Society and history

Joseph Rapoport – Hero of War and Science

Joseph Rapoport – Hero of War and Science

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Joseph Rapoport was a decorated combat officer and pioneering geneticist. After refusing to submit to the pseudoscientific teachings of Trofim Lysenko, he was expelled from the Communist Party and from his scientific work. Years later, he returned to research and was one of the founders of the field of genetics.
Egyptian princesses from 4,000 years ago were probably skilled archers

Egyptian princesses from 4,000 years ago were probably skilled archers

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A re-examination of the remains of a princess and a royal son buried in Dahshur found signs of repeated and strenuous use of upper body muscles, along with healed fractures. Researchers estimate that the bows, arrows, and weapons found in their graves
What makes a ball curve? The engineering behind modern football

What makes a ball curve? The engineering behind modern football

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Computer simulations help study the airflow around the ball, the loads on the shoes and the integration of sensors into the game balls. However, even the most advanced model needs to be validated in laboratory and field tests.
Naomi Orseks: The threat to public trust in science also comes from within the scientific system

Naomi Orseks: How Monsanto fabricated and infiltrated a fake scientific article that led to its deregulation of a toxic substance

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In a remote lecture at the annual Science and Environment Conference in Jerusalem, the Harvard University historian of science argued that the data does not indicate a widespread crisis of public trust in science. She said that articles written under the influence of corporations could shape
Cloud seeding, Chemtrails. Illustration: depositphotos.com.

In the Knesset, they mixed real climate engineering with the "spraying" conspiracy

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Climate engineering by reflecting some of the sun's radiation is a real, dangerous, and controversial field of research that justifies regulation and transparency. However, in the Knesset debate, the scientific issue was mixed with conspiratorial claims about existing "sprays" in the sky.
James Webb observation of the protocluster SPT2349-56 and the galaxy C26 with a long gas tail

Ancient galaxy caught as environment robs it of raw material for star formation

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Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope and the ALMA array have revealed a massive galaxy in a young protocluster, only about 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang, with more than half of its reservoir of cold gas already pushed out.
Israeli science relies on the connection between universities, public funding, security, industry and entrepreneurship. American experience shows that this connection requires freedom of research, stability and long-term investment. Illustration: The Knowledge website using artificial intelligence.

America in Test Tube 8: What can Israel learn from 250 years of American science?

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Israel has excellent universities, advanced high-tech, and high spending on R&D, but American experience shows that scientific success requires more than just initiatives: basic research, stable public funding, academic freedom, the absorption of researchers, and bridges between
Athletes and wrestlers in ancient times alongside a football player in a modern stadium

The World Cup as a Parable: From the Ancient Arena to the Grass Field

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From ceremonial battles, through the games in ancient Greece and the mass performances in Rome, to the World Cup in soccer: since its beginning, sport has embodied the tension between power and restraint, between nationalism and brotherhood, and between the will to win and
Mysterious radio signals are returning from space – and one star system may explain their origin

America in a Test Tube 7: Who decides what scientists are allowed to do?

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In 1976, Cambridge residents demanded a say in whether to allow recombinant DNA research in their city. The confrontation between researchers and the public gave rise to a citizen oversight committee and helped shape a model in which innovation, safety, and democracy need not be at odds.
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Blue Origin

Blue Origin addresses investors for the first time: seeks to raise $10 billion

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Blue Origin, which has been funded primarily by Jeff Bezos since its inception, is reportedly in talks to raise $10 billion in private capital. The money is intended to support expanded launch operations, lunar missions, satellite networks, and rehabilitation.
A historical illustration divided into three parts: a research laboratory from the Manhattan Project era; a pecan branch and agricultural fields representing the knowledge of enslaved people; and medical and legal documents from the era of American eugenics. The illustration does not depict violence or casualties, but the institutions and documents through which scientific power was exerted.

