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1978 in science
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<h2 id="astronomy-and-space-science">Astronomy and space science</h2> <ul><li>March 2 – <a href="/facts/Vladim%C3%ADr_Remek/ugV8JAq1">Vladimír Remek</a> becomes the first Czechoslovak in space and the first <a href="/facts/Cosmonaut/HB1bd6Lz">cosmonaut</a> from a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States, onboard <a href="/facts/Soyuz_28/yj8Dn7Q6">Soyuz 28</a>.</li> <li>June 22 – <a href="/facts/James_W._Christy/JEBftHFw">James W. Christy</a> at the <a href="/facts/United_States_Naval_Observatory/81pxwM2R">United States Naval Observatory</a> discovers <a href="/facts/Charon_(moon)/elazjsMp">Charon</a>, the first moon of <a href="/facts/Pluto/egq7MBeR">Pluto</a> identified.</li> <li>October – It is first proposed that <a href="/facts/Janus_(moon)/GMHK7rtb">Janus</a> and <a href="/facts/Epimetheus_(moon)/sDEqRPDB">Epimetheus</a> are two separate <a href="/facts/Moons_of_Saturn/HA64rVRw">moons of Saturn</a> sharing the same orbit.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="computer-science">Computer science</h2> <ul><li>February 16 – The first computer <a href="/facts/Bulletin_board_system/22d9c9s2">bulletin board system</a> is created (<a href="/facts/CBBS/V1qbGX1z">CBBS</a> in <a href="/facts/Chicago/yPMokrXH">Chicago</a>, Illinois).</li> <li>The <a href="/facts/RSA_(algorithm)/XTzyfHuq">RSA algorithm</a> for <a href="/facts/Public-key_cryptography/gowoFTxS">public-key cryptography</a>, based on the <a href="/facts/Factoring_problem/EjMCTz2t">factoring problem</a>, is first publicly described by <a href="/facts/Ron_Rivest/nQsIcAKa">Ron Rivest</a>, <a href="/facts/Adi_Shamir/CTnaUeP6">Adi Shamir</a> and <a href="/facts/Leonard_Adleman/uSGnztdj">Leonard Adleman</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="geophysics">Geophysics</h2> <ul><li>James Byerlee determines <a href="/facts/Byerlee%27s_law/qpEPLX21">Byerlee's law</a> which gives the <a href="/facts/Stress_(physics)/ErAXDbbd">stress</a> circumstances in the <a href="/facts/Crust_(geology)/FYG1kP4F">Earth's crust</a> at which <a href="/facts/Fracture/nxDNAj0d">fracturing</a> along a <a href="/facts/Geological_fault/0Fw2ladx">geological fault</a> takes place.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="history-of-science">History of science</h2> <ul><li>October 17 – <a href="/facts/James_Burke_(science_historian)/anwGayS1">James Burke</a>'s <a href="/facts/History_of_science/pdBLPwP0">history of science</a> series <i><a href="/facts/Connections_(British_documentary)/jtU6Uqqh">Connections</a></i> first airs, on <a href="/facts/BBC_Television/cJ56QwKM">BBC Television</a> in the <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2">United Kingdom</a> (with accompanying book).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="paleontology">Paleontology</h2> <ul><li>Fossils of <a href="/facts/Saint_Bathans_mammal/E47WE8be">Saint Bathans mammal</a> first collected.</li> <li>Fossil footprints of bipedal <a href="/facts/Hominini/SflaMavS">hominini</a> from 3.6M BP found at <a href="/facts/Laetoli/zV0pWbqN">Laetoli</a> in Tanzania in 1976 are excavated by <a href="/facts/Mary_Leakey/JgKS1FT1">Mary Leakey</a>'s team.</li> <li>A fossilized partial human cranium is among hominid remains found in <a href="/facts/Apidima_Cave/5wtVCbqH">Apidima Cave</a> in southern <a href="/facts/Greece/lqHw8bTB">Greece</a>; in 2019 it is announced as dating to more than 210,000 years BP, making it the earliest example of <i><a href="/facts/Homo_sapiens/rlcTENsr">Homo sapiens</a></i> outside Africa.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="physiology-and-medicine">Physiology and medicine</h2> <ul><li>May 13 – "<a href="/facts/Basaglia_Law/47hX9QRU">Basaglia Law</a>" (Mental Health Act) in Italy requires closing down of all psychiatric hospitals and their replacement with community services.