50 Years Ago

Science Past from the issue of August 15, 1959

Complex “Moon” Succeeds — Explorer VI, sent up on Aug. 7, is the most complex satellite launched by the United States. The 142-pound satellite orbits the earth from 150 miles at its lowest point to some 25,000 miles at its farthest… This highly elliptical flight path means that the satellite’s instruments will cover a larger […]

Science Past from the issue of August 1, 1959

Rename discomfort index — This summer you have a chance to “do something about,” not the weather, but the combination of heat and humidity that often makes so many persons so uncomfortable. The Weather Bureau in June started experimentally … publishing for the summer what it then called the “Discomfort Index.” The immediate results were […]

Science Past from the issue of July 18, 1959

Computer could aid doctor in diagnosing — A computer that could aid the doctor in diagnosing a disease has been suggested by two scientists.… The machine would store codes for symptoms, diseases and their relationships. Then, in those cases which are particularly hard to diagnose, such as those already in the hospital, the machine would […]

Science Past from the issue of July 4, 1959

Brides and grooms are younger than ever — Today’s brides and grooms are younger than any others in the nation’s history, the Population Reference Bureau reported. The average age for first marriages in the U.S. last year was 23 for men and 20 for women. More girls married at 18 than at any other age. […]

Science Past from the issue of June 20, 1959

Mechanical cow eats grass — A mechanical “cow” has just started work at the British Agricultural Research Council’s experimental station at Rothamsted, near London. Its function is to extract protein from leaves or grass or any suitable vegetation…. Grass or other vegetation is fed into the machine from a normal elevator. After being chopped, the […]

Science Past from the issue of June 6, 1959

Space Flight Succeeds — Two little monkeys, one clad in a space suit and the other lying in a special capsule with her knees drawn up under her, were blasted 300 miles into space on Thursday, May 28, from Cape Canaveral, Fla., the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has revealed. Drama of the experiment was […]

Science Past from the issue of May 23, 1959

NUCLEAR-POWERED BLIMP — America’s first nuclear-powered aircraft could very well be a huge blimp, about three times the size of those now being used by the U.S. Navy for submarine and plane spotting…. The blimp’s length would be 540 feet, making it possible to locate the atomic reactor far enough away from the craft’s control […]

Science Past from the issue of May 9, 1959

Forecast 25% increase in air’s carbon dioxide — A 25% increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere during the 150-year period ending in 2000 A.D. has been forecast. Dr. Bert Bolin of the University of Stockholm in Sweden told the National Academy of Sciences meeting in Washington that the burning of […]

Science Past from the issue of April 25, 1959

“Go-getter” type is heart attack candidate — The American “go-getter” type is a prime candidate for a heart attack. There appears to be a strong link between the behavior of a man with regard to his business and social activities and his chances of being a victim of a heart attack, two San Francisco specialists […]

Science Past for April 11, 2009

Science Past | from the issue of April 11, 1959 Scientists urged to dig for specimens of Peking Man — Give up the loss of the bones of ancient Peking Man, one of man’s earliest ancestors, as a “perfect crime,” and start digging for new specimens of this Pleistocene forebear. This is the advice to […]

Science Past for March 28, 1959

[Patients] to run own wing in hospital — A new wing which is being added to an English mental hospital will be run entirely by the patients. Doctors and nurses will enter it only by invitation. Administration will be by a committee of patients, which will have a room for meetings…. Patients will themselves decide […]

Science Past for February 28, 1959

WEATHER SATELLITE ORBITING — The United States has launched into orbit the first baby weather station in space. It was hurled into its earth-circling path at 10:55 a.m. Feb. 17, and its predicted lifetime is several decades. The batteries powering the radio transmitting weather information, however, have only a two-week lifetime. The 20-inch, 21.5-pound satellite […]