50 Years Ago

A REPORT entitled The Supply of Science Teachers in England and Wales ... states that, immediately, there is need for an increase of between 28,000 and 34,000 over the present number of graduate science teachers in schools, technical colleges, training colleges and universities, which stands to-day at about 20,600 ... The shortage of science teachers is seen to be one part of the general teacher shortage, but many reasons are given for regarding it as a separate and specially urgent problem.

From Nature 18 August 1962

100 Years Ago

In 1904 Dr. J. R. Ashworth and I published ... observations on aged individuals of Sagartia troglodytes then and still in the possession of Miss Jessie Nelson in Edinburgh. After eight years these anemones are still in excellent health, having been in captivity for considerably more than half a century. In one respect I fear we did them an injustice, namely in attributing cannibalism to them, the error being probably due to the observation of the birth of young from a parent the tentacles of which were not fully expanded. Recently I chanced to notice a young Sagartia attached to a small piece of seaweed floating free in the aquarium. A slight agitation of the water was sufficient to bring the young anemone in contact with the tentacles of one of the patriarchs of its own species. They immediately closed round it and a small part of the disk became emarginate. The greater part, however, was not sensibly affected, and the mouth remained closed. In less than two minutes the folded-in tentacles uncurled and the young anemone was thrust away with some force ... Neither the young one nor the tentacles that held it were apparently affected in any way.

From Nature 15 August 1912