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Subcategory: History of Science
U.S. Science Group Seeks Cooperation with Cuba
Nov 12 2009 - Reuters
A group led by the head of the United States' biggest science organization is in Cuba this week to discuss ways to rekindle scientific cooperation as U.S.-Cuba relations slowly improve under U.S. President Barack Obama.
Want a Solution? Try Offering a Prize
Nov 2 2009 - The Boston Globe
Prize fever has breached the walls of government bureaucracy, and more federal agencies are using competitions as a strategy to spur innovation. The competitions leverage modest amounts of taxpayer money to attract inventors and investors to certain scientific and technological problems.
Libertarian Gives Smithsonian Millions for Evolution
Oct 15 2009 - ScienceInsider
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has announced a $30 million privately funded initiative on human evolution that will sponsor a permanent museum exhibit, educational programs, and research. The bulk of the money—$20.7 million—is going to the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins, scheduled to open in March 2010.
Intelligent Design's 8 Biggest Fails
Sep 23 2009 - Discover
The latest incarnation of creationism keeps trying—and failing—to take down Darwin.
Building Research Competitiveness
Sep 23 2009 - National Science Foundation
Through $20 million, five-year awards, NSF investment in multi-institutional and interdisciplinary projects provides physical, human, and cyber infrastructure aimed at improving research competitiveness in six states.
President Honors Nation's Top Scientists and Innovators
Sep 18 2009 - National Science Foundation
President Obama named nine researchers as recipients of the National Medal of Science, and four inventors and one company as recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honors bestowed by the United States government on scientists, engineers, and inventors. The recipients will receive their awards on October 7, at a White House ceremony.
2009 Lasker Awards Announced
Sep 15 2009 - ScienceNow Daily News
Five researchers will take home the 2009 Lasker Awards for basic and clinical medical research. Considered the most prestigious medical research awards in the United States, 76 past recipients have gone on to win a Nobel Prize.
Norman Borlaug, Plant Scientist Who Fought Famine, Dies at 95
Sep 14 2009 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Norman E. Borlaug, the plant scientist who did more than anyone else in the 20th century to teach the world to feed itself and whose work was credited with saving hundreds of millions of lives, died Saturday night. He was 95 and lived in Dallas.
Ghostwriting Is Called Rife in Medical Journals
Sep 11 2009 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Six of the top medical journals published a significant number of articles in 2008 that were written by ghostwriters financed by drug companies, according to a study released Thursday by editors of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Scientists Unlock Secrets of Irish Potato Famine Gene
Sep 9 2009 - Reuters
Scientists have unlocked the genetic code of late blight—the plant pathogen that sparked the Irish potato famine of the 1840s and 1850s—and it is revealing clues about why it has been such a formidable foe.
First Trace of Color Found in Fossil Bird Feathers
Sep 1 2009 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
A team of scientists has discovered color-producing molecules that have survived for 47 million years in the fossil of a feather. By analyzing those molecules, the researchers have shown that they would have given a bird the kind of dark, iridescent sheen found on starlings and other living birds.
China, U.S. May Cooperate on World's Biggest Telescope
Aug 28 2009 - Reuters
Astronomers from China and the United States may cooperate on building the world's largest telescope aimed at providing deeper insight into the very early stages of the universe, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.
Scientists: Australian Aboriginal Knowledge Could Curb Carbon Emissions
Aug 13 2009 - Voice of America News
As Australia's federal parliament prepares to vote this week on a sweeping carbon trading program, scientists say that aboriginal fire management practices could help reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions.
Brand New, Again
Aug 4 2009 - Inside Higher Ed
Rare books dating back to the 17th century will take on a familiar yet somewhat refreshed form when Cambridge University Press officially begins scanning and reprinting original copies from the university library, including works by Darwin, Shakespeare, and Charles Babbage.
Third Time at Bat, But No Cheer for Mammoth-Killing Hypothesis
Jul 28 2009 - ScienceInsider
Proponents of the idea that an impact wiped out the mammoths and roiled early North American human culture have struck out, at least by baseball's rules. Their third paper in a leading journal offering evidence of a devastating impact 12,900 years ago is, like its predecessors, failing to convince experts.
