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Learning the language of trees with the Orlando Science Center
The science of it: We're heading to the rainforest to dive deep into the communication of trees.
Fighting AI Slop in Science Papers
AI does everything at scale, from DOS-attack-level web scraping to producing, or enabling, such vast volumes of scientific research submissions that the result is becoming both a logistical crisis and a crisis of quality...
From a landmark discovery by Chinese scientists to global nanozyme research and science art
From enzyme-like nanoparticles to a global research field, nanozymes now inspire art that makes advanced chemistry accessible to wider audiences.
Science Snapshots: October 4, 2026
Three new science finds: forest fragmentation alters temperatures, black-hole jets illuminate pre-existing gas, and butterfly wing patterns confuse predators.
Pandora mission begins science operations
Seven months after launch, Pandora has officially begun its mission: to catch never-before-seen glimpses of worlds beyond our
NASA and IBM's open source lunar model turns 17 years of orbiter data into a foundation for lunar science
NASA and IBM have released the Lunar Foundation Model, one of the first open-source AI models for lunar science. Trained on nearly 2 million tile bundles, mostly from 17 years of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data, it cuts the error in predicting polar ice deposits by up to 22 percent compared to the strongest model it was tested against.
In Shanghai’s ‘Science City,’ China’s ascendant biotechs make their pitch to the world
For two years, American labs and board rooms have been riven with excitement and anxiety over the vertiginous rise of Chinese biotech.
Auroras appear in broad daylight in Smile spacecraft's eerie first images of Earth — Space photo of the week
The joint European-Chinese Smile satellite officially began its science operations this week, sharing a ghostly image of Earth's sunlit North Pole ringed by giant auroras.
Herring Gut Coastal Science Center welcomes AmeriCorps member as Assistant Environmental Educator
PORT CLYDE — Herring Gut Coastal Science Center welcomes Kayleigh Amerman to its Port Clyde team as an AmeriCorps member serving as Assistant Environmental Educator through Goodwill Northern New England’s GoodHealth Works AmeriCorps program.
The Science Of Why Your Child Shouldn't Play One Sport Year-Round
Roughly 70% of kids in the U.S. have quit sports by age 13.
Opinion/Guest column: When politics, science collide over vaccination
These actions ignore the 300-plus-year history in the United States of prioritizing the health of people and communities.
Opinion/Guest column: When politics, science collide over vaccination
These actions ignore the 300-plus-year history in the United States of prioritizing the health of people and communities.
Opinion/Guest column: When politics, science collide over vaccination
These actions ignore the 300-plus-year history in the United States of prioritizing the health of people and communities.
Opinion/Guest column: When politics, science collide over vaccination
These actions ignore the 300-plus-year history in the United States of prioritizing the health of people and communities.
Opinion/Guest column: When politics, science collide over vaccination
These actions ignore the 300-plus-year history in the United States of prioritizing the health of people and communities.
Pomegranate Compound Improves Heart Function Up to 80% in Mice With Heart Failure
A juicy development.
Decaf Coffee Might Have A Surprising Advantage Over Caffeinated, Study Finds
A buzz without the buzz.
Nobel laureate Eric Cornell: ‘Progress in science comes from asking new questions’
Nobel Prize-winning physicist Eric Cornell says scientists should focus on doing good science and embrace the joy of discovery, and one day they may discover something new to everybody.
[Science Through Covers] Science spotlights women beyond a “male default” in medicine
Science reviews sex-specific medicine across women’s lifespan, from pregnancy and menopause to chronic pain and aging
Teton Gravity Research presents 'Actually, It Is Rocket Science' at Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco - October 8, 2026
Event details about Teton Gravity Research presents 'Actually, It Is Rocket Science' in San Francisco on October 8, 2026 - watch, listen, photos and tickets
Not All Magnesium Supplements Are Equal: What Science Says About Absorption
Magnesium has quietly become one of the most talked-about minerals in nutrition science, and a new narrative review published in Food Science and Biotechnology by Sanem Gultekin and Merve Tomas of Istanbul Technical University explains why the supplement aisle may be far more
Colorado’s 2027 Teacher of the Year is Strasburg science teacher Merci Ames
Melanie Ames is a science teacher at Strasburg High School and has been teaching for 35 years.
Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday, 10/3/26
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame, jck, JeremyBloom…
A forgotten 30-year forest experiment just delivered a huge surprise
A 30-year forestry experiment in Australia found that heavily thinned mountain ash forests grew unusually large trees while recovering enough carbon to match or exceed untouched areas. The results suggest carefully managed thinning could support timber production, wildlife habitat, and carbon storage at the same time.
Scientists just found a new way to make hydrogen from water
A new light-activated material can efficiently produce hydrogen from water without requiring an additional expensive metal catalyst. Researchers say its unusual sulfur-based chemistry could point toward cheaper and more practical ways to turn sunlight into clean fuel.
Reporting on the science of saunas
For centuries people have sought out saunas and hot springs for their supposed healing properties. But the science behind those claims can be quite vague. So NPR science correspondent Will Stone headed to the International Sauna Congress in Norway to find out just what we know about the health benefits of saunas. This episode was produced by Gabriel Sanchez, with engineering by Eowyn Fain. Our director is Elena Burnett.It was edited by Adam Raney.Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
Science fair at UCCS sparks kids’ interest in science, tech
Kids learned about different sciences, technology, engineering, art and math at the Cool Science Carnival Day, now in its 17th year.
Nuclear doomsday mag says, AI Doomerism is bad science
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists says AI doom is overrated; implies crass business motives at play.
From saunas to psychedelics, how a health reporter sorts science from hype
A reporting trip to a sauna conference in Oslo found NPR's Will Stone in a sauna with his clothes and recording gear. In this reporter's notebook, he explains how he investigates the science behind wellness claims.
From saunas to psychedelics, how a health reporter sorts science from hype
A reporting trip to a sauna conference in Oslo found NPR's Will Stone in a sauna with his clothes and recording gear. In this reporter's notebook, he explains how he investigates the science behind wellness claims.
University of Chicago demystifies science with annual festival
The fifth annual South Side Science Festival brought thousands to the campus for hands-on science experience and a day of curiosity.
University of Chicago demystifies science with annual festival
The fifth annual South Side Science Festival brought thousands to the campus for hands-on science experience and a day of curiosity.
Anatomy exhibit opens in Sacramento, taking visitors on a tour inside the human body
The exhibit of “Bodies: The Science Within” at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium runs from now until Nov. 29 and includes Spanish translations.
Scientists Tested Whether Leftovers Really Taste Better The Next Day. One Dish Stood Out.
"Few culinary beliefs are as persistent..."
Women are turning to testosterone, but what does the science actually say?
A recent BBC report described women posing as men to obtain testosterone gel, hoping to improve their menopause symptoms because female testosterone products are not easily available to them. But why ...
HX Expeditions Closes Arctic Season, Largest-Ever Science Data Collection
The Arctic’s largest expedition cruise operator reports 26,491 citizen science contributions, new use of science AI for whales and announces extension...
New Journal Section Puts Epigenetics on Trial: Ethics, Society and Science Collide
Epigenetics has spent the past two decades promising to rewrite the rules of biology. The idea that chemical tags sitting on top of DNA can switch genes on and off, that these tags can be shaped by diet, stress, pollution and poverty, and that some of them might even be passed
Malik lifts Cedar Grove boys soccer over Newark Data Science
Malik lifts Cedar Grove boys soccer over Newark Data Science
Explore Backyard Ecosystems at APSU’s Science on Tap October 6th - Clarksville Online - Clarksville News, Sports, Events and Information
Clarksville, TN - The Austin Peay State University (APSU) College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics will host Science on Tap on Tuesday,
Scientists studying cockroach milk and nose-blowing win Ig Nobel prizes for quirky science
Researchers have been honored for their quirky, imaginative contributions to science at the 36th annual Ig Nobel Prizes. Thursday's ceremony was held for the first time outside the U.S. Ten
Issey Miyake and Givenchy: Art and Science
Satoshi Kondo and Sarah Burton show us why they’re BoF500 cover stars.
