Science and technology

Circulation of the blood, 1628. English physician William Harvey (1578-1657) was the first to correctly describe the mechanism whereby blood is circulated in the body. Diagram showing the existence of valves in veins. From Exercitatio anatomica de motu cordis et sanguinis in animalibus, by William Harvey. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)

A medical renaissance?

Premium

Pod Iwan Morus WL

Victorian visions of the future . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Britain’s harsh winter of 1880–81 depicted as the start of a new ice age, by contemporary cartoonist George du Maurier (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Out of the cold: the slow beginnings of climate change science

1907 re-enactment of the demonstration of ether anesthesia by W.T.G. Morton on October 16, 1846. Operating room of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Why we should remember... The pioneering use of ether

Premium

Pod James Vincent WL

General History

Measurement: an unexpected history . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A real and a virtual Tycho Brahe surveys the heavens next to his mural quadrant in the frontispiece to ‘Machines of the New Astronomy’. (Photo by DEA/G.DAGLI ORTI via Getty Images)

General History

A history of science in 10½ objects

Rosalind Franklin as seen in a 1956 photo

Why we should remember… Rosalind Franklin’s pioneering scientific career

Charles Babbage's Difference Engine marked the start of automatic computing. (Image by Getty Images)

Why we should remember… Charles Babbage's Difference Engine

Premium

Pod Kersten Hall WL

The birth of insulin: a scientific drama . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, at dusk

9 places where British astronomy flourished

Premium

Pod John Wills WL

Video games at 50: a cultural history . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Domenico Fetti painting illustrating a melancholic woman in the early 17th century

The Anatomy of Melancholy: how Robert Burton helped shape our understanding of the mind

A young woman sat in front of a mirror applies lipstick, 1967

The price of beauty: the dangerous cosmetics used until the 20th century

Pod Clare Hickman WL

Gardens and the scientific revolution

Amelia Earhart, Princess Diana, Emmeline Pankhurst, Rosa Parks and Marie Curie. (Photo by Getty Images)

20 inspirational quotes from women through history