100 YEARS AGO

It is well known that while country-folk adhere to the old idea that adders when frightened are in the habit of protecting their young by swallowing them, a large number of naturalists regard the feat as an impossibility. In the September number of The Zoologist Mr. G. Leighton, a well qualified anatomist, has set himself the task of ascertaining whether there is any foundation for the objection. And he arrives at the conclusion that there is no anatomical reason why the oft-repeated statement of country observers should not be founded on fact. The author concludes by stating that the objections raised on the ground that the swallowing is unnecessary is a mere matter of opinion, adding that all that is now necessary is for a competent authority to dissect an adder which has been observed to swallow its young. ‘Until this is done scientific naturalists will continue to regard the question as one capable of proof, if true, but hitherto unproved.’

From Nature 27 September 1900.

50 YEARS AGO

One session of the recent meeting at Birmingham of the British Association, held in the Great Hall of the University, was devoted to an account of industrial applications of atomic energy… It will not be possible to decide on the feasibility of nuclear power until pilot power-producers are built. Very rough figures of capital and fuel costs do no more than show that nuclear power costs will be likely to be of the same general order as conventional power costs… Design studies are being carried out on an experimental breeder reactor, one of which is already under construction in the United States. This experimental and development programme is likely to occupy the next decade. If the development work is successful, nuclear power would be likely to start in specialized applications where fuel costs are less important, and then to spread gradually to more conventional power stations. British fuel reserves have been estimated as lasting from 200 to 300 years; power consumption is increasing by 10 per cent a year and there is increasing competition with the chemical engineering industry for fuel. New power sources are therefore of considerable long-term importance, though other potentialities should be pursued in addition to nuclear power.

From Nature 30 September 1950.