Philosophy, Theology, and an Inference to Design
My dissertation on the logic of conditionals came to seems like the rock of Sisyphus.
Beloved Philadelphia Science Museum Closes After 198 Years
Generations of Philadelphia families walked through the Academy of Natural Sciences to see dinosaurs, dioramas, and specimens collected from around the world. After nearly 200 years, those museum door...
Emma Lees: Eight Years of Science, Patients and Progress
Emma Lees: Eight Years of Science, Patients and Progress / Biopharmaceutical Research, BMS, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cambridge Crossing, Cambridge Research,
The Science-Backed Tricks For Getting A Good Night Of Sleep - News
The Science-Backed Tricks For Getting A Good Night Of Sleep - The Black Chronicle
FAU graduate student uses Miss Fort Lauderdale crown to turn science into action
FAU graduate student and Miss Fort Lauderdale Paige Aldred is combining marine science with community outreach, using her platform to raise awareness about water quality, Sargassum ,and sustainability.
Global tech policymakers agree to embrace AI in science
A joint statement issued by the United States and 15 other countries touts the technology’s potential for accelerating scientific progress.
What happened to Seattle’s dinosaurs at the Pacific Science Center?
A triceratops and stegosaurus, which have waded in PacSci’s now-empty reflecting pool for 35 years, were removed this month.
ESA’s Juice just used Earth as a slingshot to Jupiter
ESA’s Juice spacecraft raced past Earth on September 28, using our planet’s gravity to dramatically reshape its path toward Jupiter without burning much fuel. The flyby changed its direction by 20 degrees and increased its speed by 3.5 km/s, while also giving scientists a rare chance to test its instruments on Earth and the Moon.
This protective enzyme could help stop fatty liver disease from getting worse
Scientists have identified an enzyme that may act as a natural defense against the worsening of fatty liver disease, which affects an estimated 100 million Americans. The enzyme, called UBE2N, helps liver cells clear away damaged mitochondria and break down fat, potentially preventing the inflammation, scarring, and cell damage associated with the more dangerous condition MASH.
Leucine does more than build muscle. It powers up your cells
The essential amino acid leucine can boost cellular energy production by protecting key proteins on mitochondria from being destroyed. The discovery reveals a new connection between nutrition and metabolism that could eventually lead to new approaches for metabolic disorders and cancer.
Chang’e-6 lunar soil contains a surprising magnetic time capsule
Scientists studying Chang’e-6 lunar soil have discovered a previously unknown magnetic mineral in natural Moon samples: a form of metallic iron called γ-Fe. Found inside tiny impact-glass particles, the nanoscale iron can preserve a stable magnetic signal, potentially acting like a microscopic fossil of the Moon’s long-lost magnetic field.
Your gut may be making a molecule that raises Alzheimer’s risk
Scientists have linked a gut bacterial compound called ImP to greater Alzheimer’s risk, harmful brain protein buildup, and faster cognitive decline. The finding raises the possibility that reducing ImP in the blood could one day help slow or prevent dementia.
Scientists just made a superconductor stronger using “empty space”
Researchers have demonstrated that quantum fluctuations in supposedly empty space can strengthen superconductivity, raising the transition temperature of an ultrathin material by as much as 5.4%. The discovery opens the possibility of using specially engineered vacuum environments to control quantum materials without direct contact or external driving.
'Fall in Love With Science" Will Be Oct. 3 in Lincoln Park
“Fall in Love with Science” will take place Saturday, 3 to 5 p.m., in Oleans Lincoln Park Pavilion.
Just short of its 200th birthday, a landmark natural history museum shuts down
Beloved for its dinosaurs, Philadelphia's storied Academy of Natural Sciences closed down this week, amid an intense fight by local residents, politicians and scientists to save it.
Could psilocybin treat brain injuries? Neuroscientist explains how psychedelics could fill a gap in head trauma care
Live Science spoke with neuroscientist Argel Aguilar-Valles about recent research exploring psychedelics as a treatment for mild head trauma.