</li> <li>July 25 – <a href="/facts/Louise_Brown/xAoGMjXg">Louise Brown</a> becomes the world's first human born from <a href="/facts/In_vitro_fertilisation/kQNMtaBu">in vitro fertilisation</a>, in England.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li> <li>August – <a href="/facts/Osteocalcin/tP0Ahh7b">Osteocalcin</a> first identified in animal bone.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></li> <li>September 6 – Production of the first <a href="/facts/Genetic_engineering/vwdlDR61">genetically engineered</a> synthetic "human" <a href="/facts/Insulin/oXG0myt1">insulin</a> using <i><a href="/facts/Escherichia_coli/nR4Gvl56">E. coli</a></i> by <a href="/facts/Arthur_Riggs_(geneticist)/RP8zu7wW">Arthur Riggs</a> and <a href="/facts/Keiichi_Itakura/URX9dSqD">Keiichi Itakura</a> at the <a href="/facts/Beckman_Research_Institute/mXrDIt26">Beckman Research Institute</a> of the <a href="/facts/City_of_Hope_National_Medical_Center/jCR06v7r">City of Hope National Medical Center</a> in collaboration with <a href="/facts/Herbert_Boyer/l01hVY8x">Herbert Boyer</a> at <a href="/facts/Genentech/DPahQBr4">Genentech</a> is announced in <a href="/facts/California/zLW2vdQJ">California</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></li> <li>The rare <a href="/facts/Genetic_disorder/hFqt2NLn">genetic disorder</a> <a href="/facts/Pitt%E2%80%93Hopkins_syndrome/twKHL17G">Pitt–Hopkins syndrome</a> is first described.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Victor_Skumin/QRFAFfB1">Victor Skumin</a> first describes "cardioprosthetic <a href="/facts/Psychopathology/QcHKDX2n">psychopathological</a> <a href="/facts/Syndrome/JFVb3x8f">syndrome</a>",<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> later known as "Skumin syndrome",<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> a form of <a href="/facts/Anxiety/Geekl883">anxiety</a> suffered by recipients of <a href="/facts/Artificial_heart_valve/qUuLILfm">artificial heart valves</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Imposter_syndrome/dDPeHGQa">Imposter syndrome</a> is first described as a phenomenon.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="awards">Awards</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Fields_Medal/khFmkEnm">Fields Prize in Mathematics</a>: <a href="/facts/Pierre_Deligne/wYC8fhfq">Pierre Deligne</a>, <a href="/facts/Charles_Fefferman/M8k9ffkd">Charles Fefferman</a>, <a href="/facts/Grigory_Margulis/kTkcHJII">Grigory Margulis</a>, <a href="/facts/Daniel_Quillen/E4Nak15V">Daniel Quillen</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize/3z1Y3oFL">Nobel Prizes</a> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics/o6w1nCbr">Physics</a> – <a href="/facts/Pyotr_Leonidovich_Kapitsa/xhHdzHBd">Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa</a>, <a href="/facts/Arno_Allan_Penzias/MEautAvP">Arno Allan Penzias</a>, <a href="/facts/Robert_Woodrow_Wilson/CsmuvVqa">Robert Woodrow Wilson</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Chemistry/8Nb8Ajjy">Chemistry</a> – <a href="/facts/Peter_D._Mitchell/2VuXJ99T">Peter D. Mitchell</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physiology_or_Medicine/rlnpJX84">Medicine</a> – <a href="/facts/Werner_Arber/ztkcDjuy">Werner Arber</a>, <a href="/facts/Daniel_Nathans/jfkaaceo">Daniel Nathans</a>, <a href="/facts/Hamilton_O._Smith/vmKB4z3k">Hamilton O. Smith</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/facts/Turing_Award/HbEEp0GF">Turing Award</a> – <a href="/facts/Robert_W._Floyd/sTFRb3TH">Robert Floyd</a></li></ul> <h2 id="births">Births</h2> <ul><li>March 16 – <a href="/facts/Jemma_Redmond/UpjF2PDJ">Jemma Redmond</a> (d. <a href="/facts/2016_in_science/xaChyHmT">2016</a>), <a href="/facts/Irish_people/6Ykz2Dxl">Irish</a> <a href="/facts/Biochemist/gAWNAY5v">biochemist</a>, pioneer of <a href="/facts/3D_bioprinting/89jSM0SR">3D bioprinting</a></li> <li>July – <a href="/facts/Caucher_Birkar/Nc0leJkh">Caucher Birkar</a>, born Fereydoun Derakhshani, <a href="/facts/Kurdistan_Province/3yUmkKBt">Kurdish</a>-born <a