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History
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We are makers of history, yet we are also molded by it. The line connecting us to our ancestors spans decades, centuries, and millennia; the lessons learned from our progenitors are passed down the generations through timeless stories and discovered remnants of our enigmatic yet beautiful past. Modern Sciences recounts the passage of time, how humanity has shaped it, and how it has shaped humanity.
Caroline Herschel was England’s first female professional astronomer, but still lacks name recognition two centuries later
The Herschel Museum in Bath, England, has a new display of a handwritten draft of Caroline Herschel’s memoirs.…
Should We Really Follow IQ Measurements?
All our lives we’ve been exposed to the concept of IQ, or an “intelligence quotient”; the measure is…
Oppenheimer Studied More Than Just the Bomb—Here’s the Rest of His Repertoire.
He may be famous (or infamous) for the bomb now, but J. Robert Oppenheimer studied more than just…
Stereoscopic Imaging Reshapes Perception of Prehistoric La Pasiega Rock Art
Led by Complutense University, Madrid, a recent study has shed new light on ancient cave paintings, enriching our…
The First Computers Were Made of… Lightbulbs?
The advent of the age of computers was ushered in by centuries of research into phenomena surrounding electricity.…
First contact with aliens could end in colonization and genocide if we don’t learn from history
SETI has been listening for markers that may indicate alien life – but is doing so ethical? Donald…
What Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny gets right (and very wrong) about the historical Antikythera Mechanism
Disney/ Wikipedia Tatiana Bur, Australian National University At the heart of the newest film in the Indiana Jones…
Researchers find evidence of a 2,000-year-old curry, the oldest ever found in Southeast Asia
Ancient starch grains of ginger (Zingiber officinale), cinnamon (Cinnamomum sp.) and nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) were identified on the…
65 years of NASA – an astrophysicist reflects on the agency’s legacy
NASA’s missions have inspired generations of young people to pursue the sciences. Patrick Semansky/AP Stephen G. Alexander, Miami…
Who lived at Machu Picchu? DNA analysis shows surprising diversity at the ancient Inca palace
Eddie Kiszka/Pexels, CC BY-SA Roberta Davidson, University of Adelaide Standing atop the mountains in the southern highlands of…