America in Test Tube 6: The Dark Side of Scientific Progress: The Bomb, Eugenics, and Erased Knowledge

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Three chapters in American history reveal the complex relationship of science with power: the secrecy and lack of oversight of the Manhattan Project, the erasure of enslaved people's agricultural knowledge, and the use of eugenics to justify forced sterilization and discrimination.
A historical-contemporary illustration depicting the transition from the Santa Clara plantations to the electronics and chip industry. In the background, a university campus, electronic components, and a space system are visible, illustrating the connection between government investment, academic research, and private entrepreneurship.

America in Test Tube 5: The Country That Built Silicon Valley – and the Entrepreneurs Who Prefer to Forget It

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The American technology industry loves to tell stories of entrepreneurs who operated in garages despite the government. But Silicon Valley grew out of military orders, the space race, grants to Stanford University, immigration policy, and government aid to the chip industry – and
A historical photograph of Thomas Edison in his chemical laboratory in Menlo Park. The “Invention Factory” he founded in 1876 replaced the image of the lone inventor with a multidisciplinary team that combined research, engineering, manufacturing, and the establishment of commercial companies.

America in Test Tube 4 – From Edison's Invention Factory to the Startup Economy: Who Will Bridge Science and Industry?

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From Thomas Edison's Invention Factory to Bell Labs, American corporations have created science alongside products. Since the 1980s, much of the role has shifted to universities and start-ups—a system that excels in certain areas,
A researcher examines culture bottles as part of the research and production of penicillin during World War II.

America in Test Tube – Chapter Three The War That Built the American Science Funding System

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Until World War II, the U.S. government invested relatively little in research conducted by universities and companies. The emergency gave rise to research contracts, expert evaluations, overhead funding, and rules for distributing patent rights—mechanisms that continue
A huge study will try to find out where the Judean Desert Scrolls were written.

A huge study will try to find out where the Judean Desert Scrolls were written.

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A €2.5 million ERC grant will fund a five-year project that will combine chemical testing, paleography, scroll structure research and artificial intelligence. The researchers will examine around 250 parchment and papyrus samples and use them to map more
Students in a biology lab at Johns Hopkins University, 1920. From the university website https://hub.jhu.edu/2026/07/02/science-commentary-ron-daniels-innovation-research-funding/

America in Test Tube 2: The German Model That Gave Birth to the American Research University

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When Johns Hopkins University opened in 1876, most institutions of higher education in the United States were still focused on teaching and training the elite. The new combination of original research, doctoral studies, and teaching created a different kind of institution.
250 years of American science. Illustration: The Science website using AI

America in Test Tube – Chapter 1 – 250 Years of Promise: American Science Born as Part of the Democratic Idea

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Illustration depicting the shift of the science center from Europe to the United States and the new scientific competition with China and the European Union

250 years of the United States: This is how the world's greatest scientific power was built — and how it endangers its future

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Germany, Britain, and France dominated science in the early 20th century, but the United States overtook them through the absorption of researchers, long-term public investment, strong universities, and scientific freedom. On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, a cut
Mathematician Amy Noether. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The Glory and Persecution of a Dynasty of Mathematicians: Amy and Fritz Noether

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My mother Noether transformed modern algebra and discovered the connection between symmetries and conservation laws, but for years she was denied a job because she was a woman. Her brother Fritz, an important mathematician in his own right, escaped from
Prehistoric animal paintings on the wall of the Pont-de-Gome cave in France

Hidden charcoal allows famous cave paintings in France to be dated for the first time

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Non-invasive tests have revealed charcoal in black paintings in the Pont-de-Gome cave in France. The charcoal makes it possible to directly date some of the figures for the first time and build a basis for a more precise timeline of cave art in the region.
From Wikipedia "The Giant's Ring is a monument in Blinhatty, near Shaw Bridge, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It consists of a circular enclosure, 200 metres in diameter, surrounded by a 4-metre-high earthen mound with five entrances, and a small Neolithic passage tomb slightly off-centre. The tomb is thought to date to around 3000 BC, and the mound is slightly later. Credit: Ian Thomas, Flickr

A stone circle at least 4,000 years old has been discovered near Belfast.

