Fossil Secrets Of The Da Vinci Codex

Da Vinci realised people were wrong about the origin of Italy's fossils
(Image: Ted Spiegel/Corbis)

From New Scientist:

Did Leonardo decipher traces of ancient life centuries before Darwin?

It was to be Leonardo da Vinci's most impressive work yet. In 1483, the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, commissioned the up-and-coming artist to create a huge bronze statue of a horse, standing over 7 metres tall. Da Vinci spent the next 10 years perfecting a full-size clay model. Sadly, it was never cast in bronze. Tonnes of the metal were needed, and Sforza ended up using the earmarked supplies to make weapons for use against invading French troops. When the French army took Milan in 1499, its archers used da Vinci's clay horse for target practice.

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Sloppy Records Cast Galileo's Trial In New Light

An 1857 painting titled "Galileo facing the Roman Inquisition" shows the astronomer standing trial before the Roman Catholic Church inquisitors. Credit: Cristiano Banti (1824–1904)

From Live Science:

When it comes to bad record-keepers, no one expects the Roman Inquisition — but that's exactly what one historian discovered while trying to resolve a centuries-old controversy over the trials of Galileo.

The Roman Catholic Church's second trial of the famed Italian astronomer has come to symbolize a pivotal culture clash between science and religion. But a broad examination of 50 years’ worth of records suggests the Roman Inquisition viewed the case more as an ordinary legal dispute than a world-changing philosophical conflict.

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