Go to back to main page

Spotlight on the ‘80s

At Springer Nature we understand the continuing value of high quality research, whether it was conducted last year or 100 years ago. Researchers today are increasingly rediscovering the value of past research. It’s clear that it is as relevant today as it ever was, and will continue to shape the future. Tapping into the experience of previous generations of researchers can improve and accelerate research today.  

This is why Springer Nature has brought together 175 years of the most important research and discovery in the Springer Nature Journals and eBooks archives. The archives include over 2,400 journals and 120,000 books across all our brands - Springer, Nature Research, Palgrave Macmillan, Adis and Scientific American.

Highlighted '80s research across three important Global Grand Challenges

Climate Change

With rising temperatures, the 80's saw further acknowledgement of, and research into, global warming caused by greenhouse gases.  The decade also saw international restrictions being imposed on the emission of ozone-destroying gases for the first time with the Montreal Protocol.

New Content Item

Digitally Transformed World

Many of the most popular technological consumer products today made their mark in the 80's. The decade gave “birth” to the world wide web, music on CD's, the Sony Walkman, answering machines and the first IBM PC which many believe set the scene for the next 2 decades of personal computing.

New Content Item

Global Health

AIDS was the most recognized and frantic virus of the 80's with much research effort focused on it during the decade. Medical advances included laser eye surgery, successful artificial heart implantation and the development of controlled drug release technology.

New Content Item

Research of the past informing breakthroughs of the future

Climate Change

1982: Strong global warming since mid-1970s is reported, with 1981 the warmest year on record

Highlighted content

1985: Ramanathan and collaborators announce that global warming may come twice as fast as expected, from rise of methane and other trace greenhouse gases

Highlighted content

1987: Montreal Protocol of the Vienna Convention imposes international restrictions on emission of ozone-destroying gases

Highlighted content

Digitally Transformed World

1981: IBM releases its own affordable personal computer (PC)

Highlighted content

1983: Compact discs (CDs) are launched as a new way to store music by the Sony and Philips corporations

Highlighted content

1989: Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web

Highlighted content

Global Health

1981: Patricia Bath develops laser eye surgery for removing cataracts

Highlighted content

1982: The first artificial heart, the Jarvik-7, is successfully implanted in a human

Highlighted content

1983: HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is identified

Highlighted content