This year marks exactly two centuries since the publication of "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus," by Mary Shelley.

Prometheus lit a torch from the chariot and put the fire in a hollow stalk that he concealed under his cloak.

The myth also reminds us that these advances have come at a price: as a punishment for Prometheus' crime, the gods created Pandora, and they gave her a box filled with evils and curses.