The X - ray machine was voted the most significant scientific invention , in a poll by the Science Museum in London . Out of almost 50,000 votes cast , one in five people selected it as the object they believed it had the greatest impact on the past , present and future . X - rays were followed by the discoveries of penicillin and the DNA double helix structure . The public vote began on 10 June this year as part of the Science Museum 's events to celebrate its centenary .
The X-ray machine was voted the most significant scientific invention , in a poll by the Science Museum in London . Out of almost 50,000 votes cast , one in five people selected it as the object they believed it had the greatest impact on the past , present and future . X-rays were followed by the discoveries of penicillin and the DNA double helix structure . The public vote began on 10 June this year as part of the Science Museum 's events to mark its centenary .