Science News Launches Century of Science

In celebration of its Centennial year, Science News has launched a new site, Century of Science, which delves into major advances across the sciences that have transformed our understanding of the world and our universe, and our lives. Topics so far include Earth’s history, human origins, the workings of our brains and the vastness of the cosmos — with explorations of the genetic revolution, climate change and other topics still to come.

“During the past 100 years, we have seen a tremendous number of scientific advances, from the discovery of penicillin to the moon landing, and Science News has reported it all,” said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of the Society for Science and Publisher of Science News. “I am thrilled that Science News is able to share our excellent reporting in a new way that ties together what’s happening today with critical discoveries from our past.”

All of the content you’ll find on Century of Science is grounded in the more than 80,000 articles in the Science News archive, which stretches back to our early days as a wire service. It’s a record of science as it happened, and reflects the ideas, attitudes and biases of the time. Our journalists traveled to Tennessee in 1925 to cover the Scopes trial, which questioned whether evolution and “modern science” could be taught in schools, and were on the scene at Bikini Atoll to witness the 1946 atomic weapons tests. Our archive charts the growth of the fields of genetics, radio astronomy and quantum mechanics, and covers all of modern computing, the atomic age, the AIDS epidemic and space exploration.

“Through the Century of Science site, Science News is able to celebrate our 100 years of continuous independent coverage,” said Nancy Shute, Editor in Chief of Science News. “We invite everyone to use this site to learn from our past and present while considering what’s next.”

Visitors to Century of Science will be able to use several key features to explore the site.

• The “Milestones” page makes it easy to browse more than a hundred scientific advances and discoveries by decade. Site visitors can also filter according to the areas of science that most interest them.

• We are calling each area of science a “Theme.” Current themes include Our Wild Universe, Other Worlds, The Human Story and The Science of Us. New themes will be unveiled through March 2022.

• “Connections” feature ideas that cut across time and scientific disciplines, including the unsung characters who have made scientific discoveries possible, the many ways that the language we use affects science and how people understand it, and the role of technology in opening new scientific vistas.

Century of Science was made possible with donations from our sponsors, which can be viewed here.