— Hermann M. Biggs, American physician (born 29 Sep 1859). quote icon
Thumbnail of Hermann M. Biggs
The human body is the only machine in which there are no spare parts.
— Hermann M. Biggs, American physician (born 29 Sep 1859). quote icon
Thumbnail of Enrico Fermi
Young man, if I could remember the names of these particles, I would have been a botanist.
— Enrico Fermi, Italian-American physicist (born 29 Sep 1901). quote icon
Thumbnail of Enrico Fermi
Some men said the atomic bomb should never have been built; researchers should have stopped working when they had realized that the bomb was feasible. Enrico did not think this would have been a sensible solution. It is no good trying to stop knowledge from going forward. Whatever Nature has in store for mankind, unpleasant as it may be, men must accept, for ignorance is never better than knowledge.
Note: Although attributed as his viewpoint to Enrico Fermi, it is probably not a direct quote by him.
— Enrico Fermi, Italian-American physicist (born 29 Sep 1901). quote icon

Quiz
Before you look at today's web page, see if you can answer some of these questions about the events that happened on this day. Some of the names are very familiar. Others will likely stump you. Tickle your curiosity with these questions, then check your answers on today's web page.
Births
Thumbnail of Paul MacCready
Paul MacCready, born 29 Sep 1925, is an American aerodynamicist who headed a team that designed and built both the first man-powered aircraft and the first solar-powered aircraft capable of sustained flights. On 23 Aug 1977, the man-powered aircraft successfully demonstrated sustained, maneuverable manpowered flight.
Can you name this man-powered aircraft?
Thumbnail of Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi, physicist, born 29 Sep 1901 was one of the chief architects of the nuclear age. Working in America, he discovered neutron-induced radioactivity, and directed the first controlled chain reaction involving nuclear fission.
What was Fermi's nationality at the outbreak of World War II?
Deaths
Thumbnail of Rudolf Diesel
Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913) was a German thermal engineer who was also a distinguished connoisseur of the arts, a linguist, and a social theorist.
For what invention is he best known?
no image Friedrich Mohs (1773-1839) was a German mineralogist who devised a scale to compare mineral hardness, based on ten common or readily available minerals.
Which minerals did Mohr select for the the least hard (1) and the most hard (10)?
Events
Thumbnail of
On 29 Sep 1891, a U.S. patent was issued to an inventor for a "Process of and Apparatus for Generating Electricity" and on 29 Sep 1914, a patent for a "Phonograph-Record" was granted to the same man.
Who was this inventor?
Thumbnail of
On 29 Sep 1954, with ratifications complete, an organization was founded to provide first class facilities to coordinate fundamental research in particle physics.
What is this organization, and where is it located?

Answers
When you have your answers ready to all the questions above, you'll find all the information to check them, and more, on the September 29 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers.

Fast answers for the previous newsletter for September 28: Seymour R. Cray • fluorine • he provided the first evidence of the expansion of the universe • his method of killing harmful bacteria in a liquid (such as milk) by holding it for a suitable time at a given temperature • amino acids • platinum-iridium.
Feedback
write icon If you enjoy this newsletter, the website, or wish to offer encouragement or ideas, please send feedback by using your mail reader Reply button.

Your click on a Facebook, StumbleUpon, or other social button on the site webpages is also a welcome sign of appreciation. Thank you for using them.
Copyright
To find citations for quotations go to the corresponding webpage by clicking on the “quotes” balloon icon. Sources for the thumbnails appear on today’s webpage with the corresponding item.

© This newsletter is copyright 2020 by todayinsci.com. Please respect the Webmaster's wishes and do not put copies online of the Newsletter — or any Today in Science History webpage. (If you already have done so, please remove them. Thank you.) Offline use in education is encouraged such as a printout on a bulletin board, or projected for classroom viewing. Online, descriptive links to our pages are welcomed, as these will provide a reader with the most recent revisions, additions and/or corrections of a webpage. For any other copyright questions, please contact the Webmaster by using your mail reader Reply button.

--
If you do not want to receive any more newsletters, Unsubscribe

To update your preferences and to unsubscribe visit this link

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Executive Real Estate Business Class