Hawaii Lands the Thirty Meter Telescope
Jul 22 2009 - ScienceInsider
The summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii, home to many telescopes big and small, will be the site for what would be the biggest of them all: the Thirty Meter Telescope, astronomers announced yesterday.
Moon Landing Tapes Got Erased, NASA Admits
Jul 17 2009 - Reuters
The original recordings of the first humans landing on the Moon 40 years ago were erased and re-used, but newly restored copies of the original broadcast look even better, NASA officials said on Thursday.
President Honors Outstanding Early-Career Scientists
Jul 15 2009 - National Science Foundation
President Obama named 100 beginning researchers as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on young professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.
Did Galileo Spot Neptune Two Centuries Before Its “Discovery”?
Jul 13 2009 - Discover
Besides discovering four of Jupiter's moons, studying sunspots, observing the phases of Venus, and examining the rough mountains and craters of the moon, Galileo may also have identified the planet Neptune more than two centuries before its official discovery, one researcher is arguing.
Endangered Species Get Iced in Museum DNA Repository
Jul 9 2009 - Scientific American
Genetic information from species on National Park Service land that are threatened with extinction will now be frozen and stored for future research at the American Museum of Natural History.
Panama Canal Project Opens a Tropical Window
Jul 9 2009 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
For scientists, the massive engineering project promises spectacular spinoffs, yanking back the cloak where many life forms got their start.
Competitions Encourage Innovators to Tackle Tough Challenges
Jul 2 2009 - Voice of America News
Nearly 300 movers and shakers from the world's corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors packed a United Nations meeting hall recently for the Incentive2Innovate Conference, which had been convened to explore cutting-edge ways to spur inventiveness through competition for prize money and other rewards.
Forgotten Evolutionist Rediscovered at Last
Jun 29 2009 - MSNBC
Two hundred years after Charles Darwin's birth, academics and amateur historians call attention to the contributions made by another evolutionist, Alfred Russel Wallace.
Scientists Study Foes' Ways at Creation Museum
Jun 25 2009 - The Boston Globe
In Petersburg, Kentucky, more than six dozen paleontologists visited the Creation Museum on Wednesday to get a glimpse of the marketing tactics used by the other side of the evolution debate.
Science, the Extravaganza
Jun 12 2009 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
The second annual World Science Festival, a five-day extravaganza of performances, debates, celebrations, and demonstrations, began with a star-studded gala tribute to the Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson in New York City on Wednesday night.
NASA Plans Launch Invitations to Twittering Media
Jun 3 2009 - Yahoo! News
NASA, which has tiptoed into the new world of social media with Twittering astronauts and Facebooking rovers, is taking the next step with an invitation-only outreach to "the twedia" to cover a space shuttle launch.
Scientists Hail Stunning Fossil
May 19 2009 - BBC News
The beautifully preserved remains of a 47-million-year-old, lemur-like creature have been
unveiled in the US. The fossil was launched amid great fanfare at the American Museum of Natural
History in New York, by the city's mayor.
A Battle to Preserve a Visionary’s Bold Failure
May 7 2009 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
A fight is looming on Long Island over the ghostly remains of Nikola Tesla’s biggest and most audacious project.
South Korean Experts Claim to Have Cloned Glowing Dogs
Apr 29 2009 - Yahoo! News
South Korean scientists say they have engineered four beagles that glow red using cloning techniques that could help develop cures for human diseases.
Lisa Jackson: The New Head of the EPA
Apr 23 2009 - Time
Lisa Jackson's response to the threat of climate change will ultimately decide her legacy. On April 17, Jackson's EPA issued an endangerment finding on greenhouse gases that potentially opens the door for the EPA to directly regulate greenhouse gases, which would represent the most far-reaching action in the agency's history.
Earth Day Facts: When It Is, How It Began, What to Do
Apr 22 2009 - National Geographic News
From not-so-humble beginnings in 1970, when 20 million participated across the U.S., Earth Day has grown into a global tradition, with a billion expected to take part in 2009. Find out when it is, how it started, how it's evolved, and what you can do.
