THIS MONTH IN SCIENCE:AUGUST 1 August 1996, the discovery of potential evidence and other new methods of separating and 1774, Oxygen gas discovered by Joseph of a primitive life form on Mars detecting colloids and serum proteins”, Priestley, British Presbyterian minister announced by NASA Administrator was born. Daniel Goldin and chemist. 1913, Wolfgang Pauli, the German physicist, who shared the 1989 Nobel 2003, Tejas, India’s Light Prize in Physics with Norman Ramsay Combat Aircraft made its 7 August and Hans Dehmelt “for the development fi rst successful supersonic 1925, Monkombu S. Swaminathan, of the ion trap technique”, was born. fl ight. an Indian geneticist and international administrator, who was awarded the fi rst 2003, submarine “Losharik”, the world’s most silent 2 August World Food Prize in 1987 for his work in crop genetics and sustainable agricultural nuclear submarine was 1861, Prafulla Chandra Ray, the Indian development in India, was born. He is built. chemist was born. He was the fi rst to renowned for his leading role in India’s isolate the chemical mercurous nitrite. “Green Revolution”. 11 August 1880, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was 2007, discovery of TrES-4, the largest 1877, the two moons off adopted offi cially by British Parliament. known planet in the universe was the planet Mars, Phobos Greenwich had been the national centre announced by the astronomers of the and Deimos, discovered for time since 1675. Trans Atlantic Explanet Survey. by American astronomer 1989, Voyager 2’s discovery of six more Asaph Hall. moons of Neptune was confi rmed by 1926, Sir Aron Klug, the British NASA. 8 August biochemist, who was awarded the 1918 1861, William Bateson, famous English Nobel Prize for Chemistry “for his biologist who invented the term 3 August development of crystallographic electron “genetics” was born. 1921, the fi rst crop dusting microscopy and his structural elucidation from an airplane was 1876, Thomas A. Edison received a of biologically important nucleic acid- demonstrated by pilot Lt. patent for a stencil duplicator, titled protein complexes” was born. John A. Macready. “Improvement in Autographic Printing” (No. 180,857). 1994, India’s fi rst successful heart 12 August transplant on Devi Ram was performed by 1899, Albert T. Marshall 1887, Erwin Schrödinger, who shared team of doctors led by Dr. E. Venugopal of Brockton received a the 1933 Nobel Prize for Physics with the at AIIMS, New Delhi. patent for a refrigerator, titled “Automatic British physicist P.A.M. Dirac “for the Refrigerating Apparatus” discovery of new productive forms of 4 August (No. 630606) atomic theory” was born. 1775, Nicolas Jacque Cone, the French 1948, Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya, 1919, Vikram Sarabhai (famous Indian inventor of modern graphite pencil, was who was the fi rst woman to walk in space space scientist) was born. He is considered born. (1984), and the fi rst woman to make two the father of “India’s space programme”. 2007, Phoenix Mars Lander Aircraft was trips into space, was born. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in launched by NASA. 1966. He is known for his primary role in the establishment of ISRO. 9 August 5 August 1776, Amedeo Avogadro, Italian chemist 1864, Giovanni Batista and physicist, who found that at the 13 August Donati made the fi rst same temperature and pressure equal 1642, the Martian spectroscopic observations volumes of all perfect gases contain the south polar cap was of a comet tail (from the same number of particles (known as discovered by Christiaan small comet, Tempel, 1864 II). Avogadro’s Law), was born. Huygens. 1930, Neil Alden Armstrong, an American 1910, electric washing 1814, Anders Jones Angstron, the Swedish astronaut and the fi rst person to walk on machine was patented by physicist, who discovered the presence of the Moon, was born. Alva J. Fisher. hydrogen in the atmosphere of the Sun, was born. 1973, the USSR launched 6 August the Mars 7, on a Proton SL- 12/D-1-e booster. The Mars 7 spacecraft 1881, Sir Alexander Fleming, the Scottish 14 August was made up of a fl yby bus and a bacteriologist, who was awarded the 1945 1888, the electric meter descent module intended to study the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was patented by Oliver B. atmosphere and land on the Martian (with Ernst Boris Chain and Howard Shallenberger. surface with instruments to study soil Walter Florey) for the discovery of 1933, Richard R. Ernst, who composition. penicillin and its curative effect in various was awarded the 1991 Nobel infectious disease, was Prize for Chemistry “for his contributions born. 10 August to the development of the methodology 1945, the fi rst nuclear 1902, Arne Wilhelm Kaurin Tiselius, of high resolution nuclear magnetic bomb was dropped on who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry resonance (NMR) spectroscopy”, was Hiroshima. in 1948 “for his work on electrophoresis born. SCIENCE REPORTER, AUGUST 2015 54 THIS MONTH IN SCIENCE

