The Science History Institute Museum is closed for renovations.
The Othmer Library remains open by appointment.

Ben Seal

Ben Seal is a Philadelphia-based freelance writer who covers the environment, law, and academic research.

More from Ben Seal

Man in hardhat and work clothes turning valve on a machine

Water and Power

Could a century-old aqueduct point the way to Los Angeles’s clean energy future?

Color photo of a cow standing in a sunny Alpine pasture

A Tragedy with No End

Why does Garrett Hardin’s pessimistic fable haunt our collective imagination?

Woman inside ocean exploring suit in open air

Sylvia Earle and the Call of the Deep

Adventure and tangled interests under the sea.

Hand drawn histology illustration of nerve cells

A Cold Day in Stockholm

At the dawn of a new age in neuroscience, the rivalry between Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramón y Cajal reached an icy climax.
3-D color diagram of human chest interior

A Fix for the Unfixable: Making the First Heart-Lung Machine

Seventy years ago, a group of Philadelphia scientists and a brave 18-year-old pushed surgery to its final frontier.