Closer Look at Einstein's Brain
Apr 21 2009 - ScienceNow Daily News
The latest study of Einstein's brain concludes that certain parts of it were indeed very unusual and might explain how he was able to go where no physicist had gone before when he devised the theory of relativity and other groundbreaking insights.
Researcher Faked Data in Sleep Apnea Study
Apr 10 2009 - The Wall Street Journal
More news on the research-fabrication front. Robert Fogel, a former assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, fabricated and falsified data in a study of sleep apnea in severely obese patients, the Office of Research Integrity at HHS said.
Archives Shed Light on Darwin's Student Days
Mar 23 2009 - Reuters
Two hundred years after Charles Darwin's birth, academics have uncovered new details of his comfortable existence at the University of Cambridge before he embarked on the grueling five-year voyage that would transform science's view of the world.
French Physicist d'Espagnat Wins Prestigious Templeton Prize
Mar 16 2009 - Reuters
French physicist and philosopher Bernard d'Espagnat has won the 2009 Templeton Prize, billed as the world's largest annual award to an individual, for his work affirming the spiritual dimension of life. Award organizers said his work in quantum physics revealed a reality beyond science that spirituality and art could help to partly grasp.
DNA Evidence Proves that Romanov Prince and Princess Rest in Peace
Mar 11 2009 - Discover Magazine
DNA evidence has conclusively put to rest one of the legends spawned by the Russian revolution, proving once and for all that the entire Romanov family—Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, and all of their five children—were killed by members of the Red Guard in 1918.
Polar Year Hailed as a Success
Feb 25 2009 - BBC News
Scientists and policymakers marked the official end of the International Polar Year Wednesday at the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva. The 60-country, $1.2bn effort has seen knowledge about the poles—and their influence on the rest of the planet—increase hugely.
Open Access to Scientific Papers May Not Guarantee Wide Dissemination
Feb 20 2009 - National Science Foundation
New research challenges the assumption that having research published in open-access journals and other free sources leads to more exposure and citations.
An Earlier Debut for a Famous Algae
Feb 18 2009 - ScienceNow Daily News
New research shows that cells in green algae called Volvox may have learned to cooperate much earlier than thought, shifting the evolutionary time frame for this model organism back hundreds of millions of years—a somewhat controversial finding.
Valentine's Day Facts: Gifts, History, and Love Science
Feb 14 2009 - National Geographic News
Where did Valentine's Day come from? What does it cost? And why do we fall for it, year after year? Read on.
Antarctic Patents Strain Goals of Shared Science
Feb 6 2009 - Reuters
Fifty years into a treaty demanding all scientific findings on Antarctica be freely shared, governments are trying to end a dispute over a surge in company patents on life in the continent.
Is That Two Moons Around Saturn I See?
Jan 22 2009 - Reuters
Italian and British scientists want to exhume the body of 16th century astronomer Galileo for DNA tests to determine if his severe vision problems may have affected some of his findings.
Daylight Saving Time History in the U.S.
Nov 3 2008 - National Geographic News
Daylight saving time in most of the United States ended this Sunday, November 2, at 2 a.m. local time—only the second year it's ending in November. Since its passage into law in 1918, the system has seen many changes, most recently with a supposedly energy-saving extension signed into law into in 2005.
Stephen Hawking to Retire from Prestigious Post
Oct 24 2008 - Yahoo! News
Cosmologist Stephen Hawking will retire from his prestigious post at Cambridge University next year, but intends to continue his exploration of time and space. Hawking, 66, is Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a title once held by the great 18th century physicist Isaac Newton. The university said Friday that he would step down at the end of the academic year in September, but would continue working as Emeritus Lucasian Professor of Mathematics.
Why Women Get More Cavities
Oct 22 2008 - ScienceNow Daily News
The old wives’ tale that a woman loses one tooth for every child she delivers may, in fact, contain a grain of truth. A new study has found that women have had worse dental health than men ever since our ancestors became farmers about 10,000 years ago.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry Goes to Three Scientists for Work on Fluorescent Protein
Oct 8 2008 - Chronicle of Higher Education
Three scientists at American universities have won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering a fluorescent protein in a colorful jellyfish and developing it into a key tool for observing previously invisible processes such as the spread of cancer cells, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced.