Fixing NFL headsets isn't rocket science. The Lions still needed Josh Dobbs
When a headset issue arose on the Detroit Lions sideline, backup quarterback and aerospace engineer Josh Dobbs proved the solution wasn't rocket science.
Swiss scientist soils underpants, wins silly science prize
Franz Bender convinced a thousand people to soil their underwear. The Swiss soil ecologist and his team recruited 1,000 citizen scientists to bury and dig up underwear around Switzerland in an effort to better understand soil and soil health.
5 Must-Visit Places for Science in Paris
From the pioneering work of Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur to today’s research into space, medicine, climate and technology, scientific discovery has long been woven into the country’s history.
The science behind Cavan Sullivan’s custom Adidas cleats: Foot scans, algorithms and 3D printing
The Athletic visits Adidas' German HQ to find out more about how it designs and manufactures bespoke footwear for U.S. soccer's new star
Science Hill shuts down East
By Eric Woods Tribune Sports Editor Science Hill raced past Morristown East without much resistance from the ‘Canes, shutting East out 58-0. It was the… Login to continue reading Login Sign up for complimentary access Sign Up Now Close
As beef prices climb, Texas A&M’s meat science program feels the pinch
Demand for beef hasn’t slowed down.
MAKING THE GRADE: From playing school to the science lab, Ca...
First-year Academy of Innovation science teacher Rebekah Cannada shares her path from elementary education to eighth-grade science and her approach to engaging ...
Drexel University and the Academy of Natural Sciences may be headed for a split, sources say
Neither the Academy nor Drexel returned calls early Friday evening seeking comment on whether ongoing talks had ended and its outcome.
Flagstaff Science Festival highlights 25 years as dark sky city
The Flagstaff Science Festival, the nation’s longest-running free science festival, continues this weekend.
Flagstaff Science Festival highlights 25 years as dark sky city
The Flagstaff Science Festival, the nation’s longest-running free science festival, continues this weekend.
Alaska Science Forum time capsule: The secret life of a red fox family
A trail camera exposed a year that included new additions to the skulk.
USC, Washington: Rivals on Field, Partners in Science
In the sixth game of their 2026 football season, the Trojans face West Coast rivals the University of Washington Huskies. On the field, the two
Agency diverted $1.4 billion in science funds mandated by Congress
The extraordinary move — holding back part of the National Science Foundation’s research budget — is another creative sidestep by the Trump administration.
Team selected for NASA program to explore potential lunar cave
NASA has selected a Planetary Science Institute–led proposal to investigate whether a potentially large underground cave extends beyond the opening of a lunar pit. Such a cave may one day provide a safe ...
$7.5B plan for California science agency free from Trump’s influence will go to voters
California could create its own multi-billion-dollar science and health research agency under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Eugene Science Center celebrates World Space Week Oct. 4-10
Eugene Science Center is celebrating World Space Week with free events, discounts and special activities from Oct. 4-10.
APSU’s Science on Tap to explore backyard ecosystems on Oct. 6
Austin Peay State University's College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics will host Science on Tap.
Scientists Discover a Genius Use For Leftover Steel Waste – And It Could Save Lives
Win-win-win.
Earth Science Week at Museum Features Fossils, Minerals, Maps, and More
Credit: CourtesyCredit: CourtesyCredit: CourtesyCredit: Courtesy SANTA BARBARA, CA—The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is celebrating National
Irish Sea Moss Is Making Waves. The Science is Actually Pretty Murky.
Irish Sea moss supplements are all the rage with a billion-dollar industry that expects consumer demand to continue rising. While the superfood is packed with different nutrients, there is a high risk of ingesting heavy metals.
DOE Opens $400M Office of Science Funding Call for FY 2027
The annual solicitation covers seven research programs, from fusion energy sciences to nuclear physics.
