AD-X2: When US Politicians Took on Science
The dismissal of a government scientist over the unproven battery additive AD-X2 galvanised the American scientific community in the 1950s.
Science & Technology
The Invention of Microbiology
On 9 October 1676 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek – the ‘Father of Microbiology’ – presented his findings to the Royal Society.
Written in the Stars: How Old is China?
Chinese astronomers and the European Jesuits who worked alongside them found evidence of China’s antiquity in the heavens. Others were sceptical: how old was China really?
Victorian Science’s Duck-Billed Enigma
By the 19th century, standard classification systems were struggling with new species. Then the platypus arrived.
Kikunae Ikeda’s MSG Revolution
On 25 July 1908 chemistry professor Kikunae Ikeda gave name to an elusive new taste: umami.
How Hertha Ayrton Made Waves
Hertha Ayrton’s experiment in a bathtub may have saved lives in the trenches, but it caused ripples among the ranks of the Royal Society.
The Hidden Death in the Victorian Wallpaper
Arsenic was a hidden killer in Victorian homes, but it also played a large part in the British economy. Which comes first: commerce or public health?
What was the Industrial Revolution?
Over the 18th and 19th centuries Britain’s economy, technology, and society were transformed by the so-called Industrial Revolution. Why?
On the Spot: Patricia Fara
‘Who is the most underrated person in history? Tupaia, the Tahitian navigator and translator who enabled James Cook to reach Australia and New Zealand’
Maiden Flight of the Spitfire
On 5 March 1936 the prototype Spitfire made its maiden flight. Its creator R.J. Mitchell would not live to see its finest hour.