Three Win Nobel for Subatomic Physics Research
Oct 7 2008 - Time Magazine
Two Japanese citizens and a Japanese-born American won the 2008 Nobel Prize in physics for discoveries in the world of subatomic physics, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Tuesday.
Three Europeans Take Nobel Prize in Medicine
Oct 6 2008 - CBS News
Three European scientists shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for separate discoveries of viruses that cause AIDS and cervical cancer, breakthroughs that helped doctors fight the deadly diseases.
Dark Matter and Nanotech Nay Vie for Nobel Prizes
Oct 2 2008 - Reuters
A scientist who helped prove the existence of dark matter and a researcher who used the power of jellyfish to glow green in experiments may win Nobel prizes, according to Thomson Reuters. The analysis makes use of the way scientists credit one another for their work to find out who has done the most influential basic research in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine and economics.
Web Entrepreneur Wants NASA to Use His Rockets
Sep 23 2008 - Discovery.com News
A glitch-free launch of a new privately developed rocket could provide the United States a technical and political alternative to extending flights of the risky and expensive space shuttle or paying billions to the Russians for rides to orbit.
Aboriginal Kids Can Count Without Numbers
Aug 19 2008 - ScienceDaily
Knowing the words for numbers is not necessary to be able to count, according to a new study of aboriginal children by University College London and the University of Melbourne. The study of the aboriginal children—from two communities that do not have words or gestures for numbers—found that they were able to copy and perform number-related tasks.
A Natural Log: Our Innate Sense of Numbers Is Logarithmic, Not Linear
Aug 6 2008 - Scientific American
We humans seem to be born with a number line in our head. But a recent study suggests it may look less like an evenly segmented ruler and more like a logarithmic slide rule on which the distance between two numbers represents their ratio (when divided) rather than their difference (when subtracted).
Ancient Greeks Used "Computer" to Set Olympics Date
Jul 31 2008 - Reuters
A mechanical brass calculator used by the ancient Greeks to predict solar and lunar eclipses was probably also used to set the dates for the first Olympic games, according to researchers.
Scholars Will Piece Together Oldest Copy of New Testament Online
Jul 22 2008 - USA Today
The oldest surviving copy of the New Testament, a 4th century version that had its gospels and epistles spread across the world, is being made whole again--online. The British Library says the full text of the Codex Sinaiticus will be available to Web users by next July, digitally reconnecting parts that are held in Britain, Russia, Germany, and a monastery in Egypt's Sinai Desert.
China Could Reach Moon by 2020
Jul 15 2008 - BBC News
China is capable of sending a manned mission to the Moon within the next decade, according to a NASA administrator. Chinese officials say there is no plan for a Moon landing, but there is a perception among some in the space industry that America's long-held dominance in space exploration is slipping as other nations enter the fray.
Mystery Insect Bugging Experts at London Museum
Jul 15 2008 - Yahoo! News
The experts at London's Natural History Museum pride themselves on being able to identify species from around the globe, from birds and mammals to insects and snakes. Yet they can't figure out a tiny red-and-black bug that has appeared in the museum's own gardens.
Revising HIV's History
Jun 26 2008 - ScienceNow Daily News
The AIDS virus appeared earlier in people, but later in monkeys, than previously thought.
Scientists Date Events in "The Odyssey"
Jun 24 2008 - CBS News
Using clues from star and Sun positions mentioned by the ancient Greek poet Homer, scholars think they have determined the date when King Odysseus returned from the Trojan War and slaughtered a group of suitors who had been pressing his wife to marry one of them.
Survey Suggests Scientific Sins Are Common
Jun 19 2008 - MSNBC
Research misconduct at U.S. institutions may be more common than previously suspected, with 9% of scientists saying in a new survey that they personally had seen fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism. The survey, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, also showed that researchers are very reluctant to report bad conduct.
Chinese Researchers Take Stock after Quake
May 22 2008 - ScienceNow Daily News
In light of the recent Sichuan earthquake, Chinese scientists are reconsidering research plans for everything from bamboo monitoring to construction standards to earthquake prediction.
Jane Goodall Passes Activist Torch to World's Youth
Apr 23 2008 - Scientific American
Renowned primatologist Jane Goodall, 74, symbolically passed the torch on Tuesday to a new generation of hand-picked environmental and peace activists whom she gathered this week for the first Jane Goodall Global Youth Summit.
