Today's work is tomorrow's history

A letter in Nature from Sydney Brenner and Richard Roberts, urges scientists to take an interest in future history. Referring to recent advances in molecular biology, they say

Where are the original notes, and the patent and manuscript drafts that accompanied these stupendous advances? Nowadays, these are recorded in ephemeral electronic media that are far too easily lost with the push of a button or the failure of a hard drive. Yet historians need all forms of data about the workings of scientists so that they can document the development of today's innovations and inspire future generations to pursue similar lofty goals inscience.