Science
Scientific Breakthroughs
Transformative scientific discoveries that reshaped our understanding of the world, from heliocentrism to CRISPR gene editing.
sciencediscoverieshistorybreakthroughsNobel Prize
20 of 20 rows
Discovery↕ | Year↕ | Scientist↕ | Field↕ | Impact↕ | Country↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heliocentrism | 1,543 | Nicolaus Copernicus | Astronomy | Proved Earth revolves around the Sun, overturning geocentric model | Poland |
| Calculus | 1,687 | Isaac Newton / Gottfried Leibniz | Mathematics | Foundation for physics, engineering, and modern science | England / Germany |
| Vaccination | 1,796 | Edward Jenner | Medicine | Pioneered immunization, eventually eradicated smallpox | England |
| Electromagnetism | 1,831 | Michael Faraday | Physics | Discovered electromagnetic induction, enabling electric generators and motors | England |
| Evolution by Natural Selection | 1,859 | Charles Darwin | Biology | Explained the diversity of life through natural selection | England |
| Pasteurization | 1,864 | Louis Pasteur | Microbiology | Proved germ theory and developed pasteurization to prevent food-borne illness | France |
| Germ Theory of Disease | 1,861 | Louis Pasteur / Robert Koch | Medicine | Established that microorganisms cause disease, revolutionizing hygiene and surgery | France / Germany |
| Periodic Table | 1,869 | Dmitri Mendeleev | Chemistry | Organized chemical elements by atomic weight and predicted undiscovered elements | Russia |
| X-rays | 1,895 | Wilhelm Roentgen | Physics | Enabled non-invasive medical imaging, transforming diagnostics | Germany |
| Radioactivity | 1,896 | Henri Becquerel / Marie Curie | Physics | Revealed atomic energy, leading to nuclear power and cancer treatments | France / Poland |
| General Anesthesia | 1,846 | William T.G. Morton | Medicine | Made painless surgery possible, transforming medical practice | United States |
| Theory of Relativity | 1,905 | Albert Einstein | Physics | Redefined space, time, mass, and energy (E=mc²) | Germany / Switzerland |
| Quantum Mechanics | 1,925 | Werner Heisenberg / Erwin Schrodinger | Physics | Explained behavior of particles at atomic scale, enabling modern electronics | Germany / Austria |
| Penicillin | 1,928 | Alexander Fleming | Medicine | First true antibiotic, saved millions of lives from bacterial infections | Scotland |
| Insulin Discovery | 1,921 | Frederick Banting / Charles Best | Medicine | Transformed diabetes from a death sentence to a manageable condition | Canada |
| DNA Structure | 1,953 | James Watson / Francis Crick / Rosalind Franklin | Molecular Biology | Revealed the double helix, unlocking genetics and biotechnology | England |
| Plate Tectonics | 1,960 | Harry Hess / Alfred Wegener (proposed 1912) | Geology | Explained continental drift, earthquakes, and volcanic activity | United States / Germany |
| Higgs Boson | 2,012 | Peter Higgs / Francois Englert (CERN) | Particle Physics | Confirmed the mechanism that gives particles mass, completing the Standard Model | Switzerland (CERN) |
| CRISPR Gene Editing | 2,012 | Jennifer Doudna / Emmanuelle Charpentier | Genetics | Precise, affordable gene editing with potential to cure genetic diseases | United States / France |
| Gravitational Waves | 2,015 | LIGO Scientific Collaboration | Astrophysics | First direct detection of gravitational waves, confirming Einstein's prediction | United States |
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