Happiest Americans Are the Oldest
Apr 21 2008 - MSNBC
It turns out everything doesn't go downhill as we age--the golden years really are golden. That's according to eye-opening research that found the happiest Americans are the oldest, and older adults are more socially active than the stereotype of the lonely senior suggests.
Darwin's Private Papers Go Digital
Apr 17 2008 - eSchool News
The Darwin Online Project on April 17 released more than 90,000 online pages of Charles Darwin's photographs, sketches, and manuscripts, including the first draft of his theory of evolution.
DNA Could Reveal Czar Family Fate
Apr 7 2008 - Time Magazine
DNA test results to be announced within months on bone fragments found in Russia last year could prove that none of Czar Nicholas II's family escaped execution in the Bolshevik Revolution — not even Anastasia, the teenage princess whose identity various women have claimed over the decades.
Amazon's "Forest Peoples" Seek a Role in Striking Global Climate Agreements
Apr 7 2008 - New York Times (requires free registration)
Some wore traditional headdresses, and some traveled by riverboat or canoe. But the dozens of "forest peoples" who descended on this capital of Amazonas State last week had a common goal of becoming bigger players in global climate talks.
Beijing Pollution Risky for Endurance Athletes
Apr 2 2008 - Scientific American
Endurance events at the Beijing Olympics could pose a health risk if they are staged on heavily polluted days, the International Olympic Committee said, although it was prepared to reschedule such events.
The Origin of Fools
Apr 1 2008 - MSNBC
Just in time for April Fools' Day, here's a look at the evolutionary roots of foolery, as well as the origins of the annual custom and history's best April Fools' jokes.
The First Korean in Space Is a Woman
Mar 11 2008 - ABC News
South Korea announced today it is replacing the man tapped to be the country's first person in space and is instead sending a woman. Yi So-Yeon, a 29-year-old bioengineering student, will fly aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station next month.
Nobelist Retracts Research on Smell
Mar 10 2008 - Time Magazine
A Nobel laureate and her co-authors on a 2001 paper on the sense of smell have retracted the study, saying they had discovered problems in the data and were unable to duplicate their findings.
Building a Habitable Earth
Jun 5 2007 - Terra Daily
Astrobiologists have a strong interest in understanding the conditions that prevailed on the early Earth, but the record for the first 650 million years of Earth history is gone. The earlier stages that made our planet fit for life are not recorded in the rocks we have today.
Americans Cooked With Chili Peppers 6,000 Years Ago
Feb 16 2007 - National Geographic News
Domesticated chili peppers started to spice up dishes across the Americas at least 6,000 years ago, according to new research tracing the early spread of the crop. Scientists note the peppers quickly spread around the world after Christopher Columbus brought them back to Europe at the end of the 15th century, but their ancient history had been poorly known until now. The new research is based on the discovery that domestic chili peppers leave behind telltale starch grains.
Darwin's Check Found in Portrait Frame
Dec 20 2006 - Nature News
Whenever science historian John van Wyhe passed through the old library of Christ’s College at Cambridge University, he took a moment to glance at a photo of Charles Darwin hanging on the wall. “I’ve always been curious about it, because in the frame there is a signature on a bit of paper, and it looks like there is something written on the back.” When van Wyhe finally got around to investigating the matter, he was met with a pleasant surprise. The signature is actually on the back of a check, folded, and embedded into the frame back in 1909. The find makes for a very rare discovery because most of Darwin’s papers were tracked down and cataloged long ago.
An Ancient Computer Surprises Scientists
Nov 29 2006 - New York Times (Requires free registration)
The Antikythera Mechanism, sometimes called the world’s first computer, has now been examined with the latest in high-tech resolution imaging systems and three-dimensional X-ray tomography. A team of British, Greek, and American researchers was able to decipher many inscriptions and reconstruct the gear functions, revealing, they said, “an unexpected degree of technical sophistication for the period.”
