Science is collaborative, painstaking and iterative, with progress slow and some unsung scientific heroes lost to time. But every once in a while, a key event, discovery or conceptual breakthrough has had a galvanizing effect on science. Each week, we take a look at the moments in science history that changed the world we live in — and our understanding of it.
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Science history: Russian mathematician quietly publishes paper — and solves one of the most famous unsolved conjectures in mathematics — Nov. 11, 2002
Mathematician Grigori Perelman solved the Poincaré conjecture, and then rejected the $1 million prize that came with it.
Science history: The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses, forcing a complete rethink in structural engineering — Nov. 7, 1940
One morning, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge began bouncing up and down and twisting to and fro before ultimately collapsing into the Puget Sound.
Science history: Archaeologists discover King Tut's tomb, and rumors of the 'mummy's curse' begin swirling — Nov. 4, 1922
While excavating in the Valley of the Kings, an Egyptian worker on an archaeological dig discovered a partially obscured step. It would lead into the unlooted tomb of King Tut.
Science history: Astronomers spot first known planet around a sunlike star, raising hopes for extraterrestrial life — Nov. 1, 1995
About 50 light-years from Earth, a gas giant about half the mass of Jupiter orbits a sunlike star. The discovery of Pegasi 51 b ushered in a new era of exoplanet research.
Science history: First computer-to-computer message lays the foundation for the internet, but it crashes halfway through — Oct. 29, 1969
Messages transmitted between two computers located about 380 miles apart would form the basis of what would become the internet.
Science history: Scientists use 'click chemistry' to watch molecules in living organisms — Oct. 23, 2007
Carolyn Bertozzi and colleagues laid out a way to make paradigm-shifting "click-chemistry" compatible with living cells, opening up a window into living organisms.
Science history: First two-way phone call across outdoor lines made by Alexander Graham Bell — Oct. 9, 1876
Science history On Oct. 9, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made a telephone call to his assistant a few miles away — the first demonstration of what would ultimately become a global telephone network.
Science history: Edwin Hubble uncovers the vastness of the universe with discovery of 'standard candle' — Oct. 5, 1923
Science history On the night of Oct. 5, 1923, Edwin Hubble observed a strange star that flickered in intensity at regular intervals. The star, dubbed M31-V1, was key to showing that the universe extended far beyond the borders of the Milky Way.
Science history: Invention of the transistor ushers in the computing era — Oct. 3, 1950
On Oct. 3, 1950, three Bell Labs scientists received a patent for a "three-electrode circuit element" that would usher in the transistor age and the era of modern computing.
Alexander Fleming wakes up to funny mold in his petri dish, and accidentally discovers the first antibiotic — Sept. 28, 1928
Science history Alexander Fleming was doing experiments with bacteria when he woke up to a strange mold growing in his petri dish. The "mold juice" would usher in the first antibiotic, penicillin, and would revolutionize medical care for bacterial infections.
