50 years ago

The seriousness of such neglect [of the problem of “cultural erosion”] is unmistakable to any thoughtful reader of Mr. Hoggart's book [“The Uses of Literacy”]... Writing with deep feeling and imaginative insight, Mr. Hoggart seeks to show that the under-educated in Britain — the three-quarters of the population whose schooling now ends at fifteen and whose distinguishing characteristic is rather lack of education than of money — are changing their traditional ways, and not for the better. Their freedom from poverty has exposed them to new and very deleterious influences, and while the gross prejudices and appetites are deliberately and even scientifically stimulated, the needs of the more serious-minded among them are neglected.

From Nature 1 February 1958.

100 years ago

The Prolongation of Life. By Elie Metchnikoff — Most people desire to live long, and hence Prof. Metchnikoff's book is sure to have many readers. He not only discusses the means by which life may be prolonged, but he also examines the question whether it is desirable to prolong it... Prof. Metchnikoff is of opinion that when old age approaches, the phagocytes, which have hitherto been man's friends, become his enemies, and hasten death by devouring the essential cells of the vital organs of the body, especially those of the nervous system. These cells are rendered particularly vulnerable to phagocytes by the action of poisons manufactured by the bacteria of the large intestine, and Prof. Metchnikoff suggests that this might to a large extent be prevented by taking skimmed milk which has been boiled and rapidly cooled, and on which pure cultures of the Bulgarian bacillus have been sown. This produces a pleasant, sour, curdled milk containing about 10 grams of lactic acid per litre, the lactic acid of which prevents intestinal putrefaction.

From Nature 30 January 1908.