Scientific Breakthroughs Literally Changed Everything

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Scientific Breakthroughs that Literally Changed Everything

By Joe Burgett - April 5, 2020

33. Nitrogen Fixation

Used For: Fertilizer, Medication, Dyes, & Explosives

Nitrogen Fixation is one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs in history, mostly due to completely changing the planet. It’s a process where molecular nitrogen in the air is converted into ammonia or some other related nitro compound in the soil. This is massive, as fixed inorganic nitrogen compounds are required for the biosynthesis of all nitrogen-containing organic compounds.

This includes things like amino acids & proteins, nucleic acids, and nucleoside triphosphates. This particular process is huge for the world of agriculture and the overall manufacturing of fertilizer. It is also used, although indirectly, in the manufacturing of several nitrogen-based chemical compounds. This includes things like medications, dyes, and some explosives. There’s far more to this but we just do not have enough space or time to go into it all.

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32. The Invention of Roads

Invented By: The Ancient Greeks

The invention of roads, considered a major scientific breakthrough, was implemented by the Ancient Greeks. The reasoning for this was that even in open fields, it was hard to travel for military. This could have been due to problematic grown field grass, rocks, and more.

This led to the Greeks clearing out paths and using dirt to remove the grassy issue. However, it was the city of Ur that was responsible for the first stone-paved road, formed around 4,000 B.C. Meanwhile, the Egyptians have the oldest known paved road, which was formed between 2,600 and 2,200 B.C.

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31. Refrigeration

Its Use: To Keep Food/Drink Cool, Helping Them Last Longer

Today, we take Refrigeration for granted. However, refrigeration today is nothing like it was 200 years ago. Snow & Ice harvesting was common for centuries, which people would do to cool things in storehouses. The more iconic form of ice we know from the American West used to come in a massive block that even in major heat, would not melt quickly due to its size. This would allow ice to be used by people for weeks or months at a time.

Eventually, General Electric became one of the first companies to sell an in-home refrigerator, beginning in 1911. Then in 1927, they’d make the first refrigerator to completely run on electricity. However, their rival Frigidaire somehow would synthesize freon. Of course, Freon helps refrigerators be much safer for the home. It’s inside refrigeration machines to this day. Today, our modern form of refrigeration is amazing and one of our greatest scientific breakthroughs, without question.

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30. Gunpowder

Invented By: The Ancient Chinese

Gunpowder is one of our greatest scientific breakthroughs, yet possibly one of our worst. Due to the severe gun violence today, one could conclude this invention has a ton of drawbacks. However, it helped to shape the world we live in today and that makes it very important. The Chinese would actually use Gunpowder for numerous different things. It is technically older than guns, funny enough.

Gunpowder was invented in the 9th Century while the first, what could be considered an actual gun, was not invented until the 10th century. We simply call it gunpowder today due to how most tend to use it. The Chinese used it for numerous artillery items, yet they also used it for rockets and even fireworks. They also notably used it for explosives, especially for mining and road-building purposes.

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29. Bronze Age

Took Place During: 3300 to 600 B.C.

The Bronze Age was a huge time period in history where we were able to develop multiple tools, major equipment, and even armor using Bronze to accomplish it. The main place that was known for its use was Ancient China. This eventually spread across the rest of Asia and Europe until the conclusion of the period. This was a huge point in time, as scientific breakthroughs occurred for the first time. While several major inventions happened during these years, the main focus for us is the use of Bronze.

We are able to develop it, as we often make Bronze by smelting copper and a metal alloy like tin or arsenic. Today, it is far more advanced. During this period, Bronze was considered among the hardest metals available, which is why we made so much using it. These inventions in Bronze only became more impactful as we moved out of this period too. Armor and Weapons, as well as tools, plates, and much more, took on a new identity afterward. However, it all started with Bronze.

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28. The Discovery & Rediscovery Of Species

Most Impactful: The Dinosaurs, Specialized Sea Creatures

When we first began as humans on this planet, especially once we moved away from the Neanderthal level, animals were a huge fascination for us. We even used them as not only food but also as tools. Whether that was using them as aids in moving equipment or travel or using their bones to make weapons, they were massively important.

