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Understanding Science 101
A primer on the nature and process of science.

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What is science? | How science works
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For teachers
Our section of teaching resources on the nature and process of science.

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A browsable archive of articles, tutorials, interactive features and more.

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Science in Action

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Cells within cells: An extraordinary claim with extraordinary evidence
Learn how an unlikely idea — that the merging of cells played a prominent role in evolution — overcame strong initial resistance within the scientific community and came to be an accepted part of evolutionary theory.
The structure of DNA: Cooperation and competition
Knowing the structure of DNA has helped push biology into new realms. Find out how the human side of science played out in this remarkable discovery.

Try out the new How Science Works Web Interactive!

Chart your own course through the process of science with our interactive journaling tool.

HHMI How Science Works App


Science talk
Stephen Jay Gould
"Science is not a heartless pursuit of objective information. It is a creative human activity, its geniuses acting more as artists than as information processors."
— Paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould

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Understanding Science was developed by the University of California Museum of Paleontology in collaboration with its Advisory Boards.

National Science Foundation
Funded by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. EAR-0624436. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).

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