Science on the year of 2004 in history

Science

Date	Type	Text
30 Nov 2003 UTC	science	UTC (astronomy) 02:48 UTC) – Saturn orbit insertion of Cassini–Huygens.
30 Nov 2003 Michael Aschbacher	science	Michael Aschbacher (mathematics) Michael Aschbacher and Stephen D. Smith publish their work on quasithin groups, filling the last (known) gap in the classification of finite simple groups.
30 Nov 2003 Neil Shubin	science	Neil Shubin (paleontology) A team led by Neil Shubin discover fossils of the sarcopterygian Tiktaalik on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada, significant in the evolution of tetrapods.
30 Nov 2003 Abel Prize in Mathematics	science	Abel Prize in Mathematics (awards) Abel Prize in Mathematics: Michael F. Atiyah and Isadore M. Singer
30 Nov 2003 Millennium Technology Prize	science	Millennium Technology Prize (awards) Millennium Technology Prize (inaugural year): World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee
01 Jan 2004 Scotland	science	Scotland (paleontology) A 428 million-year-old fossil Pneumodesmus found in Scotland is identified as the world's oldest known creature to have lived on land.
01 Jan 2004 JILA	science	JILA (physics) A team from the JILA laboratory in Boulder, Colorado announce the creation of a fermionic condensate, the first such condensate made from atoms rather than molecules.
02 Jan 2004 NASA	science	NASA (space exploration) NASA's Stardust space probe flies by comet 81P/Wild and collects particle samples from its coma.
04 Jan 2004 Mars Exploration Rover	science	Mars Exploration Rover (space exploration) NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission Spirit (MER-A), the first of two Mars rovers, lands successfully on Mars in the crater Gusev (Columbia Memorial Station) at 04:35 SCET.
14 Jan 2004 Pennsylvania State University	science	Pennsylvania State University (physics) Physicists from Pennsylvania State University produce the first solid Bose–Einstein condensate.
19 Jan 2004 Hubble Space Telescope	science	Hubble Space Telescope (astronomy) The Hubble Space Telescope Program receives notification of the cancellation of all further HST on-orbit servicing.
03 Feb 2004 113	science	113 (physics) Russian and American physicists produce results that indicate the discovery of elements 113 and 115.
04 Feb 2004 Facebook	science	Facebook (computing) Facebook launches.
06 Feb 2004 Humphry Osmond	science	death Humphry Osmond Humphry Osmond (b. 1917), English-born psychiatrist.
12 Feb 2004 Arden Bement	science	Arden Bement (appointments) Arden Bement, acting director of the U.S.A's National Science Foundation.
15 Mar 2004 trans-Neptunian object	science	trans-Neptunian object (astronomy) Astronomers announce the discovery last year of trans-Neptunian object 90377 Sedna, one of the most distant objects in the Solar System.
22 Mar 2004 carbon	science	carbon (physics) A team from Australia, Russia and Greece announce a new material, made from a nano-foam of carbon that has the lowest density ever reported for a solid.
01 Apr 2004 Gmail	science	Gmail (computing) Gmail launches.
01 Apr 2004 Genesis	science	Genesis (space exploration) The Genesis probe closes and seals its particle collection instrument, and begins to return to Earth.
19 Apr 2004 Partial solar eclipse	science	Partial solar eclipse (astronomy) Partial solar eclipse.
19 Apr 2004 John Maynard Smith	science	death John Maynard Smith John Maynard Smith (b. 1920), evolutionary biologist and geneticist.
22 Apr 2004 Trees	science	Trees (earth sciences) Trees have a theoretical maximum height of 130m (426 ft) before gravity restricts their growth, according to a study published in Nature.
30 Apr 2004 University of California at Irvine	science	University of California at Irvine (technology) Scientists from the University of California at Irvine announce the first high-speed transistor made from a carbon nanotube, operating at microwave frequencies.
18 May 2004 Chandra X-ray Observatory	science	Chandra X-ray Observatory (astronomy) Scientists using the Chandra X-ray Observatory announced their findings that supports the notion that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating.
19 May 2004 Tonks–Girardeau gas	science	Tonks–Girardeau gas (physics) A team of European scientists produces the first Tonks–Girardeau gas.
27 May 2004 Mikhail Postnikov	science	death Mikhail Postnikov Mikhail Postnikov (b. 1927), Soviet mathematician, known for his work in algebraic and differential topology.
08 Jun 2004 Transit of Venus	science	Transit of Venus (astronomy) Transit of Venus across the Sun.
11 Jun 2004 Cassini–Huygens	science	Cassini–Huygens (space exploration) Cassini–Huygens, the NASA/ESA mission to Saturn, makes a flyby of one of Saturn's small outer moons, Phoebe.