As we became more advanced, we wanted to see newer species of animals too. Eventually, we discovered the dinosaurs that lived millions of years before us. We then discovered newer mammals and sea creatures in different places around the world. Yet the most amazing is the rediscovery of once thought to be extinct animals too. Animals like Omura’s whale, Pinocchio Lizard, and many more have surprisingly been found once more after decades of assumed extinction.

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27. Agriculture/Farming

Began: Between 11,500 & 6500 B.C. Worldwide

People often look at agriculture and want to hype up those who made massive contributions to it. This includes major names like John Deere, Eli Whitney, George Washington Carver, Cyrus McCormick, Fritz Haber, Norman Borlaug, Rachel Carson, and several others. In reality, these people truly do matter. However, we first had to invent agriculture for these people to make a difference in it.

That is why we feel “Agriculture” itself should be considered one of the world’s most important scientific breakthroughs. Before this, the Hunter/Gatherer Society was present. If you lacked small eatables, you’d have nothing if hunting wasn’t successful. This was when planting first came to be as well as farming overall. We kept and even bred animals in captivity, used their milk or eggs, and even slaughtered some for meat when needed. Without Farming or Agriculture, human life would not exist today.

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26. Periodic Table Of Elements

Invented By: Dimitri Mendeleev In 1869

Today, we do not look at the Periodic Table and automatically think of it as one of the world’s biggest scientific breakthroughs. Yet this is in error, as every element on the Periodic Table is massive to our everyday life. Of course, we did not discover all of these elements at the same time. It took quite a long time to put the elements together that we see today. There are 7 Rows, called periods, which have metals on the left with nonmetals on the right.

In the Columns, often called groups, elements with similar chemical behaviors will be present. 6 of the groups have internationally accepted names and assigned numbers. Those include the Halogens & Noble Gases, for example. Then there are 4 blocks that tell us of different atomic orbitals. Those you might see on the element chart include Oxygen, Hydrogen, Sodium, Mercury, Lead, Sulfur, Argon, and many more.

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25. Theory Of Relativity

Proposed By: Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was a genius who was able to make some of the biggest scientific breakthroughs in history during his time on Earth. Clearly, his most notable work revolved around the Theory of Relativity. This actually involves two different theories, Special Relativity & General Relativity. They work hand-in-hand and were his concepts anyway. This is why we simply call this the “theory of relativity” today.

Special Relativity speaks to what is involved in the absence of gravity while General Relativity explains the law of gravitation and how it relates to other forces of nature. Essentially, he found that space & time were interwoven into a single continuity, which we call space-time. Thus, things that occur for one viewer of an astrological event may happen at a different time for another. On top of this, he found the massive objects cause distortions to space-time. He’d figure all of these things out with one iconic equation: E=MC2.

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24. The Quantum Revolution

Involves: Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Physics, Quantum Theory, & Quantum Field Theory

Albert Einstein did not just speak to one theory during his life, oh no. In fact, most of the Quantum Revolution is thanks to him. There are a lot of “Quantum” names for stuff, but the ones we make mention above are all pretty much the same thing. Normal Physics was not enough to describe everything, as it caught things at the macro level. Quantum Physics explains the macro level of things too, but it also explains the micro.

This involves things at both the atomic and subatomic levels. Regular Physics and Quantum Physics also differ in that Quantum believes any quantity of a bound system is restricted to discrete values, and objects have characteristics based on waves & particles. They believe there are limits to how accurate the value of a physical quantity one can predict before its measurement combines with its initial conditions. We refer to this as the “Uncertainty Principle.”

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23. The Printing Press

Invented By: Johannas Gutenberg In 1440

We all know that the man most responsible for the Printing Press in history was a man by the name of Johanass Gutenberg. He’d do this by using the Chinese movable block printing concept. He put this in the Printing Press design, allowing for set words that could almost stamp on. He simply switched it from Chinese symbols to German and eventually English lettering.

Gutenberg would invent the first version in 1440, which became wildly successful. It took off, eventually seeing many others in multiple languages. It also made it possible to copy books much faster, which took humans weeks to months to do accurately. The Printing Press could do this in less than a day. Eventually, the newspaper came out of this and the media popped up. To this day, we still call the media, “the press” in honor of the machine’s invention.

