Discovery of X-rays by W. C. Roentgen was the result of systematic pro
bing into a chance observation. Ever since their discovery, one hundre
d years ago, Xrays have contributed significantly towards human health
and scientific research, These contributions will continue to grow ex
ponentially, with the development of synchrotron sources of X-rays and
solid state detectors, Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), discovered 5
0 years ago independently by Bloch and Purcell, also has evolved treme
ndously since its discovery, The development of Fourier transform and
multidimensional NMR has enabled structures of biological macromolecul
es to be determined in solution, thereby providing information complem
entary to that obtained from X-ray techniques, The techniques of magne
tic resonance imaging and X-ray transmission computed tomography are p
roving invaluable in the diagnosis and treatment of human disease.