21 Jun 2004 SpaceShipOne	science	SpaceShipOne (space exploration) SpaceShipOne, the first civilian space ship is launched in California, reaching an altitude of 100 km (62 mi), just passing the edge of space.
22 Jun 2004 Life expectancy for smokers	science	Life expectancy for smokers In 2004, a study led by Richard Doll was published in the British Medical Journal, the first research that quantified the damage over the lifetime of a generation, based on a 50-year study of a group of almost 35,000 British doctors who smoked. The study found that almost half of persistent cigarette smokers were killed by their habit, and a quarter died before age 70. Further, those who quit by age 30 had the same life expectancy as a nonsmoker. Even quitting at age 50 saved six more years of life over those who continued smoking. At age 80, 65% of non-smokers were still alive, but only 32% of smokers. Fifty years before, Doll published in the same journal the first report of a study that linked cigarette smoking to lung cancer.
22 Jun 2004 Thomas Gold	science	death Thomas Gold Died 22 Jun 2004 at age 84 (born 22 May 1920). quotes Austrian-British-American astronomer known for a steady-state theory of the universe, explaining pulsars, and naming the magnetosphere. In 1948, as a graduate student at Cambridge, he (together with Hermann Bondi and Fred Hoyle) proposed that, a continuous creation of matter in space is gradually forming new galaxies, maintaining the average number of galaxies in any part of the universe, despite its expansion. This is not accepted, as there is more evidence for the Big Bang theory. In 1967, Gold presented his theory on the nature of pulsars (objects in deep space that produce regularly pulsing radio waves). He suggested that they were rotating neutron stars - tiny, extraordinarily massive stars - which emit waves as they spin.
03 Jul 2004 Andriyan Nikolayev	science	death Andriyan Nikolayev Andriyan Nikolayev (b. 1929), cosmonaut.
28 Jul 2004 Francis Crick	science	death Francis Crick Francis Crick (b. 1916), American Nobel laureate in Physiology for discovering the double helix structure for DNA.
30 Jul 2004 Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute	science	Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (biology) Marine biologists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute announce in the journal Science the discovery of the genus Osedax, deep sea worms that feed on lipids in decaying whale carcasses.
12 Aug 2004 John Clark	science	death John Clark John Clark (b. 1951), head of the Roslin Institute and part of the team that cloned Dolly the Sheep.
15 Aug 2004 Sune K. Bergström	science	death Sune K. Bergström Died 15 Aug 2004 at age 88 (born 10 Jan 1916). Swedish biochemist who shared the 1982 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, (with Bengt Ingemar Samuelsson and John Robert Vane) for the isolation, identification, and analysis of prostaglandins and related biologically active substances. (These biochemical compounds influence such physiological phenomena in mammals as blood pressure, body temperature and allergic reactions.) Bergström purified several prostaglandins and determined their chemical structure. He also showed that prostaglandins are formed from unsaturated fatty acids. Through this discovery the metabolism of unsaturated fatty acids became of major interest in future research.
24 Aug 2004 Elisabeth Kubler-Ross	science	death Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Died 24 Aug 2004 at age 78 (born 8 Jul 1926). Swiss-American psychiatrist who was a leading authority on the psychology of dying. She is best-known for twelve books, beginning with On Death and Dying (1969), in which she proposed that the terminally ill go through five stages in their attitude. These are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and, perhaps, acceptance. The book offers strategies for caregivers. The work grew from a seminar she founded at the Billings Hospital of the University of Chicago where dying patients talked about their thoughts upon the approach of death. The best-selling success of the book led her into a career of clinical practice to the treatment of dying patients of all ages. Her lectures changed institutional attitudes towards the terminally ill.
26 Aug 2004 Susan Hockfield	science	Susan Hockfield (appointments) Neurobiologist Susan Hockfield is appointed as President of MIT.
31 Aug 2004 Fred Whipple	science	death Fred Whipple Fred Whipple (b. 1906), American astronomer who coined the term "dirty snowball" to explain the nature of comets.
13 Sep 2004 European Southern Observatory	science	European Southern Observatory (astronomy) Astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) announce images that appear to show a planet orbiting a brown dwarf about 230 light-years away. The system is believed to be only around 8 million years old.
24 Sep 2004 Université Joseph Fourier	science	Université Joseph Fourier (physics) Physicists from the Université Joseph Fourier and the Institut Laue–Langevin in Grenoble, France announce the discovery of a solution (a-cyclodextrine, water, and 4-methylpyridine) that changes from liquid to solid when heated, and melts again when cooled down.
