THE SCIENCE OF OUR TIME
As part of our routine study of history, there always those same
scientists being reviewed. The works of Thomas Edison, Ben Franklin, and
Albert Einstein are forever ingrained in our brains. The science of
today is moving so rapidly that most of us are unable to name any of the
more modern scientists of our time. Here are some of the biggest names
in science during the past few decades and the contributions that they
have made to world in which we live:
- Berners-Lee. This name may not be familiar to you, however we are sure that you know of his invention as he was the creator of the World Wide Web, currently in use today.
- Fritz Haber. He created the Haber Process by which atmospheric nitrogen can be used to create ammonia. It can then be oxidized to make the nitrates and nitrites essential for the production of fertilizer. This process created the ability for fertilizer to be mass produced in bulk very inexpensively.
- Dr. Carl Djerassi. Another major revolutionary of our time, he developed the use of the modern oral contraceptive as well as developed anti-histamines. It is important to note that the production of oral contraceptives led to not only population control, but also made the women’s liberation movement possible.
- Robert Oppenheimer. For better or for worse, he was a brilliant theoretical physicist worked with a group on creation of the atom bomb.
- Alan Turing. The father of modern computer science.
- Lewis Leakey. Established the human evolution as it is emerging in Africa.
- Professor Ian Wilmut. The first person to successfully clone an animal. A sheep named “Dolly” was attributed to this individual. Initially he pursued the concept of cloning for therapeutic purposes and was even in the process of looking into becoming licensed to clone human embryos. It is thought that conscience as gotten the best of him, since he has now stopped trying to clone human beings as there have now become more human ways of getting the tissue cells for sick individuals.
- Professor Shinya Yamanaka. Found a way to create human embryo stem cells without the need for human eggs, which are in extremely short supply, and without the need to create and destroy human cloned embryos, which is bitterly opposed by the pro life movement.
It is important to realize that there are incredible scientific developments being made every day in our world, and many of which will not only impact us but the world and generations to come.