Science is gaining knowledge about (or study of) the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation. A particular area of scientific study could be biology, physics, or chemistry.

Generally, the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics) are considered "hard" because they are proven with hard facts by experimentation, whereas the social sciences (e.g. economics, psychology, sociology) are usually described as "soft" because they tend to based on opinions, anecdotes and hunches.


Natural science can be divided into two main branches: physical science and life science (or biological science). Social sciences: the study of human behaviour and societies. Applied sciences can be divided into: Engineering, Applied mathematics, Applied physics, Medicine and Computer science.

A non-science is an area of study that is not scientific, especially one that is not a natural science or a social science that is an object of scientific inquiry. In this model, history, art, and religion are all examples of non-sciences.

Science has many publications, both online and off-line. Below is a list available in the UK :-

• New Scientist The paper version comes out every Thursday and was founded in 1956 for "all those interested in scientific discovery and its social consequences". Well over half of the magazine is devoted to science and the other half to jobs.
  
  
• Science (AAAS) has been at the center of important scientific discovery since its founding in 1880 with Thomas Edison providing seed money. Today, Science continues to publish the very best in research across the sciences, with articles that consistently rank among the most cited in the world.
  
  
• BBC Science Focus is a British monthly magazine about science and technology published in Bristol, UK by Immediate Media Company. It covers all aspects of science and technology and is written for general readers as well as people with a knowledge of science.
  
  
• Scientific American is the longest continuously published magazine in the USA and has been bringing its readers unique insights about developments in science and technology for more than 170 years.
  
  
• Discover is an American general audience science magazine launched in October 1980 by Time Inc. It has been owned by Kalmbach Publishing since 2010.
  
  
• Wired is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has been in publication since March/April 1993.
  
  
• National Geographic is the official magazine of the National Geographic Society. It has been in constant publication since 1888, nine months after the Society itself was founded. It primarily contains articles about science, geography, history and world culture.
  
  
• Cosmos is a science magazine produced in Australia with a global outlook and literary ambitions, published by the Royal Institution of Australia. It appears four times a year in print and browser-based subscriber editions. It has a readership of 87,000 in print, and 130,000 via browser subscribers.