This Month in the Archives

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Dear Reader, December 10th marks “Human Rights Day” worldwide; it is a concept much intertwined with the scientific process. On a more somber note, it’s been 40 years since acquired immune deficiency syndrome started to become prevalent in human society worldwide. There have been 30 million deaths from AIDS since then, but also some progress. To round up, we could look at a more hard-edged engineering subject: helicopters, because they’re fun and because … we can.

I hope you enjoy the journey! Dan Schlenoff, Editor of “50, 100 & 150 Years Ago”

HUMAN RIGHTS AND SCIENCE

DNA profiling helps put a name to otherwise anonymous victims of natural and human-caused disasters. (November 2007)

November 1862 “The cause of truth, of justice, and human rights” are enabled by diligent engineering practise. March 1999 Andrei Sakharov invented the Soviet Union’s hydrogen bomb, but later became their most prominent human rights advocate. November 2007 Modern technologies such as data and satellites now help deliver humanitarian aid to where it is most useful.

AIDS IN THE MODERN WORLD One of the original vectors that helped spread AIDS (and a growing problem for similar reasons in 2019): intravenous drug use. (October 1988) January 1987 Robert C. Gallo co-discovered the human immunodeficiency virus as the cause of AIDS. He wrote about the forefront of research for us. October 1988 How AIDS was transmitted quickly became controversial in discussion of the disease. This article talks about the epidemiology of the disease. March 2012 The earliest success of rendering HIV harmless in the body: risky medicine, but proven success.   Access 174 Years of Scientific Knowledge IMPROBABLE FLYING MACHINE Igor Sikorsky flying his invention: the helicopter. Bowler hats seem quite the accessory for pioneer aviators. (October 1940) October 1940 Igor Sikorsky is often credited with designing the world’s first practical helicopter. Here’s the article he wrote for us. April 1967 The “improbable flying machine” turned out to have quite a few useful applications. November 2014 A human-powered helicopter was deemed “impossible.” Ha! Here’s our story on the first successful one. LATEST ISSUE Check out the latest issue of Scientific American For more highlights from the archives, you can read November’s 50, 100 & 150 Years Ago column   Questions?   Comments? Download the Scientific American App 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    Email Preferences    Privacy Policy    Contact Us