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Articles on History of science

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Your zodiac sign – like Sagittarius, the archer – might be in the stars, but your future isn’t. scaliger/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Why is astronomy a science but astrology is not?

Astrology and astronomy were once practiced side by side by scientists like Galileo and Kepler. And they’re more similar than you might think.
Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, was more than just another mathematician. Watercolor portrait of Ada King, Countess of Lovelace by Alfred Edward Chalon via Wikimedia

Ada Lovelace’s skills with language, music and needlepoint contributed to her pioneering work in computing

Lovelace was a prodigious math talent who learned from the giants of her time, but her linguistic and creative abilities were also important in her invention of computer programming.
Rocca Calascio is a mountaintop fortress in the province of L'Aquila in Italy. It bears witness to the long relationship between humanity and mountains, and how natural landscapes are also culture ones. UNESCO

Earth’s cathedrals: Europe’s mountains are cultural heritage, not just natural heritage

Often thought of as eternal, mountains are vulnerable to climate change and tourism. To protect them, they should be recognised for their cultural values, not just their natural characteristics.
Marcel Proust on a French postage stamp. Shutterstock

When Marcel Proust talks physics

From electricity to X-rays, the Doppler Effect and even quantum theory, Proust’s writing is littered with physics references.
While resurrecting dinosaurs may not be on the docket just yet, gene drives have the power to alter entire species. Hiroshi Watanabe/DigitalVision via Getty Images

‘Jurassic World’ scientists still haven’t learned that just because you can doesn’t mean you should – real-world genetic engineers can learn from the cautionary tale

As genetic engineering and DNA manipulation tools like CRISPR continue to advance, the distinction between what science ‘could’ and ‘should’ do becomes murkier.
Penicillin ushered in the antibiotics revolution, with amazing results during war and peace. Science & Society Picture Library/SSPL via Getty Images

Guns, not roses – here’s the true story of penicillin’s first patient

Albert Alexander was the first known person treated with penicillin. While his ultimately fatal case is well known in medical histories, the cause of his illness has been misattributed for decades.

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