Mercy Health Sciences University announces record fall enrollment
Mercy Health Sciences University enrolled 1,003 students for fall 2026, the highest enrollment in the institution’s 127-year history. The total, which includes 399 new students, represents a 7.5% increase from fall 2025 and surpasses the previous record of 956 students set in fall 2021. The Des Moines institution, formerly Mercy College of Health Sciences, recently…
Mercy Health Sciences University announces record fall enrollment
Mercy Health Sciences University enrolled 1,003 students for fall 2026, the highest enrollment in the institution’s 127-year history. The total, which includes 399 new students, represents a 7.5% increase from fall 2025 and surpasses the previous record of 956 students set in fall 2021. The Des Moines institution, formerly Mercy College of Health Sciences, recently…
The ‘WarGames’ Problem: Computer Science Has Long Understood What It Takes to Keep AI Under Control
The AI hacking events involving OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google underscore lessons that draw on years of computer science research.
Science Hill Independent Superintendent Matt Cook building more professional learning communities in the district
Science Hill Independent Superintendent Matt Cook stands with Science Hill students at the district’s annual Constitution Day Parade in September. Photo courtesy Matt Cook. The new superintendent of Science Hill Independent, Matt Cook, is focusing on building more
Do Animals Understand Us? Here’s What Science Says
Your pet may not be able to speak, but that doesn’t mean you two can’t find ways to communicate. Here’s how to talk and listen to the beloved animals in your life, according to experts.
Beijing Zhongke WengeAI Science And Technology (SEHK:1956) Jumped 7%, Is It Fully Priced?
Beijing Zhongke WengeAI Science and Technology (SEHK:1956) drew attention after a sharp 7.4% gain in the latest session, a move that contrasts with its weaker performance over the past month and past three months. The sharp move in Beijing Zhongke WengeAI Science and Technology comes after a tougher stretch, with the share price return down 7.49% over the past month and 22.93% over the past quarter, contributing to a 38.63% year to date share price decline from the current HK$68.55...
Brazil’s future depends on science
With the upcoming Oct. 5 elections, the country has a new opportunity to strengthen scientific research as a foundation for addressing today’s challenges and bolstering its sovereignty.
Modern Science: An Ohio University professor studies the mechanisms behind bats using echolocation
ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) —There's a lot we know about how animals navigate their world, but there's even more we don't. This included how bats use echolocation until recently.Peishu Li is an assistan
Almost All The Viruses Found in a Vast Deep-Sea Mining Zone Were New to Science
Nearly 12,000 new viruses have been hiding on the seafloor.
Tales of bones at Science Café
Davis Science Café is back Wednesday, Oct. 14, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at G Street WunderBar, 228 G St. in downtown Davis.
At $1.30 a share, Fin Posillipo buys depositary shares in Genenta Science (Nasdaq: GNTA).
Reporting persons may be deemed to own about 11.5% of shares and 18.94% of voting power. Fin Posillipo bought 110,000 ADSs August 7–19, 2026.
Sunday Science talk to feature ‘Good Fats, Bad Fats’
“Good Fats, Bad Fats” is the title of the Central Colorado Humanists Sunday Science Program at 10 a.m. Oct. 4 at A Church, 419 D St, led by Alicia McLeod.
During Science Month: ALMA Opens Its Doors to Celebrate 15 Years of Observing the Universe
Throughout October, Chile’s Science Month, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) will open its doors to the community with two special public visits to its Operations Support Facility (OSF), near San Pedro de Atacama. The celebration also coincides with a special milestone: 15 years since ALMA’s first scientific observations, which marked the beginning of a...
7 Science-Backed Ways to Channel Creativity
To boost creativity, we need to get into a “flow” state. New research reveals lesser-known ways proven to help anyone unlock their creative potential. Now that’s genius!
