Category: Articles

The 17th and 18th centuries were a time of profound transformation in Europe in regards to thought, reason, skepticism, and empirical observation. This was nowhere more pronounced than during the Age of Enlightenment, its intellectual and philosophical movements leading to modern democracy, with the ideas ushered in during this time forever changing the scope of Western science. 

The thinkers of the Enlightenment were inspired to question beyond the limits of scientific reasoning at that time and change human understanding. During the early 17th century, European intellectual reasoning consisted of religious dogma and Aristotelian philosophy, with it being unthinkable to challenge the medieval church’s idea of a divine and static universe that centered around Earth. Therefore, the ensuing Scientific Revolution during this time revolutionized the way that Europeans thought about the world and set a new standard for deductive reasoning and scientific observation. 

Science at this time was conducted predominantly by scientific societies and academies rather than universities, and while some societies had links to universities, most societies operated on their own. These societies grew to have control over their publications, the election of new members, and the administration of the organization, with there being over 70 different scientific societies by 1789. Additionally, science during this time became more popular among the increasingly literate populace and the public was introduced to various scientific ideas. 

One thinker who was thought to establish the foundations for the movement was Francis Bacon, who is known for establishing empiricism and the scientific method. His book, Novum Organum, discussed a new approach to gathering knowledge from systematic experimentation, inductive reasoning, and empirical observation. He also wrote about the idea of testing hypotheses through experimentation as a way to pursue scientific inquiry. He was the first advocate for the idea of separating religion from science, and his impact on the science world remains today as the scientific method is still seen as the standard way to approach discoveries. 

The most pivotal scientific thinker of that age whose legacy remains today is Sir Isaac Newton. His Principia Mathematica described classical mechanics and presented the laws of motion and universal gravitation through mathematical observation and analysis. His law of universal gravitation and the laws of objects in motion changed the way that people practiced science and indicated the need for empirical observation and evidence behind scientific ideas rather than religion. Through this, Newton was able to demonstrate how the same physical laws govern both terrestrial and celestial environments, challenging the ideas of the universe at that time. These insights would also eventually lead to advancements in the fields of physics, astronomy, and engineering.

Another scientist during this time was Carl Linnaeus, a botanist and physician. His book, Systema Naturae, established the binomial nomenclature for species classification where each species is assigned a two part Latin name for its genus and species. Linnaeus ordered animals and plants into defined groups, such as domains and phyla, and used the scientific ideas of observation and rational analysis to study various evolutionary relationships and biodiversity. His work shaped people’s understanding of nature and created a framework for how botany, zoology, and ecology is studied. 

Overall, the Age of Enlightenment was an integral part of scientific and intellectual history and changed the way that Europe viewed reason, individualism, and progress. While the Enlightenment might not have explored all modern thought, the scholars, scientists, and thinkers of this time sought to break free from the limited knowledge of their world and seek new truth and ideas. Today, we can reflect on the science from the Enlightenment to continue to make bold scientific discoveries and create our impact on the world. 

Sources:

Bristow, W. (2010, August 20). Enlightenment (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Stanford.edu; Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/

Duignan, B. (2024, March 28). Enlightenment. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Enlightenment-European-history 

Zucker, S., & Harris, B. (2016, January 7). The Age of Enlightenment, an introduction. Smarthistory. https://smarthistory.org/a-beginners-guide-to-the-age-of-enlightenment/ 

Few scientific quests have sought to unravel the essence of what makes us human as the Human Genome Project. The Human Genome Project (HGP) began with the US Department of Energy launching a study to detect genetic mutations about atomic bomb survivors in Japan. Eventually, the National Institute of Health joined, along with a collection of countries across the globe, into what became a public consortium by the Human Genome Organization. HGP officially began in 1990 with a completion goal of 2005, and thus researchers set up to map the scope of homo sapien DNA, the code that determines our traits. 

Through HGP, scientists uncovered various discoveries about genetics. One such finding was that human DNA isn’t as unique as we originally thought. The genomes of people who are not closely related to each other like siblings or parents are estimated to be different by about 1 in every 1,200 to 1,500 bases. What this means is that if we consider a stretch of DNA having anywhere between 1,200 to 1,500 bases, we would expect to find one difference between the sequences, and this difference could be as small as a single letter change or single nucleotide polymorphism, or as large as differences in the number of copies of certain sections of DNA, also known as the copy number variations. Additionally,  nearly 50% of our DNA is similar to that of other organisms, with more than 40% of our proteins being similar to those of flies and worms.