href="/facts/Mathematician/eaFSR8Fx">mathematician</a></li> <li>November 1 – <a href="/facts/Helen_Czerski/Q2WW3Do6">Helen Czerski</a>, <a href="/facts/English_people/IeI9c7BK">English</a> physicist and science populariser</li></ul> <h2 id="deaths">Deaths</h2> <ul><li>January 14 – <a href="/facts/Kurt_G%C3%B6del/P14DqKqK">Kurt Gödel</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1906_in_science/9aKmEL28">1906</a>), American <a href="/facts/Mathematician/eaFSR8Fx">mathematician</a></li> <li>February 25 – <a href="/facts/Edith_Humphrey/KXsLQm68">Edith Humphrey</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1875_in_science/uXaVxjU1">1875</a>), <a href="/facts/English_people/IeI9c7BK">English</a> <a href="/facts/Chemist/N09K7Bdm">chemist</a></li> <li>March 9 – <a href="/facts/Gaston_Julia/SALf3AWG">Gaston Julia</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1893_in_science/N2wKwyPt">1893</a>), <a href="/facts/French_people/984axQ8y">French</a> mathematician</li> <li>March 23 – <a href="/facts/Haim_Ernst_Wertheimer/15bFj5SH">Haim Ernst Wertheimer</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1893_in_science/N2wKwyPt">1893</a>), <a href="/facts/Jews/T9Y4wE6A">Jewish</a> <a href="/facts/Biochemist/gAWNAY5v">biochemist</a></li> <li>March 30 – <a href="/facts/Bill_Hamilton_(engineer)/BtcgD6zB">Bill Hamilton</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1899_in_science/eeGQg6tL">1899</a>), <a href="/facts/New_Zealand/4mpSlJdg">New Zealand</a> <a href="/facts/Mechanical_engineer/cbId4fye">mechanical engineer</a></li> <li>March 31 – <a href="/facts/Charles_Best_(medical_scientist)/ItV9A7PH">Charles Best</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1899_in_science/eeGQg6tL">1899</a>), <a href="/facts/Canadians/9y5ceYgk">Canadian</a> medical scientist</li> <li>April 21 – <a href="/facts/Thomas_Wyatt_Turner/PgYz8R9t">Thomas Wyatt Turner</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1877_in_science/PvF8wXrx">1877</a>), American civil rights activist, <a href="/facts/Biologist/yJJGXyKR">biologist</a> and educator; first black person ever to receive a doctorate from <a href="/facts/Cornell_University/FGyXuXeI">Cornell University</a></li> <li>July 22 – <a href="/facts/Andr%C3%A9_Chapelon/B5GSSAeU">André Chapelon</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1892_in_science/tfqwTHgh">1892</a>), <a href="/facts/French_people/984axQ8y">French</a> <a href="/facts/Steam_locomotive/cXEQwhFk">steam locomotive</a> designer</li> <li>September 15 – <a href="/facts/Willy_Messerschmitt/3T5uFJ0k">Willy Messerschmitt</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1898_in_science/fdxwBTSM">1898</a>), <a href="/facts/German_people/F7mBCrJ4">German</a> aircraft engineer</li> <li>November 15 – <a href="/facts/Margaret_Mead/NW85lSaq">Margaret Mead</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1901_in_science/PbHMXfG4">1901</a>), American cultural <a href="/facts/Anthropologist/CboLlQq5">anthropologist</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Fountain, J. W.; Larson, S. M. (1978). "Saturn's ring and nearby faint satellites". Icarus. 36 (1): 92–106. Bibcode:1978Icar...36...92F. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(78)90076-3. <a href="/wiki/Icarus_(journal)" target="_blank">/wiki/Icarus_(journal)</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Rivest, R.; Shamir, A.; Adleman, L. (1978). "A Method for Obtaining Digital Signatures and Public-Key Cryptosystems" (PDF). Communications of the ACM. 21 (2): 120–126. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.607.2677. doi:10.1145/359340.359342. S2CID 2873616. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-01-27. Retrieved 2012-01-28. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070127130201/http://theory.lcs.mit.edu/~rivest/rsapaper.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20070127130201/http://theory.lcs.mit.edu/~rivest/rsapaper.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Byerlee, J. D. (1978). "Friction of rocks". Pure and Applied Geophysics. 