This Month in the Archives

Dive into 173 years of groundbreaking research

This Month in the Archives

Dear Reader, In December we are a century out from the influenza outbreak of 1918. It was one of the worst pandemics in human history and we’ve covered influenza closely in the decades since. It’s also the 150th birthday of chemist Fritz Haber. He won a Nobel Prize for helping to feed the world, but also pioneered chemical warfare (we’ll focus on the good part for now and look at the dark side of his work in next month’s letter). Finally, for the consumer-heavy holiday season, enjoy a retrospective on the value of recycling. Enjoy the journey! Dan Schlenoff, editor of “50, 100 & 150 Years Ago” Interested in gaining access to 173 years of groundbreaking research? Learn more. The Flu Red cross nurses in St. Louis load a flu patient into an ambulance in 1918, from our January 2005 article. Influenza: every year millions are infected, and shake it off in a week...or three, but thousands die from it. A century ago, this virus killed up to 100 million people within a year. Some of the best minds in the biomedical field have been struggling to find a reason and a response. November 1918: “Spanish Influenza: Why does it happen that the present epidemic is so fatal?” It’s a good question from 100 years ago. April 1953: Sir Macfarlane Burnet pins down the changeability of the virus as one of its deadliest attributes. January 2005: Three doctors from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Rockville, Md., are trying to figure out what made the flu so lethal. January 2011: Does influenza have a hiding place “off season”? Perhaps: U.S. pig farms.   Chemist As a Hero Cheap fertilizer is critical for food security in poverty-stricken areas such as here in Malawi (February 2010). Fritz Haber was born 150 years ago this month. His 1913 process of making cheap synthetic ammonia is used to “fix nitrogen” and make artificial fertilizers for half the food grown on the planet. June 1934: A DuPont chemist describes how the fixation of nitrogen by ammonia synthesis has changed world trade and agriculture. June 1965: Chemical fertilizers are part of the “green revolution.” July 1997: Feeding humankind is a benefit, but Vaclav Smil notes that the redistribution of nitrogen on Earth can have bad consequences. February 2010: Synthetic fertilizers remain indispensable for meeting global food demands, but nitrogen pollution is a huge challenge.   From Garbage to Gold Until your town runs out of water (as it almost did in San Diego) nobody really wants to drink recycled toilet water, even if it’s cleaner than the stuff you already drink (July 2014). A city takes in nutrients and expels waste. Reusing these nutrients can be necessary, and sometimes can even be profitable. In any event, how we use or dispose of the waste is a hallmark of modernity. August 1922: With an eye on the value of municipal waste, schemes for its profitable use. December 1926: A Washington, D.C. plant produces valuable grease from garbage “In spite of the fact that the idea is a little revolting.” July 2014: The “yuck factor” persists, although treated, purified and reclaimed toilet water sewage is actually cleaner than tap water. July 2017: “Tapping the trash” in cities can help make them more efficient and cheaper to live in.   Current Issue: December 2018 Ten emerging technologies: they have to be “poised to change the world” and must show signs of “being ready to erupt globally in the next three to five years.” Plus: “Quantum entanglement” has been called “spooky action at a distance.” Careful tests have now shown that the phenomenon truly exists—and it’s quite spooky. Sacred groves in India—patches of primeval forest—were widespread before modern resource extraction. Their ecological services are only now being recognized. DNA from our very distant ancestors can be hard to extract from piles of disconnected fragments. But new techniques, used in Denisova cave in Siberia, are yielding data. For more highlights from the archives, you can read December's 50, 100 & 150 Years Ago column.   READ THE ISSUE     Follow Us   To view this email as a web page, go here. You received this email because you opted-in to receive email from Scientific American. To ensure delivery please add news@email.scientificamerican.com to your address book. Unsubscribe Manage Email Preferences FAQs Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Contact Us