Hawking Rewrites History...Backwards
Jun 21 2006 - Nature News
How did the universe begin? Many scientists would regard this as one of the most profound questions of all. But Stephen Hawking believes the question does not exist. Hawking and Thomas Hertog of the European Laboratory for Particle Physics at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, plan to publish a paper that claims the universe had no unique beginning. Instead, the scientists argue the universe began “in every way imaginable.”
Native Americans Recorded Supernova Explosion
Jun 5 2006 - NewScientist.com
Two scientists claim that prehistoric Native Americans may have carved a record of a supernova explosion into a rock in Arizona. John Barentine, an astronomer at the Apache Point Observatory, found the carving while hiking in the White Tank Mountain Regional Park. The carving depicts a scorpion and an eight-pointed star. Barentine says if the carving does represent the supernova, it would provide a useful date to help work out the age of neighboring rock carvings, which are difficult to assess by other methods
Enough to Make an Iguana Turn Green: Darwin's Ideas
Nov 18 2005 - New York Times (Requires free registration)
Billed as the “broadest and most complete collection ever assembled of specimens, artifacts, original manuscripts, and memorabilia related to Charles Darwin,” the American Museum of Natural History will debut a new exhibition about the scientist on Nov. 19. Curated by Niles Eldredge, a Darwin scholar, the exhibit consists of animals, orchids, fossils, films, interactive video screens, as well as historical documents and objects. The exhibit will be on view until May 29. It will then travel to science museums in Boston, Chicago, Toronto, and London.
The Evolution of Darwin
Nov 7 2005 - USA Today
What would Charles Darwin, a shy and gentle man racked by illness make of the acclaim and the fury that surround his views today? Perhaps the best place to start answering that question is at the American Museum of Natural History. An exhibition titled “Darwin,” opening Nov. 19, guides visitors through the life, and thoughts, of the famed naturalist, considered the father of evolution.
Does "Intelligent Design" Threaten the Definition of Science?
Apr 27 2005 - National Geographic News
Where did we come from? It’s one of the oldest and most profound questions. Now the “intelligent theory” may change the very definition of science by allowing the supernatural into the lab. “Ever since the birth of science as we know it, a cardinal rule for theists and nontheists alike has been to limit scientific explanations to natural causes,” observed Ronald Numbers, a University of Wisconsin-Madison science historian. Evolution theory is the best answer scientists can give to questions of life’s origins. But a recent poll found 55 percent of Americans did not believe in the theory of evolution at all. Most scientists agree the theory leaves some questions about biological origins unanswered.
Making Science Fact, Now Chronicling Science Fiction
Jun 15 2004 - New York Times (Requires free registration)
A former NASA program manager hopes to use her new job to excite people about science. Donna L. Shirley is the director of the new Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle. Shirley says she took the job because she believes that science fiction can be used as a tool to interest people in literacy, science, and technology. “People think, science fiction, that’s kind of kooky,” she said, “but actually science fiction is how a lot of people like me got into the engineering business or the space business or science.”
Bell "Did Not Invent Telephone"
Dec 1 2003 - BBC News
"... and then he [George Washington] said, 'I didn't cut down the cherry tree. And by the way, Alexander Graham Bell didn't invent the telephone.' Then he hung up." Thus spake our imaginary informer, who pointed us to the myth-busting story we link to above. Further evidence that, when the time is ripe, the same idea can pop up in various spots around the globe "independently."
DNA Fingerprints Identify Fine Wines
Aug 14 2002 - MSNBC -- AP
The next time you purchase a $100 bottle of wine, you may want to bring along a do-it-yourself DNA test kit. Or at least that's the idea. As the above article reports, French researchers are exploring ways to use DNA to tell the difference between a high-end wine and a cheaper blend. The hope is that the technology can someday be used in the fight against wine fraud, which has been a problem in the industry.
Sometimes, the March of Science Goes Backward
Jul 23 2002 - New York Times (requires free registration)
Three years ago, scientists working at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California made headlines the world over with their “discovery” of Element 118, temporarily labeled "ununoctium." But as the above article notes, the discovery was officially retracted last week amid charges of scientific misconduct -- "a reminder that the march of science isn’t always in the forward direction.” The silver lining to all of this? As one science writer puts it in the article: "Sad as it is to see this discovery having to be withdrawn, it again means that the prize is there to be won."
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