December Voice Your Opinion Poll Comments:

2005 marks the 125th anniversary of Science. Tell us what you think is the leading scientific breakthrough of the last 125 years.

1. Discovery of penicillin. (USA)

2. The quantized universe (atoms and energy from the photoelectric effect and Rutherfords scattering experiments) and all it's ramifications - quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, nuclei, spectroscopy, atomic structure of matter, XRD, etc. (USA)

3. Splitting the atom/Manhattan Project. (USA)

4. "Hyphenated" methods that sequentially use chromatography and spectroscopy (e.g., GC-MS, LC-NRM) are among the most important breakthoughs in the chemical sciences. (USA)

5. Theory of Relativity. (USA)

6. I believe that the most significant scientific advance of the last 125 years is the advent of computers and their use affecting all areas of our lives. (USA)

7. The discovery of the structure of DNA is far and way the most important. It affects nearly all science areas and its full ramifications are only now beginning to be understood. (USA)

8. If you've ever sat through a 6+ hour electrical blackout at home or office, you quickly realize how vital electricity is to our lives. Without a doubt, the harnessing of electricity is at the top of my list. Without it there is no telephone, television, automobiles, satellite
communications, etc. Electricity has made possible all of the wonderous inventions and discoveries that have followed it. (USA)

9. Quantum theory.(USA)

10. Quantum theory. (USA)

11. Understanding the mechanism of DNA and the genetic code. (USA)

12. The high resolution recording of brain function under various circumstances, allowing analysis of audio-visual responses, is the one technology that can revolutionize the educational system and greatly increase the level of human functionality on this planet. (USA)

13. The greatest advance is the discovery (or invention) of quantum mechanics. Not only did it change our world view, but its ramifications extend into areas of physical, chemical and biological science, thus making it even more influential than the discovery of relativity or of the structure of DNA. (USA)

14. The central-station based electricity grid at affordable rates. (USA)

15. The discovery and description of the components and structure of the atom. This has allowed us to understand spectra, DNA, chemical bonds, solid state phenomena, the age of the Earth and universe...basically all of modern science. (USA)

16. Structure of DNA. (USA)

17. The discovery of the structure of DNA. (USA)

18. It started with the realisation that Earth does not occupy a preferred place at the centre of the universe. Ever since, observational evidence has been accumulating which shows that we don't even control our own climate. Although not all scientists are yet convinced, it is now reasonably clear that at the intradecadal to centennial scale crucial to humans, the driver is extra-terrestrial. The Sun and giant planets are the prinipal current influence on earthly climate; and the drummer to which both Sun and Earth are marching is the outer planets. Before science took over, there used to be a name for those specialising in this
field. They were called astrologers. (Australia)

19. Oil refinement (gasoline, plastics, synthetic products). Think about no modern cars, planes, no tupperware, advanced medicines. (USA)

20. PCR gets my vote. (Australia)

21. 1) The mechanisms of genetics: the idea of the gene, the discoveries of DNA and
RNA, and the methods of changing them. This is an excellent example of the development of a science with significant applications by many researchers over many years, and of
science with many applications.

(2) The physical sciences have had more striking discoveries, especially quantum physics,
that have changed the world; but the impact of these on the average citizen is far less than (1). (USA)

22. How can there be any question that Einstein's development of relativity is the most important scientific discovery . It has impacted all fields of science. We are still making new discoveries based on his equations and theory. (USA)

23. The theory of relativity. (USA)

24. The leading breakthrough of the last 125 years is vaccination. The human race was able to eradicate smallpox, its greatest scourge, through vaccination. Vaccines probably save more lives every year than every other technology combined. (USA)

25. I think the greatest scientific achievment of the past 125 years is Watson and Crick's solving the structure of DNA. Despite my reluctance to propose the imperious and arrogant Jim Watson, in a flash this discovery set the stage for solving biology's deepest problems: inheritance, cell division, the molecular basis for evolution, and an enormous range of diseases. It's difficult to overstate the significance of their achievement. In essence,
it united biology at its most fundamental roots with the physical sciences. (USA)

26. Einstein's Theory of Relativity. (USA)

27. Without a doubt the discovery of DNA and its structure by Watson and Crick. (USA)

28. Special relativity (and one should include general relativity) marked the beginning of the end of the Enlightenment and the introduction of an era we haven't yet been able to "name". The effects are so far reaching that traditional social sciences are undergoing similar revolutions that are undermining Enlightenment paradigms. (USA)

29. Quantum Theory or Mechanics. (USA)

30. Fritz Haber's method of nitrogen fixation has probably affected the world more positively than any other discoveries. (USA)

31. Though it is a tough call between the discovery of antibiotics versus the discovery of the structure and transciption of DNA, I would vote for antibiotics as the most significant finding. The discovery of antibiotics, and their application has directly impacted more people in this world in a multitude of way more than any other scientific discovery. Not only has the discovery lead to monumental leaps in public health, but it is now creating a crisis in issues of resistence and human health. (USA)

32. The 1975 discovery, reported in Foundations of Physics, Vol. (4), No. 3; of A New Mathematical Framework for Fundamental Theoretical Physics, which solved the quantum gravity problem, surprisingly; in the classical way dreamt of by Einstein. Thereby revealing that the energy of matter is a minute perturbation of the enormous energy of our expanding space (deduced in 1865 by Maxwell), which is, in turn, just a perturbation of a permanent
vibrating hyper-dimensional energy that can possibly be tapped to the fulfill the present critical need for a universal source of pollution-free power & propulsion. See historical review and current status at Hyper-Energy.com. (USA)

33. Computers are the most important breakthrough of the last 125 years. (Brazil)

34. The transistor is the most important invention of the last 125 years. (USA)

35. The collective work of the early contributors to the theory of Quantum Mechanics represents a significant candidate for the major scientific breakthrough of the last 125 years. (USA)

36. E=MC²(USA)

37. As a 1947 Ph.D. in biology, I lived through the most exciting developments in Molecular Biology and Cytogenetics. As a bioethicist of Van Rensselaer Potter Global Bioethics line, I believe we may betray our trust by engaging in research on human embryons and failing to respect life, which is not of our making. Yet, biotechnology giving us alternatives to fossil fuels and other urgent problems ought to be promoted. (Poland)

38. Antibiotics, obviously. (USA)

39. Cracking the genetic code of DNA. (USA)

40. Quantum Mechanics. (USA)

41. I believe that development of Nuclear Energy is the most significant advance of the century. It provides a clean, environmentally friendly source of energy that should replace fossil fuels, or at least postpone the day when fossil fuels will be depleted. Use of nuclear energy on a grand scale will prevent, or at least greatly slow down the warming of the
atmosphere. If the environment continues to become warmer, the melting of the polar ice caps and the consequent environmental consequences will be catastrophic. (USA)

42. I feel the leading scientific breakthrough is found in the field of Plasma Physics and Fusion Research. Thermonuclear fusion offers a clean unlimited source of energy. The breakthrough point was achieved on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) at the Princeton University Plasma Physics Laboratory in Princeton New Jersey. There for the first time, a device was operated with a relevant concentration of tritium in a Deuterium + Tritium fuel mixture at a high temperature so as to yield a significant amount of fusion energy! (USA)