Portal:Science/Featured

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Featured learning activity

• What is science? - participants explore and discuss the nature of science.

Selected image

"The alchemist" by William Fettes Douglas (1822 - 1891).

Modern alchemy
The goals of alchemy were transmutation of any metal into either gold, to prolong life indefinitely and to create human life. It can be argued that all of the key elements of traditional alchemy have become incorporated into conventional sciences. Transmutation of elements has been accomplished by physicists. Modern medical science is devoted to the treatment of disease and the prolongation of life. Biological techniques provide a significant level of control over the creation of new life from non-living chemical precursors.

All of these alchemy-inspired activities within modern science continue to force us up against the boundaries of conventional science. Transmutation is difficult and expensive. Immortality is a dream of many transhumanists. Only the most primitive forms of life can be constructed from scratch. Artificial life is still in its infancy. Creation of a robotic artificial life form with human qualities might be viewed as one way of satisfying the dream of creating life. Genetic engineering has begun to provide tools for the creation of new forms of biological organisms.

Featured research project

Pinwheel Galaxy

Participants at the Wikiversity Astronomy Project access public astronomy databases and explore outer space. Learn astronomy "on the job" by participating in analysis of astronomical observations that are available in public databases.

Science news

The Wikiversity Science Journalism Center is a content development project where Wikiversity participants can collaborate to develop learning resources for science journalism. The 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello for their discovery of RNA interference.

Did you know?

Aristotle (384-322 BC) is said to have studied marine organisms at the island of Lesbos. Aristotle identified observed crustaceans, echinoderms, mollusks, and fish. He knew that cetaceans are mammals, and that some marine vertebrates release eggs that hatch outside the body while others have eggs that hatch within the body. Aristotle is often referred to as the father of marine biology.

Quotes

"...I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted." - Alan Turing

"the equation E = mc², in which energy is put equal to mass, multiplied by the square of the velocity of light, showed that very small amounts of mass may be converted into a very large amount of energy and vice versa." - Albert Einstein

Featured learning projects

• Science as Religion - the relationship between science and religion
• Science research and the Law - how various governments regulate scientific research
• Open content science - Wikiversity content development project for Open content science.
• - how scientific studies have resulted in altered human concepts of time
• Consilience - can all knowledge be unified within a scientific world view?
• Exploring science through fiction - where is boundary between science and science fiction?