All history of science articles
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NewsOverlooked documents shed new light on double helix discovery
Rosalind Franklin was more than just a ‘wronged heroine’
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ResearchControversy over ancient Chinese bronze chemistry
Study suggests bronze was made from alloys rather than pure metals, but experts remain unconvinced
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ReviewThe Poison Trials: Wonder Drugs, Experiment, and the Battle for Authority in Renaissance Science
An extremely well-researched monograph containing stories that bear an eerie resemblance to today’s politicised clinical trials
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PodcastBook club – The Poison Trials by Alisha Rankin
Clinical trials have come a long way since the 16th century
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ReviewHalf Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium
The story of a radioactive element from its rise to a cure-all ingredient to the downfall of an entire industry
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PodcastBook club – Half Lives by Lucy Jane Santos
From radioactive spa treatments to liquid sunshine, this book traces a forgotten part of chemistry history
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ReviewThe Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another
A book about world-changing inventions, crammed with fascinating stories you’ve probably never heard of
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PodcastBook club – The Alchemy of Us by Ainissa Ramirez
Materials scientist Ainissa Ramirez’s new book uncovers the human side of world-changing inventions
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ReviewFrom Science Fiction to Science Fact: How Writers of the Past Invented Our Present
An enjoyable exploration of the parallels between science fiction and science as long as you don’t expect a definite proof of how how sci-fi created the future
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ReviewTraveling with the Atom: A Scientific Guide to Europe and Beyond
Use this book to plot visits across Europe to the homesteads, graveyards, laboratories, apartments, abbeys and castles of your chemistry heroes
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ReviewScientifica Historica: How the World’s Great Science Books Chart the History of Knowledge
A book about books by veteran science communicator Brian Clegg
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OpinionEllie Knaggs and tetrahedral carbon
Ellie Knaggs’ claim to be the first to use x-rays to prove carbon’s tetrahedral bonding in molecules has been overlooked, finds Andy Extance
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PodcastBook Club – Antimony, Gold, and Jupiter’s Wolf by Peter Wothers
We talk about chemist Peter Wothers’ first popular science book that uncovers the surprising origins of the elements’ names
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ReviewA Sonnet to Science: Scientists and Their Poetry
A collection of poetry providing insight into the lives and minds of prominent scientists
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ReviewOne Hundred Patents That Shaped the Modern World
A short history of world-changing inventions
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ReviewFor Science, King & Country: The Life and Legacy of Henry Moseley
Alan Dronsfield reviews a biography of the talented young researcher who developed the concept of atomic numbers
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ReviewThe Poison Squad
Katrina Kramer reviews a biography of Harvey Wiley, who transformed US food safety laws
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ReviewHumble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors
Matt Parker’s book shows just how serious the consequences of mathematical mistakes can be