Eckerd College professors blend policy and marine science in unique study abroad trip to Indonesia
News | Eckerd College
Orlando Science Center receives top recognition for its animal programs
The science center noted it is one of only 15 institutions nationwide to hold accreditation from both AZA and the American Alliance of Museums
Studying Science in an Anti-Scientific Time
This Chronicle Review Deep Cut was first published in 2025. By Julianne Werlin Thanks for reading The Chronicle Review! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Subscribe The last two decades have not been kind to science studies. Already bruised and battered by the “science wars” of the 1990s, by the 2000s sociologists of science — who had long argued that science had to be understood in its human context — were encountering the funhouse-mirror version of their own views in right-wing critiques of climate scientists. It was enough to give some prominent scholars pause. “Was I wrong to participate in the invention of this field known as science studies?” asked Bruno Latour, the most famous sociologist of science in the world, in 2003. “Should we apologize for having been wrong all along? Or should we rather bring the sword of criticism to criticism itself and do a bit of soul-searching here: What were we really after when we were so intent on showing the social construction of scientific facts?” In response, Latour proposed a change of method and attitude. Science studies, now chastened and contrite, would no longer seek to strip facts of their authority, but to enrich and enhance them. What this meant in practice was never fully clear. But his diagnosis of problems resonated, even if his solutions did not. Latour’s exercise in public hand-wringing signaled a shift in mood. By 2016, with the first election of Donald Trump, the idea that skepticism of science was a right-wing position, not a left-wing one, had become a commonplace, discussed eagerly in The New York Times. For liberals, vaccine denial during the Covid era and Trump’s second-term attacks on the funding of scientific research, covered extensively in these pages, added a new urgency to the defense of science on both practical and principled grounds. There was little appetite for a sociology or philosophy of science that emphasized the messiness and missteps of the scientific process rather than its integrity and triumphs. The distinguished historian of science Peter Dear’s new book, The World as We Know It: From Natural Philosophy to Modern Science (Princeton University Press, 2025), which seeks to tell the story of 18th- and 19th-century science for a general public, may seem comfortably remote from these bitter contests. In its 16 short chapters, Dear draws swift, sure sketches of major discoveries from Newton to Einstein, ably guiding the reader through debates on stellar nebulae, animal taxonomy, atomic chemistry, evolution, and other flashpoints in the history of science. But though a work of history, Dear’s book must still negotiate our polarized present. In a blurb on its back cover, the historian of biology Lynn K. Nyhart alludes to the “present moment, when scientific knowledge is being swamped by misinformation and its institutions are under siege.” Dear himself, in his conclusion, refers to the “yard signs” and “bumper stickers” that proclaim “Science Is Real.” One antidote to both anti-science propaganda and to reductive slogans in science’s defense is a robust history and philosophy of science: exactly what Dear’s scholarship has long offered. But his new book illustrates how difficult such work has become. Dear, an emeritus professor of history at Cornell University, is best known as a creative and philosophically minded historian of the Scientific Revolution. His edited volume The Literary Structure of Scientific Argument (1991) analyzed the rhetoric of Galileo’s thought experiments to brilliant effect. Discipline and Experience: The Mathematical Way in the Scientific Revolution (1995) was a major contribution to the analysis of scientific experiments in early modern Europe and beyond, while Revolutionizing the Sciences: European Knowledge in Transition, 1500-1700 (2001), now in its third edition, remains one of the best overviews of the profound epistemological upheavals of 16th- and 17th-century science. But Dear has also ventured into later periods. Nearly two decades ago, in The Intelligibility of Nature: How Science Makes Sense of the World (2006), he turned to the 18th and 19th centuries to sketch a history and theory of scientific knowledge. Aimed at a generalist audience, Dear’s simple prose belied serious philosophical ambitions. Science, Dear argued, has two aspects: “natural philosophy,” the quest to understand the true nature of the universe, and “instrumentality,” the applied skills and technologies that allow us to manipulate the world for human advantage. Both strands are ancient, but the innovation of the phenomenon we call “science” was to yoke them together. As Francis Bacon wrote, “Human knowledge and human power meet in one; for where the cause is not known, the effect cannot be produced,” an insight typically abridged to “knowledge is power.” Or, in Bertrand Russell’s characteristically blunt phrase, science has two functions, “1. to enable us to know things, and 2., to