Draws from the science fields of cosmology, astronomy, paleontology, geology, chemistry, physics, and others to examine key events in the history of science, beginning with the Big Bang.

"Looking at some of the major inventions and discoveries shaping our world today, Breakthroughs in Science profiles the research leading up to the discovery (not just profiles of the one or two key "players"). Each book describes the "famous" moment and then examines the continued evolution illustrating its impact today and for the future"--

Summarizes 1000 notable inventions and discoveries of ancient and modern times, from 3,000,000 B.C. to the beginning of the twenty-first century A.D. Presented in chronological order.

When Mary Anning uncovers an unusual fossilized skeleton in the cliffs near her home on the English coast, she sets the religious fathers on edge, the townspeople to vicious gossip, and the scientific world alight. Luckily, Mary finds an unlikely champion in prickly Elizabeth Philpot, and in the struggle to be recognized in the wider world, Mary and Elizabeth discover that friendship is their greatest ally.

For more than half a century, physicists and astronomers engaged in heated dispute over the possibility of black holes in the universe. The strange notion of a space-time abyss from which not even light escapes seemed to confound all logic. Now Marcia Bartusiak, author of Einstein's Unfinished Symphony and The Day We Found the Universe, recounts the frustrating, exhilarating, and at times humorous battles over one of history's most dazzling ideas. Bartusiak...

Galileo, Einstein, Curie, Darwin, Hawking--we know the names, but how much do we really know about these people? Galileo gained notoriety over his battle with the Vatican, but did you know that this "father of modern science" was also an accomplished lute player? And Darwin of course discovered the principle by which new species are formed, but his bold curiosity extended to the dinner table as well. (And how many people can say they've eaten an owl!)...

"The pursuit of science by professional scientists every day bears less and less resemblance to the perception of science by the general public. It is not the rule-based, methodical system for accumulating facts that dominates the public view. Rather it is the idiosyncratic, often bumbling search for understanding in mostly uncharted places. It is full of wrong turns, cul-de-sacs, mistaken identities, false findings, errors of fact and judgment-and...

"Leigh grew up in Rotterdam, drawn to the waterfront as an escape from her unhappy home life and volatile father. Enchanted by the undersea world of her childhood, she excels in marine biology, traveling the globe to study ancient organisms. When a trench is discovered in the Atlantic Ocean, Leigh joins the exploration team, hoping to find evidence of Earth's first life forms--what she instead finds calls into question everything we know about our...

"Explore the fascinating history of earth and space science! What are Earth's systems, cycles, and resources? What are the solar system, lunar phases, and gravity? Who first studied these concepts? And who later used those early theories to develop these ideas further?"--