Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 August 14

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Today's featured article
DNA nanotechnology is the design and manufacture of artificial nucleic acid structures for technological uses. In this field, nucleic acids such as DNA are used as non-biological engineering materials for nanotechnology rather than as the carriers of genetic information in living cells. Researchers in the field have created static structures such as crystal lattices, nanotubes, polyhedra, and arbitrarily shaped DNA origami; as well as functional structures including molecular machines and DNA computers. The conceptual foundation for DNA nanotechnology was first laid out in the early 1980s, and the field began to attract widespread interest in the mid-2000s. The field is beginning to be used as a tool to solve basic science problems in structural biology and biophysics, such as protein structure determination, and potential real-world applications in nanomedicine and molecular scale electronics are under development. (more...) Recently featured: Gray mouse lemur – Olympic Games – South Side, Chicago Archive – By email – More featured articles...
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From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Ralph Hanan (pictured) abolished the death penalty in New Zealand by voting against the legislation that he himself introduced into Parliament? ... that Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul was Redding's last solo studio album? ... that the first Protestant translation of the New Testament into Polish was published by Jan Seklucjan in Königsberg, in the Polish fief Duchy of Prussia, between 1551 and 1553? ... that the International Sociological Association was established in 1949 under the auspices of UNESCO? ... that among pilots of his air group, Japanese ace Makoto Ogawa downed the highest number of Boeing B-29 Superfortresses? ... that Alicia Keys' song "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" ranked as the number one song on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 2010 year-end list? ... that the mineral messelite was described in 1890, discredited in 1940, reinstated and named neomesselite in 1955, and named messelite once again by 1959? ... that until UCLA's record winning streak ended at 88 games, college basketball player Tommy Curtis had not lost a game since he was 14 years old in high school? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news

The closing ceremony of the Summer Olympics is held in London.

Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (pictured) wins the PGA Championship by a record eight strokes.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi orders Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi to resign and cancels military-declared constitutional amendments.

In the Olympics, Jamaica and the United States set world records in the men's 4 × 100 metres relay and the women's 4 × 100 metres relay, respectively.

At least 306 people are killed and 3,000 others injured in two earthquakes near Tabriz, Iran.

Olympics summary – Wikinews – Recent deaths
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On this day...

August 14: Independence Day in Pakistan (1947)

"The Lost Chord", 1888 recording

1842 – American Indian Wars: American general William J. Worth declared the Second Seminole War to be over.

1888 – A recording of English composer Arthur Sullivan's The Lost Chord (audio clip right), one of the first recordings of music ever made, was played during a press conference introducing Thomas Edison's phonograph in London.

1987 – The Australian Federal Police raided the compound owned by the Santiniketan Park Association and freed a number of children who had been held there illegally.

1994 – International fugitive Carlos the Jackal, wanted for a number of terrorist attacks in Europe, was handed over to French agents by Sudanese officials.

2005 – Helios Airways Flight 522 crashed into a mountain north of Marathon and Varnava, Greece, killing all 121 people on board.

2010 – The inaugural Youth Olympic Games opened in Singapore for athletes between 14 and 18 years old.

More anniversaries: August 13 – August 14 – August 15

Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries

It is now August 14, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Tracy Caldwell Dyson in the Cupola module of the International Space Station, observing the Earth below during Expedition 24. Caldwell Dyson is an American chemist and astronaut. She was selected by NASA in 1998 and made her first spaceflight in August 2007 on the STS-118 mission aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Photo: NASA/Tracy Caldwell Dyson

Recently featured: Fan-tailed Cuckoo – Christy Mathewson – Chlorine

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