Philosophical Transactions Archives

A contraption used to extract the silk from a spider

The Tangled History of Weaving with Spider Silk

Spider silk is as strong as steel and as light as a feather, but attempts to industrialize its production have gotten stuck, so to speak.

See page for author [CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Blood transfusion - 17th century (?)
"Anthropographia" (?) showing blood transfusion between man and sheep; ascribed to J. G. Riva (fl 1618) author of 'De triplici infusionis sanguinis experimento'
Iconographic Collections

Science & Technology

First Blood Transfusion: A History

The world’s first experiments with blood transfusion occurred in the mid-1660s in England. The procedure, carried out between dogs, was gruesome.

Editors' Picks

Arts & Culture

Doing Math with Intellectual Humility

Math class is an opportunity to teach students both how to use conjecture to arrive at knowledge and how to learn from the logic of peers.

Arts & Culture

Willie Mae Thornton Deserves Your Full Attention

In a meditative new biography, DJ and scholar Lynnée Denise examines the mysteries and trials in the life of the legendary performer.

Politics & History

The Fourteenth Amendment: Annotated

Adopted in 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution addresses citizenship rights, due process, and equal protection under the law.

Education & Society

Class Production

A collection of high school yearbooks from Cleveland captures the rise, fall, and uncertain future of the American middle class.

Education & Society

Intellectual Humility: Foundations and Key Concepts

Research about intellectual humility has exploded in the past decade. Psychologist Elizabeth Krumrei-Mancuso offers an annotated bibliography of key texts.

The Tangled History of Weaving with Spider Silk

First Blood Transfusion: A History

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