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22. Archimedes Screw

Invented By: Archimedes of Syracuse And/Or Ancient Egyptians

During ancient times, they’d mostly refer to the Archimedes Screw as the “water screw.” Of course, most of us credit Archimedes with inventing it. However, some believe Ancient Egyptians are just as responsible for it as they were using one well before Archimedes. It is more likely that the two had similar versions of the same thing.

This machine transfers water from low-lying bodies of water into simple irrigation ditches. The water is then pumped by turning this screw, inside of a pipe. This also helps in sewage treatment plants even today. People would use the Archimedes Screw concept for powders and grains as well. We even use it in some form in several areas today, which are too numerous to name.

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21. Knowledge & Advancements In DNA

Includes: Discovery Of Double-Helix, DNA Profiling/Forensics

One of the most important things that have come to pass in the world of DNA is our scientific breakthroughs in Forensics. Helped by DNA, we’re able to accurately use even the smallest traces of DNA to find out who might have committed a crime. While this can be done with blood, it can also be done with spit, hair, fingerprints, and much more.

However, we also have used DNA outside of criminal justice to find out our ancestries too. Before all of this really began, we make a huge breakthrough in molecules. This is where we are able to look at the double-helix DNA model. We even know of three forms of DNA, the A-form, B-form, & Z-form. All of this has helped us advance science in massive ways, one of which we’ll address later in this article.

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20. The Telephone

Invented By: Alexander Graham Bell

It is hard to imagine that Alexander Graham Bell would have ever envisioned that his idea for the telephone would have advanced to this level. Yet it has, but it first had to be invented, which Bell managed to do in 1876 when he was awarded the U.S. Patent for it.

While Bell made it merely for people to speak back and forth over short distances, he actually wanted to advance this to a worldwide reach. Today, the cell phone exists and can be taken anywhere, all over this planet. It can keep lives organized and even handle video calls. Clearly, we can all agree that the telephone is one of humanity’s most important scientific breakthroughs.

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19. Painkillers & Anesthetics

Invented For: Surgical Procedures, Killing Pain

Upon the invention of painkillers, they were mostly in use during surgeries to help with severe pain. In fact, abuse of them was relatively rare too. Of course, the Ancient Government did not control them but one could not really operate well on them. People had to hunt, farm, and much more. Abuse simply couldn’t work well for most. The main version that began the craze was Opium.

This came from the Poppy Plant and the use of this as a drug dates back thousands of years. We aren’t sure of the exact timeframe, but everyone is certain they were in use at least hundreds of years before 5,000 B.C. Eventually, different anesthetics became useful and Opium among many others became strictly painkilling drugs.

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18. The Airplane

Invented By: Officially The Wright Brothers

When we make the distinction that the Wright Brothers were the official inventors of the Airplane, we mention this due to others having the same idea before them. Simply put, the brothers had a design that worked but the idea of man flying has been in discussions with several attempts being made for thousands of years.

The story of Icarus alone proves this was a huge part of Ancient culture. In fact, Leonardo Da Vinci’s design for the Ariel Screw came hundreds of years before the Airplane and is the design that helicopters followed. The thing that makes the Wright Brothers’ design so impressive is its use of the three-axis control system. Today, we use this in satellites, submarines, space ships, and many industrial machines. That said, the airplane is obviously one of our top scientific breakthroughs as it changed travel forever.

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17. Meteorology

Invented By: Aristotle

While one would rightfully assume just spotting “meteorology” for the first time that it was the study of meteors, they’d be wrong. Yet in spite of this, they wouldn’t be as far off as one might think. Most of us know this as the study of weather, in a nutshell. Yet it actually involves the entire atmosphere and Earth. It was originally even assumed that astrological patterns and events affected the weather.

It might shock you to learn that the great philosopher and teacher, Aristotle, is the inventor of it. This is due to his book literally titled Meteorology. In it, he discusses water evaporation, earthquakes, and other weather-related phenomena around roughly 350 B.C. Of course, astrology had a connection to all of this for so long that it only makes sense to call it meteorology, right?

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16. The Computer

Invented By: Charles Babbage & Alan Turing

The computer’s invention is thanks to two men mostly, Charles Babbage & Alan Turing. Of course, Babbage invented the Difference Engine. Seen as the earliest computer, it was able to use several forms of arithmetic logic units and then control the flow of them using several conditional branches and loops. His Analytical Engine then improved upon this. Both were invented between 1822 and 1837. Alan Turing’s well, Turing Machine was invented in 1936.

