Science History Institute
LightNews LightNews
banner
sciencehistory.org
Science History Institute
@sciencehistory.org
610 followers 48 following 50 posts
Sharing the stories of science! 🧬 🔬
Follow us on Facebook & Instagram
@scihistoryorg
Posts Replies Media Videos
sciencehistory.org
🪲 Cochineal, tiny insects that live on prickly pear cacti, powered a global red dye trade and transformed European fashion. The Spanish Crown built a monopoly for control of its production, but Tlaxcalteca growers weren't giving in without a fight.

Read more in our latest Distillations story. ⬇️
Red the World Over
How a tiny cactus parasite called cochineal became one of the Spanish Empire’s most lucrative commodities.
www.sciencehistory.org
January 8, 2026 at 4:22 PM
sciencehistory.org
Today, we honor George Washington Carver, whose pioneering research in crop rotation and sustainable farming transformed American agriculture and helped shape modern environmental science. 🥜 🌱

Shown here: Philatelic First Day Cover honoring Carver, issued on January 5, 1948.
First Day Cover honoring George Washington Carver
Philatelic First Day Cover honoring American agricultural scientist and inventor George Washington Carver (1864?-1943). The envelope features an illustrated rendering of Carver and the Tuskegee Instit...
digital.sciencehistory.org
January 5, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
luismormz.bsky.social
En estos días en los que el juego y la infancia cobran especial protagonismo, cabe recordar esta fantástica exposición virtual del @sciencehistory.org sobre la historia de los sets de química para niños y niñas: artsandculture.google.com/story/scienc...
January 5, 2026 at 10:34 AM
Reposted by Science History Institute
abney.bsky.social
Applications for 2026-27 fellowships at @sciencehistory.org are still open until Jan 15, with recommendations due Jan 31! ⏰📚

Could your research benefit from time in our archives, rare books, instruments, and other collections? Find info about our fellowships and our guide for applicants here!
Science History Institute Fellowships
The Institute is home to the largest private fellowship program in the historical study of science, medicine, and technology in the United States.
sciencehistory.org
December 19, 2025 at 2:40 PM
sciencehistory.org
In Ecuador’s Los Cedros cloud forest, activists used the country’s constitutional “rights of nature” law to stop mining. A landmark 2021 ruling protected the forest—but the fight isn’t over.

Read the latest #Distillations story from @scribblingsam.bsky.social here ⬇️
Good Living
Does nature have rights? In 2008, Ecuador said yes. Doing so forced a reckoning with the country’s mining past.
www.sciencehistory.org
December 16, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
bhgross144.bsky.social
Henry Moseley, the English physicist whose X-ray spectroscopy experiments led to a reorganization of the #PeriodicTable, was born #OnThisDay in 1887. He later died in the Battle of Gallipoli.

More via @sciencehistory.org: www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...

#histSTM #physics #chemistry #WWI 🗃️📜
Henry Moseley in the Balliol-Trinity College Laboratories, soon after his graduation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Moseley#/media/File:BigMoseleyCard.jpg)
November 23, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
samkean.bsky.social
In the 1970s, paramedic units were illegal in the United States. One (very bad) television show, Emergency!, set out to change that—and saved tens of thousands of lives in the process. Episode below!

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

@sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...
December 3, 2025 at 4:00 PM
sciencehistory.org
A 1700s book on color experiments reveals a vibrant magenta stain, likely from cochineal dye. Modern dyers confirm cochineal-alum makes a similar magenta. Read our latest Collections Blog post, as this stain tells the story of how New World ingredients transformed Old World dyes. ⬇️
A Stain Worth a Thousand Words
New World ingredients in Old World dyes.
www.sciencehistory.org
November 18, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
bhgross144.bsky.social
Judith Kaplan's case study focuses on Science in American Life, an exhibit that opened in 1994 at the National Museum of American History.

As she notes, the exhibit's stakeholders (e.g., curators, donors, the public) had different goals--commemoration, historical educ., sci. literacy, etc. #HSS2025
November 14, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Reposted by Science History Institute
bhgross144.bsky.social
Smith uses @sciencehistory.org's upcoming exhibit on fireworks (Flash! Bang! Boom!) to highlight many themes familiar to historians of science (e.g., links b/w military & civilian tech; advances in mat. sci & mfg., the creation of safety standards)

www.sciencehistory.org/visit/exhibi... #HSS2025 🎆
November 14, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Reposted by Science History Institute
samkean.bsky.social
He was a brilliant ornithologist—and a spy so colorful that James Bond was based on him. Richard Meinertzhagen was also a liar and a thief, and perpetrated the biggest fraud in biology history. Episode below!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

@sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...
November 12, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
leoclchu.bsky.social
Glad to publish with @shacorg.bsky.social on the Chinese American Chemical Society and science diplomacy in the 1970s-80s

Very grateful for the generous financial & research support of @sciencehistory.org

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
“To Be Mindful of Their Sensitivities:” The Chinese American Chemical Society and the Scientific Diaspora
This paper investigates the Chinese American Chemical Society (CACS) as an organisation of the scientific diaspora at the end of the Cold War. Established in 1981 by mostly first-generation immigra...
www.tandfonline.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:26 PM
sciencehistory.org
In the latest Distillations Magazine story, find out how a shady car battery additive called AD‑X2 sparked a showdown between the U.S. political and scientific establishments.
@samkean.bsky.social ⬇️
www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...
Politically Charged
How a shady car battery additive called AD-X2 sparked a showdown between the U.S. country’s political and scientific establishments.
www.sciencehistory.org
November 11, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
bhgross144.bsky.social
Rectangle pizza gets a bad wrap, but it did win @sciencehistory.org's School Lunch Bracket!