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Crop marks seen in aerial photographs have led archaeologists to uncover the remains of a prehistoric stone circle near the “Giant’s Ring” south of Belfast. The site is part of a ceremonial complex that includes more than 50 known monuments.
A. Atbai burial complexes (AEBs) at Bir Asla. © James Harrell. B. Map and plan of the Bir Asla site, according to Marie, 1926. C. Shepherds' paths around Bir Asla. © Google Earth; Drawing: Marie Bourgeois.

Hundreds of burial complexes in the Sudanese desert reveal a pastoral culture that disappeared as the Sahara dried up

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Satellite imagery has revealed 260 previously unknown burial complexes in the Atbai Desert in eastern Sudan. The stone structures, some measuring 82 meters in diameter, contained human remains alongside cattle, sheep, and
The demographic crisis of the 21st century. Illustration: depositphotos.com

When fear of overpopulation is replaced by concern about shrinkage: The fertility crisis is primarily a crisis of choice

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Global fertility rates have plummeted, and many countries fear an aging and shrinking population. But a new report highlights that the real crisis is not a refusal to have children, but the gap between the family people want and the one they are capable of.
Hunter-gatherers in Siberia. A plague 5,000 years ago. Illustration: Al-Hidaan website using AI

Ancient DNA reveals: This killed hunter-gatherers in Siberia as early as 5,500 years ago

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The disease didn't wait for cities to be founded: Ancient DNA from Lake Baikal reveals two deadly outbreaks that affected hunter-gatherer families about 5,500 years ago.
Flat Earth? Illustration: Avi Blizovsky via DALEE.

The geometry of a kindergarten that overturns the "flat world"

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If the distance from the North Pole to the equator is about 10,000 kilometers, the circumference of the equator on a flat disk should be about 62,800 kilometers. In reality, only about 40,075 kilometers are measured – just as expected from a body
A rendering of the ancient ceremonial landscape at Bulford, Wiltshire. Analysis of two post-pits at the site suggests an alignment with the sunrise on the summer solstice and the sunset on the winter solstice. Credit: Wessex Archaeology.

Two wooden pillars preceded the Stonehenge stones and marked the days of the solstice

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New analysis of an excavation at Bulford has revealed that two wooden posts, erected around 5,000 years ago, were aligned with the sun rising on the summer solstice and setting on the winter solstice. The researchers suggest that
Jewish warriors in antiquity. Illustration: Avi Blizovsky via DALEE

In those days—and not necessarily in this time: A war of permission, commandment, and duty in the world of the sages

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The terms "war of authority," "war of commandment," and "war of obligation" are not biblical but sagelike. Through them, the sages of the Mishnah and Talmud attempted to determine who must go to battle, who is entitled to exemption, and when the danger requires the entire public to
Archaeologists Eliran Oren and Michael Solotskin with the statues discovered in Binyamina. They may have adorned a magnificent building in the Caesarea area. Photo by Yuli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority

1,700-year-old Roman marble statues uncovered near BinyaminaKoteret

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Searching for extraterrestrial intelligence using radio telescopes. Illustration: depositphotos.com

What happens if a signal from extraterrestrial intelligence is detected? Scientists now have updated rules

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The International Academy of Astronautics has updated SETI protocols: scientific verification before announcement, transparent publication of data, protection of researchers — and a ban on responding to a signal without international consultation.
Excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the University of Haifa in the prehistoric cave uncovered in Foreidis. The site dates to a period between approximately 400 and 250 years ago. Photo: Emil Aljem, Israel Antiquities Authority

A rare prehistoric cave from about 300 years ago was discovered in Foreidis

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The Israel Antiquities Authority and the University of Haifa unveil a time capsule from the Acheul-Yabrodian culture, a rare period in the study of human evolution, in which more complex lifestyles and technologies began to develop.
Stela 46 from El Palmar, Mexico, shown left, front, and right. Scanning and 3D modeling have revealed an inscription that may include the earliest known Long Count date in the Maya lowlands. Credit: Three-dimensional modeling by Kenichiro Tsukamoto; epigraphic drawing by Octavio Q. Esparza Olguín and Kenichiro Tsukamoto; iconographic drawing by Daniel Salazar Lama, PAEP. From Ancient Mesoamerica (2026). DOI: 10.1017/S0956536126100984

