The World is my Country; Science is my Religion

The Sun was worshipped long before it was understood. From the Egyptian god Ra to the Greek god Helios, civilizations across the world regarded the Sun as a divine force, responsible for warmth, light, and even life itself. A few thousand years later, scientists would discover what the Sun is actually made of, when a new element was discovered in the heavens before it was discovered on Earth. On August 18, 1868, astronomer Pierre Janssen analyzed the Suns spectrum during a solar eclipse where he discovered an unknown element that he named Helium, after the Greek god Helios.

Janssen made his discovery using a technique called spectroscopy that separates light into its component wavelengths. When elements absorb or emit light, the produce distinctive spectral lines that can be thought of as an elemental fingerprint. By observing and studying the patterns, the chemical composition of an object can be determined without ever actually touching it. While observing the Sun during a solar eclipse while traveling in India, Janssen noticed a yellow wavelength that did not match up with any known element. He soon submitted his findings to the French Academy of Sciences on the same day as the English astronomer Norman Lockyer independently submitted similar report, and the two share credit for the discovery of helium. It wasn’t until 1985 when the Scottish chemistry William Ramsay successfully isolated helium on Earth.

The discovery of helium illustrates the power of science. We did not need to travel to the Sun to discover the element, but rather by understanding the laws of light and matter we were able to discover the element 93 million miles away.

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By the late 18^th century, telescopes were growing larger and more powerful, allowing astronomers to peer deeper than every into the universe. Few people pushed this technology further than William Herschel, who constructed some of the largest telescopes of his age. On August 28, 1789, while observing Saturn during the first use of his enormous 40-foot reflecting telescope, the largest of its time, Herschel discovered a tiny moon we now call Enceladus. It would take two more centuries to learn that beneath its frozen surface lies a vast ocean, making it one of the most interesting worlds in our Solar System.

By 1789, Herschel was already one of the worlds most accomplished astronomers. Eight years earlier he discovered Uranus, the first planet to be discovered with a telescope, dramatically expanding the boundaries of our Solar System. He had just completed his famous 40-foot reflecting telescope and was using it to study Saturn when he noticed a fait point of light close to the planet. Careful observations showed it was moving with Saturn and was an unknown moon, later named Enceladus. Little was known about the tiny moon of about 310 miles in diameter until the Voyager missions flew by in 1980 and 1981. But the big discovery came in 2005 when the Cassini spacecraft revealed water vapor erupting from its south pole.  Subsequent observations showed that beneath its frozen crust lies a global liquid water ocean. Samples of the water vapor collected and measured by Cassini have found many of the chemical ingredients needed for life. 

Whether anything lives in the underground dark ocean of Enceladus remains a mystery to modern science. Future missions may provide a definitive answer. If life is discovered swimming beneath the ice of Enceladus, Herschel’s discovery will be remembered not simply as the discovery of another moon, but humanity’s first glimpse of another living world.

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For millennia humans were thought to be unique from other species, even separate from them. Beginning in the 19th century, this view started to come into serious doubt as other human like fossils were being discovered. On August 3, 1908, one of the most important discoveries on paleoanthropology occurred when researchers unearthed a nearly complete Neanderthal skeleton in a cave system at La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France. The site is near Lascaux, famous for its cave paintings, and lies in a valley that would later bear the name of the Neanderthal species.

The skeleton belonged to a Neanderthal male, aged around 40, who lived nearly 60,000 years ago. This find was significant because compared to earlier skeletons, this one was nearly complete, allowing the opportunity to reconstruct the full anatomy of an ancient human species. It quickly became one of the most studied remains on the planet. Unfortunately, the initial interpretation was flawed, suggesting Neanderthals were a slow, stooped, and unintelligent species. Later research showed the individual suffered from severe arthritis at a late age, which distorted his posture. Healthy Neanderthals stood fully upright, walked much like modern humans, crafted sophisticated stone tools, controlled fire, hunted large animals, cared for injured members of their communities, and may have created symbolic art and buried their dead.

The discovery at La Chapelle-aux-Saints marked another step in one of science’s greatest revelations: humans are not separate from nature – we are part of it. Our story is intertwined with countless other species, including extinct human relatives that lived, hunted, and adapted alongside our ancestors. Rather than existing apart from the rest of life, we now understand that we are the product of millions of years of evolution, sharing a common ancestry not only with Neanderthals but with every living organism on Earth.

