History of Science

The Epstein files revive questions of whether the disgraced financier sought to merely cultivate famous scientists, or to shape science itself

Ten great stories about 10 forgotten female scientists that we hope will inspire middle school readers to pursue their own curiosity and get involved in STEM fields

Centuries before other galaxies were known to exist, astronomers called them “spiral nebulas.” Today the defunct term still sparks confusion

A trove of e-mails from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was released by a congressional committee on Wednesday

After studying mice in the 1910s, Maude Slye concluded that vulnerability to cancer was hereditary. She thought she had a solution to eliminate it, but she made some crucial mistakes

Betrayal, ambition and the double helix: turning Rosalind Franklin’s story and the discovery of the structure of DNA into an opera

Humans have been in space onboard the ISS continuously for 25 years. As the station nears its end, new commercial habitats are lining up to take its place

New peer-reviewed research reporting strange lights in the pre-space-age sky is sparking curiosity and controversy

The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2025 honors scaled-up quantum physics—while sidestepping controversies swirling around quantum computing

How a determined socialite, inspired by true crime, helped professionalize the field of murder investigations

Total reversals in scientific thinking are rare—but earth-shattering

Neptune’s discovery was a race that ended not long after this magazine came to be