Earliest Mayan date may reveal how rulers turned time into power

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A stone inscription from the site of El Palmer in Mexico appears to bear the earliest known “long count” date in the Maya lowlands: August 31, 180 AD. Researchers say the find shows that Maya rulers used
A screenshot of the White House's Aliens.gov website with a design reminiscent of UFO movies and a message about immigration enforcement.

Why do many Americans believe in UFOs – even though there is no evidence of aliens?

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Polls show that nearly half of Americans believe that aliens have already visited Earth. But scientifically, an “unidentified object” is not proof of an alien spacecraft – and is sometimes just the result of a bad photo, sensor
Portrait of the French mathematician Jacques Hadamard, one of the central figures in the history of modern mathematics

Jacques Hadamard: The Mathematician Who Connected Scientific Genius with Moral Commitment

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Jacques Hadamard was an extraordinary French mathematician who contributed to number theory, mathematical physics, and the study of mathematical thought. His life combined scientific achievements, family tragedies, and a deep commitment to justice and human rights.
Excerpt from the Sarajevo Haggadah, 1906. From Wikimedia Commons

Who are you, Gamaliel?

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The name Gamaliel appears in the Bible, disappears almost completely from the sources, and returns to center stage with the Sanhedrin presidents from the House of Hillel. A new article examines the incarnation of the name and the possibility that it left traces in the communities
A simulation of a collision between planetary bodies, similar to ideas currently used to explain giant impacts in the solar system. New research suggests reading the fall of Satan in Dante’s “Inferno” through a similar lens of impact physics. Credit: Hernan Canellas/ASU

Did Dante's "Inferno" describe a celestial body's impact centuries before modern science?

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A Marshall University researcher suggests reading the fall of Satan in Dante’s “Inferno” as a scenario reminiscent of a giant asteroid impact. This is an interdisciplinary interpretation presented at the EGU 2026 conference, and not a new geological finding.
The Shiloh Pool. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Research on an ancient dam in Jerusalem indicates that water crises were being dealt with as early as 3,000 years ago

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Researchers from the Weizmann Institute and the Israel Antiquities Authority have dated the Siloam Pool Dam to the late ninth century BCE. In a commentary article in PNAS, Prof. Guy Bar-Oz and Prof. Gideon Avni from the University of Haifa emphasize the importance of water security.
Ferdinand Julius Cohen. From Wikimedia Commons

Ferdinand Cohen: The Jewish scientist from Breslau who laid the foundations of bacteriology

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AI-based deepfakes challenge the ability to distinguish between real footage and artificially created or altered images, sounds, or videos. Digital forensics researchers are developing tools to identify fakes and document the source of media. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Real-time deepfakes: The new battle for trust in images and video

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Professor Hani Farid of the University of California, Berkeley, a pioneer in the field of digital forensics, is at the center of a new Science article on the race to identify fake content. The deepfakes of 2026 are no longer just suspicious videos online: they are
Leonardo da Vinci. There are no giant spirits today. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The crisis of the humanities in the US: decline in degrees, cuts at universities, and an internal attack from within the field

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A new article argues that it's not just administrators and politicians who are to blame for the erosion of the humanities, but also the field's own people. The data points to a continuing decline in the number of degrees, job cuts and increasing pressure on departments.
Schematic representation of the main heavy and light stone tool technologies throughout the Paleolithic period in the Levant

Research from Tel Aviv University: Early humans reduced stone tools following the disappearance of giant animals

Researchers suggest that the transition from heavy stone tools to blades, flints, and light scrapers about 200 years ago was not simply due to technological advances, but to the need to adapt to hunting and processing smaller animals.
A frame from infrared footage of an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported by the US Indo-Pacific Command in 2024. The Pentagon describes the case as unsolved, not evidence of extraterrestrial technology. Credit: US Department of War / AARO / DVIDS

