Stephenson, Robert (b. Oct. 16, 1803, Willington Quay, Northum¬ berland, Eng.—d. Oct. 12, 1859, London) British civil engineer and
George Stephenson, detail of a mez¬ zotint by Charles Turner after Henry Perronet Briggs, 1838.
COURTESY OF THE SCIENCE MUSEUM, LONDON
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1820 I Steptoe ► Steuben
builder of long-span railroad bridges. The son of George Stephenson, he assisted his father in constructing the Rocket and several railways. Build¬ ing a railway from Newcastle to Berwick, he spanned the River Tyne with a six-arch iron bridge. Called on to build a secure railroad bridge over the Menai Strait to the Welsh mainland, Stephenson conceived a unique tubu¬ lar design, the success of which led to his building other tubular bridges in England and elsewhere.
Steptoe, Patrick (Christopher); and Edwards, Robert (Geoffrey) (respectively b. June 9, 1913, Witney, Oxfordshire, Eng.—d. March 21, 1988, Canterbury, Kent; b. Sept. 27, 1925, Yorkshire) British medical researchers. They perfected human in vitro fertilization, leading to the birth of the first “test-tube baby” in 1978. Steptoe had conducted research on sterilization and infertility and published Laparoscopy in Gynaecology (1967). Edwards succeeded in 1968 in fertilizing human ova outside the uterus. Their partnership, begun in 1968, resulted in the birth of more than 1,000 babies.
stereochemistry Term originated c. 1878 by Viktor Meyer (1848-97) for the study of stereoisomers (see isomer). Louis Pasteur had shown in 1848 that tartaric acid has optical activity and that this depends on molecular asymmetry, and Jacobus H. van't Hoff and Joseph-Achille Le Bel (1847- 1930) had independently explained in 1874 how a molecule with a car¬ bon atom bonded to four different groups has two mirror-image forms. Stereochemistry deals with stereoisomers and with asymmetric synthesis. John Cornforth (b. 1917) and Vladimir Prelog (1906-98) shared a 1975 Nobel Prize for work on stereochemistry and stereoisomerism of alka¬ loids, enzymes, antibiotics, and other natural compounds.
sterilization Any surgical procedure intended to end fertility perma¬ nently (see contraception). Such operations remove or interrupt the ana¬ tomical pathways through which the cells involved in fertilization travel (see reproductive system). They are relatively simple and more than 99% effective. The operations used in humans are vasectomy in men and tubal ligation (tying off and blocking or cutting of the fallopian tubes) in women. Though these operations are considered permanent, the develop¬ ment of microsurgery has improved the chances of reversal. Animals are sterilized by castration in males and spaying (removal of the ovaries) in females.
Sterkfontein Vsterk-fon-.tanX One of three neighbouring South African sites (the others being Kromdraai and Swartkrans) at which the remains of fossil hominids have been found. The fossils found include those of Australopithecus africanus, A. robustus (see Australopithecus), and Homo erectus. In 1996 researchers uncovered the most complete australopithe- cine fossil skeleton since Lucy, that of an A. africanus individual with a humanlike pelvis but with limb proportions similar to those of a modem chimpanzee. At Makapansgat, 150 mi (240 km) to the north, the remains of about 40 individuals of A. africanus have been found.
Sterling, Bruce (b. April 14, 1954, Brownsville, Texas, U.S.) U.S. science-fiction writer. He graduated from the University of Texas in 1976, the year his first story, “Man-Made Self,” was published. A principal pro¬ ponent of cyberpunk, science fiction dealing with harsh future urban soci¬ eties dominated by computer technology, he edited Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology (1986) and published novels such as Schismatrix (1985), Islands in the Net (1988), The Difference Engine (1990; with Wil¬ liam Gibson), and Distraction (1999).
Stern Vshtem\ German weekly newsmagazine. Founded in 1948, it quickly became known for its outstanding photography and its blend of light and serious material. The magazine’s lively treatment of many top¬ ics helped it achieve wide popularity in the 20th century. With a weekly circulation of roughly one million. Stern features pictorial essays, celeb¬ rity profiles, interviews, and other material and combines provocative photographs of violence and sexual imagery with conventional pictures of current events. In the early 21st century. Stern took an influential stand against neo-Nazi activities by launching a campaign to prevent right-wing violence.
Stern, Isaac (b. July 21, 1920, Kremenets, Ukraine, Russian Empire—d. Sept. 22, 2001, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Ukrainian-born U.S. violinist. His family came to the U.S. when he was an infant. He first performed with the San Francisco Symphony in 1936, and he made his New York City debut at age 17. After World War II, he began to tour extensively (including the Soviet Union in 1956). In 1960 he formed a famous trio with pianist Eugene Istomin (b. 1925) and cellist Leonard
Rose (1918-84). He was instrumental in saving Carnegie Hall from demo¬ lition, helped establish the National Endowment for the Arts, and was a key presence in the musical life of Israel.
Sternberg, Josef von orig. Jonas Stern (b. May 29, 1894, Vienna, Austria—d. Dec. 22, 1969, Holly¬ wood, Calif., U.S.) Austrian-bom U.S. film director. He immigrated with his Orthodox Jewish family to New York as a boy. By 1923 he was a scriptwriter and cameraman in Hollywood. In 1927 he made the first serious gangster movie. Underworld.
His films became noted for their striking visual effects and atmo¬ spheric use of light and dark. In Ger¬ many he directed The Blue Angel (1930), which made actress Marlene Dietrich an international star. She returned with Sternberg to Holly¬ wood, where he directed her in Morocco (1930), Shanghai Express (1932), Blonde Venus (1932), The Scarlet Empress (1934), and The Devil Is a Woman (1935). His career thereafter declined, though his late films Macao (1952) and The Saga of Anatahan (1953) were admired.
Sterne, Laurence (b. Nov. 24, 1713, Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ire.—d. March 18, 1768, London,
Eng.) English novelist and humorist.
Sterne was a clergyman in York for many years before his talents became apparent when he wrote a Swiftian satire in support of his dean in a church squabble. Turning his parishes over to a curate, he began to write Tristram Shandy (1759-67), an experimental novel issued in nine parts in which the story is subordi¬ nate to its narrator’s free associations and digressions. It is considered one of the most important ancestors of psychological and stream of con¬ sciousness fiction. Long afflicted with tuberculosis, Sterne fled the damp air of England and undertook the trav¬ els that inspired his unfinished Sen¬ timental Journey Through France and Italy (1768), a comic novel that defies conventional expectations of a travel book.
steroid Any of a class of natural or synthetic organic compounds with a molecular core, or nucleus, of 17 carbon atoms in a characteristic three- dimensional arrangement of four rings. The configuration of the nucleus, the nature of the groups attached to it, and their positions distinguish dif¬ ferent steroids. Hundreds have been found in plants and animals and thousands more synthesized or made by modifying natural steroids. Ste¬ roids are important in biology, chemistry, and medicine. Examples include many hormones (including the sex hormones), bile acids, sterols (includ¬ ing cholesterol), and oral contraceptives (see contraception). Digitalis was the first steroid widely used in Western medicine. Corticosteroids (see cortisone) and their synthetic analogs are used to treat rheumatism and other inflammatory ailments. See also anabolic steroid.