In 1954, physicists Chen-Ning Yang and Robert Mills formulated nonabelian gauge theory at Brookhaven National Laboratory, a mathematical framework that underlies the modern Standard Model of particle physics, including quantum chromodynamics. That same year, surgeon Joseph Murray performed the first successful human kidney transplant between identical twins in Boston, launching the field of organ transplant surgery; this built on prior discoveries about histocompatibility, or how organs are recognized as matching or foreign. Donald Thomas later achieved the first successful human bone marrow transplant in Cooperstown, New York, in 1959. Murray and Thomas both won the Nobel Prize in 1990 for this work.
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The hosts note that Yang-Mills gauge theory explains why photons exist as part of the broader gauge symmetry framework.
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One host mentions that Chen-Ning Yang passed away the previous year and points listeners to a separate FFP Pod episode devoted to him.
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1:30:02a clearly we are very motivated by the World Cup right now. 1954. Another great episode on the show. Formulation of Yang Mills gauge theory. Fascinating. This was This is amazing. And I can't do it justice in the minute that I have. All I'm going to say is Chenning Young and Robert Mills formulated nonabelian gauge theory at Brook Haven National Lab in New York. Um it underpins the entire standard model of particle physics. This is why photons exist. This is why quantum chronomodnamics is the way that it is. Um, if you want to know more, check out our episode on Chening Yang. He passed
1:30:42away last year. >> It's it's and as someone who is technical but a non-scientist, it was one of the most fascinating breakdowns. 1954, pioneering human tissue and organ transplantation. >> Yeah. So, this was um Joseph Murray. He performed the first successful human organ transplant of a kidney between identical twins in Boston, Massachusetts. And then Donald Thomas achieved the first successful human bone marrow transplant in Coopertown, New York in 1959. And it created organ transplant surgery. They both won the Nobel Prize in 1990 because of their work. And crucially, a lot of this is
1:31:22because we had already discovered hystocompatibility beforehand and why organs like each other and why they don't.