The interdisciplinary journal of science, Nature, has been the first to report many international discoveries since its first publication in 1869. Nature brings peer-reviewed research to the public throughout the world. True to its mission statement, Nature serves scientists through its prompt publication of significant discoveries in any branch of science while ensuring that the scientific results are rapidly disseminated to the public. An article published in Nature always conveys the significance of each find as an advancement in knowledge within the context of its particular scientific field. But perhaps of importance equal to the groundbreaking finds themselves, the editors at Nature also strive to communicate the significance of the finds with respect to culture and daily life.
A Century of Nature: Twenty-One Discoveries That Changed Science and the World is a robust volume edited by two long-term associates of Nature. Laura Garwin was formerly the Physical Sciences editor and North American editor of Nature, whereas Tim Lincoln is the News and Views editor of the journal. For this compendium, these two editors attempted to remain true to the journal's purpose and mission in their selection of 21 scientific breakthroughs from diverse fields first published in Nature during the 20th century.
As Steven Weinberg (University of Texas) says on page ix in the Foreword, "there is no substitute for actually reading some of the great works of past scientists." The original works are organized chronologically in order of their publication: "Australopithecus africanus: the man-ape of South Africa" (Dart, 1925); "The scattering of electrons by a single crystal of nickel" (Davisson and Germer, 1927); "Possible existence of a neutron" (Chadwick, 1932); "Viscosity of liquid helium below the -point" (Kapitza, 1938); "Disintegration of uranium by neutrons: a new type of nuclear reaction" (Meitzner and Frisch, 1939); "A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid" (Watson and Crick, 1953); "A three-dimensional model of the myoglobin molecule obtained by X-ray analysis" (Kendrew et al., 1958); "Stimulated optical radiation in ruby" (Maiman, 1960); "3C 273: a star-like object with large red-shift" (Schmidt, 1963); "Magnetic anomalies over oceanic ridges" (Vine and Matthews, 1963); "Observation of a rapidly pulsating radio source" (Hewish et al., 1968); "RNA-dependent DNA polymerase in virions of RNA tumour viruses" (Baltimore et al., 1970); "Image formation by induced local interactions: examples employing nuclear magnetic resonance" (Lauterbur, 1973); "Restriction of in vitro T cell-mediated cytotoxicity in lymphocytic choriomeningitis within a syngeneic or semiallogeneic system" (Zinkernagel and Doherty, 1974); "Single-channel currents recorded from membrane of denervated frog muscle fibres" (Neher and Sakmann, 1976); "Nucleotide sequence of bacteriophage β½X174 DNA" (Sanger et al., 1977); "Mutations affecting segment number and polarity in Drosophila" (NΓΌsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus, 1980); "Large losses of total ozone in Antarctica reveal seasonal ClO x /NO x interaction" (Farman, Gardiner, and Shanklin, 1985); "C 60 : buckminsterfullerene" (Kroto et al., 1985); "A Jupitermass companion to a solar-type star" (Mayor and Queloz, 1995); "Viable offspring derived from fetal and adult mammalian cells" (Wilmut et al., 1997).
Authors of the 21 selections were affiliated with institutions in South Africa,