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Every so often a medical breakthrough can be credited with saving millions of lives. Prior to 1922, a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes was practically a death sentence, with nearly 100% of children dying within a few months to years of diagnosis. The discovery and isolation of insulin by Canadian surgeon Frederick Banting and medical student Charles Best on July 27, 1921 changed that reality, resulting in a revolutionary medical breakthrough.

Banting and Best were working in a laboratory at the University of Toronto under the guidance of J. R. Macleod, where for months they had been experimenting with extracts from the pancreas. They knew the pancreas contain a substance capable of regulating blood sugar, and after painstaking work, they succeeded in extracting insulin from a healthy dog to treat another dog with diabetes. The next step was to treat diabetes in humans. On January 11, 1922, a 14-year-old boy was the first person to receive and insulin injection to treat diabetes. After some initial adjustments and with the help of biochemist James Collip, the boys’ condition improved. Within a few years, insulin was being produced on a large scale, transforming diabetes from a fatal disease into a manageable condition.

By 1923, insulin was being used around the world and Banting and Macleod were awarded the Noble Prize in Physiology and Medicine. Banting shared his prize money with Best and Macleod shared his prize money with Collip, recognizing the collaborative process. More than a century later, insulin continues to save millions of lives every day. 

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Humans are a social species, and communication has always shaped the course of history. The development of language sets us apart from all other species. Over the millennia, communication has expanded to include smoke signals, writing, the telegraph and the telephone, with each advance in technology transforming the scale at which we communicate. On July 26, 1963, another milestone was reached when NASA launched Syncom 2 – the world’s first geosynchronous communications satellite.

Before satellites, long distance communication relied on underwater cables and networks of land-based radio stations. Satellites orbiting high about the Earth provided a better engineering solution. Orbiting approximately 22,300 miles above the Earth’s surface, Syncom 2 was the second of three experimental satellites, however it had a special distinction. It was the first geosynchronous satellite, meaning it matched the Earths 24-hour orbit, allowing it to remain fixed over a specific location. Syncom 2 successfully transmitted telephone signals and other communications, demonstrating that satellite technology worked.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy telephoned the Nigerian Prime Minister, Abubakar Balewa, in the first two-way call between heads of states by satellite. The success of Syncom 2 paved the way for all future satellite telecommunications including GPS, the internet, and global television broadcasting. Today we take all of these communications for granted, a reminder of how seamlessly integrated scientific advancements can become integrated into modern society.

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The discovery of DNA’s double helix structure ranks among the most important achievements in the history of science. It transformed our understanding of the biology, medicine, and genetics. Unfortunately, history doesn’t always recognize scientific contributions equally. Rosalind Franklin, born on July 25th, 1920, used her extraordinary skill as an X-ray crystallographer to produce some key evidence that helped to reveal the structure of DNA.

Working at King’s College London in the early 1950s, Franklin used X-ray diffraction to produce some of the clearest images ever taken of the DNA molecule. The process was meticulous, involving precision in preparing the DNA, shining the X-rays through the DNA, recording the diffraction pattern, and interpreting the pattern mathematically. Among her images is the famous Photo-51 that provided vital mathematical clues that DNA is a double helix. This photo was shown to James Watson by Maurice Wilkins without Franklin’s knowledge or permission, and Watson and James Crick used the data to develop their double helix model. Initially her role discovering the structure of DNA was underappreciated, but it is now widely recognized that her research was vital to the discovery.

Franklin’s legacy extends beyond the discovery of the structure of DNA. Her work exemplifies the very essence of science: careful observation, rigorous experimentation, and letting the evidence speak for itself. Although her recognition came slowly, she now claims her rightful place among the pioneers of molecular biology.

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Sometimes the best discoveries in science are not new but are rediscoveries of an ancient piece of human civilization. On July 24, 1911, the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu was found by Hiram Bigham’s expedition. Its rediscovery opened a new chapter in the study of one of the world’s greatest civilizations.