It was used during World War II to help decipher coded messages from the Germans. He also invented the Automatic Computing Engine, which is the earliest form of the stored-program computer. We use the term “Turing Complete” to determine a machine or computer’s ability to decide data-manipulation rule sets. He’d also have a role in starting A.I., with the “Turing Test” now used to determine a machine’s ability to show intelligent behavior when comparing it to a human.

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15. Animal Cloning

First Done: In 1996 (Dolly The Sheep)

The concept of cloning has been big for a few reasons in the medical community. First, it is important due to the fact that we could possibly use it to clone organs and have them up for use by the person who needs them. Thereby no longer needing donors. We have done this somewhat but not anything as massive as what is needed.

The second thing that makes cloning important is that we can create something from the past that has been deceased. Specifically, extinct animals. However, ever since Dolly the Sheep became the first successful animal clone, we’ve been cloning animals using surrogates. While the science is not quite where it needs to be to bring back a Dinosaur, for example, we’re getting close. As a result, it shouldn’t surprise you in 2030 when Jurassic Park actually opens. Although 5 movies tell us this is a bad idea…

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14. Entertainment Technology

Includes: Film, Television, Radio, Video Games & Consoles, Virtual & Augmented Reality, Streaming

There is not enough time in the day to go over how long “entertainment” itself has been a thing in society. Obviously, we have had plays and books for years that offered this to people. Yet in the 1900s, Thomas Edison helped to deliver the world of film to the masses. Before this, we were learning about how electromagnetism worked in order to see the radio work for the first time. Eventually, television came to the masses with only a few channels.

Then cable television and premium television came about, along with the concept of closed-circuit and Pay-Per-View. Changing the game further was the invention of video games and eventually both VR & AR. Finally, we moved into ways where the person had more control; streaming. Originally starting with places like YouTube & Netflix, it quickly became the way most of us see entertainment programming today. All of these must be considered some of the greatest scientific breakthroughs in human history.

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13. Space Exploration

Includes: Moon Landing, Explorer I, Juno, Pioneer 10, Sputnik, Voyager

Our Earth was not good enough, because mankind looked up and wanted to be among the stars. Today, we know far more than people like Galileo & Jules Verne knew in their respective time periods. However, it is their curiosity along with the curiosity of several scientists that led us to where we are today. One of our biggest scientific breakthroughs ever was putting a man on the moon. We’ve now done it about 10 times.

On top of this, we sent satellites into space like Voyager, Explorer I, Pioneer, and many more. Each satellite was made to go on a journey where they’d capture images of everything they came across and send them back. This allowed us to get up-close images of places like Saturn & Jupiter with more images coming. Major telescopes like the Gran Telescopio Canarias have also led to us seeing major new stars, solar systems, and galaxies too.

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12. Large Hadron Collider & Higgs Boson

Invented Or Found By: CERN (Large Hadron Collider) and Peter Higgs & François Englert (Higgs Boson)

The Large Hadron Collider was made by the European Organization for Nuclear Research or CERN. We don’t get the nickname either, honestly. We should say that there is some confusion regarding whether or not this is a particle accelerator or particle collider. In the most technical sense, it’s both. It has been useful in many discoveries, but the biggest by far is the Higgs Boson.

Peter Higgs along with 5 other scientists proposed the Higgs Mechanism all the way back in 1964. This explained why particles have mass but obviously there was a need for more proof. The LHC helped to confirm this in 2012 and in 2013 both Peter Higgs & François Engler were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for this. The Higgs Boson is a huge discovery because the Higgs Particle, a Boson, is thought to be responsible for all physical forces. Talk about massive scientific breakthroughs!

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11. Mathematics

Invented By: Ancient Egyptians, Persians, Babylonians, Greeks

Mathematics itself has several inventors and has been around in some form for thousands of years. It is likely that simplistic math like adding & subtracting, though not recorded by people at the time, could be over 10,000 years old. Ancient Babylonians invented the really first true set of early Mathematics. Ancient Persians invented Algebra while the Greeks had a major role in several forms of it.

