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Science is a neutral, rigorous, systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.

The earliest written records of identifiable predecessors to modern science come from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia from around 3000 to 1200 BCE. Their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine entered and shaped the Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity, whereby formal attempts were made to provide explanations of events in the physical world based on natural causes. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, knowledge of Greek conceptions of the world deteriorated in Western Europe during the early centuries (400 to 1000 CE) of the Middle Ages, but was preserved in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age and later by the efforts of Byzantine Greek scholars who brought Greek manuscripts from the dying Byzantine Empire to Western Europe in the Renaissance.

The recovery and assimilation of Greek works and Islamic inquiries into Western Europe from the 10th to 13th century revived " natural philosophy", which was later transformed by the Scientific Revolution that began in the 16th century as new ideas and discoveries departed from previous Greek conceptions and traditions. The scientific method soon played a greater role in knowledge creation and it was not until the 19th century that many of the institutional and professional features of science began to take shape, along with the changing of "natural philosophy" to "natural science".

Modern science is typically divided into three major branches: natural sciences (e.g., biology, chemistry, and physics), which study the physical world; the social sciences (e.g., economics, psychology, and sociology), which study individuals and societies; and the formal sciences (e.g., logic, mathematics, and theoretical computer science), which study formal systems, governed by axioms and rules. There is disagreement whether the formal sciences are science disciplines, because they do not rely on empirical evidence. Applied sciences are disciplines that use scientific knowledge for practical purposes, such as in engineering and medicine.

New knowledge in science is advanced by research from scientists who are motivated by curiosity about the world and a desire to solve problems. Contemporary scientific research is highly collaborative and is usually done by teams in academic and research institutions, government agencies, and companies. The practical impact of their work has led to the emergence of science policies that seek to influence the scientific enterprise by prioritizing the ethical and moral development of commercial products, armaments, health care, public infrastructure, and environmental protection. ( Full article...)

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An 18th Century Persian astrolabe used for determining the time at both day and night. The points of the curved spikes on the front rete plate mark the positions of the brightest stars, the name of each star being labeled at the base of each spike. The back plate, or mater, is engraved with projected coordinate lines. From the Whipple Museum of the History of Science collection.

Selected biography

Painting of Francis Willughby by Gerard Soest between 1657 and 1660
Francis Willughby (sometimes spelt Willoughby, Latin: Franciscus Willughbeius) FRS (22 November 1635 – 3 July 1672) was an English ornithologist and ichthyologist, and an early student of linguistics and games.

Willughby, Ray, and others such as John Wilkins were advocates of a new way of studying science, relying on observation and classification, rather than the received authority of Aristotle and the Bible. To this end, Willughby, Ray and their friends undertook a number of journeys to gather information and specimens, initially in England and Wales, but culminating in an extensive tour of continental Europe, visiting museums, libraries and private collections as well as studying local animals and plants. After their continental tour, he and Ray lived and worked mainly at Middleton Hall. Willughby married Emma Barnard in 1668 and the couple had three children.

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Golden Lion Tamarin

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Science News

7 June 2023 –
In a report published in Biology Letters, researchers reveal the first-known case of facultative parthenogenesis or a "virgin birth" in a crocodile, where a female American crocodile living in isolation at a Costa Rican zoo laid an egg of a fully formed stillborn crocodile that exhibited parthenogenesis. Researchers suggest that the findings could provide insights into the reproduction of crocodile ancestors, including dinosaurs and pterosaurs. (USA Today)
30 May 2023 – Discoveries of exoplanets
Indian scientists from the Physical Research Laboratory discover TOI 4603b, an exoplanet with a mass that is 13 times that of Jupiter. (The Hindu)
24 May 2023 –
In a medical first, a paralyzed man is able to walk naturally through the use of electronic brain implants implanted by Swiss scientists. (BBC News)
3 May 2023 –
Researchers announce the successful extraction of ancient DNA from a 20,000 year old elk-tooth pendant found in Denisova Cave. (Reuters)
5 April 2023 – Discoveries of exoplanets
Scientists discover bursts of radiation in radio wavelengths on the exoplanet YZ Ceti b, which is part of the YZ Ceti system. The studies are published in the Nature Astronomy journal. (The Jerusalem Post)
1 April 2023 –
Professor Alan Jamieson of the University of Western Australia's Minderoo-UWA Deep Sea Research Centre announces that his team has captured footage of a snailfish species, Pseudoliparis belyaevi, swimming at 8,336 metres (27,349 ft) in the Izu–Ogasawara Trench off Japan's southern coast. This is the lowest depth recorded for any fish, and closest to the estimated maximum depth possible for fish to survive. (BBC News)

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