Individuals Now history

In 1981 the AIDS virus was identified as it became a global health crisis and much of the decade was spent researching the new illness and developing methods to treat it.

The mobile phone was introduced in 1983 and a new generation of portable technology emerged.

In 1986, the Soviet Union experienced one of the largest nuclear disasters at the time at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, an incident which prompted several nations around the world take steps to improve safety in their nuclear power plants or to phase out nuclear power completely.

The study and use of DNA became a huge topic during the decade and the Human Genome Project began mapping human DNA in 1990.

Debates erupted over cloning, genetic modification, and stem cell research throughout the decade and in 1997 Dolly the Sheep, the first successfully cloned mammal, was revealed to the world.

1999 Pete Sampras wins in three straight sets beating Andre Agassi for his sixth Men's Wimbledon title in seven years and beating the previous record of Bjorn Borg.

Handheld technology became smaller and more powerful, mobile phones became ubiquitous, and in the middle of the decade the Smart Phone was created (most notably the iPhone in 2007) allowing people to carry what amounted to a small computer with internet access around with them at all times.