Today in Science

December

11th December. International Mountain Day

This awareness day was adopted in 2002 to highlight the importance of mountains. Did you know:

half the world's biodiversity hotspots are found in mountains
mountains cover approx. 27% of the Earth's land surface
15% of the population live on mountains
more than half of humanity rely on the freshwater from mountains for everyday life.

This year's theme is 'Women move mountains' to highlight the importance women play in environmental protection and social and economic development in mountain areas. Women are often the primary managers of mountain resources, guardians of biodiversity, keepers of traditional knowledge, custodians of local culture and experts in traditional medicine.

15th. Maurice Hugh Frederick WILKINS. Born 1916. Died 5 October, 2004.

What: NZ born, English biophysicist

Famous for: beginning the X-ray diffraction images of DNA that contributed to the discovery of its double-helix structure by Watson & Crick.

Awards: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 (jointly awarded to Francis CRICK and James WATSON) for the discovery of double-helix structure of DNA.

NOTE: Wilkins worked in the same lab as Rosalind FRANKLIN (see 25 July) but her work was not acknowledged by Watson in his publications. She missed out the Nobel Prize as she had passed away in 1958.

Wilkins was born in Pongaroa (a small town in the lower North Island) to parents who emigrated from Ireland. His father was a doctor. Wilkins was brought to England when he was six to be educated. He went on to gain a physics degree in 1938. While working on the luminescence of solids at Birmingham University, he gained a PhD in 1940.

During the war, he applied his ideas to improving cathode-ray tube screens for radars. Research into uranium isotopes lead to his move to work in the US on the Manhattan Project.

Post-War, his studies diversified into biophysics and nucleic acids (DNA), leading to the discovery with Crick, Watson and Franklin.

Wilkins passed away in 2004.

Wilkins' legacy lives on in the Maurice Wilkins Centre - one of seven New Zealand Centres of Research Excellence (CoREs) established by the Government to underpin world-class research efforts in New Zealand. Researchers from NZ universities and other institutes collaborate on research into cancer, diabetes and metabolic diseases, infectious diseases and integrative technologies to advance medical research.

24th. Sir William "Bill" Hayward PICKERING. Born 1910. Died 15 March, 2004, aged 93

What: NZ born, American engineer and physicist

Famous for: heading the Jet Propulsion Lab in California for 22 years. Pickering was a leading figure in the American space race.

Pickering was born in Wellington and in 1923, boarded at Wellington College. His mentor was his maths teacher, AC "Pop" Gifford, who founded the school's observatory. It was here that Pickering discovered the heavens. He started studying engineering at Canterbury University, but an uncle (who lived partly in California) encouraged him to apply to Caltech or the California Institute of Technology. In 1932, he completed his degree and returned to NZ hoping to find employment. Unsuccessful, he returned to study in California and completed a Masters (1933) and a PhD in Physics (1936). He joined Caltec's teaching staff.

During WWII, Pickering became involved in the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) and began working there full time in 1950, becoming the director in 1954.

In October 1957, the Russians launched Sputnik beating the Americans into space. The Naval Research Lab attempted to launch their satellite called Vanguard in December 1957 but it exploded on the launchpad. Pickering and his team had been working on their own satellite, Explorer 1, which was successfully launched in Jan, 1958. It orbited Earth for 10 years.

In 1993, Pickering was presented with the inaugural Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Aerospace Prize for his contribution to space science, the Caltech director at the time said “More than any other individual, Bill Pickering was responsible for America’s success in exploring the planets – an endeavour that demanded vision, courage, dedication, expertise and the ability to inspire two generations of scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.”

In NZ, Pickering has a mountain in Fiordland named after him