enable us to do things.” So far, so conventional. But Dear took issue with this familiar story in one respect. Bacon’s formula implied that theory and practice could be fused in a single method. In fact, Dear argued, the quest to understand nature and the desire to manipulate it were coupled only loosely. They could come together, but they could also pull apart. Focusing on natural philosophy, the “knowing” half of the scientific circle, he used a series of case studies from cosmology, taxonomy, chemistry, electromagnetism, and quantum theory to show how theories changed over time, in dialogue with practice, but never reducible to it. Take the case of matter, the basic substrate of the physical world. In the 18th and 19th centuries, scientists not only disagreed about what it was, but also about how well it could be known. In 1789, the chemist Antoine Lavoisier dismissed speculation about the atomic composition of chemicals as “discussions entirely of a metaphysical nature,” as he sought to orient chemistry away from philosophical abstraction and toward laboratory results. But in the 19th century, atoms returned with a vengeance in the atomic chemistry of John Dalton, who wanted to explain the underlying structure of nature. It was not just that Dalton and Lavoisier had a different set of experimental results, or even a different theory, Dear showed. What counted as an explanation had changed. In arguing that scientific theories depended on their intelligibility to human beings with complex arrays of beliefs and commitments, Dear was in sympathy with science studies. Key figures such as the sociologist Steven Shapin emphasized the importance of psychological mechanisms like trust in the formation and acceptance of scientific ideas. But in focusing on the scientific pursuit of knowledge, not its politics or economics, Dear resisted the more cynical perspective of some of his colleagues. The Intelligibility of Nature strikes a very different note than Shapin’s collection of a few years later, Never Pure: Historical Studies of Science as If It Was Produced by People With Bodies, Situated in Time, Space, Culture, and Society, and Struggling for Credibility and Authority (2010), to name just one example. Walking a very fine line, Dear depicted science as driven at once by complex social dynamics and by the intellectual power of real discoveries. It was a testament not only to his own acumen but also to the vitality of the field that he was able to do so. Nearly two decades later, The World as We Know It returns to the questions broached in The Intelligibility of Nature. Like Dear’s earlier study, it begins with the Newtonian cosmos and ends with debates between Einstein and Bohr on quantum physics. Beyond its terminal figures, many of the same characters appear in both studies, including the naturalists John Ray and the Comte de Buffon; the chemists Étienne François Geoffroy, Antoine Lavoisier, and John Dalton; as well as Charles Darwin and Michael Faraday, among others. Its subject is nearly identical: As in The Intelligibility of Nature, The World as We Know It considers natural philosophy as opposed to instrumentality, here defined as the “desire to create a picture of what the world is really like — the world as God knows it — rather than simply having instrumental or operational control over it.” The two books also overlap in insights — and sometimes even in language. The reader who has learned in The Intelligibility of Nature that Buffon’s method of classifying animals “reflected his belief in the importance of the senses and empiricism in learning about nature (a doctrine associated with Newton and the philosopher John Locke)” will experience a sense of déjà vu on reading, in The World as We Know It, that the classification “reflects Buffon’s commitment to the epistemological stance of Newton and his philosophical underlaborer John Locke, who stressed the role of the senses in creating natural knowledge.” Later in the passage, we read that, “because of its stress on understanding the ways of life of animals in their environments, Buffon’s approach could almost be labeled (anachronistically) as ‘ecological.’” And again, “an anachronistic way of putting it would be to say that Buffon recommends an ecological mode of understanding.” Likewise, in The Intelligibility of Nature we read of Dalton that he was initially drawn to meteorology, and that: He did a bit of experimental work on these things, especially having to do with the water-holding capacity of gases, but his real interest lay in understanding what, at an underlying natural-philosophical level, was really going on physically.” Whereas, in The World as We Know It: He did experimental work on these things, especially concerning the water-holding capacity of gases — although not at a very refined level quantitatively — but he was continually trying to develop a theoretical conception of what was happening physically. The final full chapter of each book closes on the same resigned note. Intelligibility: These days, most serious work on the natural philosophical underpinnings and implications of quantum mechanics is performed not by physicists but by philosophers of science. Among scientific practitioners themselves, Bohr’s attempt to use instrumentality as sufficient grounds for a respectable science