This list brings together the 10 issues you liked most in 2018, a collection of some of the great stories from OpenMind, including: scientists who have made history; astonishing biological phenomena that enable us to talk about the “resurrection” of species; the mystery of the first expeditions to the Antarctic; and the disappearance of the legendary Amelia Earhart. Science and history come together to help us understand some of the great scientific questions that have marked the destiny of humanity, starting with the creation of the universe. Enjoy this end of the year gift, and get ready for a year of surprises in 2019!
1.The lifeguards of science
Scientific discoveries and their discoverers, to whom we owe homage as the lifeguards of science. Fertilizers, blood groups, microbes… To whom do we owe these scientific breakthroughs that have saved so many lives throughout history? Read the full article.
2. Lazarus creatures: 5 species that have come back from extinction
It has recently been confirmed that there are still some surviving Lord Howe stick insects, which had been thought extinct since the 1930s. This is the most recent example of what are known as “Lazarus creatures”: species given up as lost that have surprised us by returning from the “dead” after being rediscovered. This photo gallery presents some of the most striking resurrections.
3. The discoveries of a defeat in the Antarctic
It was his second trip to the Antarctic, but this time he had to conquer the geographic south for the first time in history and raise the British flag there. On January 17, 1912, Robert Falcon Scott and four of his men reached their objective. But when they got there, they found out they were not the first… Read the full story in this article.
4. My brain believes I’m dead: Cotard’s syndrome
The psychiatrist Jules Cotard, to whom the syndrome owes its current name, described the case of a patient who claimed she had “no brain, nerves, chest, or entrails, and was just skin and bone”. She was convinced she was suffering from brain death and did not need to eat or drink; that she was just a dead brain in a living body. The enigma of this strange syndrome is explained in this report.
5. When Lorenz discovered the butterfly effect
The weather is one of the best examples of a chaotic systems; in fact, chaos was really discovered by studying the weather: small disturbances to the atmosphere can cause enormous changes in the weather. The discovery was made by the US theoretical meteorologist Edward Norton ‘Lorenz (1938-2008). Read the full story here.
6. The fantastic four who won the Noble more than once
If receiving a Nobel prize is the highest recognition for a scientist, then receiving two awards from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is an extraordinary achievement. Only four people have ever managed this: Frederick Sanger, Linus Pauling, John Bardeen and Marie Curie. Find out about the lives of this fantastic four in this report.
7. The great shipwrecks of history
Two things have always fascinated humanity – the sky and the oceans. There have been thousands of years of maritime history from simple boats fashioned from reeds to sophisticated transatlantic liners. And shipwrecks have played a major part in this story, often setting the course for technical advances and safety improvements for shipping. The details are here.
8. Landmarks in the Soviet space race
The arrival of man on the Moon on July 20, 1969 brought an end to the Space Race, tipping the balance finally in favor of the USA. However, most of the previous milestones had first been achieved by the Soviet Union, which was in the lead right up its great rival’s ultimate triumph. In this article we cover the main achievements of the Soviet space program before the historic Apollo 11 mission. Read more here.
9. What happened to Amelia Earhart?
On July 2, 1937 there was a confused and fragmentary exchange of radio communications between the coastguard patrol boat USCGC Itasca, stationed on Howland Island, and the Lockheed Electra 10-E aircraft piloted by the famous aviator Amelia Earhart on her round-the-world flight. Earhart and her navigator never landed on Howland as had been planned. The search for the remains of the Electra and her crew started an hour later. And it is still going on, eighty years later. Read all the details of this enigmatic story here.
10. The chronology of the universe (video-infographic)
What happened at the beginning of the universe? What was really going on during the Big Bang? How was matter created? And what was the role of the Higgs boson, which gave mass to other particles? This is the story of the creation of our universe; a story that lasts 13,700 million years, which we sum up in three-and-a-half minutes in this spectacular video-infographic.
OpenMind
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