28 Sep 2004 Parkfield, California	science	Parkfield, California (earth sciences) A long-awaited earthquake strikes Parkfield, California, the most closely monitored earthquake zone in the world. The earthquake, which had been expected to have occurred by the late 1980s, strikes as a magnitude 6.0. The network of instruments that had been installed in the region make this the most well-recorded earthquake in history.
05 Oct 2004 Maurice Wilkins	science	death Maurice Wilkins Maurice Wilkins (b. 1916), Nobel laureate in Physiology for discovering the double helix structure for DNA using X-ray diffraction.
19 Oct 2004 Lewis Urry	science	death Lewis Urry Lewis Urry (b. 1927), inventor of the long-lasting alkaline battery.
27 Oct 2004 Indonesia	science	Indonesia (anthropology) Remains of a previously unknown species of human is discovered in Indonesia. Named Homo floresiensis, the hominin is a dwarfed version that lived 18,000 years ago on the island of Flores.
15 Nov 2004 SMART-1	science	SMART-1 (space exploration) The SMART-1 space probe reaches orbit around the Moon. It is the first European space mission to do so.
18 Nov 2004 Robert Bacher	science	death Robert Bacher Robert Bacher (b. 1905), nuclear physicist and one of the leaders of the Manhattan Project, Professor and Provost of the California Institute of Technology.
19 Nov 2004 John Robert Vane	science	death John Robert Vane Died 19 Nov 2004 at age 77 (born 29 Mar 1927). English biochemist, who shared the 1982 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (with Sune K. Bergström and Bengt Ingemar Samuelsson of Sweden) for their isolation, identification, and analysis of prostaglandins. In 1971, Vane discovered how aspirin's effect was to block the formation of the prostaglandins involved in pain, fever, and inflammation. Further, a relatively small dose (75 mg/day) prevents blood clotting and lessen heart attacks, strokes and leg thromboses. In 1976, he discovered prostacyclin, a blood-vessel dilating prostaglandin that inhibits blood-clotting. His discoveries led to the Ace inhibitors, a new class of drugs giving life-saving benefits to patients with pulmonary hypertension, and new treatments for heart disease.
19 Nov 2004 Piermaria Oddone	science	Piermaria Oddone (appointments) Particle physicist Piermaria Oddone is appointed to succeed Michael Witherell as director of Fermilab (from July 1, 2005).
20 Nov 2004 Ancel Keys	science	death Ancel Keys Died 20 Nov 2004 at age 100 (born 26 Jan 1904). American nutritionist and epidemiologist who was the first to identify the role of saturated fats in causing heart disease. In 1935, he studied the physiological effects of altitude, which he conducted in the Andes. At the onset of WW II, he designed the lightweight yet nutritious K ration used by American paratroops. The hard biscuits, dry sausage, hard candy and chocolate it contained were items he originally selected at a Minneapolis grocery store, and the ration was named with his initial. In 1947, he began a decade of study of 283 local businessmen. From its results, he determined that saturated fat chiefly determined blood cholesterol levels, and linked smoking, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol with heart attacks.
20 Nov 2004 Swift	science	Swift (astronomy) Launch of the Swift satellite to investigate gamma-ray bursts (GRB) and perform an X-ray all sky survey.
25 Dec 2004 Cassini	science	Cassini (space exploration) The Cassini probe successfully drops the Huygens probe, sending it onto a trip to land on Saturn's moon Titan.
26 Dec 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami	science	Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami (earth sciences) Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
26 Dec 2004 Frank Pantridge	science	death Frank Pantridge Frank Pantridge (b. 1916), cardiologist.
27 Dec 2004 neutron star	science	neutron star (astronomy) A flare of radiation from an explosion on the super-magnetic neutron star (Magnetar) SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth – astronomers later calculate that it is the largest explosion observed in the Milky Way galaxy for 400 years.
29 Dec 2004 Julius Axelrod	science	death Julius Axelrod Died 29 Dec 2004 at age 92 (born 30 May 1912). American biochemist and pharmacologist who (with British biophysicist Sir Bernard Katz and Swedish physiologist Ulf von Euler) received the 1970 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Axelrod investigated the mechanism of formation of the hormone noradrenaline, as an important nerve impulse transmitter, specifically his discovery and isolation of the enzyme he called catechol-o-methyl transferase, which degrades chemical neurotransmitters when no longer needed. In effect this resets the nerve to nerve connections ready to transmit the next impulse that arrives. This helped the search for treatment of nervous and mental illnesses. He studied certain psychotropic drugs on the nervous system and the specific route taken by injected drugs.

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