Scientists also found out that genes are not evenly spread out across the 24 human chromosomes, and that some regions have many genes clustered together called rich neighborhoods, while others have few genes, known as desert areas. These desert areas consist of 20% of our genetic code, and the other 80% is made up of clustered neighborhoods. Moreover, the human genome has around 20,000 genes for protein building, which is only 2% of our total DNA. This extremely small percentage was the biggest disappointment for the scientists of the HGP, as they had hoped there would be over 100,000 genes in our genome. This discovery challenged the idea that each gene makes only one protein, and eventually led researchers to understand that the complexity of humans isn’t solely determined by the number of genes, but rather by the different ways in which genes code for proteins.

Today, we can understand that while the Human Genome Project didn’t address all the expectations and ambitions of earlier scientists, it also forever changed the landscape of the study of genetics. Through the HGP, researchers established large databases of genetic data and published to the world the human genome sequence, ensuring that the genome can be accessible at our fingertips. Moreover, in the late 1980s, computers were relatively simple, but by the time the HGP had finished, we had the internet and powerful computers to handle all this genetic data. This led to a new era of digital biology, where scientists and clinicians could analyze vast amounts of genetic information.

However, with genetic research also comes various ethical implications. One is about who should own and control genetic data – if researchers and healthcare providers should have access to it for genetic studies and patient care, there is also the issue of how ethical it is for companies to commercialize and profit from this data, especially if they sell the information to third parties. Questions around who can patent genes and genetic technologies arose and the impact this can have on genetic research and healthcare. Moreover, with sequencing the entire human genome, there also needs to be safeguards to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the participants’ genetic information from data misuse or unauthorized access. Lastly, there needs to be equitable access to the benefits of genetics research, ensuring that people of marginalized communities are not only participating in the studies, but also receive the advanced healthcare and medicine that emerges from these discoveries. 

The lessons we’ve learned from the Human Genome Project can guide us to improve our knowledge of genetics and conduct genomic research responsibly and ethically. Moreover, by understanding how our knowledge of the building blocks of humanity have evolved over time, we can develop a greater appreciation for how far science has progressed. 

Sources:

Collins, F. S. (1999). Medical and societal consequences of the Human Genome Project. New England Journal of Medicine, 341(1), 28–37. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejm199907013410106 

Gibbs, R. A. (2020). The Human Genome Project Changed Everything. Nature Reviews Genetics, 21(10), 575–576. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41576-020-0275-3 

Moraes, F., & Góes, A. (2016). A Decade of Human Genome Project Conclusion: Scientific Diffusion about our genome knowledge. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 44(3), 215–223. https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.20952 

Watson, J. D. (1990). The Human Genome Project: Past, present, and future. Science, 248(4951), 44–49. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.2181665 

Ever wonder what your undergraduate science education would have been like if you attended university during the Middle Ages? 

We can understand this by exploring the science curriculum of students at Oxford University during the 14th century and how it was shaped by the societal and intellectual context of the time period. For a student studying towards a master of the arts (the equivalent of a science degree), they would need to enter with a strong foundation in the 7 liberal arts, including Boethius’ Arithmetic and Euclid’s geometry, and the 3 natural philosophies such as physics and meteorology. 

In university, there were two main fields students of science covered: quadrivium and natural philosophy. Quadrivium consisted of the subjects of arithmetic where the students would study number theory and calculations, and geometry for learning shapes, measurements, and Euclidean geometry. They would also learn music, both the mathematical and theoretical aspects, as well as astronomy where they would study celestial objects, the principles behind this motion, and the works of Ptolemy. In natural philosophy, students learned about Aristotle’s works on the natural world, his theories of motion for physics, elements, and celestial bodies, as well as concepts on metaphysics, such as the nature of existence and the structure of reality. 

These students, as well as others in universities in Paris and other cities, were required to attend lectures on quadrivium and Aristotle, as well as lectures on other scientific topics. Students could sometimes replace the required lectures with these electives – although they wouldn’t receive course credits for them – and there were even university regulations to allow these lectures to continue during holidays in cases of high demand.   

