The first encyclopedia contained 70,000 entries and over 20,000,000 words. It was broken into 35 volumes written over the course of 3 decades. It was also banned by Louis XV and Pope Clement XIII. But why was this encyclopedia so...

One new fossil discovery helps shed some light on early titanosaur evolution, while another leads to some controversial claims about dicraeosaurs.

It's pi day! Hank explains why this irrational number is important to scientists, and discusses a bit of a controversy that surrounds it.

Fewer children in the United States are getting vaccinated. That’s bad news for those kids, and also for public health in general. Often, the response is to argue and debate and get angry at people who are we see as making terrible,...

When a group of scientists claimed they had achieved nuclear fusion, the discovery became one of the most controversial of the 20th century. What is fusion, and what role does heat play in it? Physics - Energy And Radioactivity -...

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"Facts" that are not quite correct: 1) There is no gravity in space 2) Nothing can go faster than the speed of light. 3) Bees shouldn’t be able to fly according to physics. I will explain this using Physics 4)...

Explore how Charles Darwin's theory of evolution continues to influence various scientific disciplines over two centuries after his birth. This video delves into the positive impacts of Darwinian theory on fields like genetics and...

Has science gone too far? Well, it has created these bizarre creatures. From super buff cows to featherless chickens, these are the creepiest, freakiest animals to ever come out of labs.

Pupil outcome: I can explain Stevenson’s views on science and religion and how these materialise in the novella. Key learning points: - Arguably, Stevenson is critical of trangressive scientists. - Stevenson plays on the real fears of...

Do animals think? It's a question that has intrigued scientists for thousands of years, inspiring them to come up with different methods and criteria to measure the intelligence of animals. Bryan B Rasmussen navigates through this...

The international sports world wrangles with how to classify intersex athletes and female athletes who may naturally possess higher levels of testosterone. ➡ Subscribehttp://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe' targetherelank'...

Nanotechnology is already widely used, but some scientists are warning it could prove dangerous in future. Why? Chemistry - Atoms And Bonding - Learning Points. Nanomaterials take on very different properties to their larger particles....

"The infinite! No other question has ever moved so profoundly the spirit of man," said David Hilbert, one of the most influential mathematicians of the 19th century. A subject extensively studied by philosophers, mathematicians, and more...

Getting old is an unavoidable truth of life. And yet, for most of modern history this mortal coil has baffled scientists. Over the past decade, however, researchers have made great strides in understanding the cellular, molecular, and...

In the mid-1990s, a meteorite with the unmemorable name ALH84001 became the most famous rock in the world. Because one team of scientists proposed that it had the evidence of real, if microscopic, Martians.



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The FDA has approved a whole new class of antidepressant, and ultrasounds might be far more useful than we thought.

Hank discusses some of the taboos which have plagued scientific inquiry in the past and a few that still exist today.

The media have been talking about “genetically modified humans” and “designer babies.” But what they’re really talking about is germ-line engineering: a process that could help eliminate heritable diseases. So why do some scientists want...

What exactly is the Thirty Meter Telescope, and why is the proposed location in Hawai'i such a conflict?

When playwright David Finnigan staged a play titled "Kill Climate Deniers" in 2014, he knew it'd get a strong reaction. What he wasn't prepared for was the idea that the blowback might actually cause him to rethink his own response to...

You can also download this talk as a podcast. Listen here, or search Ri Science Podcast in your app of choicef='https://soundcloud.com/royal-institution/sets/ri-science-podcast' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>choice An evidence-based...

Galileo Galilei is known as the “father of modern science.” Fascinated by gravity, motion, and the movement of heavenly bodies, Galileo’s work influences how we understand our own world and the solar system. His contributions include...

Bryan Caplan, a professor of economics at George Mason University and author of "Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration," defends the controversial position of open borders. He argues that restricting the movement of labor...

This video discusses the life and work of Charles Darwin, focusing on his theory of evolution through natural selection. The video concludes by discussing the impact of Darwin's theories on various fields of study and the controversies...