Pythagoras shaped Math for the world and his school helped to teach it to any who wanted to know. Meanwhile, Ancient Egyptians and Chinese invented early forms of Calculus but it did not work as well as hoped. However, Archimedes of Syracuse essentially invented Geometry, which allowed Calculus to properly operate. When the likes of Isaac Newton formed his version, it changed the game on Math even further. We have used it in many forms for things like Engineering, Economics, Medicine, and much more.

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10. Understanding Of Human Anatomy

Includes: Invention Of Medicine, Discovery Of Blood Types, Biology, Chemistry, etc.

The world of human anatomy was massive in the Ancient World. The Ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Greeks likely played the most critical role in our understanding of early anatomy. Eventually, the Romans and many more added to it. There are a few main people that helped the world of anatomy the most. The first is the Greek Physician Hippocrates. We still use some of his surgical concepts today and doctors even take the Hippocratic Oath, which promises to “do no harm.”

Another important figure in this was Galen, yet another Greek Physician. He was wrong about several things but was a huge asset to early pathology, pharmacology, neurology, biology, and much more. Yet Galen had flaws in some of his concepts due to only doing animal autopsies. Eventually, Andreas Vesalius questioned Galen’s work around 1,300 years later. It was Vesalius’ discoveries on the human body that now shape human anatomy today.

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9. Electricity

Main People Involved: Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla/George Westinghouse

Thomas Edison was already a notable inventor before he’d jump into the world of electricity. In fact, we now credit him with several inventions like the Phonograph and even improving the telephone. However, upon moving into electricity he was the leader in the world of Direct Current. This was one of the biggest scientific breakthroughs in history and by the early 1900s, it was used all over.

However, DC used up a lot of power and could only flow in one direction. This forced a need to have power plants relatively close. In an interesting note, Edison hired Nikola Tesla who was tasked with fixing these ailing power stations. Yet he had a better idea for electricity in the form of an Alternating Current, which took less power to operate and flowed both ways. He’d leave Edison behind and partner with the wealthy George Westinghouse to bring AC to the world. AC is now the form of electricity most of us use daily.

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8. Planet Knowledge

Important Figures In These Discoveries: Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Léon-Philippe Teisserenc de Bort, Richard Aßmann, Pythagoras, Georg Hartmann, Robert Norman, Christian Doppler

Earth, as well as our sun and the solar system, were heavily debated for centuries. Copernicus was the one who discovered that the Earth rotates around the sun, which was the true center of our solar system. Galileo Galilei spoke to this as well and via his telescope, was able to find other planets like Jupiter. Yet they were playing on assumptions made by ancient astronomers from Egypt, Greece, and many others.

Greek Mathematician Pythagoras reasoned if the moon was round then the Earth must be too. Around 1900, Léon-Philippe Teisserenc de Bort and Richard Aßmann discovered the 5 atmospheric layers (Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere). Georg Hartmann and Robert Norman independently discovered the Earth’s magnetic field while Christian Doppler is responsible for discovering the Doppler Effect. All are critical scientific breakthroughs.

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7. Pasteurization

Invented By: Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur was an incredible French Chemist and Biologist who invented several life-changing things for the world. The most notable is clearly Pasteurization. The latter might be one of the most significant and world-changing inventions ever. Pasteurization has to do with making things safe to drink or eat.

Essentially, water and certain packaged or unpackaged foods are treated with heat to completely destroy pathogens. This kills bad bacteria and can even extend the shelf life of an item. It eliminates the risk of diseases yet can’t kill bacterial spores. This is why it needs a second round of this too, which completely eliminates any problems. Store-bought Milk and Fruit Juice, for example, are safe to drink for life as a result of this invention.

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6. How Life Came To Be

Includes: Evolution & The Big Bang Theory

While some battle against both Evolution and the Big Bang Theory, science actually backs both completely. In 1927, Georges Lemaître was the first to note that the expanding universe could be traced back to an originating point, which he actually called the “primeval atom.” We now simply call it the Big Bang Theory. In 1929, Edwin Hubble then found after much analysis that galactic redshifts are drifting from one another, which confirmed an expanding universe.