Bingham began his exploration in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. He was looking for the last capital city of the Incas, Vilcabamba, often called the Lost City of the Incas. Guided by locals, his expedition visited several Incan sites and he actually visited ruins near Vilcabamba however he failed to identify it as the Incan Capital. Continuing onward, Bringham eventually camped near the base of a steep, jungle covered mountain. On the morning of July 24, he began the steep and difficult climb where he was guided to an astonishing city of finely cut stones, hidden among the clouds. Before him stood Machu Picchu, however he mistakenly concluded that he had discovered Vilcabamba.

Over the following years, Bingham organized several more expeditions to map, excavate and photograph Machu Picchu. Beneath the think vegetation that had grown over the centuries were terraces, temples, plazas, and homes. It was an engineering marvel containing structures of precisely fitting stones without mortar, carefully designed terraces, and advanced agricultural and drainage systems. The site served as a royal estate for a few Incan Emperors, his court, priests, and servants that was visited seasonally. It was built around 1450 by the Emperor Pachacuti. The rediscovery of the site transformed our understanding of the Incas, preserving the sophistication of the civilization prior to European contact.

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When searching for life in the universe, many scientists look for other worlds that may be similar to Earth – in size and in distance from a star. On July 23, 2015, NASA announced such a made such a discovery when they announced Kepler-452b, the first confirmed Earth size planet discovered within the habitable zone of a Sun-like star.

Kepler-452b was discovered using data from NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, which searches for planets by detecting the tiny dimming of a star’s light as the planet passes in front of it. This method has allowed astronomers identify thousands of exoplanets, revolutionizing our view and understanding of the universe. The planets is located in the constellation Cyngus and is approximately 1,800 light years away from Earth.  It is around 60% larger than our planet, has an orbital distance of 1.04 AU from it star, and completes one orbit every 385 days. It is currently unknown whether the planet has oceans, an atmosphere, or contains life. 

The discovery of Kepler-452b showed that our planet and our solar system is not an extraordinary exception. We now believe that across the Milky Way there are many stars with orbiting planets that could possess to conditions suitable for life. 

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For most of human history, traveling long distances has been arduous and slow. Only a little over 500 years ago, Christopher Columbus’s first trans-Atlantic voyage to America took around 36 days. But as science and engineering advanced, the world shrank. On July 22, 1933, aviator Wiley Post demonstrated this fact by becoming the first solo pilot the fly around the world. He accomplished his mission in 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes.

Wiley Post began his journey from Floyd Bennett Field in New York on July 15. He piloted a Lockhead Vega airplane named Winnie Mae through eight countries and across two oceans before returning to New York on July 22. Solo flying meant that there was no co-piolet to assist with navigation, monitoring the airplane, or help out during potential emergency situations. 

His achievement was made possible by remarkable advances in science and technology. Radio communication, light-weight materials, improved aircraft engines, and more accurate navigational instruments allowed piolets to fly further and more safely than ever before. His flight proved that global flight was no longer an impossible adventure, but a practical reality. The ever-improving aviation technologies would lead to modern commercial air travel, connecting billions of people around the world.

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The history of science is filled with moments when new scientific discoveries collided and contradicted with long held religious beliefs. In many instances, science and religion have offered competing ways of explaining the natural world, beginning with Copernicus placing the Sun in the center of the Solar System. One of the most contentious areas of disagreement is in the origin of species, with science championing Charles Darwins Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection and religious fundamentalism championing Creationism. On July 21, 1925, that conflict came to a head during the Scopes “Monkey Trial,” when high school biology teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty of violating the Butler Act in Tennessee by teaching that humans evolved from earlier species.

The case drew nationwide attention in what became showdown between science and religion. Hundreds of journalist covered the courtroom proceedings and it become one of the first cases to be broadcast over the radio, fueling the national spectacle it was rapidly becoming. Arguing for the prosecution was William Jennings Bryan, a three-time presidential candidate and outspoken Christian fundamentalist. Clarence Darrow, a celebrated trial attorney with a passion for free inquiry, represented John Scopes.

Scopes was ultimately found guilty and fined $100, although the conviction was later reversed on a legal technicality. The Butler Law as eventually repealed by the state of Tennessee in 1967, and the following year the Supreme Court ruled that banning the teaching of evolution is unconstitutional. The verdict against John Scopes did not stop the progress of evolutionary science. Over the following century, discoveries in genetics, molecular biology, and paleontology provided overwhelming evidence for evolution, making it the foundation of modern biology.

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