50 Years Ago

  1. Space

    50 years ago, scientists didn’t know where heavy elements came from

    Five decades ago, scientists suspected ordinary supernovas created heavy elements. Now we know they don’t, but merging neutron stars do.

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  2. Humans

    50 years ago, income inequality was severe in the U.S. It still is

    In 1969, lower-income households tended to be nonwhite and in the U.S. South. That still holds true today.

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  3. Climate

    50 years ago, scientists puzzled over a slight global cooling

    Five decades ago, scientists were puzzled over a slight dip in global temperatures. Today we know it was just a blip, and that Earth’s climate is warming thanks to industrial activity over the last century.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, cancer vaccines were a dream

    Researchers are now prodding the immune system to fight cancer, reviving the longtime dream of creating cancer vaccines.

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  5. Earth

    50 years ago, an Antarctic fossil pointed to Gondwanaland’s existence

    Fifty years ago, fossils from Antarctica helped seal the deal that the southern continents were once connected in one, giant landmass called Gondwanaland.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, scientists warned of marijuana’s effects on the unborn

    In 1969, scientists warned about prenatal marijuana exposure. Researchers today are still untangling drug’s effect on fetuses.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, polio was still circulating in the United States

    The world has never been closer to eradicating polio, but the disease could come roaring back where vaccination is spotty.

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  8. Life

    50 years ago, scientists thought they knew why geckos had sticky feet

    50 years ago, scientists thought gecko feet had suction cups that allowed the animals to stick to surfaces. Today we know tiny hairs do the job.

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  9. Physics

    50 years ago, Fermilab turned to bubbles

    The National Accelerator Laboratory, now called Fermilab, used to have a bubble chamber to study particles. Today, most bubble chambers have gone flat.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, a drug that crippled a generation found new life as a leprosy treatment

    In 1969, a drug that crippled a generation found new life as a treatment for leprosy.

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  11. Tech

    50 years ago, lambs survived but didn’t thrive inside artificial wombs

    Artificial wombs to support preemie babies are closer to reality.

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  12. Materials Science

    50 years ago, bulletproof armor was getting light enough to wear

    In 1969, bulletproof armor used boron carbide fibers. Fifty years later, bulletproof armor is drastically lighter and made from myriad materials.

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