15 August 21 August 27 August 1877, Thomas Edison coined the telephone 1972, American orbiting astronomy 1875, the element gallium (Atomic greeting “Hello.” He suggested the use of observatory OAO–3 Copernicus was Number 31; Symbol ‘Ga’) was discovered “Hello” to the president of the Telegraph launched. by P.E. Lecoq de Boisbaudran. Company to answer the phone instead of 22 August 1939, Sir Frank Whittle and Hans J.P. von “Ahoy, ahoy” suggested by Alexander 1962, The Savannah, the Ohain invented a craft that became the Bell world’s fi rst nuclear- fi rst jet-powered airplane to fl y. 1959, India’s fi rst TV powered ship, completed 1962, the Mariner 2 space probe, the fi rst station, Doordarshan, was her maiden voyage from American probe was launched to fl yby inaugurated. Yorktown, Va., to Savannah, Ga. Venus. 1989, fi rst complete ring around Neptune 2003, the world’s biggest battery was 16 August was discovered connected to provide emergency power 2003, chemists met in Ottawa to vote to Fairbanks, Alaska’s second-largest city. and make offi cial a proposed name for 23 August the element 110: Darmstadtium, symbol 1609, the telescope was demonstrated by Ds. Galileo. 28 August 1966, the Lunar Orbiter 1 took the 1789, Sir William Herschel discovered 17 August fi rst photograph of the Earth from the Saturn’s moon “Enceladus”. 1601, Pierre de Fermat, the French Moon. 1883, the fi rst controlled fl ight in a mathematician, who is regarded as the 2007, A ten-million year old fossil, glider was fl own by John Joseph. founder of the modern theory of numbers, “Chororapithecus abyssinicus” was 1919, Sir Godfrey Newbold Hounsfi eld, was born. found in Ethiopia. who was awarded the 1979 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (with Allan 18 August Cormack) “for creation of computerised 24 August axial tomography (CAT) scanners” was 1868, Pierre Janssen, a French astronomer, 2006, Pluto was declassifi ed as a planet born. discovered Helium in the solar spectrum by the International Astronomical Union while observing a solar eclipse in India. (IAU) following a vote at their 10-day It was the fi rst time a chemical was General Assembly in Prague. 29 August discovered outside the Earth before being 1842, the design patent, a new form found on the Earth. of patent was authorized by Act 25 August of Congress. The fi rst U.S. design 1900, Sir Hans Adolf Krebs, who shared patent was issued for typefaces 19 August (with Fritz Lipmann) the 1953 Nobel and borders to George Bruce of New York 1856, Gail Borden of Brooklyn, NY, Prize for Physiology or Medicine “for City on 9 Nov 1842. was issued a patent for his process for his discovery of the citric acid cycle” was 1949, the Soviet Union conducted its fi rst condensed milk (No. 15,553). born. nuclear test, code-named ‘RDS-1’, at the 1960, Sputnik 5 was 1916, Frederick Chapman Robbins, who Semipalatinsk test site in modern-day launched into Earth orbit, was awarded (with John Enders and Kazakhstan. carrying two dogs named Thomas Weller) the 1954 Nobel Prize for 1947, the discovery of plutonium fi ssion Belka (Squirrel) and Physiology or Medicine for successfully was announced by USA, suitable for Strelka (Little Arrow), cultivating poliomyelitis virus in tissue nuclear-power generation. along with 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety cultures” was born. 1982, the element no. 109, Meitnerium, of plants, beginning a safe round trip 2003, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, with the symbol Mt was discovered by into space, after which they became the the infrared telescope with the largest Peter Armbruster and Gottfried. fi rst living organisms to return from diameter ever in space was launched. space. 30 August 26 August 20 August 1831, Michael Faraday demonstrated the 1743, Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, who fi rst electrical transformer. 1897, Sir Ronald Ross made a key is known as the “father of modern 1979, Comet Howard-Koomen-Michels breakthrough when he discovered malaria chemistry”, was born. (SOLWIND I) collided with the Sun, the parasites while dissecting a mosquito. The 1843, the fi rst U.S. design of a typewriter day is celebrated as Mosquito Day. fi rst recorded comet to collide with Sun that successfully typed was issued a and the fi rst discovered 1977, NASA launched patent to Charles Thurber of Norwich, Voyager 2 spacecraft, Conn. (No. 3,228) as a “machine for on a Titan-Centaur printing by hand by pressing upon keys 31 August rocket to explore the which contain the type, called ‘Thurber’s 1880, Thomas A. Edison was granted a outer planets Jupiter, Patent Printer.’” patent for his invention of an “Electro- Saturn, Uranus and 1909, an almost perfectly Chemical Receiving-Telephone” (No. Neptune, where it also discovered preserved “Cro- 231,704). and photographed many previously Magnon man skeleton” Compiled by Vijendra Kumar, Research Intern, unknown moons, rings and other features was discovered by of the planets. National Science Library, CSIR-NISCAIR, Swiss paleontologist Otto Hauser. SV Marg. Email: [email protected] 55 SCIENCE REPORTER, AUGUST 2015