PaperGene

PaperGene is a web app (with optional mobile companion) that maps how scientific ideas evolved over time using citation networks, correspondence, institutions, and key experiments. Users search a concept (e.g., “germ theory”) and get an interactive “genealogy”: foundational papers, major forks, disputed claims, and the people/labs that carried the thread forward. It’s a combination traditional + AI app: AI helps extract claims, methods, and context from public-domain/licensed texts, but every node links to primary sources and curated references. The MVP focuses on a few well-covered domains (physics 1900–1950, biology 1850–1950) to avoid the impossible “everything” trap. It’s realistic: you won’t beat Wikipedia on breadth, but you can beat it on navigability and source-backed pathways for students and educators who need a coherent story fast.