Taking Alien Life Seriously: The Origins of Exobiology
The search for extraterrestrial life began with an unexpected question: How could humans keep from destroying the evidence?
The Debate Over Pictures in Science
Botanical illustrations helped bring science to new audiences—but not every scientist welcomed the change.
How the Himalayan Blackberry Took Over the Pacific Northwest
The tangled history of an invasive plant and a scientist’s troubling quest to engineer a more efficient natural world.
Science Lit for Kids Holds a Mirror Aloft
Over decades, books that rouse children’s interest in the natural world have morphed in style and approach—an evolution reflective of tectonic societal change.
Science in War, Science in Peace: The Origins of the NSF
The 1950 establishment of a federal agency devoted to space, physics, and more belied a cross-party consensus that such disciplines were vital to national interest.
Electric Fish and the First Battery
Allesandro Volta invented the voltaic pile, the earliest electric battery, in part because of his investigations into the torpedo, an electric ray fish.
Natural History: A Reading List
This annotated bibliography samples scholarship on the rich—and difficult—history of natural history.
Science in Defiance of the Tsar: The Women of the 1860s
Sofia Kovalevskaia became the first woman in Europe to obtain her doctorate in mathematics—but only after leaving Russia for Germany.
Archimedes Rediscovered: Technology and Ancient History
Advanced imaging technologies help scholars reveal and share lost texts from the ancient world.