Feature Stories

Deputy Head, Communications Team

Stephanie Hood

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public@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de

The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) has published its format “Research Topics” since 2008. Every six to eight weeks, researchers present individual contributions of one relevant aspect of their research or present a new research project. Since 2017, scholars at the MPIWG have been contributing to “The Conversation,” a public platform for research content related to current topics, which are accessible on this page. 

Latest Research Topics

No 80
Satellite view of the Rotterdam harbor

Anthropocene Formations: Process Landscapes of Petromodernity

The satellite image above shows the Port of Rotterdam, the biggest harbor in Europe. At Maasvlakte 2, an artificial island just off the coastline, the world’s largest tankers are able to dock. ...

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No 79
Maier Atalanta Fugiens, 1618.

A Vital Force? Exploring Agricultural Uses of Alchemy in Early Modern Europe, ca. 1550-1730

According to the authors of early modern agrarian manuals, agriculture was in crisis. Soils had become depleted, crops grew smaller and fewer in number, and the growing seasons were shorter and...

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No 77
Cover

Practices of Validation in the Biomedical Sciences

In 2021, the validity of Covid-19 tests became an issue of political and public concern. Can we rely on tests to re-open schools, shops, and museums while the pandemic is still in full swing? S...

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Latest Articles on "The Conversation UK"

No 18
Tatou à trois bandes du Sud (Tolypeutes matacus)

Les voyages du tatou dans les sciences et par les mers

Dans les réserves du muséum d’histoire naturelle du Mans (musée Vert) se trouve un étrange animal venu du passé. Il porte une étiquette ancienne et figure parmi les objets les plus anciennement...

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No 17
Dony Wardhana/Unsplash, FAL

Doctors only started measuring body temperature 200 years ago – here’s why

Over the past year, fever thermometers have become omnipresent. Body temperature is taken in front of shops, at airports, even before visiting a museum – often with ultra-modern devices. So-cal...

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