21st century science
A01=Matt Kaplan
Author_Matt Kaplan
Category=PDZ
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eq_isMigrated=2
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
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Galileo
history of science
Ignaz Semmelweis
Katalin Kariko
Louis Pasteur
mRNA vaccine
popular science
science fraud
science history
science writing
scientific breakthroughs
scientific community
scientific research
Product details
- ISBN 9781250372277
- Weight: 380g
- Dimensions: 135 x 208mm
- Publication Date: 16 Mar 2026
- Publisher: St Martin's Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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For two decades, Matt Kaplan has covered science for the Economist. He’s seen breakthroughs often occur in spite of, rather than because of, the behaviour of the research community, and how support can be withheld for those who don’t conform or have the right connections. In this passionately argued and entertaining book, Kaplan narrates the history of the 19th century Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis, who realised that Childbed fever—a devastating infection that only struck women who had recently given birth—was spread by doctors not washing their hands. Semmelweis was met with overwhelming hostility by those offended at the notion that doctors were at fault, and is a prime example of how the scientific community often fights new ideas, even when the facts are staring them in the face.
In entertaining prose, Kaplan reveals scientific cases past and present to make his case. Some are familiar, like Galileo being threatened with torture and Nobel laureate Katalin Karikó being fired when on the brink of discovering how to wield mRNA–a finding that proved pivotal for the creation of the Covid-19 vaccine. Others less so, like researchers silenced for raising safety concerns about new drugs, and biologists ridiculed for revealing major flaws in the way rodent research is conducted. Kaplan shows how the scientific community can work faster and better by making reasonably small changes to the forces that shape it.
Matt Kaplan is a science correspondent at The Economist where he has written about everything from paleontology and parasites to virology and viticulture over the course of two decades. His writing has also appeared in National Geographic, New Scientist, Nature, and The New York Times. He is the author of The Science of Monsters and Science of the Magical, and co-author of David Attenborough's First Life: A Journey Through Time. He completed a thesis in Paleontology at Berkeley, and one in science journalism at Imperial College, London. In 2014 he was awarded a Knight Fellowship to study at MIT and Harvard. Born in California, he lives in England.