Pentagon releases UFO files; no evidence of aliens

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The Trump administration's move presents unprecedented transparency around unidentified aerial phenomena, but also illustrates the gap between unsolved documents, the politics of mystery, and real scientific evidence.
The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem attributed to Homer, dating back to a literary tradition that began some 2,700 years ago. A fragment of it has now been identified on a papyrus placed on an Egyptian mummy from the Roman period. Credit: Professor Ignasi-Xavier Adiego.

Papyrus of the Iliad discovered in a 1,600-year-old Egyptian mummy

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A University of Barcelona expedition has identified a fragment of Homer's "Catalogue of Ships" inside a Roman-era mummy in Oxyrhynchus. This is the first known case of a Greek literary text in the context of embalming.
Academic boycott of Hungary. Is Israel also on the way? Illustration: Avi Blizovsky via DALEE

Hungarian researchers warn of long-term impact of disconnection from EU research programs under Orbán

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After more than three years in which dozens of research and higher education institutions in Hungary have been blocked from access to Horizon Europe and Erasmus+, researchers report loss of collaborations, damage to reputation, and particular difficulty for young researchers, and they warn
The city that may be the last city of the Lacandon rebels from Chiapas, Sac-Blanc, has been located. Photo: Josue Losada, CINAH Chiapas.

Has the lost city of the Mayans who rebelled against the Spanish been found?

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Researchers in Mexico have located a site in the jungles of Chiapas that may be Sac-Blam, “Land of the White Jaguar,” the last stronghold of the Lacandon-Chol people who resisted Spanish rule.
A Berber family from Marrakech, Morocco. Illustration: depositphotos.com

7,000-year-old DNA changes the story of the Neolithic Revolution in North Africa

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Genetic and archaeological studies show that the transition to agriculture in the Maghreb resulted from encounters between local hunter-gatherers, farmers from Europe, and herders who arrived from eastern Sahara.
Craig Venter, one of the pioneers of the human genome. Illustration via CHATGPT, Venter's image: Wikimedia Commons

Craig Venter, pioneer of human genome sequencing and synthetic biology, dies at 79

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Venter was one of the most controversial and influential figures in modern genomics. He accelerated the race to sequence the human genome, pioneered shotgun sequencing, led research in marine genomics, and was one of the founders of the field of synthetic biology.
NSF logo - the US National Science Foundation. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Trump fired all members of the NSF oversight board just before they were about to warn about the loss of scientific primacy to China

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All 22 serving members of the National Science Board have been removed without public explanation, in a move that raises concerns about the damage to the independence of American and global science.
This is how 5,000-year-old technology meets the digital age. Researchers from the National Museum of Denmark and the University of Copenhagen have analyzed, identified, and digitized a large collection of cuneiform tablets. Credit: Troels Pank Arbøll

Title: Thousands-Year-Old Cuneiform Tablets Reveal Magic, Medicine, and Ancient Kings

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Wheat grains from the Iron Age, Timna, excavations by Prof. Erez Ben Yosef, Tel Aviv University. Photo: Laboratory of Archaeological Botany, Bar Ilan University.

DNA from 6,000-year-old wheat grains places the Land of Israel at the heart of the beginnings of agriculture

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A multidisciplinary Israeli-Canadian study published in Nature Plants shows that the domestication of wheat was not a one-time event, but a long, multi-stage process, in which wild wheat from the southern Levant played a central role.
A modern adaptation of the Schick Haggadah by Arthur Schick for the characters of the Four Sons, Lodz, 1934. Wikimedia Commons

The Four Sons in the Haggadah: What the Ancient Text from the Jerusalem Talmud Teaches

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A fresh look at the familiar passage from the Haggadah reveals interesting differences between the accepted version and the Jerusalem version, and suggests that the four sons may be seen as a reflection of complex Jewish society.
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