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homunculus

Fresco depicting the Virgin Mary holding Baby Jesus. Source: Giorgio G / Adobe Stock.

Why Do Babies in Medieval Art Look Like Creepy Middle-Aged Men? (Video)

In medieval art, depictions of babies are far from the cherubic, innocent infants we imagine today. Instead, they appear as miniature adults, complete with mature features that can be quite...
Medieval alchemists believed they could create a mini artificial human. Source: lidiia / Adobe Stock

Medieval Scientists Tried to Make Little People with Semen, Blood, and an Animal Womb

The question of how to create life does not just go back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, when the eponymous character used forbidden science to create life. Medieval scientists tried for centuries to...
Homunculus (Mpj29 /CC BY-SA 4.0)

Ancient Alchemists and Modern Scientists: In Search of Creating the Homunculus

To mimic the Creator and create life ex nihilo – almost from nothing – has been the ambition of some men, none more so than Philip Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim (1493 - 1541), a 16th-century...
Clay homunculus model placed on a lawn

Homunculus: The Alchemical Creation of Little People with Great Powers

Although science has made much progress in the last century, there are still numerous ethical issues that need to be addressed by the scientific community. One such issue is that of the creation of...
Alchemical illustration of a Homunculus in a vial

Alchemical Recipe for a Homunculus: Sperm + Rotting Meat = Mini Artificial Human

The question of how to create life does not just go back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, when the eponymous character used forbidden science to create life. Humans have been interested in creating...