There were various ways in which the subjects of quadrivium and natural philosophy were at the core of the curriculum for students. In regards to Aristotle’s works, professors would use commentaries from these to explain his complex ideas to students through the lens of their own contributions to the discoveries. Moreover, these commentaries served as both textbooks for students to learn from and research papers for scholarly purposes. Students could study the commentaries to build their understanding on the subject, as well as critique and offer their own ideas to existing ones. 

Professors also used sophismata, which were logical puzzles or propositions, to allow students to actively engage. Students would participate in disputations, or formal debates and discussions, in order to graduate, where they would defend or refute various propositions. This focus on logical thinking enabled students to form arguments and check for weaknesses or fallacies in their scientific works. 

Overall, medieval universities had an integrated approach to education where teaching and research were combined. The works that students studied for their science curriculum were also composed of scholarly research content that they could then use to build and refute arguments. While medieval scholars and students were not immune to incorrect scientific theories, they were also limited by the resources and beliefs of that time. By understanding the scientific progress made through the centuries and the way in which education has developed it, we can continue to shape the knowledge of students to come. 

Sources:

Scott, John C. “The mission of the university: Medieval to postmodern transformations.” The Journal of Higher Education, vol. 77, no. 1, 2006, pp. 1–39, https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2006.0007. 

Sylla, Edith Dudley. “Science for undergraduates in medieval universities.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 441, no. 1, Apr. 1985, pp. 171–186, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1985.tb14581.x. 

Nowadays, I “read” books mostly by listening to them. When you have to read textbooks and research papers all day, it’s easier on the eyes and the brain to just have someone do all the reading for you. One of the first books I listened to after realizing this is When, the pop science/self-help book by Daniel H. Pink.

Now, hear me out. I’m usually a hater when it comes to self-help books: I don’t like their overconfident, salesman-like tone, and I don’t like the insinuation that you can change your life with a “few, simple tricks”. I despise buzzwords about “hacking your brain” or “maximizing productivity”. I’m not trying to make my body a more efficient machine–I’m just trying to get by and be happy.

This book doesn’t overpromise on how it will “change your life”. Its tagline, “the scientific secrets of perfect timing”, is a little clickbait-y, but it really does cite scientific literature. Rather than telling you what you should or shouldn’t be doing, Pink tells different stories: anecdotes of folks who run marathons at the end of a decade (19 years old, 29, 39, 49, and so on), research about night owls versus early birds, scheduling customs around the world, etc. And it definitely makes the message sink in more than if he delivered it like a TED talk.

This tone really stuck with me as a highlight of this book. For as long as I’ve been aware of time, I’ve been anxious about it. I’ve worried about running out of it, I’m terrified of wasting it, and I am constantly checking to see if I am using it right. I procrastinate and waffle around and scroll Twitter for too long and suddenly it’s bedtime. If I might be allowed to generalize my neuroses to everyone, I would say that humans just can’t really conceptualize time (see my article on Existential Physics if you want more about time). So, it scares us.

This book sat me down and said, “don’t worry so much”. Like this TikTok comment I saw floating around the internet says, “the time will pass anyways”. Apparently that’s a Earl Nightingale quote?

Take the example of the post lunch slump. I have always noticed that I really get things done from 11-12pm, 3-6 pm, or 9pm-12am (I’m currently writing this article at 10pm!). For the longest time, that stressed me out. If I couldn’t get work done during the typical 9-5, how would I ever be able to keep a job? What would I do? From this book, I learned that my biological clock is just tuned a little bit differently. Instead of trying to fight it, I should make the most of it. During the dead zone around 1-2pm, I don’t even try to do computer work. I’ll walk around, chat with a coworker, or deal with a task that makes me move. Then, when my energy hits a peak again, I tackle those mentally draining activities.

This book didn’t change my life, but funnily enough, it came into my world at just the right time. When you’re a college student juggling work, research, classes, chores, a social life, and your own physical and mental health, it’s really easy to feel overwhelmed. Up to this point, our time has been highly budgeted by parents, teachers, and other authority figures. And then, suddenly you’re just expected to be able to do it all yourself. This book was a small step in learning how to be at peace with time, and be a little more kind to myself in the process. If that sounds like something you’d like, do check out this book. It’s well worth your–nevermind.