Science History

“Terror is the normal state of any oral society, for in it everything affects everything all the time.” – Marshall McLuhan* The famous media scholar’s statement about preliterate societies seems to…

Not long ago, I was watching a documentary The Pharaoh in the Suburb on Channel 5 (UK terrestrial television) which told us that The discovery of a gigantic statue in a suburb of Cairo shed light on…

As a new Roman emperor, your risk of death was high, but it declined as time went on, according to a new analysis. And over 70 rulers, the progression was predictable.  Historical records…

Medieval doctors had to acquire a range of skills including an ability to read Latin texts, a working knowledge of the bodily “humours” and an understanding of the rudiments of blood circulation.…

If you want to go into the clergy, study science It may sound strange to young scientists ot today who are thoroughly steeped in the culture wars before they get a bachelor's degree, but…

The Titanic, the famed cruise liner that sunk to the North Atlantic Ocean floor in 1912, was discovered in 1985. But as was often the case, getting funding to find it was difficult, with every group…

Years ago I enjoyed the wandering of James Burke in his Connections and Dya the Universe Changed books and documentaries. There seemed to be a chain of people involved with development of the many…

The number of articles retracted related to nutrition now numbers unlucky 13 - and that bad lack shares one name in common: Brian Wansink, Ph.D. Today, the JAMA organization retracted six more. The…

If I had to pick one consistent complaint from the public about scientists it's that people feel like those who should know the most about a topic are often the least able to give people a straight…

Blockchain is an emergent technology that may be as transformative as the internet, according to many predictions. But this innovative new technology has a surprising link to the days of medieval…