Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Foreword ix
4. Preface xi
5. Chronology of twentieth-century science xv
6. 1925
7. ONE. Raymond Dart and our African origins 3
8. 1925. Australopithecus africanus: the man-ape of South Africa 10
9. 1927
10. TWO. Electrons make waves 23
11. 1927. The scattering of electrons by a single crystal of nickel 31
12. 1932
13. THREE. The atom completed 39
14. 1932. Possible existence of a neutron 46
15. 1938
16. FOUR. Superfluidity: a new state of matter 51
17. 1938. Viscosity of liquid helium below the λ-point 58
18. 1939
19. FIVE. From nuclear physics to nuclear weapons 63
20. 1939. Disintegration of uranium by neutrons: a new type of nuclear reaction 70
21. 1953
22. SIX. The double helix 75
23. 1953. A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid 82
24. 1958
25. SEVEN. Dawn of structural biology 87
26. 1958. A three-dimensional model of the myoglobin molecule obtained by X-ray analysis 95
27. 1960
28. EIGHT. The first laser 107
29. 1960. Stimulated optical radiation in ruby 113
30. 1963
31. NINE. The quasar enigma 117
32. 1963. 3C 273: a star-like object with large red-shift 125
33. 1963
34. TEN. Seafloor magnetism and drifting continents 131
35. 1963. Magnetic anomalies over oceanic ridges 138
36. 1968
37. ELEVEN. Stellar timekeepers 147
38. 1968. Observation of a rapidly pulsating radio source 154
39. 1970
40. TWELVE. Viruses reverse the genetic flow 167
41. 1970. RNA-dependent DNA polymerase in virions of RNA tumour viruses 173
42. 1973
43. THIRTEEN. Images of body and brain 189
44. 1973. Image formation by induced local interactions: examples employing nuclear magnetic resonance 196
45. 1974
46. FOURTEEN. Journey to the T cell 203
47. 1974. Restriction of in vitro T cell-mediated cytotoxicity in lymphocytic choriomeningitis within a syngeneic or semiallogeneic system 210
48. 1976
49. FIFTEEN. Molecular switches for “animal electricity” 217
50. 1976. Single-channel currents recorded from membrane of denervated frog muscle fibres 224
51. 1977
52. SIXTEEN DNA. sequencing: the silent revolution 233
53. 1977. Nucleotide sequence of bacteriophage ΦX174 DNA 240
54. 1980
55. SEVENTEEN. The blueprint of animals revealed 261
56. 1980. Mutations affecting segment number and polarity in Drosophila 267
57. 1985
58. EIGHTEEN. A hole in Earth’s shield 283
59. 1985. Large losses of total ozone in Antarctica reveal seasonal ClOx/NOx interaction 290
60. 1985
61. NINETEEN. Carbon cages and carbon tubes 301
62. 1985. C₆₀: buckminsterfullerene 307
63. 1995
64. TWENTY. Seeking other solar systems 315
65. 1995. A Jupiter-mass companion to a solar-type star 322
66. 1997
67. TWENTY-ONE. Dolly! 335
68. 1997. Viable offspring derived from fetal and adult mammalian cells 341
69. Contributors 351
70. Index 355