Early clinical trials into ginseng, rhubarb and rice paved the way for testing coronavirus treatments today.
Woodcut from Camille Flammarion’s 1888 book L'Atmosphère : météorologie populaire. The caption reads: ‘A missionary of the Middle Ages tells that he had found the point where the sky and the Earth touch’ and continues, ‘What is there, then, in this blue sky, which certainly exists, and which veils the stars during the day?’
Wikipedia
Albert Einstein may have been the ultimate example of a visionary genius, but that did not stop him from twice losing his way due to beliefs that were perhaps not so scientific.
Nicolas Dubos, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN)
Climate change is affecting our planet’s biodiversity, yet some species can find ways to adapt. Using citizen-science data, a French research team is studying how birds adjust to local heat levels.
John Tyndall used a beam of light to reveal floating motes of organic matter in the air which he believed carried disease.
Shutterstock
How science has been used to predict wind and rain for over 1,000 years.
Camp beds set up for travelers returning to Germany from China, who will be isolated for two weeks to make sure they don’t have coronavirus.
YANN SCHREIBER/AFP via Getty Images
This 20th century ornithologist earned the respect of her contemporaries for her animal behavior research that went against the grain of traditional science.
No contemporary portrait of Robert Hooke seems to have survived. This 2004 oil painting is based on descriptions during his lifetime.
Rita Greer
Born on July 18, 1635, this polymath broke ground in fields ranging from pneumatics, microscopy, mechanics and astronomy to civil engineering and architecture.
Women played a role as both readers and authors in the history of science writing.
Shutterstock/Africa Studio
The early days of science writing were largely confined to men, with women treated to texts labelled “for the ladies”. Things have changed, but more needs to be done.
Left off publications due to Nazi prejudice, this Jewish woman lost her rightful place in the scientific pantheon as the discoverer of nuclear fission.
Illustrations from the Nuremberg Chronicle, by Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514)
Laura Sumrall, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
Reports of demonic possession are once again on the rise. But during the devil’s last apogee in early modern Europe, demonic afflictions were taken seriously by both priests and physicians.