(This contest was held in connection w/the Institute's exhibit, Lunchtime: The History of Science on the School Food Tray, open until Jan. 2026 www.sciencehistory.org/visit/exhibi...) #histSTM #FoodHistory 🗃️
A March Madness-style bracket of school lunch favorites, including: -Rectangle Pizza -Mexican Pizza -Chicken Nuggets -Chicken Patty -Mashed Potatoes & Gravy -Tater Tots & Cheese -French Toast Sticks -Hash Browns -Hot Dogs -Burger -Philly Cheesesteak -Ham & Cheese Hoagie -Enchiladas -Nachos (in a Dorito Bag) -Srawberry Crunch Ice Cream Bar -Tastykake Chocolate Cupcake (The presence of hoagies and Tastykakes betrays the Philadelphian origins of this bracket...) Source: https://x.com/SciHistoryOrg/status/1841842793737490448/photo/1
November 6, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
samkean.bsky.social
Taxonomy has an ugly history of naming species after despicable people—even Adolf Hitler. But taxonomists have resisted most efforts to change such names, for reasons both good and bad. Episode below!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

@sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...
November 5, 2025 at 3:27 PM
sciencehistory.org
The Othmer Library is celebrating #Halloween 🎃! When our electric pencil sharpener broke, staff replaced it with a Mitsubishi KH-20 manual sharpener, which became a hit! Jahna Auerbach, our digital collections librarian, dressed up as the sharpener for Halloween, and the results are fantastic!
October 31, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
samkean.bsky.social
The eagle that made John James Audubon famous—the Bird of Washington—was a fraud. In fact, historians now know that much of Audubon’s legendary life was built on lies. Episode below!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

@sciencehistory.org sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...
October 29, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
explorationblog.bsky.social
Claire Sabel discusses the gem trade in SE Asia & the way it was impacted by European traders 17-18c @uchicagopress.bsky.social
@scarcerc.bsky.social
@harunkucuk.bsky.social
@univie.ac.at
@nhmwien.bsky.social
@sciencehistory.org
@historyscience.bsky.social timetoeatthedogs.com/2025/10/27/g...
Gems, Science, and Empire
17th century traders who traveled the sea routes between India and Southeast Asia were interested in spices, but they were also interested in gemstones, objects of desire, commercial value, and inc…
timetoeatthedogs.com
October 27, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
roguechieftan.bsky.social
Check out my new environmental history of diaspora and empire through mules with @sciencehistory.org
www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...
Mule Power
Unpacking empires and diaspora in Mexico and the United States.
www.sciencehistory.org
October 16, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
abney.bsky.social
Absolutely delighted to announce that applications are now open for our 26-27 postdoc, dissertation, distinguished, and short-term fellowships at @sciencehistory.org! 📚 🎉

Details and application info on our website; questions welcome here!

www.sciencehistory.org/about/news/a...
Applications for 2026–2027 Beckman Center Fellowships Now Open
Researchers can apply by January 15 for various long- and short-term programs, including two-year curatorial fellowships.
www.sciencehistory.org
October 17, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
samkean.bsky.social
The Ig Nobel Prizes honor bizarre research that makes you laugh, then think—like this levitating frog. Some scientists despise them. But they benefit science in surprising ways. Episode below!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

@scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...
October 15, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
samkean.bsky.social
It's Nobel Prize week. Winning a Nobel is good—mostly. But laureates often go kooky and promote bizarre things like ESP, AIDS denialism, and worse. Psychologists now understand why. New podcast season starts today!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

@scihistoryorg sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...
October 7, 2025 at 3:51 PM
sciencehistory.org
Older than most trees and survivors of 5 mass extinctions, horseshoe crabs now face threats from humans. While blue blood has been used to test medicine for decades, will new tech finally set them free? Find out more in our latest Distillations story, written by @jenniferweeks83.bsky.social ⬇️
Something Old, Something New
Humans owe a huge medical debt to horseshoe crabs. Now there’s an opportunity to pay it back.
www.sciencehistory.org
September 24, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Reposted by Science History Institute
science.org
A storied trove of documents, photos, and lab tools from the race to decipher DNA’s structure and function is finally being made public. https://scim.ag/47GNqze
After bizarre journey, prized history of molecular biology archive finds new home
Science History Institute makes public multimillion-dollar collection, including Rosalind Franklin’s famous DNA image, assembled by fake scientist
scim.ag
September 16, 2025 at 10:24 PM
sciencehistory.org
Check out our feature in @science.org ⬇️
After bizarre journey, prized history of molecular biology archive finds new home | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
After bizarre journey, prized history of molecular biology archive finds new home
Science History Institute makes public multimillion-dollar collection, including Rosalind Franklin’s famous DNA image, assembled by fake scientist
www.science.org
September 16, 2025 at 3:33 PM