science newsletter: Newsletter for Thursday 28 February

Newsletter - February 28 - Today in Science History

TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER - 28 FEBRUARY

Feature for Today

On 28 Feb there are two notable anniversaries for macromolecules: discovery of the structure of DNA (1953) and discovery of the polymer, named nylon (1935). Each too famous to be a feature story here.

A feature story here needs to have some special , "Wow! I didn't know that!" And today, in 1683, was born a scientist whose biography is sure to do that. You'll name him (maybe) in the quiz below. If you succeed in naming him, chances are that's the limit of your knowledge. But his range of scientific inquisitiveness is remarkably diverse: metallurgy, geometry, insects, digestion, tensile strength of cords, hatching chickens...

That surely must raise your curiosity! So, for more, read his biography.

Book of the Day

On 28 Feb 1901 Linus Pauling was born, the American chemist who received the Nobel Prize for his scientific work in 1954 and the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1962. He is remembered for working for nuclear peace, and promoting the benefits of vitamin C. Today's Science Store pick is Linus Pauling in His Own Words: Selections From his Writings, Speeches and Interviews, by Barbara Marinacci. The author knew Pauling, provides a short introduction, then gives Pauling's scientific life story, told through extracts from his essays, books, letters, interviews and speeches. Since most of the text is from his speeches and abstracts the reader gains insight into his opinions and comments on various subjects including use of atomic power. The reader is left with a view of the real man, his scientific discoveries and of his breadth of knowledge, which spanned disciplines. Available Used from $0.16 (as of time of writing).

Yesterday's pick: The General: David Sarnoff and the Rise of the Communications Industry, by Kenneth Bilby
For picks from earlier newsletters, see the Today in Science Science Store home page.

Quotations for Today
	"There is no area of the world that should not be investigated by scientists. There will always remain some questions that have not been answered. In general, these are the questions that have not yet been posed." - Linus Pauling, American scientist and author (born 28 Feb 1901)
	"For a scientist must indeed be freely imaginative and yet skeptical, creative and yet a critic. There is a sense in which he must be free, but another in which his thought must be very preceisely regimented; there is poetry in science, but also a lot of bookkeeping" - Sir Peter B. Medawar, English biologist (born (28 Feb 1915)
	"If people are constantly falling off a cliff, you could place ambulances under the cliff or build a fence on the top of the cliff. We are placing all too many ambulances under the cliff." - Denis Burkitt, Irish surgeon and medical researcher (born 28 Feb 1911)

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
	A French scientist, born 28 Feb 1683, was active in various fields, and the foremost entomologist of the early 18th century. His name is applied to the thermometric scale he devised. *Can you name this scientist?*
	On 28 Feb 1901, Linus Pauling, an American scientist was born. He was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1954 for his scientific work. But in the public eye, he is better remembered as a tireless crusader for nuclear peace, and his promotion of the benefits of Vitamin C. *For which field was his first Nobel Prize awarded to him?*
Deaths
	Charles-Jules-Henri Nicolle (1866-1936) was a French bacteriologist who received the 1928 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discovery (1909) of the mode of transmission of typhus. What mode of transmission for typhus was discovered by Nicolle?
	Baron Clemens von Pirquet (1874-1929) was an Austrian physician who originated a skin test for a certain disease that bears his name. For what disease did Pirquet devise a skin test?
Events
	On 28 Feb of a certain year, nylon was discovered by Dr. Wallace H. Carothers of DuPont. *In which decade was nylon discovered?*

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 February 28 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers.

Fast answers for the previous newsletter for February 27: because Best did not yet have his medical degree (1935); David Sarnoff; Ivan Petrovich Pavlov; the decade including the year 1932; the decade including the year 1900.

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