Editor´s letter [Opinion Editorial]

THIS MONTH´S cover star saved thousands of lives but remains an unsung hero. The First World War marked a low point for the public popularity of science and engineering. At the close of the 19th Century and into the early years of the 20th, their fortunes appeared to be rising, with their potential to offer Europeans a brighter, longer future. This belief was dented by the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and then evaporated during the course of the First World War, a mechanised conflict that brought death and destruction on an unprecedented scale.