E-Newsletter: December 2018
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We’re ushering in the holiday season with the ghosts of science past, present, and future! This hand-picked selection of our favorite stories showcases the Science History Institute’s mission to preserve and celebrate our scientific and technological culture and to make it accessible to everyone, even Ebenezer Scrooge.
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Header image: Ice crystals from Le Roy C. Cooley’s
New Text-Book of Chemistry for Use in High Schools and Academies
(New York: Scribner’s, 1882).
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Travel Back in Time to the Age of Alchemy
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Travel way back into the past with us to the
Age of Alchemy, on view now in the Science History Institute’s
museum. This fascinating exhibition features an impressive trove of oil paintings depicting the alchemical quest to transform the human body and the natural world. Also on display is a curious range of laboratory tools, including mortars and pestles, apothecary jars, and preserved animal specimens used in early scientific experimentation.
Age of Alchemy is part of a series of alchemically inspired projects and events that includes the forthcoming video game
“The Goldsmith’s Daughter,” a first-person puzzle adventure game that gives players a chance to explore 17th-century London through the eyes of a young woman learning to be an alchemist.
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Book Lovers Rejoice: Old-Book Smell Is a Real Thing
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Some people love it; some decidedly do not. But old-book smell is a real thing. Really. The paper, inks, adhesives, bindings, where the book was stored, how it was used—these all contribute to a book’s smell profile. The hard-to-describe scent can also help determine its relative age and rate of decomposition. And you just might find yourself saying “Bah, humbug!” when you learn why we call voracious readers “bookworms.” Take an olfactory journey with us in
“What’s That Smell You’re Reading?” featured in the Spring 2018 issue of
Distillations magazine.
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In addition to having a potent, unmistakable smell, this old book has been gnawed by the “teeth of time.” Science History Institute.
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Experience Our New Object Explorer
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While it might not be flip-flop weather here in Philly right now, you can still learn how the synthetic rubber used to make the summer footwear staple got its start when you visit our new
Object Explorer. Part of the
Making Modernity permanent exhibition at our
museum, Object Explorer features two high-resolution, interactive tables that offer visitors an in-depth look into the history and science of various everyday objects, including LED bulbs, plastic soda bottles, oven mitts, ice-cube trays, and flip-flops, of course
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J. Fusco for Visit Philadelphia.
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Opioid Addiction Makes a Devastating Return
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Here’s a topic we wish would stay in the past but is unfortunately in the spotlight once again: opioid addiction. Believe it or not, humans have been battling this demon for hundreds of years, but the latest—and deadliest—painkiller revival has left a trail of bodies that seems to have no end in sight. Learn more about the history of opioids and its devastating impact on our local Philadelphia community in our three-part Distillations podcast series
“Treating America’s Opioid Addiction.” You can also read the
cover story on opioids in the Summer 2018 issue of
Distillations magazine.
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Photo illustration by Jay Muhlin.
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Biochemist Jennifer Doudna Presents CRISPR Gene-Editing Technology Lecture
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Internationally renowned biochemist Jennifer Doudna presented
“CRISPR Biology and Biotechnology: The Future of Genome Editing” at this year’s
Ullyot Public Affairs Lecture held November 16. Doudna, a professor of biochemistry, biophysics, and structural biology at the University of California, Berkeley, is one of the scientists credited with discovering the groundbreaking molecular tool, which has opened the floodgates for future gene-editing applications. The sold-out event also featured the presentation of the Liberty Bowl, an annual award given to the Ullyot lecturer. Doudna (center) is pictured with Gary Molander, the Hirschmann-Makineni Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania (left), and Robert G. W. Anderson, president and CEO of the Science History Institute (right).
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Science History Institute/Conrad Erb.
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Back to the (Postcarbon) Future
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While the hot-button topic of climate change belongs to the past, present, and future alike, its catastrophic potential has inspired many to imagine what a postcarbon world could look like. Just try to visualize humans no longer relying on such carbon dioxide–emitting fossil fuels as oil and coal. Not an easy task. Some say it is indeed attainable; others say it’s already too late. How do
you think about a world that doesn’t yet exist? You’ll find some interesting theories by reading
“Imagining a Postcarbon Future” from the Fall 2016 issue of
Distillations magazine.
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Illustration by John Pacer.
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We continue our Scrooge theme with one of our favorite Science History Institute podcasts,
“A Distillations Carol.” This episode explores three of chemistry’s own ominous forces from the past, present, and future: Greek fire, an 8th-century weapon believed to be the Devil’s creation; a recent industrial sludge spill in Hungary that threatened to wipe out thriving ecosystems; and the fate of our middle-aged sun.
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Plan a visit to the Science History Institute’s museum, which is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please note our museum is closed on the following days:
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- Saturday, December 22, 2018
- Sunday, December 23, 2018
- Monday, December 24, 2018
- Tuesday, December 25, 2018
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- Sunday, December 30, 2018
- Monday, December 31, 2018
- Tuesday, January 1, 2019
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The Science History Institute e-newsletter is published every other month. Comments, questions, or suggestions? Contact
enews@sciencehistory.org.
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