Finally, in 1964, the Cosmic Microwave Background was discovered and, along with more physics discoveries, pretty much confirmed the universe started with a bang. Yet it was Charles Darwin & Alfred Russel Wallace who proposed natural selection and the theory of evolution. This dictated that only the strong survived and thus, each species developed key traits to do so over several generations. This included how humans eventually evolved into what we are today. Both were insanely crucial scientific breakthroughs.

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5. Antibiotics

Invented By: Alexander Fleming

While infections could be cured somewhat for centuries by various medications, this was never considered to be 100% effective. Most of these infections would tend to be open wounds, which can be treated with numerous herbal remedies. Yet infections within the body were hard to cure, at least that was until Alexander Fleming came along.

Already a notable Biologist & Physician, Fleming had been looking into staphylococci. This led him to work with the fungus known as “Penicillin sp.” He left his lab one night, having accidentally left an opening to the staph near the fungus. Upon returning, he discovered the fungus essentially killed the staph. Eventually, the Penicillin Drug came to be as an antibiotic that we still use today. Due to its invention, several other antibiotics have popped up ever since. In fact, we make many for specific infection types too.

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4. True Industrial Revolution

Includes The Inventions: Automobiles, Steam Engine, Ships, etc.

While we call this the Industrial Revolution, we’d like to make sure to note that this was mainly used to highlight the period of time in England. However, this industrial period was on full display all across Europe and the United States. Most tend to highlight the years it ran from 1760 to 1840. However, the true industrial revolution extends the end date to around 1900.

A major part of this was the Steam Engine, which had been invented in the early 1700s. Yet James Watt’s improvement on this in 1776 made it a crucial aid in travel. Robert Fulton’s invention of the first commercially successful steamship was crucial for travel and delivery. Yet he’d also invent the submarine to help in wartimes. Finally, Karl Benz invented the automobile in 1886, which became a massive asset to society

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3. Vaccines

Major Developers: Louis Pasteur, Jonas Salk, Albert Calmette, Camille Guerin, Edward Jenner, David Smith, Ian Frazier

Vaccines were first implemented by China in the 10th Century to help against smallpox. This expanded when Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine in 1796, however. Louis Pasteur then developed the vaccines for Cholera in 1880, Anthrax in 1881, & Rabies in 1885. Albert Calmette & Camille Guerin together invented the vaccines for Tuberculosis with the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) Vaccine in 1922.

However, Albert alone invented the first antivenom for snakebites. Jonas Salk with Thomas Francis invented the first Influenza Vaccine in 1933 while Salk on his own invented the Polio Vaccine in 1952. David Smith made the vaccine for Haemophilus influenza, which often gave infants pneumonia and meningitis. Meanwhile, Ian Frazier invented the vaccine for cervical cancer, genital warts, and anogenital cancers in 2006.

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2. The Internet

Inventor: Tim Berners-Lee

The Internet is clearly one of the world’s biggest scientific breakthroughs. In fact, you’re all here reading this list as a result of it. The man responsible for its invention officially is Tim Berners-Lee on December 20, 1990. He did this while working with the European Organization for Nuclear Research. In fact, the first webpage is credited to them, known as info.cern.ch.

You can click on the website to see what it looks like today. Of course, this did not become a major thing until we were able to invent Wi-Fi which is thanks in part to Hedy Lamarr and Nikola Tesla for their work in Wireless technology decades ago. Yet their ideas are in the tech of today that gives us Wi-Fi, which only helps the internet reach more places worldwide.

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1. Gene Editing/CRISPR

CRISPR First Proposed By: Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier

The world changed in 2012 when Jennifer Doudna & Emmanuelle Charpentier proposed that the CRISPR-Cas9 was possible to program and thereby edit genomes. CRISPR-Cas9 are enzymes from bacteria that control microbial immunity, which can allow us to edit genomes/genes. This basically means that we can theoretically edit out sections of our DNA where diseases are.

This includes even enhancing the person in some ways. The biggest thing it will likely help us with is the treatment of blood disorders or diseases such as Leukemia and AIDS. The idea is that we can remove and then modify human cells to remove issues. Those edited and improved cells are then put back into the body in an effort to rid the person of the disease. There’s still a lot more we need to do in this area, but this is one of the scientific breakthroughs that could theoretically extend lives, and end horrific diseases for good.

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