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Raphael Meldola FRS (1849-1915) was professor of chemistry at the City and Guilds Technical College in Finsbury. He was a colleague and close friend of Silvanus Phillips Thompson FRS (1851-1916), the college principal and professor of physics. This paper follows an earlier one on Thompson and the making of his career. It is intended to illustrate further the ways in which scientists of Meldola and Thompson's generation gained advancement within the scientific community. Meldola had interests beyond chemistry, including a serious interest in field entomology. In this he had several well-known mentors including Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin. The paper, which includes much new information derived from archival work, is presented as six thematic narratives related, among other things, to chemical and technical education, dye chemistry, the Royal Society solar eclipse expedition of 1875, natural history and Darwinism, field clubs, learned societies, and the honouring of scientists. Together these narratives illustrate a generalist/voluntarist career pattern that came to an end with the First World War. (Contains 190 footnotes.)

by Peter J. Bowler. Chicago and London, University of Chicago Press, 2001. xiii, 479 pp. $40.00 U.S. (cloth). Bowler's book shows that interest in the relationship between science and religion [...]

Herbert Spencer's evolutionary ideas related not just to the biological world but to the universe and everything in it. Human societies were also viewed through his evolutionary lens so that Spencer's evolutionary and political ideas are inextricably entwined. This essay looks at some of Spencer's ideas and attempts to locate them in the social and intellectual context of his youth. It also speculates on the rise and fall of Spencer's reputation.

Nineteenth-century science fraternities in England provided opportunities for scientists to expand their horizons while requiring scientists to conform to the organizations' established ideals of science, man, and nation. Younger scientists, upset with the exclusivity of the older organizations controlled by aristocrats, formed new exclusive social clubs. A man's promotion and reputation were often tied to the organizations to which he belonged.

In the early nineteenth century, scientific activity in London was located mainly in two areas, Westminster and the City of London. In Westminster, the Royal Society, a growing number of [...]

Chemistry and the Chemical Industry in the Nineteenth Century: The Henrys of Manchester and Other Studies, by Wilfred Farrar, edited by Richard L. Hills and W.H. Brock. Aldershot, Variorum, 1997. [...]

Herbert McLeod was appointed Professor of Experimental Science at the Royal Indian Engineering College (RIEC) in 1871. Some of his experience collected from his diary writings, with the scientific and social world during his fifteen years as a professor is outlined.

Sir,--Lynn McDonald (Commentary, December 6,2013) shows why 2013 was a banner year for Mary Seacole. It was, however, one among many. Stories of Seacole's 'nursing' prowess have been circulating for [...]

In his 1983 book, The Eclipse of Darwin, Peter Bowler discussed the Lamarckian climate of much late nineteenth-century thinking on evolution. Departing from a whiggish historiography which portrayed (and by [...]

Many people were involved in producing the seven volumes that make up the fourth series of the Royal Society catalogue of scientific papers. Included were about two hundred volunteers and about one hundred people working either on short-term contracts or carrying out piece work. At the Royal Society there was a small, largely female, secretariat working full-time. It included both clerical and bibliographic staff. Coordinating all the work was the chemist Herbert McLeod, appointed director of the catalogue in 1901. As is discussed, the position of director was created especially for him after his forced retirement from the Royal Indian Engineering College. The paper shows the complexity of the work involved in producing the catalogue, as well as something of the office culture at the Royal Society in the early twentieth century. The working conditions of the women employees, and prevailing attitudes toward the largely female clerical and bibliographic staff, are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The use of chemical pesticides increased considerably after World War II, and ecological damage was noticeable by the late 1940s. This paper outlines some ecological problems experienced during the post-war period in the UK, and in parts of what is now Malaysia. Also discussed is the government's response. Although Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring (1962), was important in bringing the problems to a wider public, she was not alone in sounding the alarm. Pressure from the public and from British scientists led, among other things, to the founding of the Natural Environment Research Council in 1965. By the 1970s, environmentalism was an important movement, and funding for ecological and environmental research was forthcoming even during the economic recession. Some of the recipients were ecologists working at Imperial College London. Moved by the political climate, and by the evidence of ecological damage, they carried out research on the biological control of insect pests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of technical assistance in scientific work in London, England during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The author reflects on assistants such as laboratory technicians, skilled trades people, and research students and their roles in the organization of scientific work. The social connections of scientists are considered. Scientists discussed include William Crookes, Charles Gimingham, and William Higgins. Other topics include skills necessary for scientific instrument-making, the influence of the industrial economy, and patent rights.

Comments on the failed efforts of chemist Raphael Meldola to memorialize the role of Herbert Spencer in Westminister Abbey. Where the names of persons who signed Meldola's petition can be found; Contents of letters; Information on `Synthetic Philosophy,' final volume of Herbert Spencer; What the Meldola letters indicated.

Pyomyositis isa musculoskeletal infection with formation of an intramuscular abscess. Endemic in tropical climates, it is being reported with increasing frequency in temperate climates such as the United States. The most common causative organism is Staphylococcus aureus, present in greater than 90% of reported cases. Risk factors include underlying chronic illness, malnutrition, immunocompromised state, and muscle trauma. We present a case in which Streptococcus agalactae was the causative agent of myositis in a child with a history of perinatally derived human immunodeficiency virus infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is both (a) an exercise in historical recovery in that it details some of the events surrounding the founding of the City and Guilds of London Institute and describes the way in which the Institute set about the building and running of two of its colleges, the City and Guilds Technical College, Finsbury, and the Central Institution in South Kensington (new archival detail is added to what is already known of this history) and (b) an attempt to interpret the above material in terms of various forms of association within the City Corporation and the guilds. Collectively the City and the guilds made an effort to come to terms with a modernizing world through the means of providing scientific and technical education. The guilds wanted to remain important even though traditional apprenticeship was dying out. In joining in a new venture to provide technical education for young people it was necessary to maintain an order in which the City's presence was clear and apparent. This paper will show how such an order was achieved and, in so doing, it shows something more generally of the relationship of tradition and rhetoric to institution building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary In 2013, researchers announced that a newborn child from Mississippi, USA might have been functionally cured of HIV by being given combination antiretroviral therapy within hours of birth. Public and media attention has since been captured by the possibility of finding a cure for HIV transmitted from mother to child. Research into the strategy used for the Mississippi patient is crucially important to establish whether it can be replicated and shown to work in diverse populations. At the same time, any ethical issues likely to arise in such studies should be addressed and not ignored in the pursuit of a functional cure. In this Personal View we identify ethical issues that could arise in research towards achievment of a functional cure for HIV in neonates, including difficult trade-offs associated with choosing the study population and questions about the broader social implications of the research, and propose ways to resolve them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]