116 (4–5): 615–626. Bibcode:1978PApGe.116..615B. doi:10.1007/BF00876528. S2CID 128666327. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>ISBN 0-333-24827-9. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Harvati, Katerina; Röding, Carolin; Bosman, Abel M.; Karakostis, Fotios A.; Grün, Rainer; Stringer, Chris; Karkanas, Panagiotis; Thompson, Nicholas C.; Koutoulidis, Vassilis; Moulopoulos, Lia A.; Gorgoulis, Vassilis G.; Kouloukoussa, Mirsini (2019). "Apidima Cave fossils provide earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in Eurasia". Nature. 571 (7766): 500–504. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1376-z. PMID 31292546. S2CID 195873640. <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/6646855" target="_blank">https://zenodo.org/record/6646855</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"1978: First 'test tube baby' born". On This Day. BBC News. 1978-07-25. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2013-12-18. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/25/newsid_2499000/2499411.stm" target="_blank">http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/25/newsid_2499000/2499411.stm</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Hauschka, P. V.; Reid. M. L. (1978). "Timed appearance of a calcium-binding protein containing gamma-carboxyglutamic acid in developing chick bone". Developmental Biology. 65 (2): 426–34. doi:10.1016/0012-1606(78)90038-6. PMID 680371. <a href="/wiki/Developmental_Biology_(journal)" target="_blank">/wiki/Developmental_Biology_(journal)</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"First Successful Laboratory Production of Human Insulin Announced". News Release. Genentech. 1978-09-06. Retrieved 2014-01-06. <a href="http://www.gene.com/gene/news/press-releases/display.do?method=detail&id=4160" target="_blank">http://www.gene.com/gene/news/press-releases/display.do?method=detail&id=4160</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Tof, Ilanit (1994). "Recombinant DNA Technology in the Synthesis of Human Insulin". Little Tree. Retrieved 2014-01-06. <a href="http://www.littletree.com.au/dna.htm" target="_blank">http://www.littletree.com.au/dna.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Pitt, D.; Hopkins, I. (1978). "A syndrome of mental retardation, wide mouth and intermittent overbreathing". Australian Paediatric Journal. 14 (3): 182–184. doi:10.1111/jpc.1978.14.3.182. PMID 728011. S2CID 45629810. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Bendet, Ia. A.; Morozov, S. M.; Skumin, V. A. (1980). "Psychological aspects of the rehabilitation of patients after the surgical treatment of heart defects" Психологические аспекты реабилитации больных после хирургического лечения пороков сердца [Psychological aspects of the rehabilitation of patients after the surgical treatment of heart defects]. Kardiologiia (in Russian). 20 (6): 45–51. PMID 7392405. Retrieved 25 June 2024. <a href="Психологические аспекты реабилитации больных после хирургического лечения пороков сердца" target="_blank">Психологические аспекты реабилитации больных после хирургического лечения пороков сердца</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Skumin syndrome". wikidata.org. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 30 January 2023. <a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2569523" target="_blank">https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2569523</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Clance, Pauline R.; Imes, Suzanne A. (1978). "The Impostor Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention" (PDF). Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice. 15 (3): 241–247. doi:10.1037/h0086006. <a href="http://mpowir.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Download-IP-in-High-Achieving-Women.pdf" target="_blank">http://mpowir.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Download-IP-in-High-Achieving-Women.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>