50 YEARS AGO

A striking picture of the dangers which confront men of science has been prepared recently by Gerard Piel... At the outbreak of the Second World War, he writes, science was a kind of ideal world republic. The scientific community was an international community. It was the only truly international community at an epoch that was to see nationalism and the narrower concerns of national power rise again to ascendancy in world politics. Statesmen discovered early in the War that science is an essential element of national strength... Accordingly, each major power has sought to monopolize the talents of its scientists and to put them to work in the name of national security. This suppression of international motives in favour of national ends has now had serious consequences upon the life of science... Scientists are agreed, in the first place, that there has been a dangerous diversion of resources and talent from the really significant long-range concerns of science to the narrower short-range objectives of practical results.

From Nature 17 December 1955.

100 YEARS AGO

The report of the chief of the United States Weather Bureau for the fiscal year 1903–4 contains... an interesting account of the very useful operations of that organisation. Weather forecasts for thirty-six and forty-eight hours in advance are issued for each State, besides special warnings of gales, cold waves, floods, &c. To mention one case only of the utility of storm warnings — a hurricane which advanced from the West Indies destroyed property to the value of 100,000 dollars during its progress over Florida, but, owing to timely notice, comparatively little damage was done to vessels, as they remained in port in consequence of the warnings. Prof. W. L. Moore reiterates the hope that the time will come when it will be possible to forecast the weather for coming seasons, but that time has not yet arrived.

From Nature 14 December 1905.