has met with a high degree of success. And again, in The World as We Know It: Bohr’s and Einstein’s concerns are now questions that are mostly discussed by philosophers of science rather than by physicists themselves. The marginalization of these sorts of questions amounts to the demise of natural philosophy, at least in physics, in the 20th century. Quantum mechanics “works,” and that’s good enough for most scientists who encounter it. Examples could be multiplied. When handling the same subject matter, some echoes are inevitable. Scholars should not feel that because they have written “Isaac Newton died in 1727” in one book, in the next they must describe him as perishing, expiring, or meeting his maker. But the repetitions of language and arguments (not to mention six reproduced images) threaded throughout The World as We Know It are more extensive than that. They should have been caught by Princeton University Press or its reviewers, and revised. Because the two books have so much in common, it is easy to see where they diverge. The World as We Know It is a less theoretical work than its predecessor. The sociology of knowledge that organized The Intelligibility of Nature has been reduced in scale and folded into readings and examples. The taut interplay between history and theory, which gave the earlier study so much interest, is there, but it is subtle. In the earlier book, the case studies demonstrated theoretical claims about the character and development of science. In the later work, each narrative of discovery is an end in itself. Insights emerge from the history, but they do not control the organization of the study. With the theory muted, it can be hard to understand the logic uniting Dear’s sprawling history of more than two centuries of scientific knowledge. The 16 brisk chapters cover an enormous amount of material. But the closer the volume edges to comprehensiveness, the more obvious the missing elements become. A chapter on “Institutions and Pedagogy,” describing the birth of the research university, illustrates the problem. Inserted roughly halfway through the book, the unnumbered chapter is designed as an “entr’acte,” in acknowledgement that it does not fit the study’s organization around scientific discoveries. Yet as Dear is well aware, no general history of the development of modern science can bracket its 19th-century institutionalization and professionalization. It was the 19th-century university, after all, that gave us the “scientist,” a term coined by the Cambridge philosopher William Whewell. Dear’s history of scientific discoveries implies a wider social and institutional history, but it remains largely subterranean, only occasionally extruded under the pressure of the narrative. It must be said that the balance is not all on the side of the earlier study. There are some advantages to the more historical, less theoretical organization of The World as We Know It. Dear’s accounts of paradigm shifts are remarkably lucid, no small accomplishment given that they span fields and centuries. He makes excellent use of the wealth of new scholarship on Darwin and his influences, to which he has himself contributed. It is satisfying to see puzzle pieces from Buffon’s natural history, Georges Cuvier’s animal taxonomy, Thomas Robert Malthus’s demography, and Charles Lyell’s geology recombined seamlessly in the Darwinian jigsaw. Likewise, Dear’s discussion of stellar nebulae, divided between chapters two and 15, shows vividly how Newton, Kant, Herschel, and Hubble reimagined insights and observations as they sought to discover whether the diffuse light that filtered through early telescopes was a glowing, gaseous substance or discrete but distant stars. Yet despite such pleasures, the book remains a more modest work than The Intelligibility of Nature. Dear has clearly not changed his views about the history of science. But in the two decades that have elapsed, the discipline and the world around it have changed, making it harder to write a sociologically and philosophically ambitious history of science for the general reader. That is a shame, because in the age of Silicon Valley and biotechnology, both the reciprocity and the tensions Dear identified between the epistemological and instrumental ambitions of science are more evident than ever. In recent years, some of the most exciting new books on the history of science in early modernity have focused precisely on this pressure point. Important studies such as Pamela H. Smith’s From Lived Experience to the Written Word (2022), James Poskett’s Horizons: The Global Origins of Modern Science (2022), and Vera Keller’s The Interlopers: Early Stuart Projects and the Undisciplining of Knowledge (2023) all shed new light on how early modern science negotiated the relationship between its instrumental and epistemological ambitions, or in Russell’s phrase, knowing and doing. There is every opportunity for a philosophically informed approach to draw new insights from this wealth of material. Dear, unfortunately, has not done so in The World as We Know It. But for future scholars of the history of science, his body of work over nearly four decades may provide just the model. Julianne Werlin is an associate professor of English at Duke University. 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