Leonardo da Vinci

After a week of daily stories, our journey into scientific discovery viewed through the prices fetched by manuscripts on the auction block is complete. The 10 most expensive scientific documents ever sold at auction follows.​

Notes previously dismissed as “irrelevant” have turned up a new discovery: Leonardo da Vinci had a sophisticated understanding of the laws of friction, almost 200 years before they were formalized. New research demonstrates how da Vinci applied that knowledge to his work over the next 20 years.

At the turn of this year, students from Eindhoven University of Technology constructed a replica of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in ice. Next up, they're turning their attention to a bridge designed by Leonardo da Vinci. If successfully completed, it will have the longest open span ever built from ice.

Researchers from Italy and Poland have developed a new non-destructive, nano-level method to identify the root causes of the degradation of a famous red chalk on paper drawing widely accepted as a self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, and assist in planning appropriate conservation strategies.